Best TV Show of the Week

Who is Simon Miller? on NBC

By catherine nailog

NBC provided viewers with an action-packed family-friendly movie on Saturday, August 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET.  Who is Simon Miller? the latest of Walmart and Procter & Gamble’s “Family Movie Night” productions, receives the title of Best TV Show of the Week.

Simon Miller is an agent who worked for the CAD, Clandestine Activities Division, but to his family, he is known as a geologist who was often away on business trips. Simon’s wife, Meredith, was informed that their daughter, Sara, cheated on a math exam.  Sara denied that she cheated and wished her mother would just believe her.  A school meeting was planned for Sara, Meredith and Simon to further investigate the matter.  One night, Simon had just returned from a business trip. While he and his family were fixing dinner, he received a phone call indicating that he must leave for another business trip.

While Simon was on this business trip/mission in Geneva, a fellow agent, Jasmine, believed Simon to be a traitor, drugged him and kidnapped him.  Meredith was worried when Simon wasn’t at the train station when she arrived to pick him up.  She becomes even more suspicious when Pamela, a division worker called to inform Meredith of Simon’s whereabouts with a cover story.  Meredith searched Simon’s office for clues.  Simon’s son, Kevin, was able to unlock a drawer that contained a key to a rental property.   At the rental property, the Millers found a loft space that had a motorcycle, an automobile, computers and a desk.  A desk drawer was filled with passports that contained different names and pictures of Simon.  As Simon was being held captive by Jasmine, he called Meredith to tell them to stay together and to not trust anyone.  With Kevin’s advanced computer skills, they discovered that Simon was in Geneva.

Meredith, Sara and Kevin traveled to Geneva.  As they were about to enter his apartment, a man was seen retrieving files from Simon’s laptop.  The man escaped through an open window and was undetected by Meredith, Sara and Kevin.  Meredith, Sara and Kevin searched for clues left in the Geneva apartment.  They discovered a map of a location point and a red shirt that indicated a meeting for Simon.  They decided to go to the meeting themselves.  While at the meeting place, Kevin held up the red shirt.  A man named Luka approached them and spoke to them briefly.  Luka sensed something was wrong and tried to hold on to Kevin.  Meredith pushed him away and they ran. 

Amanda and Jeffrey, colleagues of Simon, picked them up and took them to a safe house.  While there, Amanda revealed to them Simon’s true occupation.  She further explained to them that Simon was on a mission to assist a Chechnyan scientist, Dr. Roman Malinkov, escape to the United States.  However, corrupt Chechnyans wanted the doctor to do his research for them and would hold his daughter, Anya, hostage to make him do so.  The Malinkovs were supposed to be at the meeting where Luka was, but they weren’t.  Amanda and Jeffrey hadn’t heard news from either Simon or the Malinkovs.

Simon had to prove to Jasmine that he wasn’t the traitor.  Kevin cracked the code on Simon’s computer and found that his father was in Paris.  Meredith, Sara, Kevin, Jeffrey and Amanda traveled to Simon’s Paris apartment.  They found an unconscious man in the apartment, who also was the same man who retrieved files from Simon’s laptop in Geneva.  Jeffrey tied the man up and started to question him, but the man spoke Spanish.  Sara translated what the man said.  The man’s name was Andres and that he was supposed to meet Jasmine at the apartment but was attacked.  Whoever attacked him also took the thumbdrive that he used to retrieve files from Simon’s laptop.

Amanda took Meredith aside and told her that Jasmine was a traitor and that Simon was supposed to find her.  Meanwhile, Andres told Sara that a missing agent must check in and that there was a traitor in the CAD.  Sara signaled to Kevin, who retrieved Amanda’s phone and dialed a number.  A male with a Russian accent answered.  Kevin returned the phone and feigns an illness.  He had Sara and his mother meet him in the bathroom.  Kevin and Sara told their mother what they discovered.  Amanda and Jeffrey realized that the Millers know that they were the traitors and that they must kill them.  As Jeffrey released Andres to kill him first, Meredith pushed Amanda, which gave them a chance to escape.  As they ran, Andres held off Jeffrey as the Millers looked for shelter.

Andres informed Jasmine that Amanda was the traitor.  Simon contacted Pamela at headquarters.  Pamela informed Simon that Amanda was with his family.  Simon became worried.   He called Meredith to make sure that everyone was okay and that they should go home.   Meredith, Sara and Kevin decided to go to the American Embassy, but Luka kidnapped Meredith just as she was about to enter the cab.  As Sara and Kevin attempted to get their mom back, Simon and Jasmine joined them in getting Meredith back.

Meredith was being held in Luka’s hotel room.  She made the fire alarm go off and Simon, Jasmine, Sara and Kevin headed toward Luka’s room.  Jasmine fought Luka as the Millers escaped.  Luka followed the group into the stairwell.  Luka pounced on Simon and Jasmine, causing her to break her leg.  Luka left when the fire authorities entered the stairwell.

Simon wanted to complete the mission and have his family go back home, but they wouldn’t leave without him.  The Millers were at a train station and headed for Prague.  Simon explained to his family how he got into the CAD.  Sara confessed that she was tempted to cheat, but decided not to and paid for a tutor.  Jeffrey found the Millers at the train station and was about to assassinate them until a tourist distracted him.  While in Prague, the Millers found a bakery that the Malinkovs frequented.  The Malinkovs arrived at the bakery as the Millers waited.  The Malinkovs were relieved to find that the Millers were there to help them.  As the Millers and the Malinkovs were leaving a hotel, Amanda and Jeffrey arrived and held them all hostage.  Meredith pushed Jeffrey, and the Millers and the Malinkovs were able to escape.  The Millers successfully brought the Malinkovs to America.

Who is Simon Miller? was an exciting and wonderful story about a strong family bond.  The Millers epitomized what can be accomplished when a family works together.  Meredith, Sara and Kevin would not quit until they found Simon.  Though initially they doubted who Simon was and what he did, they realized that it was for their own protection.  And like a good husband and father, protecting one’s family was top priority.  As for Sara, she was tempted to cheat on a test, but changed her mind and chose to put in the extra effort into tutoring and studying.   The Millers have shown that through a family’s love and support many things can be achieved.   Mission completed.

Best TV Show of the Week

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org