Alcatraz

You may or may not have heard of this new show on Fox from producer J.J. Abrahms called "Alcatraz"; if not, here's the premise: in March 1963, 300+ inmates and guards disappeared without a trace; now, in 2012, they're coming back.  And committing their original crimes on top of doing some mysterious dirty work for some higher power.

I've watched three episodes now (well, technically four since the pilot episode was really the first two episodes back-to-back), and I think that's enough to form an initial opinion.  I think I need to wait until I've absorbed the entire first season before putting together any official "review" of some kind, but here are some brief thoughts about the show so far:

• It's essentially a police procedural show, except it's got paranormal overtones and is funny
• Sam Neill
• I like fiction that takes historical events and puts a new spin on them, and I am a little excited for something as cool as Alcatraz
• No really, Alcatraz was this prison on an island that was next to impossible to escape from.  Can you think of a cooler premise for a TV show of this nature?
• Sam Neill
• They're spending equal time in 1960 and 2012.  They're giving us a lot of backstory on the criminals that the team is chasing down, and there has to be a reason for that - but what's the reason?
• This show has paranormal overtones - or does it?  Maybe time travel is involved?  That's not paranormal in my books.
• Sam Neill

I highly recommend this show - and I never watched Lost, so I'm not saying that you should watch this show based on that last show.  I hear though that the guy who plays Doctor Soto played a guy named Hurley in Lost, and maybe some people might like that?

You can watch Alcatraz Monday nights at 9PM EST on Fox, or be like me and watch it on CITY TV in Canada.