The Finder is an American procedural drama television series created by Hart Hanson that ran on Fox from January 12, 2012 to May 11, 2012. The series originally aired on Thursdays at 9:00 pm,[1] and moved to Fridays at 8:00 pm beginning April 6, 2012.[2] It is a spin-off of another Fox television series, Bones, where the backdoor pilot, a season six episode entitled "The Finder", aired in April 2011. It is loosely based on The Locator series of two books by Richard Greener.
A procedural drama is a genre of television programming which focuses on how crimes are solved or some other aspect of a law enforcement agency, legislative body, or court of law. Some dramas include a lab or conference room with high-tech or state-of-the-art equipment where the main characters meet to work out the problem. Shows usually have an episodic format that does not require the viewer to have seen previous episodes. Episodes typically have a self-contained, also referred to as stand-alone, plot that is introduced and resolved within the same episode.
Hart Hanson is an American-born television writer and producer, as well as an author. His family moved to Canada when he was a child. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a MFA from the University of British Columbia, where he taught briefly. He is the creator, executive producer, and writer of the TV series Bones.
The Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial terrestrial television network that is a flagship property of the Fox Corporation. The network is headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City, with additional offices at the Fox Broadcasting Center and at the Fox Television Center in Los Angeles.
On May 9, 2012, Fox cancelled the series after one season.[3][4] It also served as the final television performance of Michael Clarke Duncan, who died of complications due to a heart attack on September 3, 2012.
Michael Clarke Duncan was an American actor best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and various similar honors. He also appeared in motion pictures such as Armageddon (1998), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), The Scorpion King (2002), Daredevil (2003) and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). He also had voice roles in films such as Brother Bear (2003), Kung Fu Panda (2008) and Green Lantern (2011).
Cast and characters
Geoff Stults as Major Walter Sherman, U.S. Army (retired). Due to traumatic brain injury suffered in the Iraq War due to a roadside bomb explosion that only he survived, Walter is paranoid, suspicious and quirky (he also says that he's "not exactly inhibited"), but it also somehow resulted in him now being able to find anything, seeing patterns where others wouldn't. His brain uses "Walter Math" to explain these things to him. In the backdoor pilot, in Bones, FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth calls Walter's gift "The Finder Power", while Leo Knox calls it "Darna Shellah" and "Akashvani". Because of his ability to find anything, a lot of powerful and influential people now owe him favors. Walter's catchphrase, as such, is "I'mma risk it" where he often makes a decision even after Leo legally advises him otherwise. In the pilot, it is revealed that he and Booth have "history" and knew each other from their days in the Army. He has a habit of sometimes taking before-and-after polaroids of clients. Walter has the knack of also finding out things that his clients didn't want to know by finding what people are really looking for, not just what they think they're looking for. He is depicted as being younger than his literary counterpart, having never been married, nor having any children. Walter's original literary incarnation served in Vietnam and never suffered brain damage.
Michael Clarke Duncan as Leo Knox, a widower and former attorney. He owns the bar, "The Ends of the Earth", located on Looking Glass Key, and he also serves as Walter's manager and legal advisor, and sometimes bodyguard. Leo is also known for his quoting of religious literature, particularly Buddhism. He calls Walter's power "Darna Shellah" and "Akashvani". According to Leo, he owes Walter his life. In ep. 3, "A Cinderella Story", it is revealed that Leo lost his family (his wife Nina and teenage daughter Ellie), to E. coli poisoning. He is based on the character "Leonard Martin" in The Knowland Retribution, the first "The Locator" book the series was based on.
Mercedes Masohn as Deputy U.S. Marshal Isabel Zambada. While Walter's antics frequently get on her nerves, she and Walter have a "friends with benefits" arrangement. Isabel has ambitions of being the first LatinaUnited States Attorney General. While she works as a Deputy U.S. Marshal during the day to gain field experience, she attends law school at night. It is her intention to be "eating dinner in the White House within six years."
Maddie Hasson as Willa Monday, a Romanijuvenile delinquent. Willa is very talented with computers, but she is prohibited from using a computer for the duration of her probation. While Willa has been betrothed to her "cousin" Timo since she was 5 and Timo was 10, by their mutual "Uncle", Uncle Shad, the head of their family, Willa and Timo only love each other as brother and sister. As Willa believes in true love, she wants for Timo to be able to be with the girl he loves, Magdalena. At the end of the season, Willa goes on the run, violating her probation, in order to avoid her betrothal to Timo. They are not really cousins, it is just the Romani way to refer to one another as such, being the Romani "family".
Toby Hemingway as Timo Proud, a Romani and Willa's "cousin". Timo is five years older than Willa, and he has a talent for Tarot reading. While Timo and Willa have been betrothed (by their mutual "Uncle", Uncle Shad) since she was 5 and Timo was 10, Timo is himself in love with a mutual "cousin" of theirs, Magdalena.
Geoffrey Manton Stults is an American actor. He is known for his regular roles on 7th Heaven, October Road and Happy Town. He most recently starred as Major Walter Sherman in The Finder and as Sgt. Pete Hill in Enlisted. He played the recurring role of Mitch in seasons 1-3 of the Netflix series Grace and Frankie. His film roles include The Break-Up, Unforgettable, Only the Brave, and 12 Strong.
In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, major is a field grade military officer rank above the rank of captain and below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of lieutenant commander in the other uniformed services. Although lieutenant commanders are considered junior officers by their respective services, the rank of major is considered field grade in the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism, or other features. Head injury is a broader category that may involve damage to other structures such as the scalp and skull. TBI can result in physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral symptoms, and outcome can range from complete recovery to permanent disability or death.
Development and production
Fox developed a quasi spin-off series for Bones that was built around a character introduced in the sixth season. Production on the episode featuring The Locator began in February 2011, with the episode airing in April. The series was created by Bones creator/executive producer, Hart Hanson, and based on The Locator series of two books written by Richard Greener: "The Knowland Retribution", and "The Lacey Confession". The character of Walter is an eccentric but amusing recluse in high demand for his ability to find anything. He is skeptical of everything. He suffered brain damage after surviving a roadside bomb explosion, which explains his constant paranoia and compulsion to find things—and for asking offensive, seemingly irrelevant questions to get to the truth.[5] Production on the episode began in early 2011.
'Brain damage is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage, while neurotoxicity typically refers to selective, chemically induced neuron damage.
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Paranoia is distinct from phobias, which also involve irrational fear, but usually no blame. Making false accusations and the general distrust of other people also frequently accompany paranoia. For example, an incident most people would view as an accident or coincidence, a paranoid person might believe was intentional. Paranoia is a central symptom of psychosis.
Creator Hart Hanson posted on Twitter (in a humorous manner) regarding the notes he got from the network, "I received studio notes on the Bones spin-off idea. They want it to be better. Unreasonable taskmasters. Impossible dreamers. Neo-platonists."[6]
Neoplatonism is a term used to designate a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the third century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as it encapsulates a chain of thinkers which began with Ammonius Saccas and his student Plotinus and which stretches to the sixth century AD. Even though Neoplatonism primarily circumscribes the thinkers who are now labeled Neoplatonists and not their ideas, there are some ideas that are common to Neoplatonic systems, for example, the monistic idea that all of reality can be derived from a single principle, "the One".
In the episode, the main characters of Bones travel to Key West, Florida, where The Finder is said to take place. Geoff Stults was cast as the lead character with Michael Clarke Duncan and Saffron Burrows (as Ike Latulippe, bartender and pilot) in supporting roles.[7][8][9] The three characters were introduced in episode 19 of season 6.
Saffron Dominique Burrows is a British-American actress and model. Burrows has appeared in films such as Circle of Friends,Wing Commander,Deep Blue Sea,Gangster No. 1,Enigma,Troy,Reign Over Me and The Bank Job. On the small screen she has starred as Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal, Dr. Norah Skinner on My Own Worst Enemy, and Detective Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She appeared as Cynthia Taylor on the Amazon Video series Mozart in the Jungle.
The Finder was picked up for the 2011–12 season on May 10, 2011, with an order of 13 episodes.[10] The series premiered midseason 2012, airing on Thursdays at 9:00 pm ET, occupying the Bones time slot when it is on hiatus.[1]
Saffron Burrows did not appear beyond the backdoor pilot episode, leaving the series, because the network decided to re-conceive the role.[11]Mercedes Masohn and Maddie Hasson joined the cast as the two female leads. Masohn plays Isabel Zambada, a Deputy U.S. Marshal; and Hasson plays Willa, a juvenile delinquent who helps with their investigations.[12]
After recovering one of John Fogerty’s (guest-starring as himself) beloved guitars, Iraq veteran Walter Sherman (Geoff Stults) helps a teenage boy (guest star Brett Davern) locate his missing father, a military pilot and war hero whose plane vanished while on an undisclosed mission. Walter turns to Deputy U.S. Marshal Isabel Zambada (Mercedes Masöhn) for insider information on the missing colonel, which links the lost plane to a high-level drug dealer and its illegal cargo. When Walter and Leo discover this unlikely connection to the missing father, they not only locate the fallen aircraft, they also uncover the real purpose of the flight, helping the teenage boy find closure. Meanwhile, at the Ends of the Earth bar, co-owners Leo (Michael Clarke Duncan) and Walter keep a watchful eye on Willa (Maddie Hasson), a teenager parolee employed at the bar as part of her probation from juvenile detention.
Walter looks for the bullets that were involved in the murder of a police officer twenty years ago. Meanwhile, Dr. Lance Sweets looks into whether Walter is fit to participate in federally mandated investigations, all the while assisting Walt in these investigative endeavors.
Isabel’s new boyfriend, Frank (guest star Lance Gross), an all-star baseball athlete, is robbed, and Walter steps in to help find his stolen collectibles. In the process, Walter learns Frank has lost something more meaningful than memorabilia. To earn Willa’s trust, Leo and Walter bring her in on the case.
Preston Miller (guest star Jonathan Slavin), a magician, seeks Walter's help in finding his assistant who vanished during a failed disappearing act. Alongside Special Agent Judy Green (guest star Ever Carradine), Walter and Leo find clues leading to a counterfeit money ring. Meanwhile, Leo enlists Isabel's help in looking after Willa.
The Jeffersonian's Dr. Jack Hodgins ropes Walter into searching for an 'Alien' spacecraft videotaped by an incoming space shuttle pilot, who is now dead. The credibility of the other pilot, Col. Bradshaw, whose reputation was harmed by a shadowy government agency for participating in the disclosure, lies in the balance. However, all is not as it seems and Walter's life, family and friends face a very real threat from a woman code-named 'Pope' (guest star Peta Wilson). Meanwhile, Willa and Timo attempt to get their marriage arrangement dissolved by the notorious Uncle Shad. (guest star Eric Roberts)
The episode revolves around Hurricane Catherine, which is currently in Florida, and begins with Willa's probation officer coming by the bar for an impromptu inspection of her living quarters. She ends up having to stay due to the harsh weather. Walter, being his paranoid self, boards the bar up and calmly begins preparing to stay in, going as far as making punch and asking Isabel to come over. However, it all gets interrupted by a newsflash on TV about a missing girl. The hurricane forces Walter to find the girl while remaining in his bar.
When a DJ begins playing new songs from a rapper who was gunned down ten years ago, Walter is hired to recover the music for the distributor. Walter, instead, decides to try finding the rapper despite all evidence pointing to his death. In the course of his investigation, Walter learns more about the dead rapper's final moments, and the origin of his songs. In the process, he is able to help the rapper's still-mourning family heal.
In the process of finding a specific culinary dish for a man and his wife's anniversary, Walter searches for the chef behind the dish and the source of its unique, smokey flavor. The investigation becomes tense when everyone at his bar ends up in a life or death situation between The "Smoke Monster" (Lost reference) chef and a mob boss.
Walter is asked by a young girl, (Yara Shahidi), for help in finding her recently disappeared father. Initially uninterested, Walter takes on the case when he discovers the man had been talking with someone else just moments after calling his family. Meanwhile, Leo is depressed as the birthday of his daughter arrives, and he, once again, contemplates his desire for revenge.
A friend of Isabel asks for Walter's help in finding her father's killer. Walter refuses to search for the killer, but agrees to help find an inheritance left behind for the daughter.
Shortly after a shoot-out, a notorious crime boss seeks Walter's help but finds this job proves to be extra dangerous, primarily because he believes he is under a voodoo curse.
After discovering that a painting he found four years prior was a forgery, Walter begins searching for the original, but Walter's brother Langston shows up with news that their father is dying. Their father tasks Walter with finding his ex-wife, who happens to be in the Witness Protection Program, as his dying wish. Meanwhile, Willa struggles with her soon-to-be arranged marriage to Timo.
Broadcast
In Canada, the show was simsubbed against the Fox broadcast in most areas on the Global Television Network from January 12, 2012. It premiered in New Zealand on TV3 NZ on March 22, 2012, in Australia on Network Ten from June 25, 2012 and in the UK on the Universal Channel[26] on July 11, 2012[27] Australia's Network Ten only aired three episodes before pulling the series from the schedule, and lost broadcast rights in March 2016 without airing the remaining episodes.[28]
See also
The Dead Zone (TV series): TV series about a man who gains psychic abilities during a coma after sustaining brain damage.
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