Alcatraz (2012– )

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.

Creators:

Steven Lilien, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Bryan Wynbrandt

Stars:

Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Jonny Coyne

5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Sarah Jones	...	Detective Rebecca Madsen (13 episodes, 2012)
Jorge Garcia	...	Dr. Diego Soto (13 episodes, 2012)
Jonny Coyne	...	Warden Edwin James (13 episodes, 2012)
Parminder Nagra	...	Dr. Lucy Banerjee (13 episodes, 2012)
Sam Neill	...	Emerson Hauser (13 episodes, 2012)
Leon Rippy	...	Dr. Milton Beauregard (12 episodes, 2012)
Jason Butler Harner	...	Deputy Warden E.B. Tiller (10 episodes, 2012)
David Hoflin	...	Tommy Madsen (8 episodes, 2012)
Jeffrey Pierce	...	Jack Sylvane (6 episodes, 2012)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | alcatraz | one word title | supernatural power | flashback

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Taglines:

302 Vanished. 3 Must Find Them.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

North Shore Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bonanza Productions, Bad Robot, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Det. Madsen drives a green 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback, the exact color, make and model of the car from Bullitt driven by Steve McQueen. Bullitt also takes place in San Francisco.

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Connections

Referenced in Live with Kelly and Michael: Episode dated 20 February 2012 (2012)

User Reviews

No spark

This show is about a group of inmates and guards who disappeared from Alcatraz without a trace in the 60's. After a government cover-up, everyone believes that Alcatraz simply closed and the inmates transferred. Of course, that's not actually what happened. One by one the inmates have started to return and continue their killing ways. It is then left to an "elite" group of terrible characters to round them up.

The first thing I noticed about this show after numerous episodes is that there is no spark to it. The only thing interesting is the Alcatraz aspect and that's it.

The casting is good with Jorge Garcia and Sam Neill, but their characters are one dimensional. Neill's character is a flat, second rate knockoff of an "anti hero." He's in charge of the operation and as we learned, has a personal connection with Alcatraz. Of course, he doesn't tell his team this so he acts like a jerk the entire time. He's there for one liners and presence - the latter is great; the former...not so much.

Garcia plays a comic book guy who supposedly knows Alcatraz and its inmates better than anyone. Naturally, he's part of the team because every team needs a comic book nerd. Garcia's character is mainly there to say who the inmate/guard is and what crime he committed. That's about it.

Now for the female lead. I don't even remember the actresses' name and frankly, I don't care. Not only is the character unlikable in and of itself, but the actress does nothing to help the situation. The writer's wrote in a pretty, blonde haired blue eyed girl as a cop whose able to play with the big boys until her partner is killed. Then, she's "emotionally damaged." Then she gets recruited into this government branch to deal with the Alcatraz situation. She keeps repeating, "He killed my partner" at this one particular inmate, who just happens to be a big part of the puzzle. Anyway, her character is supposed to be a detective and so she's really clever and sees things: a female knockoff Sherlock Holmes if you will. Only...she isn't. Instead, the character and actress comes off as annoying and irritating. The actress tries to hard to be dramatic and falls flat.

Actually, the most interesting characters are the inmates. The actors are great and mysterious (as they should be). Often times, I find myself rooting for the inmates than the "heroes." Overall, this show tries far too hard to be a Lost knockoff and it fails. The premise is interesting and honestly, the only reason I stick around is to 1) see the actor who plays Jack Sylvane (an inmate) and 2) to find out what happened with the inmates and guards.

There is nothing interesting or different about the heroic characters and they fall into a cliché batch of ten million characters that have come before them. Unlike some other shows I watch religiously, this show hasn't gotten better and for the most part, I don't even remember there's a new episode until after its been aired. There's just nothing special to it.