Almost nobody in The Scene is called by their name. They are called by their handles, most of them have several, and the handles change between networks, between episodes, and when someone wants to be someone else. This is the index to both seasons: who each handle belongs to, who plays them where the credits say, and where to find them in the synopses.
It is a companion to the season 1 synopsis and the season 2 synopsis, and like them it gives the endings away. The fuller character notes are at the back of each synopsis; this page is for finding your way.
The Episodes column lists the episode entries in the synopsis that name the character, on screen or in someone else's window. It is a map of the writing rather than a screen-time log: a character discussed in their absence counts, and one referred to only as "her daughter" does not.
Season 1 — The Scene (2004–2006) #
CPX #
| Handle |
Who |
Played by |
Episodes |
In one line |
| Drosan |
Brian Sandro, NYU student |
Joe Testa |
all 20 |
Co-founder, ripper, and the man selling the group's releases to a buyer who does not exist. |
| teflon |
Edward G. Koenig, 37, Richmond VA |
Curt Rosloff |
every episode but 9 |
Co-founder, elder statesman, and an FBI informant from before the first scene. Ends the series at the Department of Justice. |
| trooper |
Jodi, DVD plant, Los Angeles |
— |
3–7, 9, 12–20 |
The supplier, first suspected and innocent. The group calls her "he" for most of the season. |
| pyr0 |
David, 16–17, Midwest |
Nick White |
1–9, 12–18, 20 |
The encoder. His name is spoken in episode 14 and written nowhere. |
| slipknot |
— |
Noah Rothman |
every episode but 4 |
Affiliates, conscience, and the group's actual detective. Right about gryffin and right about teflon, and believed by nobody. |
| cOda |
— (Germany, later Prague) |
Dinarte de Freitas |
every episode but 11 |
The courier. Sells the group out in German in episode 15, then vanishes. |
Drosan's life outside the channel #
| Handle |
Who |
Played by |
Episodes |
In one line |
| melissbliss04 |
Melissa, his girlfriend |
Trice Able |
1–4, 7–13, 18, 20 |
Takes over his machine in episode 10, looks straight at the channel, and finds it boring. |
| danaburke55, then danaburke123 |
Dana Burke |
Laura Minarich |
4, 7–9, 11, 12, 18, 20 |
A one-time hookup who won't let go. On camera once, in episode 4; text only after that. |
| Tremor2212 |
Todd, his friend |
— |
1, 7–12, 14, 20 |
Same statistics class. The connective tissue between Brian, Melissa and Dana. |
| suzyxiao |
Suzy, Melissa's friend |
— |
9, 10, 12, 18, 20 |
Melissa's confidante, and by episode 18 her messenger. |
Buyers, middlemen and the Bureau #
| Handle |
Who |
Played by |
Episodes |
In one line |
| LuckyChi2203 |
"Lucky Chi" — nobody |
— |
1–4, 9, 11–13, 18 |
The bootlegger Drosan sells to. Invented by teflon and paid from a corporate card. |
| gryffin |
Timothy Brudiger |
— |
9–12, 15–20 |
A middleman wired by the Bureau without his knowledge, and arrested in the end. |
| burroughs485 |
Burroughs, case agent |
Joel Felber |
5, 17, 19 |
Ran teflon. The man at his door in episode 5. |
| brenner2604, alanmeans06 |
Federal agents |
— |
19 |
Running cOda's account against gryffin; brenner2604 then preps teflon, as monticello505, for the witness stand. Their lines treat Burroughs as a third man; the credits suggest otherwise. |
Friends who lend a hand #
| Handle |
Who |
Played by |
Episodes |
In one line |
| chOppr998 |
Chris |
— |
13 |
Walks Drosan through the break-in at teflon's employer, and checks his tradecraft twice while he does it. |
| r3dbadg3r |
"badger", trooper's contact |
— |
16 |
Has LexisNexis access, and turns the group's description of teflon into a full name: Edward G. Koenig of Richmond, VA. |
Everyone who is only a handle #
| Handle |
Belongs to |
| BrianSan (ICQ), BrianSan333 (AIM), dro_5544 (AIM, Yahoo!) |
Drosan |
brian.sandro@gmail.com |
Drosan |
monticello222@yahoo.com, monticello235 (AIM) |
teflon |
| copleyr785, collangello998, spinnaker, monticello505 |
teflon, later in the season |
troopercamy0@yahoo.com, troopercamy (AIM) |
trooper |
Season 2 — The Scene 2.0 (2006) #
The operation #
| Handle |
Who |
Episodes |
In one line |
lukai, sng330, houdini6@jabber.org, DanikaLi99 |
Danika, an ICE agent undercover in Newark |
all 20 |
Being blackmailed into an operation and running one, at the same time. The only person in the season who refuses an order. |
t0mb0@jabber.org |
Tomasz |
1–6, 8–10, 12, 13, 16 |
Courteous, unhurried, and holding her daughter over her for twelve episodes. Episode 12 says he works for ICE. |
tann3r@jabber.org |
Stan, her supervisor |
5, 7–10, 13, 15–17, 20 |
Calls her partner. The season's actual antagonist. |
t!nman@jabber.org, spartan |
Murph |
10, 12–20 |
English, retired, and a friend of her father's. The only person whose information is never wrong. |
jimbrandon09@jabber.org |
Ralph Lasky, cover name Jim Brandon |
14, 15, 17–19 |
Ex-Navy cryptographer placed in Mike Davis's job. Introduced as a threat; turns out to be the one insider willing to break procedure. |
| talisman |
An old contact from lukai's scene days |
1 |
Private-messages her from #elitewarez offering encoding work, is refused eight times, turns the request into a threat and sends her to Jabber. The synopsis doesn't say whether he and t0mb0 are the same man. |
| MikeyD5550 |
Mike Davis, operations manager |
6–11, 14, 17, 20 |
Framed so that suspicion stays off her, then recruited by the woman who did it. Gets into Stan's computer in episode 20. |
Season 2's credits don't list the cast against its characters, so there is no "Played by" column here.
Family #
| Name |
Who |
Episodes |
In one line |
| Katerina ("Kat") |
Danika's daughter |
the whole season |
The leverage, on both sides. In foster care in Pennsylvania by episode 20, and probably there all along. |
| Vicky |
Danika's mother |
10 |
Raised Katerina in Estonia, and has just died there. Murph knew her in Beijing. |
| Zhen (the screen also spells it zheng), op name bellbird |
Danika's father |
18 |
A Chinese diplomat recruited by American intelligence in 1970s Beijing. |
Named, never seen #
| Name |
What they are |
Episodes |
| Greenberg |
Above Stan. Decided Mike Davis had to be ruined. Named on screen in episodes 9, 15, 17, 18 and 20. |
15 |
| Michael Cunningham |
One invented American who holds the money, sells the cover goods and receives the confirmations — including as the eBay seller in episode 4. michaelrcunningham5@gmail.com. |
3, 11 |
| J. Laurent |
The Swiss banker, jlaurent@bbvabankltd.ch. |
3 |
| Wei Chang |
One of the four surviving bellbird recruits, now in the Chinese military. |
16, 20 |
| ned snyder |
Mike Davis's boss, offered in episode 6 as the man to ask for the document she wants. |
6 |
The one thread between the seasons #
The sequel shares no characters with the original, except one who never appears in it. The machine season 2 is shot on is logged in to Windows as David: the Start menu says so in episode 1, and episode 4's FTP client shows C:\Documents and Settings\David\Desktop. Nobody in season 2 is called David. In season 1, pyr0 is, and the name is only ever spoken aloud, in episode 14. The production seems to have kept the encoder's computer, and nobody renamed its user profile.
Every handle, A–Z #
| Handle |
Season |
Character |
| alanmeans06 |
1 |
Federal agent |
| brenner2604 |
1 |
Federal agent |
| chOppr998 |
1 |
Chris |
| BrianSan, BrianSan333 |
1 |
Drosan |
| burroughs485 |
1 |
Burroughs |
| cOda |
1 |
cOda |
| collangello998 |
1 |
teflon |
| copleyr785 |
1 |
teflon |
| danaburke55, danaburke123 |
1 |
Dana Burke |
| DanikaLi99 |
2 |
Danika |
| dro_5544 |
1 |
Drosan |
| Drosan |
1 |
Drosan (Brian Sandro) |
| gryffin |
1 |
Timothy Brudiger |
| houdini6@jabber.org |
2 |
Danika |
| jimbrandon09@jabber.org |
2 |
Ralph Lasky |
| LuckyChi2203 |
1 |
teflon, in disguise |
| lukai |
2 |
Danika |
| melissbliss04 |
1 |
Melissa |
| MikeyD5550 |
2 |
Mike Davis |
| monticello222, monticello235, monticello505 |
1 |
teflon |
| pyr0 |
1 |
pyr0 (David) |
| r3dbadg3r |
1 |
trooper's LexisNexis contact |
| slipknot |
1 |
slipknot |
| sng330 |
2 |
Danika |
| spartan |
2 |
Murph |
| spinnaker |
1 |
teflon |
| suzyxiao |
1 |
Suzy |
| t!nman@jabber.org |
2 |
Murph |
| t0mb0@jabber.org |
2 |
Tomasz |
| talisman |
2 |
lukai's old contact, on IRC |
| tann3r@jabber.org |
2 |
Stan |
| teflon |
1 |
Edward G. Koenig |
| Tremor2212 |
1 |
Todd |
| trooper, troopercamy |
1 |
Jodi |