Alcatraz

[Jason T. Davis]

I had previously said that I was sworn off of new FOX shows, but I don't have the strength to pass up on J.J. Abrams. Plus, I'm a huge fan of Sam Neill!

Synopsis
When San Francisco Police Department Det. Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) is assigned to a grisly homicide case, a fingerprint leads her to Jack Sylvane (guest star Jeffrey Pierce), a former Alcatraz inmate who died decades ago. Given her family history—both her grandfather and surrogate uncle, Ray Archer (Robert Forster), were guards at the prison—Madsen's interest is immediately piqued, and once the enigmatic, knows-everything-but-tells-nothing government agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) tries to impede her investigation, she is doggedly committed. Madsen turns to Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast, Dr. Diego "Doc" Soto (Jorge Garcia), to piece together the inexplicable sequence of events. The twosome discovers that Sylvane is not only alive, but he is loose on the streets of San Francisco, leaving bodies in his wake. And strangely, he has not aged a day since he was in Alcatraz, when the prison was ruled by the iron-fisted Warden Edwin James (Jonny Coyne) and the merciless Associate Warden E.B. Tiller (Jason Butler Harner).

Madsen and Doc reluctantly team with Agent Hauser and his technician, Lucy Banerjee (Parminder Nagra), to stop Sylvane's vengeful killing spree. By delving into Alcatraz history, government cover-ups and Rebecca's own heritage, the team will ultimately discover that Sylvane is only a small part of a much larger, more sinister present-day threat. For while he may be the first, it quickly becomes clear that Sylvane will not be the last prisoner to reappear from Alcatraz.

Through the course of the investigation, Madsen and Soto will learn that Agent Hauser has known about the prison's secret history and has been awaiting the prisoners' return. Soto will witness his life's work—the history of Alcatraz—come alive. Madsen will be forced to see everything she thought she knew about her family's past shattered, all while fighting to keep the country safe from history's most dangerous criminals.

[Jason T. Davis]

[Carey]

Another J.J. Abrams show? God yes I'm excited.

[Jason T. Davis]

I'm going insane, awaiting the premiere. If I wasn't so damned sick right now, I'd probably be jumping up and down.

[Jamison]

Yup, really looking forward to this pilot. Two hours too? Even better.

[Jamison]

One week, people. One. Week. *goes crazy*

[Deleted]

WHOOP! I am so excited. This is one of the only midseason shows that I am truly looking forward to. I cannot wait!

[Jamison]

Yes! I can really see this being added onto my top five television shows. I don't know where the confidence in this show came from, but it's there, and I'm strangely excited for the premiere. Hopefully it doesn't flop, but I shouldn't jinx it. *knocks on wood*

[Deleted]

I will give anything that J.J. Abrams is connected to a shot. I see this having the potential longevity like Lost. Just hopefully with more answers early on.

[Jamison]

I heard in an interview that this show, unlike Lost, will be more accessible to late viewers of the show. So, it'll be able to be understood, even if you missed an episode or two. I think that means they're probably gonna be giving out answers more quickly. I don't know -- I have mixed feelings about that, I think. I think what made LOST so great, was the mystery of it all, and I'm really hoping they keep that same style with "Alcatraz," because I need something as good as Lost to watch. lol Hoping this is it.

[Jamison]

I enjoyed the first two episodes. However, I can't help but feel like this show is missing something. It's too early to tell for sure, but I think the procedural style and "killer of the week" format the series seems to be following, will get old, very, very quickly. They need to amp up the underlying mystery of Alcatraz, and "that night," in order to balance everything out.

Also, the characters don't click right away. Doc seems like a plot device, from head to toe. I'm not sure if he'll gain more of a solid purpose later, of if he'll remain the go-to guy for everything "Alcatraz" related.

Emerson is my favorite so far. He's dark, mysterious, and we can obviously tell that he knows more than he's letting on. I wish he had a bit more "Benjamin Linus" in him though. Hell, or he could just get replaced with Michael Emerson, and the show would be a whole lot better. But no... I'm a fan of Sam Neill, and his character.

The lead doesn't seem like a lead, but again, it's still pretty early to tell for sure. All in all, it's worth the watch. Great use of flashbacks, and a very intriguing concept. Great mythology and backstory. A good watch.

[Jamison]

The main characters still haven't been able to hold my interest. I'm more interested in the plot, and uncovering the mystery of "that night." The prisoners have proven to be more interesting than the leads, which is strange. I know each episode is pretty much focused on a certain prisoner, and we see their time in Alcatraz through multiple flashbacks, but that's not an excuse to have paper thin main characters. Hopefully they'll improve. *sighs* I'll keep watching.

[Jamison]

Another decent of "Alcatraz" tonight, but still, I feel like I should know the main characters a bit more than I do. This is what? Episode 7? And I don't have a favorite, yet. If the show were to be canceled, the characters would be the reason for its downfall. But like I said before... it's not a bad show to follow so, I'll keep at it.

The killer this week was cool though. The killers are always cool. LMFAO In each episode, I find that I like the flashbacks and scenes with the 63's more than the main 3 characters, which is kinda sad but -- hopefully that will change once Doc & Madsen learn something about what their boss is up to. It feels like it's too late in the game to still be keeping so many secrets from them. Bring them into the loop more, and they'll probably get more interesting.

[Jamison]

I gave this show soo many chances. I really did. But, with the season one finale ending like it did, I'm going to sign off, for now. If they renew Alcatraz for a 2nd season, I don't think I'll stop to watch, unless they stop screwing around and call the show what it is -- science fiction. This procedural crime thing is a bit of bullshit, especially when the three character we have to follow every single week are as dry as a bone.

I still find the 1960s timeline more interesting than what they've got at the forefront of the series, and that's not a good thing. So, please Alcatraz producers.... get your stuff together. *sighs*

[Jason T. Davis]

Not surprised this show was canceled. It made BIG promises, yet kept none of them. I suspect the change of showrunners had quite the negative impact on the direction of the show.