- Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye
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Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye Genre Crime drama Created by Dave Alan Johnson
Gary R. JohnsonStarring Deanne Bray
Yannick Bisson
Rick Peters
Enuka Okuma
Marc Gomes
Ted Atherton
Tara SamuelOpening theme "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews Country of origin Canada
United StatesLanguage(s) English No. of seasons 3 No. of episodes 56 (List of episodes) Production Running time 60 minutes Production company(s) Pebblehut Productions Distributor Paxson Entertainment Broadcast Original channel CTV
PAX TVOriginal run October 13, 2002 – May 22, 2005 Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye is a Canadian-American television series that premiered in the United States in 2002 and Canada in 2003. The show ended in May 2005 due to PAX's decision to halt the production of original programming. It was one of the two highest rated shows on PAX.[1][2] In September 2009, Gospel Music Channel began running the show, which airs Monday through Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. In October 2009, American Life Network also began running the show, airing it Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. EST. But due to ALN's rebranding to Youtoo TV, the show was dropped. In 2010, it began airing on the Alibi network in the United Kingdom. Reruns also air regularly on CTV in Canada.
Contents
Creation
Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye was created by Dave Alan Johnson and Gary R. Johnson for Pebblehut Productions. The series was loosely based on the real life experience of Sue Thomas, a deaf woman whose ability to read lips landed her a job with an elite surveillance team at the FBI. Dave Alan Johnson and Gary R. Johnson also created Doc starring Billy Ray Cyrus for PAX. The TV series was distributed by CTV in Canada, PAX in the US, and the Hallmark Channel in the UK. Yuri Yakubiw was the cinematographer and Bill Layton was the art director.
The series was once known as Lip Service. In the series, Sue Thomas was played by deaf actress Deanne Bray. The show's theme song is "Who I Am", which is sung by Jessica Andrews and was written by Brett James and Troy Verges. Most filming took place in Toronto, Ontario.
Broadcast history
The television series premiered in the United States in 2002 on PAX and Canada in 2003 on CTV. The show ended in May 2005 due to PAX's decision to no longer produce original programming. It was one of the two highest rated shows on PAX.[1][2]
The show began airing on gmc (formerly Gospel Music Channel) in September 2009 and on American Life Network in October 2009. In Canada, the series continues to air in daytime repeats on CTV. In the United Kingdom, it is airing on Alibi. The show is currently being aired on GMC.
Official DVDs of Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye featuring all the episodes are available at www.suethomasdvd.com.[3]
Cancellation
The abrupt ending to the show was due to PAX's decision to no longer produce original programming, rather than poor ratings. The last episode of the series ended with a title slate saying, "The End... for now." The Johnson Brothers, executive producers, have stated that they have not given up on the idea of the show[citation needed].
Characters
Main characters
Sue Thomas (Deanne Bray)
Sue Thomas[4] (Deanne Bray) is a young deaf woman who is able to communicate in both English and American Sign Language. She applies for, and is accepted, for a position with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington, D.C.. She leaves her home in Ohio and drives to Washington, picking up her first hearing dog, Levi, en route.
Thomas' parents are concerned that she will not be able to cope with life so far from everything she has known, despite the fact that they have strongly encouraged her in living in both a hearing and deaf environment. Her mother fought for her daughter to have every opportunity to live life to the fullest, which has made Sue a very independent young woman. She speaks, signs, reads lips, plays the piano and ice skates. Sue has a college degree from Springfield College in Springfield MA.[5]
Thomas arrives at her job only to find she has been assigned to "Special Projects", with the mundane task of analyzing fingerprints. However, she has no intention of wasting her life examining fingerprints and marches into the personnel office to tell them exactly what she thinks. Having done this, she finds the man she has been telling off is not personnel, but a Special Agent, Jack Hudson. Impressed, Hudson meets her at lunch, where he tests her skills by having her lip-read Myles who is seated some distance away outside. After which, Thomas is taken on as part of Hudson's "team", and she becomes a Special Investigative Analyst.
Jack Hudson (Yannick Bisson)
Jack Hudson (Yannick Bisson) is the unit leader, and as such generally takes the lead in the team's cases. A lawyer from Wisconsin, he approaches his job as a Federal Agent with a burning drive. His experience as a sniper is revealed in the episode, "The Sniper". He is strongly attracted to Sue (who reciprocates) but unable to act due to their working relationship: he is her Training Agent and line manager. Everyone in the office can sense the severe chemistry between the two, but Jack and Sue refuse to go against the Bureau's policy. In the last episode, during which Sue decides to leave, it becomes possible for them to get together. The two do have a firm, if complicated, friendship. His closest friends are Special Agents Manning and Gans.
Bobby Manning (Rick Peters)
Bobby Manning (Rick Peters) is a charming Australian. He provides a much-needed sense of humor and is best mates with Jack. They are similar ages and share a love of sports and the single life. Bobby is also a recovering gambling addict, and still attends Gamblers' Anonymous. However, only Jack knows about this, as it could effectively mean the end of Bobby's career with the FBI. In season 3, Bobby split from his girlfriend of two seasons, journalist Darcy D'Angelo (Polly Shannon), when the latter accepted an offer of a high profile job in Los Angeles. Shortly after this, he and Tara discover a mutual attraction. Bobby is highly protective of the women he works with. When he was a child, his father left his mother, but she has since remarried. Bobby is close to both his mother and stepfather, who still live someplace in Australia. He is the only one in the office other than Myles who knows very few signs.
Dimitrius Gans (Marc Gomes)
Dimitrius is the father figure in the office, and the senior agent in terms of age and experience. He is the only married member of the team, and has two children: Tanya and Davy. In season two his wife, Donna, suffered a miscarriage of what would have been their third child. "D" often assumes the role of acting supervisor when the unit's normal supervisor is called out of the office.
Myles Leland III (Ted Atherton)
Myles is a Harvard-educated Bostonian with all the charm of a backbencher. He has a high opinion of both himself and his skills, and considers himself a cut above the rest of the team. He suffers a serious lack of a sense of humour, and is often the butt of the office jokes and other practical jokes. From the start he mistrusts Sue's place on the team and actively tries to have her removed. This backfires and Sue ends up saving Myles' place on the team. Over time Myles' relationship with Sue improved significantly, and the character becomes more relaxed in the office after his near-death experience. He once dated Lucy, but when she found out he was cheating on her, she dumped him. Their working relationship is polite, but frosty. Myles has a difficult relationship with his parents and only recently started forging a proper relationship with his sister, Anne.
Tara Williams (Tara Samuel)
Tara is the unit's computer expert, adept at tracking perpetrators via bank records, computer hard drives, GPS tracking and other cyber-sources. Tara is a fully trained and armed Special Agent. However she can give the impression of being shy, dizzy, and a ditz when immersed in her world of computers. She is best friends with Lucy and Sue and they often go out together. She has dated Stanley Abbott, a steganographer who works for the National Security Agency. In a two episode series, "The Actor" and "Planes, Trains, And Automobiles", Tara is interested in a movie star named Adam Kinsey. However, when Stanley shows up to help break a code and work with Tara, her relationship with Adam ends. In season 3, she and Bobby Manning discovered a mutual attraction.
Lucy Dotson (Enuka Okuma)
Lucy is Sue's roommate and best friend. She is the team rotor, the unit's office manager and "base coordinator." Lucy is a student of ASL. She is close to her mother, although her father died some years ago. She is also close to her paternal grandmother. Lucy also dated Myles briefly, which ended badly.
Levi
Levi is Sue's hearing dog, a Golden Retriever. He is protective of Sue and loving to everyone. Several episodes find Levi in difficult and dramatic situations, such as getting lost in the city of D.C. or getting shot while trying to protect Sue. He is very clever and playful, and the entire F.B. Eye team adores him which often leads to him being used to assist in minor pranks around the office. He is also a source of comfort during distressed or somber scenes in many episodes, usually placing his head on the suffering party's knee and whining empathetically.
Secondary characters
- Charlie (Jack Jessop), a friend of Sue outside the FBI.
- Troy Meyers (Troy Kotsur), Deanne Bray's husband.
- Ted Garrett (Eugene Clark), the team's supervisor from the sixth episode of season one, "The Signing", through to the midpoint of Season 3.
- Howie Fines (Jonathan Wilson), Sue's first informant, a talkative sanguine whose eager attitude often annoys the agents.
- Amanda Duffman (Sammi Bourgeois), a deaf girl who befriends Sue.
- Randy Pitts (Ed Sahely), the bespectacled, nasal, and cynical finance manager who often clashes with Myles and occasionally the entire office.
Cameos
- Sue Thomas (agent), the "real" Sue Thomas, in the episode "Billy The Kid". Thomas, a consultant of the show, plays a deaf actress named Deanne (the first name of Bray, who plays Thomas). She meets Sue Thomas (Bray) in the hospital and has a quick chat with her. She also appears in the last episode in the same role. Thomas, using the name Sarah Kim, also plays another character, Sally Weddingston, in the episode "Bombs Away".[6]
- Chantal Craig as Diana Grove in the episode "The Signing". Craig is married to Bisson (who plays Jack Hudson).
DVD releases
Integrity Direct has begun releasing Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. Volume 1, featuring the first 11 episodes from season 1 was released on November 10, 2009.[7] Volumes 2-5 which feature the remaining season 1 episodes as well as all episodes from season 2 and 3 were released on May 18, 2010.[3][8] In addition, a complete series box set featuring all 56 episodes of the series was also released on May 18, 2010.
NOTE: ALL releases are only available through the official Sue Thomas F.B.Eye DVD website (http://www.suethomasdvd.com) and not in retail outlets.
For episode summaries go to List of Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye episodes.
DVD Name Ep # Release Date Sue Thomas F.B.Eye: Volume 1 11 November 10, 2009 Sue Thomas F.B.Eye: Volume 2 11 May 18, 2010 Sue Thomas F.B.Eye: Volume 3 11 May 18, 2010 Sue Thomas F.B.Eye: Volume 4 11 May 18, 2010 Sue Thomas F.B.Eye: Volume 5 12 May 18, 2010 Sue Thomas F.B.Eye: The Complete Series 56 May 18, 2010 Episode Ep # Release Date Title Information Pilot 1 Oct. 13, 2002 Bombs Away 2 Oct. 20, 2002 “We’re off!” or “Look out!” Assassins 3 Oct. 27, 2002 A Snitch in Time 4 Nov. 3, 2002 pun on "a stitch in time saves nine" – fixing a mistake before it gets out of hand The Signing 5 Nov. 10, 2002 pun on movie “The Shining” – a different form of communication A Blast from the Past 6 Nov. 24, 2002 someone who returns after a long absence Silent Night 7 Dec. 15, 2002 a popular Christmas carol Greed 8 Jan. 12, 2003 one of the 7 deadly sins Diplomatic Immunity 9 Jan. 19, 2003 diplomats are given safe passage in another country and not susceptible to its laws Dirty Bomb 10 Feb. 2, 2003 a bomb leaving radioactive contamination The Heist 11 Feb. 9, 2003 robbery, holdup The Leak 12 Feb. 16, 2003 giving out secret information Missing 13 Mar. 16, 2003 Prodigal Father 14 Apr. 6, 2003 parody on the Bible story “the Prodigal Son” He Said She Said 15 Apr. 27, 2003 conflicting reports with no proof of who is telling the truth The Hunter 16 May 4, 2003 The Fugitive 17 May 11, 2003 TV series (and movie) about a man falsely accused of his wife's murder Billy the Kid 18 May 18, 2003 outlaw and gunman in the West Girl Who Signed Wolf 19 Oct. 5, 2003 pun on the fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” Sniper 20 Oct. 12, 2003 one who shoots at people from a concealed place Homeland Security 21 Nov. 2, 2003 efforts to protect the country against internal and external threats Cold Case 22 Nov. 9, 2003 a case so old that it is unlikely to ever be solved The Newlywed Game: Part 1 23 Nov. 16, 2003 a game show to see how well spouses know each other Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Part 2 24 Nov. 23, 2003 Bad Hair Day 25 Jan. 11, 2004 a day when everything seems to go wrong, beginning with the hair Political Agenda 26 Jan. 18, 2004 politics interfering with day-to-day affairs The Gambler 27 Feb. 8, 2004 Into Thin Air 28 Feb. 15, 2004 part of the phrase "vanishing into thin air" To Grandmother’s House We Go 29 Feb. 22, 2004 part of the song “Over the River and Through the Woods” The Lawyer 30 Apr. 4, 2004 The Holocaust Survivor 31 Apr. 11, 2004 The Mentor 32 Apr. 18, 2004 a teacher Rocket Man 33 Apr. 25, 2004 movie and songs Elvis is in the Building 34 May 2, 2004 announcing a self-important person, typically a singer Hit and Run 35 May 9, 2004 attacking someone and running away Concrete Evidence 36 May 16, 2004 a sure-fire conviction The Kiss 37 May 23, 2004 Adventures in Babysitting 38 Oct. 3, 2004 a 1987 film The Body Shop 39 Oct. 10, 2004 a garage where vehicles are repaired Skin Deep 40 Oct. 17, 2004 from the phrase "beauty is only skin deep" The New Mafia 41 Oct. 31, 2004 The Actor: Part 1 42 Nov. 7, 2004 Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Part 2 43 Nov. 14, 2004 Simon Says 44 Nov. 21, 2004 the children's game where everyone does what the leader says Did She or Didn't She? 45 Nov. 28, 2004 Fraternity 46 Jan. 30, 2005 a social "brotherhood" group, usually in college Secret Agent Man: Part 1 47 Feb 13, 2005 Spy Games: Part 2 48 Feb. 20, 2005 Boy Meets World 49 Mar. 6, 2005 a comedy TV show False Profit 50 Mar. 13, 2005 a pun on “false prophet” Who Wants to Be a Millionaire 51 Apr. 3, 2005 a game show based on answering questions for money The Bounty Hunter 52 Apr. 17, 2005 someone who catches criminals and turns them in for reward money Troy Story 53 May 1, 2005 a pun on the movie “Toy Story” Mind Games 54 May 8, 2005 games that exercise the intellect, or psychological manipulation Bad Girls 55 May 15, 2005 movie, TV show, songs, etc. Endings and Beginnings 56 May 22, 2005 References
- ^ a b http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PAX+TV%27s+Super+Sunday+Brings+in+Viewers+With+Hit+Series+%60Doc%27+and+the...-a092870880
- ^ a b http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=6572
- ^ a b http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Sue-Thomas-FBEye-The-Complete-Series/13751
- ^ http://www.suethomasfbeye.com
- ^ http://www.suethomasproductions.com
- ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0712790
- ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Sue-Thomas-FBEye-11-Episodes-From-Season-1/12869
- ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Sue-Thomas-FBEye-Volumes-2-through-5/13758
External links
- Official website
- Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye at the Internet Movie Database
- Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye at TV.com
- Official page of real Sue Thomas
Categories:- Ion Television network shows
- CTV Television Network shows
- Crime television series
- 2002 American television series debuts
- 2002 Canadian television series debuts
- 2005 American television series endings
- 2005 Canadian television series endings
- 2000s American television series
- 2000s Canadian television series
- Christian entertainment television
- Television series produced in Toronto
- Television series involving disabilities
- Canadian drama television series
- American drama television series
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