I give credit to my dad for introducing me to watching TV series. If it weren't for him, I never would have known about Cheers and Taxi, nor started watching Friends, The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
A few years later, it dawned on me that majority of my dad's TV picks are made up of fantasy and sci-fi titles. Sure there's the spattering of sitcoms, but anything involving far off into the future technology, magic, aliens and the supernatural will make him watch even the most dubious of plot lines.
It was a given that he would like Alcatraz.
History tells us that the island prison of Alcatraz was closed down due to budgetary and safety reasons, with the prisoners transferred to other facilities. In the present day, the death of Alcatraz's former deputy warden E.B. Tiller leads detective Rebecca Madsen to suspect Jack Sylvane, who was reported to have died in the years after the transfer from Alcatraz. Partnering with Alcatraz expert Dr. Diego "Doc" Soto, they try to find out more about Jack Sylvane at one of Alcatraz's archive rooms, where they are detained by federal agent Emerson Hauser. Rebecca and Doc are informed by Hauser and Dr. Lucy Banerjee that Jack Sylvane is still alive, and what's more, he hasn't aged since 1963. They eventually learn that the transfer of prisoners never took place in 1963. On the night that Hauser, who was a young police officer back then, was supposed to facilitate a transfer, they find that all of the prisoners, guards and personnel in Alcatraz have literally vanished. The group is referred to as the 63s, after the year they disappeared. Rebecca finds out that among the 63s is the man who killed her partner. Furthermore, the man is Tommy Madsen, her grandfather and a man she grew up thinking was a prison guard, but was actually an inmate at Alcatraz. Rebecca and Doc join Hauser's team to capture any of the 63s who surfaced in the present time and try to find out what really happened in Alcatraz.
Every episode is named after the different 63s, both inmates and guards, that the group chases after. I was already expecting that the first season will be the platform for both the characters and audiences to form their questions, and we were unlikely to get those answers immediately. Especially since this is under the Bad Robot Productions banner, which is headed by JJ Abrams, who gave us Lost, Alias, Fringe and Felicity (yes, that counts). So, I felt that the series needed every 63 of the week to be compelling. So far, the thirteen 63s featured in the first season of Alcatraz was enough to keep me interested, with the tragic Jack Sylvane, creepy Ernest Cobb, genius Garrett Stillman and the rest providing different background stories that give you an idea on what can land you in one of the harshest prison facilities in the world. Every episode also features the actions of each 63 in the present time, while the sound of rolling prison gates herald flashback scenes of the years leading to the disappearance.
There was a lot riding on newcomer Sarah Jones to make an impression as Rebecca, especially since she's the expected successor to a long line of strong leading ladies that are evident in many JJ Abrams productions. There's a certain sense of awkwardness to Sarah Jones's performance, which works just fine with the tomboy qualities of her character. Jorge Garcia is a welcome sight to our TVs, and his portrayal of Doc is both effective and endearing. Sam Neill is also great as Hauser, who bristles with authority and have little patience with his new team members, which is all the more highlighted with his stinginess to give them the few answers that are available to him.
In terms of storytelling, Alcatraz features plenty of plot lines for the viewers. Each case in the present is very much like a procedural, with the characters piecing together the clues that will lead to the capture of the 63. All the while, the events of the past makes us understand the nature of each 63 and we also get glimpses of clues that could be relevant to the mystery of their eventual disappearance.
The answers are few and far in between, and each answer seems to lead to more questions. There is no definite resolution at the end of the first season of Alcatraz, especially with its cliffhanger of an ending. All it gives is an idea of a conspiracy, but gives no allusions as to its levels or implications.
Alcatraz has given me plenty of material to maintain my interest. The cast is engaging and the mystery is compelling. Their method of storytelling is also sound, since there's no confusion felt when the time jump narratives occur, which is essential for audiences to conduct their own procedural analysis regarding the 63s and the mystery surrounding Alcatraz. I fear, though, that if the 63 of the week is not interesting, my attentions will wander to other programming.
Freshmen high concept series like Alcatraz need time to build on its premise, and to give it a chance to refute the preconceptions of naysayers that it's just like Lost.
Hopefully, Alcatraz gets a pick-up for another season.
If they don't, my dad will not be happy.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Action, Alcatraz, Drama, FOX, Must-Watch, Mystery, Procedural, Sci-fi, TV, TV Series
