Kidnappings, or child abductions, always have been popular with local newscasts in large part because of the emotional outpouring that accompanies them. In scripted drama, as well, depicting some innocent snatched and endangered evokes a more visceral response than, say, even TV homicides, which have become increasingly commonplace and graphic. Interestingly, "Kidnapped," like its namesake novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, forgoes most of the easy emotional exploitation inherent in the crime and concentrates on a superbly constructed and unpredictable tale of intrigue and mystery.

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