Thread: Alcatraz - Monday - 9pm ET - FOX

LOST ended almost 2 years ago, now and I haven't really found anything that comes close to taking it's place for it's sheer "What the hell is going on, and what's going to happen next?" factor.

J. J. Abrams' Alcatraz doesn't quite fill that hole, but it's come the closest anything else has in the last two years for me. Staring Sam Neill, Sarah Jones and LOST's Jorge Garcia, the show is a mix between LOST, Men in Black, NYPD Blue.

The premise of the show is that when Alcatraz closed in 1963, the inmates weren't moved. Instead everyone on the island disappeared. Now, in the modern days the missing inmates are coming back looking exactly how they were when they disappeared. They usually have some soft of mission that goes back to why they were incarcerated in the first place, a tale that's told with flashbacks to the early 1960's.

Sarah Jones plays a SFPD detective that stumbled on the mystery (the story is in the first episode "Pilot"), Jorge Garcia plays a nerd with two doctorates who has written multiple books about Alcatraz and it's inmates. Sam Neil is the hard-assed, secret-keeping organizer of the group. They all work together to capture the escapee by trying to figure out where he/she will go next based on the information they have from their prison records and personal effects.

The first four episodes so far have been great, and I find myself sitting around anxiously waiting the next episode. The potential is there for it to get stale, but as long as they keep baiting me with back stories on the organization that's hunting the inmates down, why it exists, where the inmates have been, who sent them, and what they're after.


Alcatraz airs Mondays at 9ET on Fox it stars Sam Neill, Sarah Jones and Jorge Garcia. It's produced by J. J. Abrams

What I've read about this show seems to indicate it's pretty... well, stupid. It certainly seems to lack the grandiose, the gripping premise and interesting characters of Lost. Is there anything that elevates it above "silly but entertaining" level? I only ask because my show roster is pretty full.

Although "silly but entertaining" might fill the hole that Chuck left, Chuck had great characters, some laughs, and the residual appeal of Firefly cast. (Which would make Castle the new Chuck, I suppose...) Am I going to love these characters? It is good for a laugh?

edit: lol, in the other thread, you also mentioned "the hole that Chuck left", in the exact words.

Originally Posted by gwahir

Although "silly but entertaining" might fill the hole that Chuck left, Chuck had great characters, some laughs, and the residual appeal of Firefly cast. (Which would make Castle the new Chuck, I suppose...) Am I going to love these characters? It is good for a laugh?

edit: lol, in the other thread, you also mentioned "the hole that Chuck left", in the exact words.

I'm enjoying it so far. I can see it getting stale though if they do basically the same thing every week, though. Some of the characters are interesting, like Sam Niel's character due to the mystery.


If you're looking for silly but entertaining, The Finder is probably the way to go, but I'm a bit worried about it's ratings.

I'll start another thread for this if it turns into a discussion, but Teng, do you watch Fringe? It's my new Lost, and in some ways it is quite superior.

Originally Posted by gwahir

I'll start another thread for this if it turns into a discussion, but Teng, do you watch Fringe? It's my new Lost, and in some ways it is quite superior.

I keep meaning to. I have all the episodes recorded, I just need to sit down and find the time to start watching it.

YOU NEED TO WATCH FRINGE

It's a slow first season, but still likeable. From the end of season one (discounting another slow period early season 2), it's been an absolute BLAST. very, very good stuff.

really, the only thing wrong with the first season is that it was a bit too freak-of-the-week and not enough overarching mythology, but if that episodic nature doesn't bother you, no problemo!

try not to spoil yourself about it by reading about it too much. just stick it out. i promise you it'll be worth it.

I'll give it a shot when I'm not busy working. the last couple weeks have been utter hell, especially now with the CD overhaul going on.

Actually, I thought it was smart of the creators to have the show start out loosely serialized and then slowly ramp up the overarching mythology. It gave people a whole season to jump into the show before shit got real.