Alcatraz

I got into the show more or less by accident, and because my nature of not wanting to give up on something right away once I've start it, I ended up watching the entire 1st season.

I know plenty have done so already, but I have to compare it to Lost because of one reason, and it's not the time jumping aspect of it: Lost had me hooked from the opening scene all the way through the first 3 seasons. Right away, from that first stare of Jack's eye, his run through the jungle, the mayhem on the beach, I knew it would be an interesting show to watch. With Alcatraz I never got to a point of really caring what will happen. I never got invested in any of the characters. Another review here said that the show would have been much better had it stayed in the 60's all the time, and I have to agree. The scenes from that era are all great. You're immediately questioning the wardens motives along with his lackeys, and the back stories of the criminals promised much more potential than any of the stories for the present day people. And did I mention the warden? Must say, I think Jonny Coyne does an awesome job with his character.

In the present day parts of the show, everything is much more cliché. You have the tough female lead, the not so tough but brilliant side kick, a shady boss, the good mentor with a gray story of his own... And then you have the crime of the week which you can be 100% certain will get solved, already simply because the episode names suggest who's turn it is to be processed. Basically, it all plays out like any other crime drama on TV at that point, except you already know who the bad guy is. I don't think it's the fault of the actors really that the show doesn't take off. They're just not given an interesting back story to develop from. Let's be honest, the good cop trying to understand her past and having to chase the black sheep of the family in order to do so is not exactly ground breaking story telling.

Also, like another review stated, it is somewhat weird how little interest the task force shows in trying to figure out "how and why" the bad guys keep popping up from the past, instead they're always focusing just on catching them and putting them back in their cage. That doesn't feel like a good game plan. It's like always just putting a bucket on the floor when it rains instead of trying to fix the leak in the roof.

The somewhat strong rating of the show here on IMDb would suggest that it could get a second season, and the last episode does leave enough of the plot unsolved for it to be possible. But I doubt I'll be tuning in for another go at this one.

Interesting that so many people are comparing this unfavorably to "Lost". I actually hated "Lost"… well, past the third or fourth episode, anyway, when it started collapsing under its own weight and stopped making any kind of sense at all. "Alcatraz", I liked… I already knew it had been canceled and wouldn't have an ending when I started streaming episodes, like with "Carnivale", but it was good enough that I knew I really wanted to see as much of it as was ever going to exist. Generally the supernatural and/or JJ Abrams isn't my cup of tea, but I thought this show was extremely well done. The cast is top-notch and the premise really grips the viewer. I'm sorry they never got a chance to wrap it up.

I liked the show. yeah, it had its ups and downs but after all it was a very entertaining show. acting were pretty good specially Jorge Garcia and Mr. Sam Neil. of course since we haven't seen the ending we cant say how the producers gonna get us to the final encounter with the warden and are they successful to do the job or not but from what we've watched, id say that would be a great final head on. but shamefully we will never have the chance to watch it. sometimes i hate the capitalism for these kinda results! in a non-capitalist economy, this great show would make it to the end no matter the majority of viewers like it or not (and prefer to watch some silly show like teen-wolf instead) but in USA, if the idiots have got the upper hand, the stupid shows like vampire diaries n teen wolf ... will go on n on and a good show like Alcatraz simply got cancelled. what a shame!

This is the second Lost-type show to spin up this year and it's not the best. It borrows heavily from cop/buddy movies ("He killed my partner! I want revenge!"), Prison Break, Quantum Leap, and typical present day Vancouver syfy/horror serials for the pre-teen bunch. The characters, especially the escaped criminals, are more like comic book caricatures than real people. It uses the same techniques as Lost and Once Upon a Time to slowly reveal its mysteries. Unfortunately it doesn't have any profound or compelling theme motivating the story, like redemption or the nature of good and evil in people. The acting in the regular cast is good, partially because most of the actors (Neil and Garcia) have already played characters exactly like the ones they're doing here. The main problem with the show is that, like in Prison Break, each new tidbit of the big mystery they reveal makes it seem just that much more cheesy and far-fetched, instead of inspiring or enlightening. It's just not special.

I can't understand why all this hate, this is a great show. Abrahams (as i think it is spelled) gives exactly what he promises, a show with an interesting plot to follow, some good characters and a mysterious conspiracy for which the more you learn the most you want to stick with it until the end I loved lost, I loved its style and that is exactly why i will continue to watch this series, hoping not to stop before it is supposed to. Watch it, give it some time, lost wasn't all that great from the start. I am sure that after 2 or 3 episodes you will be captivated. J.J did it again and i am sure that this sci-fi genius has many aces up to his sleeve. All of you who don't believe, think of lost and fringe, and if you haven't checked them yet, don't waste any time. Stop hating,start watching and i am sure you will be pleased