Without a Trace (2002–2009)

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

Creator:

Hank Steinberg

Stars:

Anthony LaPaglia, Poppy Montgomery, Enrique Murciano

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 16 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
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 (88 episodes, 2005-2009)

Storyline

As any detective can tell you, investigating missing property or deaths is comparatively easy compared to elusive missing people. However in New York City, there is a special unit of the FBI that is designed to find them. Using the vast resources of their bureau, the team, lead by Agent Jack Malone, race against time in the tight 72 hour window after a disappearance while hope for a recovery is still typically possible.

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Plot Keywords:

missing | fbi | investigation | death | missing people | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

CBS [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vanished

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Bruckheimer Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, CBS Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Poppy Montgomery's character, Samantha Spade, is a play on the name of another famous fiction detective: Sam Spade. Sam Spade was created by famed novelist Dashiell Hammett in his book 'The Maltese Falcon' (and has been played on screen by Humphrey Bogart and Ricardo Cortez).

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[after Danny's been shot at]
Jack Malone: [into phone] How's he doing?
Samantha: [into phone] Well, he'll never admit it, but he's a little amped up.

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Crazy Credits

In loving memory of Nicole De Huff

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Connections

Featured in The Footy Show: The World Cup Footy Show Spectacular: Live from Munich (2006)

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Soundtracks

"One of These Mornings"
Performed by Moby

User Reviews

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.