Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye

Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye is an American television series that premiered in 2002 on the PAX Network. 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 the network.^[1][2]

Premise

Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye is 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.

Production

The series was created by Dave Alan Johnson and Gary R. Johnson for Pebblehut Productions. They also created Doc starring Billy Ray Cyrus for PAX. Yuri Yakubiw was the cinematographer and Bill Layton was the art director. Though set in Washington D.C., except for some exterior scenery shots, all the episodes were shot in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and more than half of the cast and production crew were Canadian.

The series was once known as Lip Service. The show's theme song is "Who I Am", which is sung by Jessica Andrews and was written by Brett James and Troy Verges.

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."

Characters

Main

Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas^[3] (played by Deanne Bray) is a young deaf woman who is able to communicate in both English and American Sign Language. She applies, and is accepted, for a position with the 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, Massachusetts.^[4]

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 supposed personnel office to tell them exactly what she thinks. Having done this, she discovers the office has been relocated (but not on the directory board!) and the man she was telling off is not personnel, but a Special Agent, Jack Hudson! Impressed by her ambition, 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

Jack Hudson (played by 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 extreme 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

Bobby Manning (played by 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 three, 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.They eventually kiss in the episode "Troy Story". 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

Dimitrius (played by Marc Gomes) 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

Myles (played by Ted Atherton) 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.

Lucy Dotson

Lucy (played by Enuka Okuma) 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.

Tara Williams

Tara (played by Tara Samuel) 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 three, she and Bobby Manning discover a mutual attraction.

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. The entire 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.

Recurring

• Ted Garrett (Eugene Clark) – The team's supervisor, beginning with the season one episode "The Signing" through the midpoint of season three (16 episodes)
• Charlie Adams (Jack Jessop) – Friend of Sue's, who owns a garage and filling station (9 episodes)
• Howie Fines (Jonathan Wilson) – Sue's first informant, a talkative sanguine, whose eager attitude often annoys the agents (8 episodes)
• Randy Pitts (Ed Sahely) – The bespectacled, nasal, and cynical finance manager who often clashes with Myles and occasionally the entire office (6 episodes)
• Troy Meyers (Troy Kotsur) – Reformed criminal who works for Charlie, played by Deanne Bray's husband (5 episodes)
• Stan Eldridge (Charles W. Gray) – The team's first supervisor (in the pilot and 4 more episodes)
• Amanda Duffman (Sammi Bourgeois) – A deaf girl who befriends Sue (4 episodes)

Cameos

• Sue Thomas (the "real" one) appears in the episode "Billy The Kid". Thomas, a consultant of the show, plays a deaf actress named Deanne (the first name of Bray). She meets Sue Thomas (Bray) in the hospital and has a quick chat with her. She also plays the role in the final episode.
• Chantal Craig, who is married to Bisson (who plays Jack Hudson), appears in the episodes "The Signing", "Missing" and "The Hunter" as Lt./Det. Diana Grove.

Episodes

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]

In September 2009, Gospel Music Channel began running the show, airing Monday through Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. In October 2009, American Life Network 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 Alibi in the United Kingdom. Reruns also air regularly on CTV and VisionTV in Canada.

On September 9, 2012, INSP began airing the series. On October 1, 2012, BYUtv added the series to their broadcast schedule and aired it through May 1, 2015.

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 one was released on November 10, 2009.^[5] Volumes 2–5, which feature the remaining season one episodes as well as all episodes from seasons two and three were released on May 18, 2010.^[6][7] In addition, a complete series box set featuring all 56 episodes of the series was also released on May 18, 2010.

NOTE: Official DVDs of Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye featuring all the episodes are available at www.suethomasdvd.com.^[6]

References

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

Federal Bureau of Investigation Law enforcement portal Field offices Atlanta Buffalo Cleveland Tampa Organization and technology Organization Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch Human Resources Branch Information and Technology Branch National Security Branch Science and Technology Branch Academy Behavioral Analysis Unit Behavioral Science Unit Communications Exploitation Section Criminal Justice Information Services Division Counterterrorism Division Criminal Investigative Division Crisis Negotiation Unit Critical Incident Response Group FBI Police FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Teams (SWAT) Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) Joint Terrorism Task Force Laboratory Division National Academy National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime National Crime Information Center Office of Professional Responsibility Scientific Working Group (Imaging Technology Bloodstain Pattern Analysis) Violent Criminal Apprehension Program Technology Airtel Bureaupedia Carnivore Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) Law Enforcement National Data Exchange (N-DEx) National Incident Based Reporting System Rankings Director Deputy Director Special Agent in Charge Special agent Methods and activities Abscam Bridgman Convention COINTELPRO FBI method of profiling Rod Blagojevich corruption charges FBI Files on Elvis Presley FBI Miami shootout FBI Silvermaster File FBI Special Advisor Program FBI Victims Identification Project Guardian High-Value Interrogation Group Lindbergh kidnapping Ruby Ridge Special Intelligence Service U.S. v. Scheinberg et al. (10 Cr. 336) Waco siege In the media 24 America's Most Wanted The Americans The Blacklist Bones Can Ladies Kill? Criminal Minds Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior CSI: Cyber The F.B.I. The FBI in Peace and War Fringe J. Edgar The Kill Point Hannibal Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Missing Numb3rs Perception Smith The Silence of the Lambs Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye This Man Is Dangerous Twin Peaks Wedge: The Secret War between the FBI and CIA White Collar Without a Trace The X-Files Graceland Quantico Directors1 Bureau of Investigation Stanley Finch A. Bruce Bielaski William E. Allen William J. Flynn William J. Burns J. Edgar Hoover FBI J. Edgar Hoover L. Patrick Gray William Ruckelshaus Clarence M. Kelley James B. Adams William H. Webster John E. Otto William S. Sessions Floyd I. Clarke Louis Freeh Thomas J. Pickard Robert Mueller James Comey People Harry "Skip" Brandon Sibel Edmonds W. Mark Felt Helen Gandy Joseph L. Gormley Wesley Grapp David Icove Buildings FBI Headquarters Child Abduction and Serial Murder Center Terms G-Man Junior G-Men 1 In order of service. Italics indicate Acting Directors.