FAQ

In the series premiere, we learn that Alec was involved in a church bombing nearly 20 years ago that left him permanently scarred. At the beginning of the episode he explains to his class that his experience recovering from the accident helped inspire his work as a behavioral scientist and professor. "I was burned many years ago on over 60 percent of my body, and for the better part of three years I was in the hospital with my body covered with bandages, which were changed every day," he said. "It was very painful, as you can imagine. And the nurses believed that ripping the bandages off quickly was much better than doing it slowly. I disagreed, but they wouldn't listen. I became intrigued by this idea that we repeatedly and predictably make the wrong decisions in many aspects of our lives, and research helped change these patterns. I began doing experiments, and I found the nurses were wrong." The bombing killed 13 people, including one of Alec's close friends, and he is the only survivor. Later on in the pilot episode, Alec tells his sister that the suspected bomber is up for parole, but has only been charged with possessing explosives and building the bomb. No one saw him at the scene of the crime, and Alec was unable to identify him. "I usually make up stories about the scars. Car accident, cooking incident, oil burner mishap, but it's just a way to avoid the truth," he said. "I can't recall a single damn thing about the bomber." -- McKenzie Jean-Philippe, NBC Insider