Hostages Season Premiere Recap: The Kidnappers Are Really Nice; Questions Heading into Episode 2

The series premiere of CBS’s “Hostages” set up what could be a very good first season and left me with a whole lot of questions, as any good show should. However, before we get to those here’s a quick recap of what you need to know heading into Episode 2:

--FBI Agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott) is a law enforcement official with a bit of bravado who always seems to get the job done. We are able to see him take down a bank robber in less than orthodox fashion. When he’s not taking down bad guys, Carlisle is currently a kidnapper for hire. His wife is suffering from cancer and is in the hospital and he has a daughter.

--Dr. Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette) is one of the top surgeons in the country and has been chosen by the current administration to operate on United States President Paul Kincaid (James Haughton). There is some speculation that she has been chosen because she’s a woman and it will also help the president with his stance on health care.

--Carlisle has been hired (it seems by the president’s chief of staff) to force Ellen to kill the president, thus the family kidnapping.

--Everyone in Ellen’s family has a secret—Her husband Brian (Tate Donovan) is having an affair and his company is suffering, her son Jake (Mateus Ward) is selling pot, her daughter Morgan (Quinn Shepard) is pregnant.

--Duncan and his team have been studying the family for a while. They know about Brian’s affair and business troubles and Duncan uses that to have Brian tell his wife to go through with the kidnappers' request.

--The kidnappers appear to be more friendly than your usualy bad guys. One of Duncan’s team members, Kramer, seems to care that that Jake is selling pot. Duncan helps Morgan hide from her mother the fact that she’s pregnant. (Which may be the reason she tells her mother to go along with the kidnappers plan.)

--Ellen gets a vile from Duncan and goes into work the next day. Later in the day it’s announced the president is having complications because he was mistakenly given a blood thinner. The surgery has now been postponed for two weeks. This prompts reporters to interview Ellen during which time she turns to the camera—as if to look directly at Duncan—and says, “I don’t give up that easily."

It appears, Ellen is preparing to fight back and this won’t be as easy as Duncan may have thought. So what is Ellen’s next move? Will Duncan retaliate? Will the kidnappers continue to be interested in the family members' personal lives? What does the president’s chief of staff have planned? These are just some of the questions I have heading into the next episode.

So far so good Mr. Bruckheimer and Mr. Nachmanoff, so far so good.

“Hostages” airs Mondays, 10/9c on CBS.