I have always been a sucker for police procedural drama series. I like them thrillers and mysteries to keep my imagination occupied even when i'm at home. Admittedly not all of them are great. On one hand, some of them i watched only to be disappointed by weak story lines, poor production values and underdeveloped and uninteresting characters. On the otherhand, some had me hooked from the get go. A few of my favorites include (in no particular order) Bones, Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Hawaii Five-0 Reboot, Cold Case, CSI Las Vegas and New York, and Warehouse 13 (although this one has sci-fi elements to it, but fundamentally follows the police procedural format).
Now i have a latest addition to this growing list - -although the series in itself is not exactly new. In fact, the last episode aired in May 2009. Now, I may be a late adapter, but this show is as strong as ever - -10 years after it first aired. If that's not a testament to how great a show it was, i don't know what is.
Now to give you a brief background on what it's about. Without A Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.
Each episode usually followed the search for one individual under tight time constraints. The stories also focused on the personal lives of the team members and illustrated how their various experiences gave them insight into certain cases.
The real FBI does investigate missing persons; specifically they have the authority to help in any "mysterious" disappearances of children abducted by non-family members. The teams that investigate these crimes are called CARD (Child Abduction Rapid Deployment) Teams.[1] They get involved in other missing persons cases as needed, but do not have a dedicated unit.
One element that set the show apart from other TV crime dramas was the display of information about real-life missing persons at the end of most episodes. Occasionally such information was replaced with other public service announcements, such as an episode about an attempted suicide which presented information on a suicide help line. Showings outside the U.S. tend to omit missing persons info; however, Australia's Nine Network usually showed Australian cases, and in Hong Kong the TVB Pearl showed information about local missing persons during the first two seasons.
Here's a bit of a trivia: Without a Trace took place within Jerry Bruckheimer's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation universe. A crossover episode featured characters Gil Grissom from CSI and Jack Malone from Without a Trace working together in an attempt to solve the same case.
What makes this show great in my book is how moving and relevant the story lines are in every episode. The script is crisp and well-written with pop culture references that add a hint of humor to what is essentially a serious police investigation. No topics are taboo. I'm only in season 2 but they already featured several gay story lines (in just one season, mind you), a teenage orgy, school bullying,teen suicide, hate crimes on transgendered people, cosmetic surgery, racial profiling, Nazi War Criminals, Whites Slavery, and the list goes on.
One particular episode in season 2 had me bawling like a baby. It involved this pre-teen boy having the worst 24 hours of his life due to bullying. (Nakarelate ang lola niyo) He got beaten up and then humiliated by a nude photo of him circulating over the net taken by his school crush and her posse as a mean joke. He vanishes without a trace and the team is tasked to look for him. The last scene had him hanging from the monkey bars, as he tries to end what he thinks is a pathetic life. That scene gave me goosebumps - -the characters of Jack Malone and Danny Taylor rushing to the boy to save him, you can see tears streaming from Danny's eyes as he tries to hoist the boy up while Jack loosens the noose around the poor boy's neck. To say it was gripping is an understatement. To feel that kind of hopelessness and despair at such a young age when there's supposed to be so much ahead of you - -it's just heart-wrenching. Gusto ko sabihin sa bagets - -"Hijo joskoh, wala pa sa kalingkingan yang experience mo. Naku, madami pa 'yan. Mas matindi...hmmm buti na lang wala ako sa show kung hindi baka natuluyan ang bata.
Heniways,another thing that makes this show so addicting are its characters. They're not perfect which makes for a more interesting dynamics within the show. I won't break it down for you because getting to know these characters as the series unfold is part of the viewing experience and it would just be wrong for me to deprive you of that.
So if you haven't seen an episode of this amazing series even on syndication (or through your suking pirata), i highly recommend that you do. It will be worth your time. And if you get hooked, feel free to blame me. :-D
p.s. Another good reason to watch the show.
The gorgeous and perpetually boyish Eric Close aka Martin Fitzgerald
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