This Israeli suspense series premiered almost simultaneously with a CBS-aired English-language adaptation in 2013 (the American version was cancelled after a single season). The premise is that a group of four masked home invaders take the Danon family captive: parents Eya (Micha Celektar) and Yael (Ayelet Zurer), daughter Noa (Dar Zuzovsky), and son Assaf (Yoav Rotman). The quartet have a single demand: Yael, a surgeon tasked with operating on the prime minister, must ensure he dies during the procedure. The reason why is withheld until late in the series, but viewers learn early that the intruders’ leader is an Israeli counter-terrorist officer. Yael manages to delay the operation, but that merely prolongs the family’s ordeal, and subplots proliferate. Assaf repeatedly tries to escape, and Noa’s soldier boyfriend infiltrates the house in an effort to rescue her. Eya, a school headmaster, is deeply in debt to some unsavory people, who are now demanding that he pay up. And, inevitably, as the situation drags on, disputes arise among the hostage-takers. Hostages is a well-acted series, but in order to stretch the story the writers resort to twists that are increasingly implausible; still, the strengths here generally outweigh the weaknesses. Compiling all 10 episodes from the first season, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)
Hostages: Season 1
Kino Lorber, 2 discs, 385 min., in Hebrew w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99 Volume 33, Issue 5
Hostages: Season 1
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