timstark ***Spoiler Alert***People either love or hate this series. Unfortunately, thirteen episodes doesn't leave the writers much room to explore or totally explain all the questions posed. But with some imagination, one can make a logical conclusion about the outcome.First of all, people that loved the characters in Lost will be somewhat disappointed. Comparing the cast of Lost to any series is almost impossible, as Lost hit the jackpot in the casting department. The cast of Persons Unknown pales in comparison. That doesn't mean the series is not worth watching, it is. Unfortunately, the main character Janet is sub par and down right painful to watch at times. However, there are interesting and well acted characters that make up for Janet. Joe is decent, Moira is interesting, Charles is believable, and Ericka is downright psycho. There's just enough depth in the characters to make it work. But don't expect much more than that.The intrigue of the premise makes the series worth watching. Yet, many people expect the writers to lay everything out and tie up the ending neatly. I prefer to come to my own conclusions based on the content. With that in mind, I found it relatively easy to reach a satisfactory conclusion.*** Major Plot Spoilers ***The Program began in the 1950s and is under the control of a mysterious group, a think tank. The purpose of the Program is to control political and financial power, supposedly for the good of mankind. To retain this power they identify potential candidates to carry on the Program and infiltrate society through a stress based statistical simulation.Through 50 years of data, the simulation can have only one result. Of the 6 abducted people, only one will survive. The 7th person is always a mole (in this case Joe) planted to help manipulate the final outcome.It appears however, that the simulation we are witness to is unique. Unique enough that the director of the Program must make unprecedented changes. Namely, that when all participants survive, they are neatly gathered up and sent to level 2 to battle it out until there is only 1 survivor. We do not need to know who survives, that is irrelevant. We only need to know that those behind the Program make all the rules and thus control everything. Thus, there really is no getting out of the Program. We can assume that Tori's exit is allowed because her father threatens the organization. Ultimately, he is doomed for cooperating with Renbe in his quest to find Janet. Because the simulation requires another person and to stir up the group, Ericka is introduced to replace Tori. The Director needs to add a more violent character to facilitate a result as the group refuses to eliminate each other.The Night Managers escape is just another manipulation to divide the group. But after the group escapes in the van and end up back in the town, they realize they can not escape. This is why they don't attempt to use the Night Manager at the pain wall a second time.Because Renbe discovers the truth, he is placed into level 1. It's fairly certain he will not survive.The bodies Renbe and his boss discover are not in the same town as our group of participants. These people are not dead, they are the sedated participants for this town. That is until the Italian thinking they are dead cuts off their right thumbs. Because the thumbs go missing, the Director must make another change...we see the result in the young and clearly brain washed doctor. He is not a survivor and therefore not sent to level 2. These are my impressions and yours may or may not jive. That's fine. I won't attempt to explain the entire series. Luckily in the real world there can be more than 1 result. The finality of Persons Unknown is the understanding that one can never escape the true power that lies behind society.

Max_Lucas Why is it whenever there is a great show it gets canceled? And many are left unfinished. This story could of went on for many seasons. Great cast and story line. So many shows get a lot of hype months before premiere and then bomb. Yet the network will drag it on for a few more seasons trying to convince us that it will eventually get better. This show isn't like that. A great show that silently gets cut. Who are these people who make these decisions? Too many shows get canceled without closure. Tera Nova was another great one. Jericho could of ran for years! Yet, they hype up Revolution, which was a bomb, that I'm sure they will try to run with it for years.I really liked Persons Unknown. Last episode left me wanting to see more. Too bad the network didn't see it that way. Now days, if you don't have "C.S.I.", "reality show" or dumb slap stick comedy in it, it won't make the cut. It's sad!

bhailu0215 I didn't read all the reviews here but I'm sure people mentioned "Lost". This is a good show and stuff but they need to work on their suspense thing. Compared to Lost, this story has no suspense. For example, in first few episodes we already knew who the inside mole is, we knew about director, the reason they do this, etc. The reason Lost was a VERY successful show was because they keep their suspense for some time. It makes audience come back for that answer. On the other side this story reveals its secrets too quick.But overall, the idea of keeping it LIKE a "game" with "levels" is pretty smart. If the show is successful, they can make many more seasons because "levels" could be unlimited.

give-a-little-bit My Review of "Persons Unknown"This mini-series was created by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), and it entertained me throughout last year's summer. Because of the limited promotion, I had to stumble on "Persons Unknown" by sheer luck. The reason why the studio did not have faith in this show -- with its large potential -- beats me.In the pilot episode, written by McQuarrie, we are introduced to the captives and the place they are held in. Right away, questions arise on why they were taken, and by whom they were taken. Aside from the captives' storyline, there is also a subplot of a reporter, who's investigative eye falls on these mysterious disappearances.This episode neatly lays the groundwork on which this series is built upon. Every captive seemingly has a specific reason for being held; they try to deduce what the motive of the captors is by figuring out where each of them came from.Suspenseful moments are to be expected when the captives try to escape the place they are being held in, when their lives are threatened, and when they start to crack under pressure. For those who like to be surprised until the end, this is your show. The amount of mystery is enormous, and will often catch you off-guard.The main thing I liked was how the main characters reacted in certain situations; mainly, the wariness they showed towards each other, and the questions they asked themselves.I watched this mini-series in its original run, so I had to wait a full week to get a new episode; I'm sure once you start watching now, you won't be able to stop watching until you've seen them all.As for the ending, it was a bit of a let-down; actually, a major let-down. On itself – in the scenario that the show would return for subsequent seasons -- it was a great finale, but as a series finale it just failed. We were promised to get answers to all the major questions by summer's end, yet the finale did not follow through on that statement.They left us hanging with so many questions -- a real shame. So much wasted potential, so much frustration. If you ask me, they could have ended this story with the preceding episode; this episode would have provided more closure, however the burning questions would still remain.If it were up to me, I would bring back "Persons Unknown" for another season. Then we could see a proper conclusion to a great storyline. The finale provides a good starting point for that matter. There is still much to explore for the writers, so I'd say bring back "Persons Unknown." Taking everything into account, I am going to give "Persons Unknown" an 8 out of 10.