J.J. Abrams, creator of Lost, finds yet another way to challenge the minds of U.S. television viewers in his new Fox show Alcatraz. The show centers on the closing of the infamous prison just off of the shore of San Francisco and suggests there was much more to the 1963 shutdown than we might think. Whereas history tells us the prison closed in 1963 and prisoners were moved elsewhere, Alcatraz follows a storyline based on the idea that the prisoners mysteriously disappeared within the prison walls - and are somehow returning in the present day.
Each episode follows a different prisoner as he suddenly shows up, not having aged, in the modern world. While nearly everyone is oblivious to the strange occurrences, former prison guard Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) has been waiting for this day since 1963. Hauser was the guard who discovered the inmates had disappeared back when the prison closed, and he immediately recognizes the former prisoners when they reappear. Tension arises, however, when young detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) seeks to find out more than Hauser is willing to divulge. Along with help from historian Diego Soto (Lost's Jorge Garcia), Madsen begins looking into the mystery and finds herself entangled in a conspiratorial web of confusion.
Each episode is named after the former inmate around which it revolves. The pilot begins with Jack Sylvane (Jeffrey Pierce), who uses his first day in the 21st century to hunt down and kill E.B. Tiller (Jeremy Dangerfield), Alcatraz's former associate warden who mistreated Sylvane during his imprisonment. When Madsen is put on the murder case, she discovers Sylvane's fingerprints and is perplexed when Soto informs her that he died 30 years ago. Even after Hauser, now the head of a special division of the FBI, takes over the case, Madsen and Soto refuse to drop the issue. When Hauser reluctantly reveals the cover-up to the inquiring pair, the investigators are hooked - and so are we.
Abrams' dramas are famous for presenting mysteries which unfold bit by bit with each episode, increasing in complexity as time goes on. Alias, Lost, Fringe and Person of Interest all exemplify this characteristic pattern of Abrams' work. Each moment of these shows carries a heightened level of suspense, and Alcatraz is no different. With all of the myths surrounding the prison's history, Abrams has a large gray area with which to play. For anyone who loves mysteries, crime dramas, puzzles or suspense, I would highly recommend this show. Airing Mondays on Fox at 9 p.m., Alcatraz is sure to be a riveting retelling of the story of this infamous prison and its horrific inmates.
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