Lost and Fringe creator J.J. Abrams is at it again with an all-new series for FOX called Alcatraz. After successful runs on the two popular shows as well as directing the Star Trek reboot and Super 8 Abrams already has the built in fan base and know how to bring fans a thought provoking interesting series, but will it work or will it be another that seems to stretch out long confusion storylines that really never get anywhere?
Alcatraz tells the story of San Francisco Police Department DET. REBECCA MADSEN who is assigned to a grisly homicide case; a fingerprint leads her to a seemingly impossible suspect: JACK SYLVANE, an Alcatraz inmate who died over 30 years ago. Given her family history – both her grandfather and surrogate uncle, RAY ARCHER were guards at the prison – Madsen’s interest is immediately piqued. When the enigmatic, knows-everything-but-tells-nothing government agent EMERSON HAUSER tries to impede her investigation, she becomes doggedly committed to it.
Madsen finds herself working with an unlikely partner, Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast DR. DIEGO “DOC” SOTO, to help piece together the inexplicable sequence of events. The two discover that Sylvane is not only alive, but he’s loose on the streets of San Francisco, exacting decades-old revenge and leaving bodies in his wake. And strangely, he hasn’t aged a day since 1963, when Alcatraz was ruled by the iron-fisted WARDEN EDWIN JAMES and the sadistic ASSOCIATE WARDEN E.B. TILLER.
Detective Madsen and Soto must team with Hauser and his associate, LUCY BANERJEE, to stop Sylvane’s vengeful killing spree. By delving into Alcatraz history, government cover-ups and Rebecca’s own heritage, the team will ultimately discover that Sylvane is only a small part of a much larger, more sinister present-day threat. Because even though he may be the first, it quickly becomes clear that Sylvane won’t be the last to reappear from Alcatraz.
"Sylvane is only a small part of a much larger, more sinister present-day threat"
During the course of the investigation, Madsen and Soto will learn that Hauser has been awaiting the prisoners’ return for nearly 50 years. Soto will witness his life’s work – the history of Alcatraz – come alive, while he and Madsen fight to keep the country safe from history’s most dangerous criminals.
The show stars Sam Neil (Jurassic Park), Jorge Garcia (LOST), Sarah Jones, Robert Forster (Jackie Brown), and Parminder Nagra (ER). This series promises to be intriguing, but let’s hope it doesn’t run its course with confusing unfinished plots like LOST or slow building uninteresting stories like in Fringe. Only time will tell if this much anticipated show will fill the void left by both of those shows and more when they were still good.
Alcatraz airs on January 16th with a 2-hour premiere.
For more information check out the official site at http://www.fox.com/alcatraz/
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