Banana Scoop

Fox’s Alcatraz aired last week and I’m still trying to feel it out.  Three episodes have passed since it’s premier and I’ll admit I’m fairly hooked.  Is this another cheesy ambitious detective paired with an unlikely partner cliche?  It sure is.  Is there an overbearing agency that is withholding information from our likable heroes?  You’re damn right.  But what Alcatraz has that transcends other cliche shows lies in its very interesting premise.  In addition to that is that it’s fairly graphic and unforgiving.  Usually shows won’t cross taboos of showing people, particularly young women, getting shot, and even include a surprising amount of gore to accompany it.  A shocking addition on account we’re on a big named publically accessible network like Fox.  Maybe it was to master producer and creater JJ Abrams idea to do this.  Maybe this was a stint that we’ll only see in the first few episodes, but regardless Fox has done its job where it has hooked me in to follow it for a couple more weeks.  But like Terra Nova, if this series fizzles, I’ll soon drop it like a hot tamale in favor for greener pastors.  Read on below for my thoughts on the first couple of episodes.

Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) is a lone wolf enforcer of the San Diego police after a criminal killed her last partner.  When she gets entangled in a homicide that is more than what it seems, she enlists the help of Dr. Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia) to investigate the relation of the homicide to Alcatraz prison.  When they find an inconsistency that breaks the rules of time, federal agent Emerson Hauser steps in an enlists the help of Madsen and Soto.  Together, they pull together a conspiracy that revolves around the disappearance of 200+ inmates and guards from Alcatraz Island in 1963 and their reappearance in 2012.

You're SO out of your league...but I still need you to help me

That summary has cheese written all over it.  And don’t get me wrong, there were more than enough cheesy moments involving forced dialogue and unreasonable actions.  Behind all the cheese, the first most interesting thing are reappearances of all these convicts from 1963.  These hardened federal criminals are heartless, skilled, and masters of their crafts.  They carry out missions that whose motives aren’t disclosed to us [classic Abrams] and probably won’t be until either in the middle of the season or the finale.  Each episode goes over every criminal its centered around as we flip back and forth from 1963 and the present as we see how they were incarcerated/treated affected how they worked in the present time.  Each criminal is as interesting as the last and provides a degree of satisfaction as one criminal’s past over laps the other.

Another interesting aspect of this show is the mystery of the big picture.  I understand that many shows have tried to copy the success of Lost in the past [V, Flash Forward, etc.], but maybe the man who created Lost in the first place can return this show back to its pedestal.  There’s plenty of mystery to be had here whether we’re talking about the motives of the killers, how they’re time traveling, and why Sam Neil is keeping Alcatraz part in what seems like a part of the Jurassic Park set piece.

Is it a shame that this character was more interesting than the three leads so far combined?

As for our leads, Sarah Jones is charming and beautiful, yes, although the exploitation is bordering excessive and she doesn’t feel like the most believable/relatable character.  Garcia’s character is borderline useless besides his text book knowledge and serves as ineffective comic relief.  Neil’s character is the cliche Federal Agent Ass.  This show’s characters are one of their weaker points and it’s a shame that the criminals are more interesting than these characters we’re supposedly rooting for.  However it’s still early in the season, and there’s still plenty of time to develop the characters.

Alcatraz has potential.  In the same way Terra Nova had potential.  But like I stated earlier, when Terra Nova couldn’t deliver what I was wanting, I, like many others, abandoned it.  Don’t let me down JJ.  You’ve heard what I’ve had to say about it, now do something about it.  What about you guys, did ya’ll have any thoughts?

I said to myself, "No way this FOX show is going to show those innocent young people actually getting shot..." BANG BANG. Me: "...holy hell...what is this HBO?"