"Without a Trace" (2002) TV series 2002-????

Creator:

Hank Steinberg

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Release Date:

26 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

The cases of a FBI unit specializing in missing persons investigations.

Plot Keywords:

Missing | FBI | Missing People | New York City | Missing Person

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 16 wins & 29 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 24	4:00 AM	TNT	Skin Deep	#5.20
Tue. Nov. 24	5:00 AM	TNT	Crash and Burn	#5.21

Cast

Anthony LaPaglia	...	Jack Malone (160 episodes, 2002-2009)
Poppy Montgomery	...	Samantha Spade (160 episodes, 2002-2009)
Enrique Murciano	...	Danny Taylor (160 episodes, 2002-2009)
Eric Close	...	Martin Fitzgerald (160 episodes, 2002-2009)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste	...	Vivian Johnson (159 episodes, 2002-2009)
Roselyn Sanchez	...	Elena Delgado (89 episodes, 2005-2009)

Also Known As:

Vanished (USA) (working title)
W.A.T (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 (season 2) | Singapore:PG (season 1) | Chile:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (season 3) | South Korea:15 | Hungary:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (some episodes) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Jerry Bruckheimer Television

Trivia:

During each episode, a 15-second presentation appears, asking the public for help in finding real-life missing persons. The FBI provides a picture and descriptive information about the missing person to be displayed with a voice-over message recorded by one of the series stars.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In more than one instance, suspects being interviewed with a polygraph answer all the control questions (Is your name John Doe? Are you 39?) truthfully. In reality, a suspect is told to answer all the control questions "yes", whether true or not, to determine the accuracy of the polygraph machine.

Quotes:

[after that last conversation with Barry]
Jack Malone: We're not sending in a doctor, we have to send in the SWAT team.
Paula Van Doren: [softly] Jack, when I asked you if you could keep your objectivity with Spade inside there, you said you could. Now, she said it was an accident. She said it was a through-and-through.
Jack Malone: Yeah, and I think she's not telling the truth. For all we know, he had a gun to her head. We can't take anything she says at face value.
Paula Van Doren: SWAT is the last resort. Now, do your job and negotiate your agent out of there.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Symphony In Effect

Jumped The Shark When They Hired Roselyn Sanchez

It's amazing how Without a Trace went from one of the best shows on TV to must-miss TV in about three episodes.

First the writing went down the drain with the characters acting out implausible stories between them that sounded like they had been lifted out of a really bad daytime soap.

Then the regular actors got that bemused look on their faces, as if they didn't know what their character was supposed to be any more.

Finally, to "spice things up" I'm sure, the producers went and hired one of the worst actresses in Hollywood: Roselyn Sanchez, who can't even enunciate and has a face so plastic she's a walking indictment of the plastic surgery profession.

Very sad. Hopefully they'll right the boat, but I'm not holding my breath.

Update: It turns out the didn't right the boat. Roselyn Sanchez is still killing every scene she's in and the show is but a pale shadow of what it used to be.

Too bad as it was a very promising show.