FORGOTTEN, THE: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this dramatic crime series about a group of volunteer investigators in Chicago who work to identify anonymous bodies. In this episode, a "Highway Jane Doe" narrates from beyond the grave as Detective Grace Russell finds former cop Alex Donovan and tells him to gather his colleagues, including newcomer Tyler Davies, to work on their latest case. Tyler, an artist working off a community-service sentence, is surprised to learn that the investigators work for free, and when he recognizes Lindsey Drake because of her infamous husband, she firmly tells him that "that" is unrelated to her work. Alex tells them that they have five days until Highway Jane is buried, reminding them that they are to focus on the dead girl's identity, not the killer's. They peruse various clues, including Jane's tattoo, and though Tyler states that sculpting a dead woman's face is "too weird," he gives in to Alex's persuasion and creates a lifelike replica of Jane. Alex and Walter Bailey, a socially-awkward telephone technician, inspect the spot where Jane's body was found, and Walter attempts to question the cashier at a nearby gas station. Candace Butler, meanwhile, researches Jane's nail polish and visits a Goth nightclub with Tyler, though they are quickly ousted by the aggressive bouncer.
The team begins to grow exasperated at their lack of solid leads, and Alex tells his former chief that he has "good days and bad days." Tyler questions Candace about her commitment to the seemingly-pointless job, and she explains the importance of helping the dead – and their families – to find closure. Two young women outside the nightclub then reveal that Jane's name is Vivian and that she fought with her boyfriend Quint, the bouncer, shortly before disappearing. The team searches the security camera footage of the nearby trains and eventually locates the restaurant where Vivian worked, and her former employer provides a surname, Simmons, and explains that she abruptly quit after a confrontation with a redheaded woman. Elsewhere, Vivian's neighbor Clay reveal that he dated her briefly and suggests that Quint is a jealous stalker. When Alex and Lindsey visit the Simmons home to break the bad news, they are stunned when Vivian herself comes to the door, revealing that Highway Jane was living under a false identity.
Walter continues monitoring Quint, and Quint angrily slugs him before declaring that he did not harm "Vivian." The rest of the team finds that Clay was kicked out of med school for stealing drugs, and once captured, he admits that he was selling the drugs to fund his tuition, but that "Vivian" dumped him upon finding out. Tyler returns to her mysterious tattoo and guesses that it is related to her high school mascot, and they track down the "Blue Devils" of Iowa and learn that Jane's real name is Tracy Benedict. Tracy's relatives are devastated to learn of her death, and her mother Sally explains that she ran away from home after the tragic death of her father. Alex spots the redhead outside the Benedict home, and the woman, Zoe, explains that she was Tracy's high-school drama teacher and attempted to convince her wayward former student to come home upon encountering her in the city. The team then finds that one of the girls from the nightclub, Jessica, phoned the Benedict home on the night of Vivian/Tracy's disappearance, and when Alex confronts her, she admits that she killed her close friend in a rage when Tracy admitted that she was abandoning their grand plans of freedom and returning home, having been persuaded by Zoe's words. Tracy is finally laid to rest, and Lindsey reveals to Tyler that Alex's commitment to the work is fueled by the still-unsolved disappearance of his eight-year-old daughter Lucy two years earlier. Sally thanks Alex for his help, comforted to know that her daughter was planning to return to her. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 22, 2009 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 108634
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective; Crime and criminals; Forensic sciences
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2009-2010
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - AT&T wireless services
- TV - Commercials - Arbor Day Foundation
- TV - Commercials - Federal Student Aid financial services
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Halls Refresh throat lozenges
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Special K cereal
- TV - Commercials - Macy's stores
- TV - Commercials - MasterCard credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Olive Garden restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Progresso soups
- TV - Commercials - Samsung LED televisions
- TV - Commercials - Sensodyne Iso-Active foaming gel toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Subaru automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Super PoliGrip denture adhesive
- TV - Commercials - Target stores
- TV - Commercials - The American Cancer Society
- TV - Commercials - USO organization
- TV - Commercials - Verizon Wireless cellular services
- TV - Commercials - Visa debit cards
- TV - Promos - "Cougar Town"
- TV - Promos - "Eastwick"
- TV - Promos - "FlashForward"
- TV - Promos - "Grey's Anatomy"
- TV - Promos - "Modern Family"
- TV - Promos - "The Forgotten" upcoming episode
CREDITS
- Jerry Bruckheimer … Executive Producer
- Jonathan Littman … Executive Producer
- Lukas Reiter … Executive Producer
- Danny Cannon … Executive Producer, Director
- Mark Friedman … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- KristieAnne Reed … Co-Executive Producer
- Matthew Carlisle … Producer
- Jim Hilton … Associate Producer
- Graeme Revell … Music by
- Christian Slater … Cast, Alex Donovan
- Michelle Borth … Cast, Candace Butler
- Heather Stephens … Cast, Lindsey Drake
- Anthony Carrigan … Cast, Tyler Davies
- Bob Stephenson … Cast, Walter Bailey
- Rochelle Aytes … Cast, Grace Russell
- Devon Gummersall … Cast, Clay Thornton
- Deidre Lovejoy … Cast, Zoe Jenks
- Benito Martinez … Cast, Police Chief
- Carlos Sanz … Cast, Restaurant Owner
- Darlene Vogel … Cast, Sally Benedict
- Rebekah Brandes … Cast, Tracy Benedict
- Aimee-Lynn Chadwick … Cast, Jessica
- John Conrad … Cast, Principal
- GIna DeVivo … Cast, RDO Sales Clerk
- Jake Dogias … Cast, Chicago PD Tech
- Leah Ford … Cast, Vivian Simmons
- Carole Gutierrez … Cast, Med School Registar
- Haley Hudson … Cast, Punk Girl
- Ellen Marlow … Cast, Amy Benedict
- John Charles Meyer … Cast, Quint
- Paunita Nichols … Cast, Drugstore Clerk
- Lily Rains … Cast, Monica
- Lou Richards … Cast, Mr. Simmons
- Rando Thomas … Cast, Gas Station Cashier
- Jona Xiao … Cast, Female Med Student