Thief is an
FXFX is the name of a number of related subscription TV channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group. The network's most popular original shows are The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me and Damages, as well as the comedy It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia...
television mini-series which debuted on March 28, 2006 (see
2006 in televisionThe year 2006 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2006.For the American TV schedule, see: 2006-07 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:*In Justice...
).
Andre BraugherAndre Braugher is a two time Emmy Award winning American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, and as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998, and again in the 2000 made-for-TV TV movie.-Biography:Braugher,...
stars as Nick Atwater, the leader of a robbery crew balancing his personal life with the planning of a major heist. The crew is being targeted by a relentless cop and the Chinese mafia every step of the way, while Atwater struggles at home with his teenage stepdaughter (
Mae WhitmanMae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. Her best known voice work at this point is as the voice of Katara in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and American Dragon: Jake Long as Rose/Huntsgirl.-Biography:Mae Whitman was born in Los Angeles,...
).
The pilot was originally ordered by FX back in 2003, but didn't move forward until Braugher signed on. Despite critical acclaim, the show failed to garner significant ratings and FX declined to extend the series.
Nick Atwater
(
Andre BraugherAndre Braugher is a two time Emmy Award winning American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, and as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998, and again in the 2000 made-for-TV TV movie.-Biography:Braugher,...
)
Nick is a veteran thief, the leader of his own crew. He keeps this life a secret from his wife and stepdaughter, using the front of a classic car salesman to maintain his cover. When his wife dies, Nick is left to care for his stepdaughter, trying to juggle his professional life with his private life.
Roselyn Moore
(
Linda HamiltonLinda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress, best known for her roles as Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and as Catherine Chandler in Beauty and the Beast.-Early life:...
)
"Roz" is Nick's handler, providing him with contacts for jobs and funding his operations. She is tortured and killed by Vincent during his pursuit of Nick's crew, but her notebook contains much of the information Nick needs to perform the airplane job.
John Hayes
(
Michael RookerMichael Rooker is an American actor known for playing the title role in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.-Biography:...
)
Hayes is a corrupt New Orleans police detective. He has been a failure in his professional life and his personal life, and as he is being investigated by
Internal AffairsThe internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
, his wife is preparing to leave him. Hayes tries to blackmail Nick, hoping that a million dollars will solve his problems, but he is killed by Vincent before he can collect.
Tammi
(
Mae WhitmanMae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. Her best known voice work at this point is as the voice of Katara in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and American Dragon: Jake Long as Rose/Huntsgirl.-Biography:Mae Whitman was born in Los Angeles,...
)
Tammi is Nick's teenaged stepdaughter. Her behavioral problems cause trouble for Nick throughout the series. After her mother dies she finds out that Nick is a criminal when she sees him shoot Izzy. Although she is desperate to leave, her biological father will not take her, and she finally resorts to running away from home.
Elmo
(
Malik YobaMalik Yoba is an NAACP Image Award-winning American actor and occasional singer. He is known for his co-starring role as NYPD detective J.C. Williams on the popular Fox police drama New York Undercover from 1994 to 1998, and has also appeared in films such as Cool Runnings and Criminal...
)
Elmo is a member of Nick's crew. He has five children, and his wife is aware of what he does to provide for them. Elmo's family was hit hard during
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
and he is desperate for money to rebuild a life for them. At the end of the last aired episode, Elmo is captured by federal agents who trace his cell phone signal.
Gabo
(
Yancey AriasYancey Arias is an American actor perhaps most noted for his work on television crime dramas, particularly his roles as Miguel Cadena in the NBC series Kingpin and as Gabriel Williams in the FX series Thief....
)
Gabo is another member of Nick's crew. A ladies' man, he uses his charm to seduce a married woman in order to get information for the plane heist from her husband's computer. Gabo is also
claustrophobicClaustrophobia is the fear of having no escape, and being closed in. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder and often results in panic attack...
, which forces the crew to change their plans for the heist at the last minute. It is implied that Gabo dies from fatal wounds at the end of the last aired episode.
Jack
(Clifton Collins Jr.)
The last member of Nick's team, Jack is a very religious
PentecostalPentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by speaking in tongues. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing the Jewish Feast of...
. Although Izzy's murder causes him great guilt, he believes that God helps him in most of his illegal activities. He forms a close relationship with a woman at his church, inadvertently allowing Detective Hayes to find the team.
Izzy
(
Clayne CrawfordClayne Crawford is an American film actor with a few episodic television appearances. Crawford has appeared in such films as A Walk to Remember , Swimfan , A Love Song for Bobby Long and The Great Raid . It has been announced that he will have a recurring role in the upcoming eighth season of 24....
)
Nick's security expert, Izzy makes a mistake during the first episode that sets off an alarm and causes Vincent to spot Nick leaving the bank. Nick tells Izzy he is out of the crew until he can kick his drug habit, but Izzy can't accept being shut out. He arrives at Nick's house later that night, brandishing a gun, and Nick shoots him. The other team members bring Izzy out to the bayou, where they realize he is not dead. Gabo kills him, and they leave his body for the alligators.
Wanda
(
Dina MeyerDina Meyer is an American film and television actress, known for her roles in Starship Troopers and the Saw films. Conflicting information on the Internet gives her birthdate as both December 22, 1968 and June 15, 1969.-Personal life:...
)
Nick's wife and Tammi's mother, Wanda is seriously injured in a car accident and dies in the hospital at the end of the first episode. Her death exacerbates the problems between Tammi and Nick.
Vincent
(
Will Yun LeeWill Yun Lee is an Korean-American actor.Lee was born in Arlington, Virginia. His parents are mother Jing Ja Lee and father Soo Wong Lee, a Taekwondo grandmaster. Lee attended UC Berkeley on an athletic scholarship for the Cal Taekwondo team. Initially, he was best known for his role on...
)
Vincent is a hit man for the Chinese mob in San Francisco. He is sent to kill Nick and his team for stealing some of their money during a bank heist. He suffers from
Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills, speech, and other functions....
, which Billy Kwan discovers after he is sent to help him.
Shrimp Boy
(
Parry ShenParry Shen is a Chinese American actor, best known as the lead actor in the 2002 movie Better Luck Tomorrow. He was educated at Archbishop Molloy High School, then an all boys, Roman Catholic school in Briarwood, in Queens, New York, and at the University at Buffalo...
)
Billy "Shrimp Boy" Kwan is the nephew of Vincent's boss, and is sent to help him find Nick's crew. He is young, irresponsible, and disrespectful of Vincent. This disrespect combined with his careless mistakes, like using Roz' cell phone to call Nick, and being taken by surprise by Gabo, lead to Vincent deciding to kill him.
Rodney
Rodney is a retired thief and Nick's former mentor. When Ros is killed, Nick goes to him for help funding the plane heist. Rodney agrees. Later, when Vincent and Shrimp Boy get too close, Nick sends Tammi to stay with Rodney at his ranch. Rodney later betrays Nick's trust, holding Tammi hostage for a larger share of the plane heist profits.
Episodes
The following is an episode guide for the
FX NetworksFX is the name of a number of related subscription TV channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group. The network's most popular original shows are The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me and Damages, as well as the comedy It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia...
television series,
Thief.
"Pilot"
Air date: March 28, 2006
The team breaks into a
bank vaultA bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe...
in San Francisco's
ChinatownA Chinatown is a section of an urban area with a large number of Chinese residents, usually outside of Greater China. Chinatowns are present throughout the world, including those in East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe....
. Changing the plan at the last moment, Nick permits them to take a large stack of cash in addition to the
bearer bondA bearer bond is a debt security issued by a business entity, such as a corporation, or by a government. It differs from the more common types of investment securities in that it is unregistered – no records are kept of the owner, or the transactions involving ownership. Whoever physically...
s they were there to find. While they are in the vault, Nick gets a phone call from his wife, telling him that her daughter, Tammi, is at the police station. Nick says they will discuss the situation later. Outside the bank, Izzy, who is in charge of bypassing security, loses focus and allows the bank's alarm to sound. Hearing the alarm, Vincent, a Chinese mobster, spots Nick leaving the bank. After the getaway, Nick tells Izzy he is out of the crew until he can quit the drug habit that caused his mistake.
Arriving at Roselyn's house with the take from the robbery, Nick is told that the money belongs to the Chinese mob and will have to be returned. Unbeknownst to them, the Chinese mob is not content with the return of the money, and Vincent is sent to find and kill the members of the team. The crew is extremely disappointed at having had to give up the money, and they urge Nick to find another heist to make up for the low earnings from the bank job. As they are discussing their plans, Nick gets a call that his wife has been in a car accident. She eventually dies at the hospital, leaving Nick to care for his
stepdaughterTraditionally, a stepfamily is the family one acquires when a parent enters a new marriage, whether the parent was widowed or divorced. For example, if one's father dies and one's mother marries another man, the new man is one's stepfather and vice versa...
.
Meanwhile, Detective Hayes of the New Orleans Police Department is under investigation by
Internal AffairsThe internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
. His wife is about to leave him, but he assures her he will come up with a way to make things right.
Later that night, Izzy shows up in Nick's back yard, high on drugs and brandishing a gun, demanding to be let in on the next job. Nick refuses, and when Izzy raises his pistol, Nick shoots him. Eavesdropping from inside the house, Tammi witnesses the shooting. Elmo, Gabo, and Jack take Izzy out to the
bayouA bayou is a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can either refer to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, particularly the Mississippi River region, with...
, where they kill him and set fire to his car.
"I Ain't Goin' To Jail For Anyone"
Air date: April 4, 2006
Nick presents his plan for the crew's next heist. The team will infiltrate an airplane to rob a
U.S. TreasuryThe Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
shipment of $30 million. The plan is complicated and the timeframe is very short—they have only one week to prepare.
After his wife's funeral, Nick and Tammi get into an argument about her living arrangements and her irresponsible father. During the argument, she lets Nick know that she saw him shoot Izzy. Nick lies and says Izzy went to the hospital and was fine, and is now back in Texas.
Meanwhile, Vincent goes to Roselyn's house, kills her bodyguard, and tortures her to find the names of the crew. She does not crack, and he finally executes her and takes her cell phone. Later, when Nick arrives at the house, he discovers her body and realizes what has happened.
"Everything That Rises Must Converge"
Air date: April 11, 2006
Realizing that Roselyn had information he needed written down in her notebook, Nick devises a plan to break into her house (which is now a crime scene). He finds her safe, cracks it, and retrieves her notebook. Using the information from Roselyn's notes, Nick contacts an airline employee who will help them sneak onto the plane, and a metal worker to build them a replica of the airplane's cargo bay. He also meets with Rodney, an old associate, to ask him to help fund the plan. Since Ros is dead, Nick needs a new backer and someone to help launder the money after the heist. Although he is retired, Rodney agrees. Plans are set in place for Gabo to acquire the cargo manifest, and for Elmo to gain access to the food service trucks.
Watching the news, Tammi sees a story about a body discovered in the bayou. She recognizes the victim as Izzy, and realizes that Nick has lied to her again.
Because of his slow progress, as well as concerns about his
Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills, speech, and other functions....
, Vincent is forced to pair up with the boss's nephew, Billy Kwan, who calls himself Shrimp Boy. Shrimp Boy is young and seemingly irresponsible, but murderously loyal to his uncle's crime syndicate. He is determined to find Nick and his crew.
The title of the episode may be a reference to a collection of short stories by Flannery O'Conner, including a story called "
Everything That Rises Must ConvergeEverything That Rises Must Converge is a collection of short stories written by Flannery O'Connor during her final illness. The title of the collection and of the short story of the same name is taken from a passage from the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. The collection was published...
."
"No Direction Home"
Air date: April 18, 2006
Tammi's father, who lives in Hawaii, is unwilling to let her live with him. Nick has to sell the house in preparation for leaving town, and he feels Tammi's only other option is
boarding schoolA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board", that is, food and lodging...
.
Detective Hayes tries to track down Jack, the only lead the police have on the San Francisco job, to try to squeeze him for a share of the money. Following Jack, Hayes discovers the rest of the crew.
Vincent and Shrimp Boy find Nick at his car dealership and let him know that they are after him. Afraid that Tammi will be hurt, Nick sends her to stay with Rodney while he finishes preparations for the plane heist.
"Flight"
Air date: April 25, 2006
The night before the plane heist, Detective Hayes confronts Nick and
blackmailBlackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing and/or socially damaging nature...
s him for $1 million, half of the take from the Chinatown bank robbery. He is unaware of the plans for the new job, and tells Nick to have the money by the next day.
The following day, the team's airline contact smuggles Nick and Jack onto the plane inside food carts. Once in the air, they emerge from the carts, disable the service lift, and break into the cargo hold where the money is. A
flight attendantFlight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety but also the comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights as well as on select business jet aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant ultimately derives from that of similar...
finds that he is unable to access the lower hold, which raises the suspicions of a treasury agent on board. Nick and Jack cut through the treasury lock, move the money, and replace everything to avoid detection. They then go back inside the food carts to await landing.
Meanwhile, Gabo has been searching for Tammi, who has run away with her boyfriend. At Nick's house, he runs into Vincent and Shrimp Boy. After a shootout inside the house, Gabo is wounded but manages to escape.
When the plane lands, Nick, Jack, and the money are safely transported out of the plane. Elmo helps hijack the food truck, and the team is reunited to divide the money. Back on the plane, the treasury agent demands to check on the shipment of cash, and when his key does not fit the lock, his suspicions grow. He grounds the plane and contacts his superiors.
Hayes, furious that Nick did not pay him, goes to the car dealership to look for him. Vincent and Shrimp Boy have been watching the building and they go in after him, thinking he may have information. There is a
standoffA Mexican standoff is a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse, a confrontation that neither side can win. In popular culture, the Mexican standoff is usually portrayed as two or more opponents with guns drawn and ready, creating a very tense situation. Exacerbating the tension is that...
, which comes to a sudden end when Vincent kills both Shrimp Boy and Hayes. He sets the scene up to look like the two killed each other, and leaves the bodies in the warehouse.
"In the Wind"
Air Date: May 2, 2006
FBIThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency. The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Special Agent Paterson has been called in to investigate the plane heist. Tammi's father calls Nick to tell him that she bought a ticket to Hawaii but that he refuses to take her in if she makes the trip. Nick is forced to go to the airport to find her. Gabo is at Rodney's house, trying to have the bullet removed from his stomach, but Rodney is unable to do it. When Nick arrives to pick him up, he drops Tammi off for protection once again.
Meanwhile, the FBI finds a witness—the driver of the hijacked food truck—who identifies Elmo from a book of mug shots, and the man who made the cargo bay replica is also arrested. The investigation leads the police to Rodney, who is able to turn them away but decides he wants more money for his trouble; he is now holding Tammi hostage. The crew splits the money to make their separate escapes, and Nick trades his entire share to save Tammi.
Uncle Lao has arrived in New Orleans to claim Billy's body and, secretly, to kill Vincent for his failure. However, when the time comes, Vincent is faster on the draw and kills his boss first.
By the time Paterson and the other FBI agents reach the warehouse, most the crew is gone, but Elmo is spotted and arrested just down the block. Gabo, on his way out of town, is forced to pull off the road; the bleeding from his wound is too severe, and his fate is not certain at the end of the episode. Jack, unable to convince his girlfriend to come with him, escapes alone. Nick makes arrangements to send Tammi to boarding school in California while he decides what his next step will be.
Awards
At the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards in August 2006, Andre Braugher received an Emmy award for
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.-Award winners:1950s*1952: Thomas Mitchell*1953: no award*1954: Robert Cummings – 12 Angry Men...
for his portrayal of Nick Atwater. This was the only Emmy the FX Network received for the show and the second career Emmy for Braugher.
External links
- Official site
- Episode guide at TV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The service was launched on June 1, 2005 and replaced the popular TV Tome website.- Format :...
- FX getting a dramatic kick (Variety
Variety is a weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily...
)