James R. Fitzgerald
The Fitz Files – Manhunt: Unabomber
This is James R. Fitzgerald, Jim Fitzgerald, or “Fitz,” as you may best know me. Welcome to my first-ever audiobook, The Fitz Files – Manhunt: Unabomber.
As you may know, it was my FBI profiler character portrayed so convincingly by actor Sam Worthington throughout the eight episodes of Discovery Channel’s original scripted series, Manhunt: Unabomber (M:U). It premiered on August 1, 2017, airing over seven consecutive Tuesday nights through mid-September of that year. Of course, many of you have since watched it on Netflix.
My goal in every episode of The Fitz Files – Manhunt Unabomber is to take you behind the scenes of the making of the series by talking to those directly involved in its creation and production. That will include the director, the head writer, a co-creator, the property master, the set decorator, and a forensic linguist (besides me) who was ALSO portrayed in the series…well, sort of. Oh, and needless to say, I add plenty of insight myself to these episodes as I was the series’ Consulting Producer, its protagonist, and most importantly, I was also the actual profiler who worked the actual Unabom case in the mid-1990s. So yeah, I have lots to offer here about M:U as it relates to the case itself, some of that information for the first time ever in a public forum.
So, how is this going to work? Well, each of the eight Fitz Files episodes will correlate with the same numbered episode on M:U. In each of these episodes, I begin with a segment I call, “Fitz’s Five Facts v Fiction.” Here, I discuss what and who was portrayed in each episode of the series and compare it to what actually happened in real life in the Unabom investigation, not to mention in my own life at the time. It’s sort of a “r-e-e-l” vs “r-e-a-l” thing, if you know your homonyms. Hey, I’m also a forensic linguist and M:U is about language analysis, so get used to my references regarding how people talk, write, parts of speech, idiolects, etc. Afterall, it’s what solved the case, right? Oops! I guess I should have given you a “spoiler alert” about that. Sorry!
After the “Five Facts…” segment in six of the episodes, I interview one of the people responsible for the success of M:U. You’ll enjoy their insight too, I’m sure of it.
Oh, and speaking of spoiler alerts, obviously if you’ve already watched M:U, what we’re talking about will make a little more sense to you. But if you haven’t watched it yet, that’s ok, too. I think you’ll enjoy what we have to say here about it either way and perhaps you WILL want to watch it after listening to The Fitz Files. Or, perhaps you’ll want to watch it again, or for the third time, or the fourth time. Yes, I know there are some multiple watchers out there. You’ve told me. And that’s cool. I take it as a compliment.
Here’s a breakdown of each episode of The Fitz Files – Manhunt: Unabomber
Prologue Fitz provides a summary of the FBI’s Unabom investigation from 1978–1998.
Ep 1 “Unabom” (Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Andrew Sodroski)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 1
Guest: Jim Clemente, Co-creator
Ep 2 “Pure Wudder” (Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Andrew Sodroski)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 2
Guest: Greg Yaitanes, Director
Ep 3 “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” (Director: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Max Hurwitz)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 3
Guest: Andrew Sodroski, Head Writer
Ep 4 “Publish or Perish” (Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Nick Towne)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 4
Guest: John Bert, Property Master
Ep 5 “Abri” (Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Teleplay by: Steven Katz)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 5
Guest: Natalie Schilling, Ph.d., Forensic Linguist (Natalie Rogers was loosely based on her)
Ep 6 “Ted” (Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Andrew Sodroski)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 6
Guest: Chuck Potter, Set Decorator
Ep 7 “Lincoln” (Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Teleplay by: Nick Schenk)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 7
Guest: Sam Worthington’s questions to Fitz (as read by a “genuine” Australian fan, Jenny Magee)
Ep 8 “USA v Theodore J. Kaczynski” (Directed by: Greg Yaitanes Written by: Andrew Sodroski)
Fitz’s Five Facts vs Fiction re Ep 8
Guests: Eight selected fans and their eight questions for Fitz.
Epilogue Fitz talks about his professional life post-Unabom. This includes references to many interesting and high-profile cases he worked from ’98 to the present. He also talks about his plans for future books and/or Fitz File podcasts, tributes to a few people, including the victims of the Unabomber, and then a special personal and professional announcement at the very end.
To purchase “The Fitz Files – Manhunt: Unabomber” on Amazon, click here.
Episode 1 – ‘Unabom’
By Gerald McConway on March 22, 2021
Episode one of the series was directed Greg Yaitanes and written by Andrew Sodroski.
Per IMDb, this episode starts in “1995, when FBI profiler Jim ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald joins the Unabom Task Force.
“Fitz recommends new methods of profiling but finds no allies among the agents in charge.
“In 1997, Fitz is tasked with confronting Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.”
You can see the full script of Episode 1, Manifesto 101 – 3rd Network Draft – 100716 James Fitzgerald.
The guest for this episode of The Fitz Files is co-creator and retired FBI agent Jim Clemente.
Jim Clemente is also the co-host and creator of Real Crime Profile as well as a writer/producer on CBS’ Criminal Minds.
Episode 2 – ‘Pure Wudder’
By Gerald McConway on April 3, 2021
Episode two of the series was directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by Andrew Sodroski.
Per IMDb, “When the elusive Unabomber threatens to blow up a jetliner, Fitz must determine if the threat is real. In 1997, Fitz confronts Ted for the first time.”
You can see the full script of Episode 2, Manifesto 102 – 2nd Network Draft – 091416 James Fitzgerald
The guest for this episode of The Fitz Files is the director of the Discovery Channel series, Greg Yaitanes.
In addition to “Manhunt: Unabomber,” Yaitanes has serves as a director and/or producer on numerous other shows, such as “Bones,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “CSI: Miami,” and “Snowfall.”
For a little more on Greg, the video below is an interview Greg did with Sam Worthington, who played Fitz in the series on the “Build Series.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2enLo8KW92Q
Episode 3 – ‘Fruit of the Poisonous Tree’
By Gerald McConway on April 4, 2021
Episode three of the series was directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by Max Hurwitz.
Per IMDb, “Linguist Natalie Rogers helps Fitz find clues about the Unabomber’s identity in the Manifesto, but their findings face skepticism at the UTF.
“In 1997, Ted claims he can invalidate all of the evidence against him.”
You can see the full script of Episode 3, Manifesto 103 – 2nd Network Draft – 091416 James Fitzgerald.
The guest for this episode of The Fitz Files is the Head Writer for the series, Andrew Sodroski.
In addition to serving as the Head Writer on “Manhunt: Unabomber,” Andrew is also best known as both writer and producer for the TV series, “Manhunt.”
Episode 4 – ‘Publish or Perish’
By Gerald McConway on April 6, 2021
Episode four of the series was directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by Nick Towne.
Per IMDb, “The Unabomber will stop bombing if his Manifesto is published.
“Fitz pushes for publication with S.A.C. Ackerman, who presents Fitz’s argument to Attorney General Janet Reno.”
You can see the full script of Episode 4, Manifesto 104 – 2nd Network Draft – 091416 James Fitzgerald.
The guest for this episode of The Fitz Files is Property Master, John Bert.
In addition to the “Manhunt: Unabomber” series, some of the other notable projects John has worked on in the art department are “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Lodge 49,” “VEEP,” and “Lincoln.”
Episode 5 – ‘Abri’
By Gerald McConway on April 8, 2021
Episode 5 of the series was directed by Greg Yaitanes with the teleplay written by Steven Katz.
Per IMDb, “Fitz receives linguistic proof that Ted is the Unabomber and tracks down Ted’s brother David, who is astonished at the accuracy of Fitz’s profile.”
You can see the full script of Episode 5, Manifesto 105 – White Production Draft – 120216 WITH ASTERISKS.
The guest for this episode of The Fitz Files is Natalie Schilling, Ph.d., Forensic Linguist, the inspiration behind the character played by Lynn Collins in the series.
Episode 6 – ‘Ted’
By Gerald McConway on April 13, 2021
Episode 6 of the series was directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by Andrew Sodroski.
Per IMDb, “In a letter to his brother, Ted recounts the key events from his past that informed his decision to engage in terrorist activities.”
You can see the full script of Episode 6, Manifesto 106 – White Production Draft – 120516.
The guest for this episode of The Fitz Files is Chuck Potter, the set decorator for the series.
In addition to “Manhunt: Unabomber,” Mr. Potter has a rather impressive resume that includes a primetime Emmy nomination.
He has also worked on “The Purge,” “Fargo,” and “Ozark,” just to name a few of the TV series’ where you will see his incredible work.
Episode 7 – ‘Lincoln’
By Gerald McConway on April 16, 2021
Episode Seven of the series was directed by Greg Yaitanes and the teleplay was written by Nick Schenk.
(You can see the full analysis of these documents, Unabom_T2_23pg_TJKdoc_04.09.2021 and Unabom_Comparative_Analysis_Language_Chart_Affidavit_04.07.2021.)
Per IMDb, “The FBI goes deep undercover to stake out Ted Kaczynski’s cabin.
“Time is running out before news breaks in the press and all it takes is one wrong move for the Unabomber to disappear.”
You can see the full script from Episode 7, Manifesto 107 – White Production Draft – 120616.
The guest for this episode of The Fitz Files is Jenny McGee, one of our Australian fans who will read the answers to questions Australian Sam Worthington, who played Fitz in the series, gave to fix to dial in the character.
Sam has an impressive acting resume, having worked in “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Drift,” “Texas Killing Fields,” Clash of the Titans,” and “Avatar,” just to name a few of his movies.
Sam has been nominated for 17 awards so far in his career, having taken home the hardware six times, including Best Actor (twice) from the Australian Film Institute for both “Avatar” and “Somersault.”
Episode 8 – ‘USA v Theodore J. Kaczynski’
By Gerald McConway on May 1, 2021
Episode Eight of the series was directed by Greg Yaitanes and was written by Andrew Sodroski.
Per IMDb, “When Ted fails to have the evidence against him invalidated, Fitz makes one last appeal to him to plead guilty.”
You can see the full script from Episode 8, Manifesto 108 – White Production Draft – 121216[1055].
For this episode, our fans are the guests, as we will answer questions submitted by fans regarding the original series.