"Alcatraz" (2012 ->)

Once upon a time the name J.J. Abrams gave you anticipation. These days his name is everywhere, and rarely any of the shows are interesting. Thinking back at the first season of Alcatraz, his latest involvement, brings me back to the words of Tim Surette over at tv.com:

"You know what I find interesting? That a serialized drama with a huge story to tell and only a 13-episode first season to tell it in could completely skip an episode and not miss a beat in season-long arcs."

He said so reviewing the double feature of episodes 9 and 10, which Fox jumped ahead to according to their initial schedule after episode 8 got pushed back due to some sports overtime or something like that. Ain't that a kick in the head?

Alcatraz have a lot in common with another project carrying the Abrams name as executive producer and creator, Fringe. They are both exploring events out of the ordinary, with sci-fi elements as well as science, and they are both trying to tell three stories at once. Of course Fringe does so well, and there's the problem. Alcatraz doesn't succeed on any of their three levels. The weekly procedurals are uninteresting, they have failed to keep progress on their arch story according to time spent and their 60's stories are just plain boring.

Of course Fringe's first season wasn't the greatest either, but at least they offered more interesting stuff on at least parts of what they tried to do and they had actors who captured us. Other shows like Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, at least I'm told, Breaking Bad also really get things going in later seasons, which buys Alcatraz some room to grow if allowed by the network. I doubt it will happen, even if I haven't exactly kept an eye on Alcatraz' ratings, and I can't see this show being renewed for another season.

It's not awful. While I notice many viewers elsewhere have more than a few questions about leading lady Sarah Jones' acting, she's kind of grown on me. Not a lot, but I just mostly think they use her wrong... I've got a lot more concern to throw around for the rest of the cast, as there's several problems lurking elsewhere.

Anyway. I've watched the season as its aired along, and learned little new. It's not like I'll look forward to the new season if renewed, but learning from other shows I'll probably give it a couple of episodes to work out its kinks. If they do continue down the same path, they'll for sure lose my interest pretty quickly.

★★☆☆☆ Season 1