I think I owe several of you an apology. You see, Alcatraz is one of THOSE shows: a high-profile mysterious drama full of cliffhangers and clues that gets a big buzz and excels at getting people to hang on. I was very frustrated with the program last week, and probably said a few things I shouldn't have. I admit it wasn't the best episode critique I've ever done, and in hindsight, I probably should have done my job better instead of coming off as a whiny Bitch-o-Matic 3000. Let's call it our first fight, hug it out, and vow to be more understanding (and less pissy) this week.
However, before you start to like me again, know that my opinion on the show has changed. I still think it's a complete mess. But ironically, where I went wrong last week was in my execution, which is the exact same problem Alcatraz has. In the wake of the messy wave of shows that splashed through the door opened by Lost, the majority of serialized dramas with mysterious sci-fi/supernatural/what-the-F-is-going-on elements have failed. Some shows have done their execution right, but have failed. That's just the way things go, because making a good television show is hard.
Alcatraz seems to have forgotten that it's a television show, and I don't care if you're watching Mad Men or The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the most important aspects of a television show are its characters. You can root for them, you can hate them, you can relate to them, but the most important thing is that you feel something for them. Four hours in, I still don't feel a damned thing for anyone in Alcatraz's central trio of Soto, Emerson, and Rebecca. Soto is the cut-out comic-book guy and Jorge Garcia isn't stepping out of the shadow of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (not his fault; the writers seem content to write him almost identical to his iconic Lost character). Rebecca is hot, but we see so little of her doing anything except being a mediocre cop that there's just not enough to latch onto. Emerson is someone we've seen many times before, the guy who knows more than anyone else but is too put out of his way to tell us what's going on. But who are these people really? And why are the writers purposely choosing to ignore that?
Some of you last week asked why I'm such a fan of the similar-yet-different Person of Interest. The two series share some DNA, it's true. Both have a case of the week, a small team operating in clandestine fashion, and big mysteries. But Person of Interest knows that its characters are of utmost importance, and the series spent a lot of time developing these characters and their relationships to each with the audience in mind. Person of Interest anticipates the broad questions (not the overall mystery questions) viewers will ask, and then it answers them. Now, Person of Interest's two main characters, John Reese and Harold Finch, are the strength of the show. Now, we watch the show just to see those two guys. Now, the show can sprinkle mysteries and twists over the foundation it's already laid to build a very entertaining show. In contrast, Alcatraz is completely focused on its mysteries; its central characters are an afterthought. That's the difference between Person of Interest and Alcatraz, and it's HUGE.
Last night's episode of Alcatraz, "Cal Sweeney," was less a step in the right direction for the series and more of a slow down in going in the wrong direction. I liked that the flashbacks were integrated more into the overall story, which the show is tending to do more of each week. In fact, Alcatraz's flashbacks are way more interesting than its present-day stuff, probably because the Alcatraz staff (head warden James, deputy warden E.B., and the doctor) account for the show's best characters. There was also some effort put into making the flashback interesting, with Cal's protégé swindling him in the end. Good! And I liked the "twist" that Rebecca had to keep Cal from the authorities because she and the Alcatraz Task Force have bigger plans for him.
But the same problems remain and keep Alcatraz from reaching its potential. The catch-a-crook storyline in the present day was still a boring series of moving from Point A to Point B to Point C with incredibly basic Detective 101 work, and it once again wrapped up just as it was time for the episode to end—we didn't get the feeling that the case was gradually being solved. It's mediocre procedural storytelling at best. There's still no explanation for why the killers are returning, or why they're acting the way they do. Yes, that's one of the show's biggest mysteries, but seeing as how we spend the bulk of each episode watching these guys go back to their old ways and commit crimes with the same modus operandi, I don't think it's too much to ask for a little kickback in exchange for the time we're blindly investing. All the character development is spent on the escaped prisoners, who are thrown into Super Alcatraz and locked up at the end of each episode. Presumably these killers will return in some fashion, but why not spend some time developing the characters we see each week instead? And with the reveal of the big secret door in the basement of Alcatraz, the show still has the nerve to think it can survive on cliffhangers alone.
I hope that better explains my feelings on the show. There's no bias on my part going into Alcatraz. I don't hold some longstanding grudge against prisons. And yes, there is no one holding a gun to my head and demanding I review the show, but this is a high-profile series that people want to talk about. I'm going to stick around the comments section of this article over the next few days (normally I don't because Mondays are particularly slammed for me), to respond to whatever questions/complaints you may have.
Notes:
– How did Rebecca get the SWAT outfit on Cal so fast when the bank was being gassed? Did I miss a point where she stole a uniform from a SWAT member?
– Oh look! It's a secret den of nerds who are helping Emerson! Very reminiscent of the Lone Gunmen, but again, Alcatraz dropped the ball when it didn't inject any personality to those characters. A secret underground lair of computer and forensic whizzes is a writers' goldmine.
– What's behind the door in the basement?
– Two excruciatingly bad monologues featuring shaving and dog metaphors, back-to-back, early on. Ouch.
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
Oh, and I don't believe we will have any answers to this show as per same with FlashForward, The Event and Terra Nova as its going to be cancelled any time soon. What's wrong with the mystery being explained up front; at least then if its cancelled you wont feel cheated.
8 shows in and I have been given a lot of mysteries to ponder. I have also been given 8 criminals from 50 years ago to be detained using deductions that even Lt Columbo would have been surprised at! Most disturbing and somewhat ignored are the two prison doctors in the past and present. Why ask the returning prisoners and warders what happened to them if the doctors don't have the answers?
Great Article TIm! I am in the middle of the current ep and i had to come online to see if anyone else felt the way I do about the show. You nailed it to a T! It is just not meeting expectations. I feel person of interet is cutting the line fine myself. Apparently Lost raised the bar a to new level that it will take some time replicate or before we except less quality shows.
"What's behind the door in the basement?"
Step-by-step instructions on how to create a good show. Unfortunately we won't be seeing that. And neither will the writers, muahahahaha.
Hey Tim, glad to see you that you are willing to discuss our comments. Indeed, I'm with you this time - as I was the one pointing out that it was unfair of you to critisize Alcatraz while you love PoI. Yes, I agree that Reese and Finch are now a major factor on why we like PoI and Alcatraz has neither a "Reese" nor a "Finch".
But still, you keep comparing a show that has run for 10-12 eps with a 4-episode-thus-far show. I do agree that if they keeping characterizing The Dynamic Trio as they do now in Alcatraz, i'll probably jump ship but remember the first 4 episodes of PoI? Where really Finch and Reese so interesting back then?
IMHO, the answer is "No". Of course they have developed since then but still, many of PoI flaws are still there and if you ask me, the mythology mystery in Alcatraz is far more interesting than in PoI (which caracters aside remains cliched and unbeliavble as Alcatraz).
So, it seems to me that you compare two shows in different phases of their lives. If Alcatraz keeps going in the same route, then yes, I'm with you voting for PoI. But if they work the characterization a little better then it I'll probably vote for Alcatraz.
Person of Interest has delivered in some aspects but is lacking in others so I'm not sure there is going to be an improvement there. Alcatraz, on the other hand, is falling behind but still it's too early for a verdict on the showmoreless
The only really interesting thing about the show is the time-travel aspect, the keys and everyone wants to see where they are going with that, but they will probably make us watch 6 seasons to figure it out. Now whats not interesting is the freak of the weak, its already getting old with 4 episodes in. I sure hope the writers realize that otherwise it wont last more than a season on fox
Honestly the only reason I will be watching next week's episode is because the little preview said a guard will be coming back. Hopefully he will tell us what's going on but more importantly give us a reason to care about watching the 6th hour, but from the looks of it, he is just going to wind up as another bad guy... Not sure how that is going to work, and not caring so much either. Hopefully March will come quick and fingers crossed get us some quality programming with Kiefer Sutherland in Touch.
This show has about 1 episode left before I jump ship. Escaping using the Cops Uniform was very offensive and boring.
TBH, I don't see a difference between Alcatraz The Event & Terra Nova. Different settings but they hold on to the life line that is the "mystery" of the show. Which wouldn't be so bad if any of those shows had better writing.
There needs to be some kind of progress when we're going from New York to Los Angeles. These type of shows make me feel like I'm sitting on the runway taxi'ing for a few months.
If fox really wants something sci-fi it should bring Virtuality back.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtuality_(TV_series)
I have read the review now, only after I have watched the episode and while I was pretty disappointed with last week's tune, I really am happy that now we are reading a usual Tim Surette review, that says everything it has to say, positive and negative, without bashing the show.. thank you:)
coming to the comparisons: I also do love POI yet it obviously is cheesy and highly unbelivable at many points, with clich dialogues and others; however the storytelling and the cathartic feeling it gives the audience as well as great characters are its very strengths that makes us keep coming.. and I do agree that Alcatraz, lacks most of the strengths while embraces the weaknesses of POI.. and though they are comparable, I still think it is not really fair to expect a POI performance from Alcatraz at the moment for many reasons: firstly, with the JJ Abrahams stamp on it, the expectations are raised to Lost level immediately, which makes the show lose from the very beginning.. and secondly Alcatraz deals way too many regular characters than POI.. for example, we never really know much about Fusco in POI right? because the show deals with only 3 main characters and everything is more or less related/revolve around them.. the POIs are just events of the week, does not add much to the serialized part of the story (apart from Elias storyline) and so they have much more time to invest in character development.. however Alcatraz spends most of its time telling the stories of the prisoners and only one or two lines per episode could be spared for way too many main characters.. so it definitely needs much more episodes to reach the level of character development of POI.. If we could just watch it as a cop procedural with mystical elements involved, compare it 4400 but not Lost, maybe we would find much more plesure in it..
and lastly to the criticisms I read from others regarding the lack of "future shock" in the prisoners.. I think they act instinctively and such adaptive manners/ thoughts are embedded to these guys brains at where they have been.. thinking that they search for stuff that even they dont know why, they would adapt and they would not know either.. plus the first guy did not seem very adaptive.. and for the rest, they dont seem like they arrived on the day of their crimes, it was like they came before and found time to adopt.. the first guy had to change his clothes after his emergence, but the rest of them all were dressed when they appeared..
btw, the nerd team appeared before, I guess in the first two episodes:) they are probably gathered by Lucy the coma girl..moreless
Well Tim, this is saying the same as I have been for the last couple of weeks. They had an opportunity to change this with Parminder Nagra who appeared to be important in both times, but then they inexplicably decided to remove her (possibly temporarily) from the current time. This would have made sense if Soto and Rebecca had discovered she was also at Alcatraz back in the day, rack up some tension with them not being able to talk to her, but instead they've changed her to a bit part, which is a shame because she's one of the best actresses they have.
I still know more about the first prisoner-of-the-week than I do about Soto or Rebecca. As I've said before, no one will care the show if no one can care about the characters.moreless
I think you underestimate how bad a show this is. If not a mountain of mindlessness -- like FLASH FORWARD, THE EVENT, and TERRA NOVA -- it is still awful, if not quite stupid enough to keep the viewer's attention waiting for their next howler.
Your comments about the important of 'character' should be on the wall of every person involved with creating or acquiring a tv show. That's the specific quality that American tv has above all, the ability -- caused by need -- to create ensembles that you will watch a hundred times or more. (Think about it. 88 eps are the minimum for syndication and 'success.' But few detective characters had to appear in 88 stories -- Queen did, but not Wolfe, Holmes or Poirot -- and even few British tv shows make it to 100 episodes -- DR. WHO and soaps aside, the only ones I know of were/are SILENT WITNESS and MIDSOMER MURDERS.)
But they have none. I don't find Dr. Soto Hurley-ish at all, except for a few verbal quirks. Hurley was a working class Hispanic lottery winner who became a businessman, Dr. Soto is, whatever. It's too absurd to write. And as for the person huimself, I'm still joking with my wife that the real puzzle each week is if Jorge Garcia will figure out who he's supposed to be. (Except a genius comic-book writer and store owner who is hired for a top secret project 'too astounding for people to find out about' who immediately tells all the details to a friend who doesn't strike me as the person best to keep a secret.)
I don't remember the female character's name, literally, and it isn't worth scrolling up, but she is not merely just a mediocre cop, she's also a nitwit, or someone without the slightest bit of curiosity (and a detective?). Her grandfather and the person who raised her were both supposed to be wardens at a world-famous institution, one she can't help seeing, I'd guess, at least once a day, and she's never looked into it. Most people would have made it a hobby, but at least you'd think she would have opened one o f the hundreds of books on the subject and checked the index, just to see if Gramps made it into the history books -- and would have found out the 'great secret' that he was a prisoner, not a guard.
I think I have given up on the show for another reason though. So far they've carefully side-stepped even raising the question of 'future shock.' Whatever these people 'really are' they have memories that stopped in 1962 -- and hadn't been 'outside' since 1960, most of them. They've never seen a color tv, a portable radio, or a computer, in fact, almost anything above the complexity of a hammer has been changed enough that it would be new to them, but they'd never dealt with this. (Drive today's cars if you've only seen ones no later than 1960?) And the attitudes, social, political and racial, were so much different, that what was considered proper behavior then might be considered offensive -- and some of these criminals (all of whom are so much smarter and more polished than the true inhabitants of Alcatraz) depend on 'smoothness' and 'fitting in.'
Then they wrecked it with the line "You didn't have seatbelt laws back in the Fifties." (And, btw, most cars today have alarms that go off if you don't put your belt on, but not this one.)
Enough, I have stuff to do around the house.
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"anything above the complexity of a hammer has been changed enough that it would be new to them, but they'd never dealt with this"
I think this precise point is on purpose. My guess is that we are suppose to think that they are trained or something by the people responsible for their comebacks. But, like you said it, the line "You didn't have seatbelt laws back in the Fifties." implies that they're just like they were fifty years ago... so it's a mess ^^
But then, how do you deal with the problem of the opening scene -- one of the three disastrous attempts at immicks that misfired. The prisoner appearing in his cell and walking out -- which, iirc, was also mentioned in a debriefing -- would give them a beautiful way of rounding up the prisoners. But nope, just a flashy gimmick the show hopes you went 'Wow!" at and then forgot.
They just love misfiring gimmicks. The 'reappearance,' the shot of the eye through the sniper scope -- at a time when anyone who ever watched a tv drama knew meant he'd be apprehended before he actually shot anyone else. And Dr. Soto's announcement of his own kidnapping, held back, unnecessarily -- he'd have said something earlier -- until a dramatic moment, when everybody knew it was the only possible explanation for why he was acting differently this week.
One mystery does still intrigue me. Why do all the flashbacks show the prisoners being brutalized. It is probable, yes, and there was no excuse for it then (or now) but when you see them, you forget their crimes, you forget that the highest level of sympathy they deserve is the one earned by any faceless human being being brutalized.
(Or are these overdone hints that, because the returnees are unmarked (?) or scarred by the brutalization, they have to be clones or the like. And remember what the doctor hinted about imprinting personalities...
THAT's the real reason the show is so annoying. It has obvious potentials, obvious ways to go that would be interesting, and also every indication that they'll miss or mess up every one of them.
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I think the reason the prisonners have not aged is that they are CLONES created in the room seen under Alcatraz at the en of this episode. The CLONES end up re-doing the last memories they have before prison. Created by the doctor when taking their blood in the Alcatraz pilot.
I think any sci-fi/drama needs at least 10-12 episodes before it finds it's way, hopefully Alcatraz will last because there is not too many good sci-fi on tv.
Tssss, I'm still so frustrated that this show is unable to found its right storytelling. However, I think this episode was better, mainkly because, as everybody said it here, the flashbacks were really good. Just like you said it Tim, the wardens are the most interesting characters ! Maybe, they are because they seem to be the only ones holding the answers to every questions we may have. Anyway, the dinner segment was for me the best of the episode, if not of the season so far. Also, I'm glad that this keys stuff is coming back (to be honest, I had completely forgotten that piece of clue because the pilot seems so far away) : it kinda adds the connection between elements that we were all craving for.
I'll stick around hopping that writers get their pens right and give us a real mystery and its proper teasing.
My bet about the door : I think that the warden's sister is behind it, waiting for kinky services from naughty prisoners.moreless
you are so right!
Thanks Tim Surette! (why thanks?) Personally I am a huge Abrams like so many. I find it difficult to harp on the show in the way it seems to deserve. Months before the show aired I remember hearing the show had been pushed back from its fall start to mid season due to the creator conflicts playing out at the time. I found myself worried that the show would not receive the proper time or effort towards editing every show needs. Think about how Lost would never had worked had the original pilot aired with Jack being killed. At this point to think of the show without Jack at all seems asinine. Which brings me full circle to Alcatraz. This show has really interesting concept elements. While I would have rather all the prisoners come back at once like the 4400, the show is still salvageable. While Tom may not be as forgiving of the lack of character development at this point , I have another stand point. The character development is slowly being introduced. Our need to understand everything involving "The Doc's" at age 11 & Family dynamic, understanding how Emerson transitioned from guard to special secret FBI escape time traveling inmate super secretive agent, or how Rebecca's family ( was that guy related ? ) seems to be so closely related to the 63's. I am happy to see those elements begin to unfold, but the slow pace demands a balance. I feel like the show needs to feel like the events are more effortless per say. One of the many things I loved about LOST was it's ability to seem like an hour wasn't enough time. So much information, yet so much unsaid. We always felt like we learned so much while feeling further away from the end with every reveal that came forth. We knew that the writers of LOST simply wanted to keep their fans tuned in, but when watching the show you didn't feel forced to be there. It was a gift to tune in. Here in Alcatraz the show tries to have all those elements while slowly allowing us to connect to the focal characters.If the show had it's build up properly constructed then things like slow character development would be tolerable. Yet we fine ourselves with editing that comes across sloppy, and passionless. So why did I thank you Tom? Simply put, I hate calling this show out on their b.s. . I really want to believe in this show, but find myself waiting for them to get their crap together or get cancelled. I hope this show doesn't join the graveyard in between Flashforwad & Heros, and just across from Undercovers. I'm sorry to say The cape was unable to to get admittance into this graveyard for lack of even being worthy of the title of being a second class show. One the flip side I hear Terra Nova may be joining the previously mentioned bunch which is fitting. Yet word is Fringe may be looking for a lot too which is a true shame. Fringe may be one of the only shows to follow LOST, get it right, and manage to past the season 1 cancellation curse. Yet it's not cheap making shows and in the end money trumps fan base. Any ways, I threw a lot your way Tim Surette, and I hope you get a chance to bounce back some feed back on my view point. Thanks :)moreless
Soto is the only character that is holding the show right now
I thought "Cal Sweeney" was the best episode yet Tim. The queries raised by many viewers over the past few weeks are being answered if you look at it closely and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the prisoners is being revealed slowly which is quite exciting.
Why are the prisoners committing the crimes in the same way they did back in the 60's? As Sweeney told to Rebeca, he has no idea why he was doing it, but he had to do it. He was just ordered by someone and he is probably doing the only thing he remembers from his past. Also, notice the almost blank looks most of the prisoners share, which is quite intriguing. I think all the character development going into the prisoners will shape up quite well as the finale approaches and they are all integrated more organically. Soto's character is being developed for now and I'm willing to wait for them to develop Rebecca and Emerson's characters.
This isn't POI and hell, I don't want this to be POI. POI is my fav new show, but I wouldn't want this show to proceed exactly like that one. So, I'm willing to stick through 'Alcatraz' for the whole season.moreless
As far as I'm concerned this is a great series. Granted Hurl...erm Soto and the cute cop are uninteresting at the moment (and doing that paper using data from Gotham city is just totally unrealistic and made me think "bad writing!").
Other than that, I am really enjoy the fact that these episodes are about...guess what?...the inmates!
Yes! Many of you seem so focused on the oh not so great mysteries, the useless characters, while I'm focusing more on the really interesting story of inmtes, the difficulties they were and are facing and their stories in two separate epochs.
Hopefully in time the series will be even better and all characters will have more depth, and they will travel....back in time! :P
I still laugh when i think of Dr.Soto's journal article which used Gotham City crime figures as a statistical model. That sentence alone made me invest on him and i will continue to do so. Rebecca still feels bland, but am not hating on her.
at the moment the door isnt much interesting to me, we will get to it..but why isnt anyone latching on the fact the dr-in-com was the same age in 1960!! Emerson girlfriend is a "returner" too..ryt?
i mean they have pictures of all the inmates, guards, their family...what about the doctor!!!no background checks? wtf is her history..I may be obsessed with her.
Alcatraz has the advantage of starting out when many shows are winding up. And many others are in reruns. Even with DVRs people just have more time to waste right now. And It's not like it's a Friday night situation where it has to compete for the same audience. Person of Interest had to compete with Bones.
Also consider that since Alcatraz started, Person of Interest has only had one new episode. And this is the time of year that many of the weaker, filler episodes of shows air.
But even given that, it's starting to look like Alcatraz is relying too much upon gimmicks. And how dumb can the characters be? You've got two keys and you're in a building filled with locks. One I could see being puzzled by, but with two you have to realize that they have to belong somewhere with multiple locks. And they were in the possession of prisoners of ALKATRAZ! Wouldn't it make sense to just try the keys in every lock? Granted it might take a little time and there's no guarantee that the locks would remain, but it would at least be a step forward.moreless
I completely agree love the show's concept and think it has potential to be an exciting case-by-case weekly mystery but the lack of interesting characters and character-relationships is killing me! That was one of best things about Lost for me... the characters were just so damned interesting I couldn't have given a shit about the island they were stranded on because all you needed was one little catalyst and all the problems and secrets that they were all hiding from each other would fly in your face... Alcatraz needs some of that character oomph.
I was disappointed with the character development as well (a lot of the shows I watch are for certain characters), but I have a soft spot for procedurals, so I'll probably stick around for a long while :)
This episode was actually not that bad ...
Maybe there is hope after all.
It has it's faults but I'm enjoying it to be honest!
You can hate on Alcatraz as much as you want, but Person Of Interest only has ONE better character. John Reese is a completely uninteresting character and Jim Caviezel is the blandest actor on the face of the earth. He's more bland than Mark Wahlberg. And Finch is mostly just interesting because of Michael Emerson.
Shit man, you don't owe us an apology, let your freak flag fly. You should check out MY reviews sometime. I don't believe in editing myself and neither should you. Otherwise, what's the point of the first ammendment?
http://generaldouchebaggery.blogspot.com/2011/03/movie-snob.html
Wow, General Douchebaggery. Is that your blog name or your title? The first amendment doesn't mean you should be an uninteresting, pompous ass.
I tried to watch it. I did. I did not succeed. Granted, I had other things going on, but if a show is entertaining, I can usually succeed in completely ignoring whatever else is going on and focus on the show. Not so with this one. I didn't enjoy what was possibly supposed to be funny banter about food, and after a few minutes of it, I just turned the channel.
Soto may be "the cut-out comic-book guy" but if you think about it he's the brains of the operation. None of the criminals so far would have been found, or discovered, if not for him. Unlike the other two stars of the show his character is slowly being fleshed out in each episode. Hopefully the writers will start to do the same with the other two...soon.
Lost was a great show but it's time the public and critics put that aside, because it's over. It's natural to compare the actor's parts from that show with their new roles but Locke is not going to die and suddenly come back to life again on Hawaii 50, Ben isn't going to screw people over on Person of Interest and Hurley isn't the comic relief of Alcatraz. This isn't a great show but it's just starting. Sci-fi stories take a while to build up and comparing this to Lost after just 4 episodes, which took 6 years to tell it's story and still didn't satisfy everyone, is ridiculous. I agree it needs to fill us in on a few more details, but I'm willing to wait for it.moreless
Haha not long until the show will be labeled "Alca-trash".
Seriously my biggest problems are with Emerson. I really have problems with the portrayal of the character, i.e. the acting. He is like Horatio. Noone seriously talks, speaks, looks or stands that way.
It's a shame though :/
Bleh. Slightly better than last week, but this was another boring episode.
The characters are just way too boring. There's nothing interesting or even really real about them... they're just walking caricatures of one-line descriptions: "decent cop," "likable smart loser," and "tough fed." I at least liked Soto in the first few episodes... I was getting tired of him in this one.
Like I said last week, a good mystery isn't just about the mystery: it's as much, if not more, about the writing of the characters and each case-of-the-week. Both are still too weak.
I'm pessimistic, but I'm going to keep watching for at least a few more episodes. Maybe it's just another show that starts slow.
For I am waiting for that spark of something to tell me it's gonna be a show to watch so far all I'm getting is "oh alcatraz is on tonight". It's not like other shows where you just can't wait to get to the next episode.
Good points made, but I was actually getting more interested in the three central characters, Soto, Madsen, and Hauser, until this fourth installment - especially, I was beginning to find Soto more interesting and engaging while I was rooting for Madsen to "grow a set" and work around Hauser whose only charm is his dark persona. For now, they've all lost me again as none of them did anything, particularly, of substance. The inmate of the weeks return and, subsequent, crime spree made little sense as it seemed to have no connection to the looming question of "why"? 40 minutes to reveal only the warden has a secret triple-locked door underneath Alcatraz with no clue as to what the door is for. A "big empty" episode at a time many of us were needing meatier characters getting at a piece of the puzzle. Things must get better if viewers are compelled to tune in each week. Here's hoping a big corner is turned, and soon!moreless
" How did Rebecca get the SWAT outfit on Cal so fast when the bank was being gassed? Did I miss a point where she stole a uniform from a SWAT member? "
She had the swat outfit in the bag when she exit the ventilation, then cal dress it and only after he shoot the swat enter the bank
She grabbed the uniform out of the trunk of a car, not sure if it was her car or a cop car. She gave him time to get dressed then shot some rounds, SWAT swoops in and the robber enters through the back door when the smoke hits. And they walk out the front like nothing happened.
Well look at that, it WASN'T so difficult to figure out, Tim. Maybe you'd like more shows if you actually paid attention to them.
But didn't she come through the air duct with nothing on her?
Oh that's right, she had the bag. Never mind. I swear I looked for it TWICE and didn't see her grab the uniform.
I love POI but am still willing to give Alcatraz a fair shot......its only 4 episodes in......i think people are looking for too much too soon. What would be the point in watching any further if they answered the questions now? It would be like only reading the first and last chapters of a book........patience people!
True, but then at least give us a reason to stay tuned. I don't have one yet, and it isn't going to be, "Just because I like JJ Abrams (or insert another name here." A show doesn't necessarily have to answer all the questions, but it needs to give us something to invest in.
This is the first TV show I watch almost completely without actually watching it - browsing through the internet has never been so interesting. So on that note: Farewell, Alcatraz! I gave you 4 episodes to show me that you are not a waste of time but you managed to convince me otherwise. An accumulation of bad dialogue, questionable acting, awkward science (sure, green dots always manage to tell you about the molecular composition of objects), forced mystery, uninteresting main characters and plots that made me root for the bad guys just isn't worth my time.
Episode was better this week but still more of the same.