SDCC 2011: ALCATRAZ panel and initial pilot thoughts

I just saw the pilot episode for J.J. Abrams' upcoming new TV series Alcatraz. I went into the panel excited to see what this show was all about, and left a little excited and confused. I have come to the conclusion that it's not possible for Abrams to create another Lost, because the scope of that show was epic. Alcatraz feels big, but not Lost big. So my first recomendation to audiences is that Alcatraz is it's own show.

Here is an overview of the show:

When San Francisco Police Department DET. REBECCA MADSEN (Sarah Jones, “Sons of Anarchy”) is assigned to a grisly homicide case, a fingerprint leads her to a shocking suspect: JACK SYLVANE (guest star Jeffrey Pierce, “The Nine”), a former Alcatraz inmate who died decades ago. Given her family history – both her grandfather and surrogate uncle, RAY ARCHER (Robert Forster, “Jackie Brown”), were guards at the prison – Madsen’s interest is immediately piqued, and once the enigmatic, knows-everything-but-tells-nothing government agent EMERSON HAUSER (Sam Neill, “Jurassic Park”) tries to impede her investigation, she’s doggedly committed. Madsen turns to Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast, DR. DIEGO “DOC” SOTO (Jorge Garcia, “Lost”), to piece together the inexplicable sequence of events. The twosome discovers that Sylvane is not only alive, but he’s loose on the streets of San Francisco, leaving bodies in his wake. And strangely, he hasn’t aged a day since he was in Alcatraz, when the prison was ruled by the iron-fisted WARDEN EDWIN JAMES (Jonny Coyne, “Undercovers”) and the merciless ASSOCIATE WARDEN E.B. TILLER (Jason Butler Harner, “The Changeling”). Madsen and Soto reluctantly team with Agent Hauser and his technician, LUCY BANERJEE (Parminder Nagra, “ER”), to stop Sylvane’s vengeful killing spree.

According to Executie Producer Liz Sarnoff, "there's going to be a bad guy they have to catch every week. We want to answer these questions, using flashbacks to see Alcatraz in its hey day." This first episode presented as many mysteries as it does answer questions. I hope this is a show that will actually resolve itself in a certain number of episodes. 

It is going to be hard for me to see Garcia and automatically not to ask myself what Hurley is doing in Alcatraz. I am sure that I will get over that after a few episodes and I get a chance to see more of his character. So far, his character seems to be someone that as a geek, we can easily relate to as a comic book fan.

I am not familiar with Jones from Sons of Anarchy, but am interested in seeing her character grow in this show. She seems to have a lot of layers to her character. She is a tough detective that is good at her job, but is still living in the shadow of her father (Forster), a retired Alcatraz prison guard. From the pilot it looks like her character will have some inner conflict to fiind her way and prove herself to her father.

Forster is a solid actor and I am interested in seeing how his character expands in this series. His knowledge of Alcatraz will be invaluable for solving the mystery that is kicked-off in the pilot. I think Sam Neill is perfectly cast as the government agent who knows more than he lets on. 

This is a show that will require a lot of attention to really get into watching, I am not sure I am sold personally if it is one I want to see on a weekly basis. If you have not seen the trailer for the show, check that out HERE. Let us know what you think of the series and if you are planning on watching!