Kidnapped children seemed to be all the rage in the late-90's, thanks to the wildly popular film, "Ransom", which means countless TV shows tried to cash in, including this series. Mark Sloan receives a wrong call from a kidnapper and tries to intervene, an action that has dire consequences for the family of the child in danger. What could have, and should have, been a compelling episode is, instead, a dull affair, with less-than-crackling results due to a poor script and what are truly, DEEPLY rotten performances from the guest stars (the folks portraying the family and friends of the missing child are especially laughable, with each line reading sounding as if this is a community-theatre production; the kidnapper should instill fear and dread to the audience but is as scary as a telemarketer; even Eva La Rue, so genuinely warm on CSI: Miami, is stiff and miscast - her attempts to sound tough are hollow, and the suggested cutting repartee with regular cast member Barry Van Dyke rings positively phony). Even with all the mess on screen, one should actually care what happens to this missing child but, quite frankly, I couldn't have given less of a damn than I thought possible.
Review of Wrong Number
Truly ROTTEN performances are the 'highlight' of this very weak episode
1 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers