The Pilot sets up some interesting storylines that has the potential to have a good payoff down the road, that is if they get that far. As far as the first hour goes, even with a cool premise, I'm not feeling it with some of the characters, especially that of Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones). She seems oblivious about the whole scenario pertaining to Alcatraz inmates that suddenly return 50 years later without having aged a day and just accepts it as is. And she seems a bit to young to really care about the history of the inmates. The only connection she has is that she finds out later that the man that killed her partner was in fact an inmate himself and who also happens to be her Grandfather. As for Dr. Diego “Doc” Soto (Jorge Garcia), who I really liked on LOST, he just doesn't have much to do except follow Rebecca around. Granted, it's only one episode and I'm willing to give the writers a pass as they set up the series. But I was expecting a lot more from him than what we get in the series opener.

Emerson Hauser (Sam Neil) is the mysterious one that will offer the viewers the chance at for plenty of digging with regards to who he is and what his endgame is,. which kind of gets addressed somewhat at the end of the Pilot. I purposely avoided spoilers and really didn't allow myself to over think the series leading up to the premiere last night. So I was kind of surprised to see....

*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*

Spoiler (hover to show)

...that the inmates that are apprehended end up in a present-day "Alcatraz", which is a nice twist as it's modeled after the original Alcatraz interior. But it's the fact that Hauser who is portrayed as a "good guy" when capturing Jack Sylvane (Jeffrey Pierce) suddenly comes off as a corrupt Warden, much like that of the Associate Warden E.B. Tiller (Jason Butler Harner) from 1960 Alcatraz.

Sam Neil & Jeffrey Pierce


Present-day "Alcatraz"

This being a J. J. Abrams show, I of course kept my eye out for any mention of the number 47. For those that don't know about J.J., he has pretty much put this number in all of his series from Alias to LOST to Fringe and now Alcatraz. So, let the 47 drinking game continue on. Take a shot everytime you see or hear the number pop up.....


Like I said earlier, the series has a lot of potential and I will stick around as I have faith in J.J. fixing some of the problems and making this a kick-ass series. He has never disappointed me and I don't think he will here. I'm along for the ride. I gotta point out that Jeffrey Pierce has a knack for playing roles that have ties to the past and somehow resides in San Francisco, as is the case in Journeyman, Episode 5: The Legend Of Dylan McCleen. Just an observation.