In 1963, all the prisoners and guards mysteriously disappear from Alcatraz. In the present day, they resurface and a secret agency are tasked with re-capturing them. On March 21, 1963, the inmates and guards at Alcatraz prison mysteriously disappear. To cover up the problem, the government reports to the public that the prison has been closed because of unsafe conditions. A secret government unit was set-up to find the prisoners. Now, in the present-day, the inmates begin returning - unaged and unaware of where they have spent the missing decades - and continue their criminal ways. They are acting out of character and appear to be searching for specific objects. A federal agent employs a police officer and a conspiracy theory novelist to help track them down. There are issues with this show that ARE fixable but so far it is worryingly routine a mash-up of fringe+Heroes+Lost, but LOST this is not. To of fallen into a routine at such an early stage in the game feels lazy and dumbed down, for example, i know we are back in the 1960's please don't keep telling me every time we travel back there. there is a sense that each week we are clocking on to see another villain from the past check in to the future and immediately run through their individual modus Operandi. OK maybe this will be explained down the line. BUT what is missing what makes this dull is the lack of jeopardy. This is a police procedural drama murked up with a paranormal sub-routine. Its fair to compare it to The Walking Dead, in that here we have a Cop protagonist, but he is WAY out of his daily routine and he reacts like he is ! In Alctraz everyone seems able to process the out there premise with out pausing for a second to freak the heck out about it. The other reason this is not LOST is that the cast is too small so all the focus is on two main characters. big mistake. Jorge Garcia could take the weight in Lost because it was spread out, we got delicious little morsels of a whole raft of interesting characters. And as the show grew their interactions offered a multitude of fresh momentum and drama. Our main character here does fit the LOST formula, she is hot, feisty and complex-ish but again she is in it ALL the time so though she is no less of an actress than Evangeline Lily etc she is just unable to carry a whole massive conceptual behemoth on her shoulders. This could really work, but the rug needs to be pulled out from under the characters feet and they need to start reacting to the storyline and in turn the storyline needs to start reacting to them. Bottom line, i'll keep watching BUT really i am biding my time till the 12th of Feb when the jaw dropping awesomeness of 'The Walking Dead' returns to our screens. Well, I'm still disappointed and I've seen the first 4 episodes hoping it would get better. It hasn't. The show has many problems. To name a few….<br/><br/>1. The female lead. She is not likable AT ALL and how can you fully invest in a show where you don't like the main character? She is unfortunately very miscast.<br/><br/>2. No chemistry. There is zero chemistry between any of the main characters. Perhaps it's the writing, or just the combination of actors, or the quantity of actors. I don't know, but I'm left not caring at all about what happens to anyone. <br/><br/>3. The story focus. The trailers reeled us in because they promised a sci-fi and supernatural storyline with a mystery that will slowly unravel through the season(s) about how convicts from '63 showed up in the present. However, what we have gotten so far is a cop show. Each episode focuses on catching a different convict who for some reason just wants to commit a horrible crime right away instead of stepping back and asking themselves why they are suddenly 45 years in the future. That also goes for the protagonists…they don't seem very "freaked out" by any of this. <br/><br/>I could go on but I think I've made my point. Having said all that, I love Jorge Garcia and Sam Neil, but I'm afraid they are the only quality parts of the show.
Valorexan replied
365 weeks ago