reviewed by Charity Bishop
        

Crime dramas that really hook me are rare. Most of them, with the exception of Law & Order, I can take or leave, but Without a Trace is one of those unique television shows that manages to be part mystery, part FBI crime lab, and part character drama all in one shot. It's good stuff.

A twenty-eight year old executive has gone missing from her apartment, leaving everything behind, from her purse and wallet to her cell phone and all of her clothes. Respected by her business associates but something of a loner in her personal life, there is no sign of what happened to her. The FBI division assigned to handle missing persons cases is headed up by street-wise Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia). He runs a tight operation formed of his dear friend and confidante Vivian (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), the temperamental but hard-working Danny Taylor (Enrique Murciano), and the intelligent and beautiful Samantha Spade (Poppy Montgomery). The newest member to their team is Martin Fitzgerald (Eric Close), fresh out of proverbial boot camp and determined to prove himself in the same business field that his father lords over with such formidable strength.

While Eric attempts to learn the ropes and charm Sam without much success, he finds himself an immediate alley and occasional adversary to Jack, who is not afraid to stretch the rules if it means bringing a kidnap victim home safely. There are those in the business who want to bring down Malone for his hands-on approach, and will do anything to divide and conquer his agents, while the past returns to haunt Sam, Danny is forced to remember his tumultuous childhood, and Jack risks becoming too personally involved in several of his cases. From ransom demands to runaway children, to pedophiles and desperate family members, Without a Trace is good not merely for its thoughtfully planned and surprising cases but also its characters. It's rare that I love the entire ensemble cast in a television show, but each of them are given a full background to work with, and are likable even when the occasional argument breaks out over how to handle a case.

LaPaglia carries more than his weight as he shows the audience a man who is devoted to his job, but never so calloused that he doesn't care about the victims. After being forced to lie to a suspect in a rape-murder case, he tries to convince the suspect that he "understands" his need to dominate, learning the victim's whereabouts in the process. What does Jack do but excuse himself to vomit, expressing his utter loathing of such debauchery. The look on his face when discovering a murdered thirteen year old girl is one I will never forget. And what other show has the courage to end its season finale with the lead in tears?  Vivian has a beautiful son that she dotes on. Sam is hiding a secret, and Martin must confront his father before the final episode. For a show that caters to missing persons cases, it has a certain level of implied content but never shows anything graphic.

There are several cases in particular that deal with sexual abuse in some form: "Birthday Boy," "Suspect," and "Maple Street" all involve pedophiles; in "There Goes the Bride," a promiscuous girl is blackmailed with a sex tape; it's revealed she was molested as a child. "The Source" makes a passing mention of a lesbian relationship. It's implied that at one point Jack and Sam were involved in a sexual relationship during his separation from his wife. The series has occasional bad language, but not much in the way of violence. Flashbacks are used to illustrate most of the missing person's story as the agents start filling in the gaps. Most shows try too hard to project the "work" and "home" lives of its characters, but this one does it in such a way that you are learning immense amounts of information without being subjected to any scenes that aren't important to the central plot of the individual episode. My favorite was the two-part finale, which involves a hostage situation and packs an emotional punch about the losses of 9/11 and the importance of family.