Thief (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Thief is an FX
television mini-series which debuted on March 28, 2006 (see 2006 in television
).
Andre 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 Whitman
).
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.
television series, Thief.
The team breaks into a bank vault
in San Francisco's Chinatown
. Changing the plan at the last moment, Nick permits them to take a large stack of cash in addition to the bearer bond
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 stepdaughter
.
Meanwhile, Detective Hayes of the New Orleans Police Department is under investigation by Internal Affairs
. 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 bayou
, where they kill him and set fire to his car.
Nick presents his plan for the crew's next heist. The team will infiltrate an airplane to rob a U.S. Treasury
shipment of $30 million. The plan is complicated and the timeframe is very short—they have only nineteen days 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.
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 Riley
, 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, Riley 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 disease
, 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 Converge
."
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 school
.
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.
The night before the plane heist, Detective Hayes confronts Nick and blackmail
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 attendant
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 standoff
, 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.
FBI
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.
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.
FX Networks
FX is the name of a number of related pay television channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group...
television mini-series which debuted on March 28, 2006 (see 2006 in television
2006 in television
2006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
).
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
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 Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
).
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.
Episodes
The following is an episode guide for the FX NetworksFX Networks
FX is the name of a number of related pay television channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group...
television series, Thief.
"Pilot"
Air date: March 28, 2006The team breaks into a bank vault
Bank vault
A 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 Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
. Changing the plan at the last moment, Nick permits them to take a large stack of cash in addition to the bearer bond
Bearer bond
A 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 stepdaughter
Stepfamily
A stepfamily, also known as a blended family or reconstituted family, is a family in which one or both members of the couple have children from a previous relationship...
.
Meanwhile, Detective Hayes of the New Orleans Police Department is under investigation by Internal Affairs
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The 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 bayou
Bayou
A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...
, where they kill him and set fire to his car.
"I Ain't Goin' To Jail For Anyone"
Air date: April 4, 2006Nick presents his plan for the crew's next heist. The team will infiltrate an airplane to rob a U.S. Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The 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 nineteen days 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, 2006Realizing 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 Riley
Riley
- Animals :* Riley , an American Thoroughbred racehorse* Rileyasuchus, "Riley's crocodile," a genus of phytosaur from the Rhaetian of England- Canada :* Riley Park-Little Mountain, a neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia...
, 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, Riley 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 disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, 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 Converge
Everything That Rises Must Converge
Everything 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, 2006Tammi'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 school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
.
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, 2006The night before the plane heist, Detective Hayes confronts Nick and blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
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 attendant
Flight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant 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 standoff
Mexican standoff
A Mexican standoff is a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse; a confrontation that neither side can foreseeably win. The term is most often used in lieu of "stalemate" when the confrontational situation is exceptionally dangerous for all parties involved.In popular culture, the Mexican...
, 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, 2006FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The 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 MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.-1950s:*1952: Thomas Mitchell*1953: no award*1954: Robert Cummings – 12 Angry Men*1955: Lloyd Nolan – Caine Mutiny Court Marshal...
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
- Episode guide at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- FX getting a dramatic kick (VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American 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...
)