Season 1, Episode 4
Episode four, again titled after the name of our most recent Alcatraz inmate to jump through time, begins with a short video package reminding us of the key moments thus far in the series.
As the angle doesn't appear in the rest of the episode, this was a perfect way to remind the viewers that main character Detective Madson's grandfather is one of the inmates, who also happened to kill her partner before the events of the show began. An effective use of a recap to remind people what's going on, but also cover material that won't be brought up during the episode - well done.
This episode is all about Cal Sweeney, a con-man that breaks into bank security deposit boxes in order to steal people's precious items. We start off with Cal infiltrating a bank with the help of the teller, who he had previous seduced. After knocking out the woman, Cal opens specific deposit boxes, but is soon interrupted by the bank manager, whom he kills.
Definitely a fun way to open the show, fading into the opening credits. You start with something simple - the relationship between a mysterious man that we've never seen before, and this woman who he is obviously close to. At first, it seems there is nothing wrong, and that the couple is just having a little "fun" in the back. Too bad for her this is Alcatraz, not Sex in the City... In a matter of seconds she is on the ground, he is breaking into deposit boxes, and the viewer is instantly intrigued by what's going on. The segment ends, the credits montage begins, and we're left only assuming he is one of the "escapees", for lack of a better term. This is one of the key reasons why Alcatraz has been successful in the ratings: they know how to start a show by not giving too much away, but leaving just enough to intrigue the casual viewer not to change the channel.
Madsen and Soto are enjoying breakfast at an Asian resteraunt when they get the call about a bank robber who is only stealing secruity deposit boxes. Soto immediately recognizes this as the M.O. of Cal Sweeney, one of the Alcatraz inmates that disappeared. The two rush to the scene...
A simple way to show that the two main characters, who have only known each other now for 3 episodes, are beginning to bond. There is some playful banter between the two, and it's nice to see that the team is beginning to build chemistry. As much as I think she's adequate enough to play the part, I wasn't really sold on Sarah Jones (Det. Madsen) as a lead actor in this series. But she plays off Jorge Garcia (Soto) well. Add those two the the straight-man in Sam Neil and you've got a really interesting chemistry brewing between them. This was also a decent way to further validate Soto's presence on the team. He heard an M.O. and was immediately able to deduce the person behind it. From a storytelling perspective this makes sense, and from a technical perspective it saves the writers a lot of time trying to have the crew figure out who is behind each and every angle.
Cal Sweeney cons his way into the home of one of his victims, pretending to be from the bank's insurance team. He starts asking personal questions about the necklace that went missing (the one he stole), but ends up killing the man to end the scene. Madson and Soto arrive at the house after another trademark Flashback segment, meet the victim's wife, and enter the house to find him dead in the kitchen.
We're coming back from our first commercial break after the opening credits, and as a casual viewer we're going to want to see something that catches our attention. We want to know who this guy from the beginning is, and the breakfast scene did that to an extent. But Sweeney is the kind of character we want to see more of, to get his perspective however evil it may be. So they deliver by further his con-man angle, but adding another layer to his character to make him a bit more elusive. Why is he stealing only these items important to people? Why does he so desperately want to know their significance, even at the cost of other's lives? The writers know the rest of this segment is going to be spent with the team, trying to find Sweeney, so this is our moment of intrigue to hook us into watching until the very end. As I said, the consistent ratings proves that it's working.
The rest of the episode is spent with our team trying to get to Sweeney. At one point they have to break him out of a bank after his job goes wrong, just to keep him away from local authorities (you don't want a guy who's supposed to have been dead 40 years ago turning up in any police files...). In the end they do catch him, and you have to assume he was put in Hauser's Alcatraz inspired prison. On him at the time of his capture was the last thing he was supposed to steal, which was revealed as yet another large, mysterious key (the first one turned up in the series premiere, if I remember correctly). The episode ends with Hauser taking the key and refusing to explain its significance to Madson and Soto. In another Flashback segment, the Warden was seen taking Sweeney down below Alcatraz and using the mysterious keys to open a door (with a third key). Sweeney was taken into the room, but we were never allowed to see what was behind the door, as the show fades to black...
The meat of the episode was fun. Sweeney was another unique character, and with an episodic show that revolves completely around the returning Alcatraz inmates, a single bland character could flop an episode. I love that they slowly reveled a little bit more of what's behind the curtain, but there is still so much we don't know. What is in the room under Alcatraz? How are these inmates traveling through time, IF that is how they are arriving in 2012? What is Hauser hiding from the team, and how much is he actually involved in all of this? There was also a small bit of information giving in one of the Flashbacks that could have been missed if you weren't really paying attention to it: there are doctors on Alcatraz that are attempting to take the inmates memories, along with a few other brain-related tests.
So, in yet another episode they begin by asking several questions, answering enough of the small ones to keep you satisfied, but continuing to reveal more of the puzzle (that you quickly realize is larger than you think) so that you are sure to come back next week and figure out what's going on. Simple television booking crafted into an intriguing show that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. On paper it's a smaller-scale, more episodic Lost, which is exactly what I believe they were going for. Many people's complaints with Lost is that you had to watch it from the beginning, and you couldn't miss a single episode or nothing every made sense again. I'm not sure that isn't the case with Alcatraz, but it doesn't seem to be as dire, nor as unrealistic right off the bat. I think, unless something truly warped happens near the end of this season, we could be in for a show that captures all the sci-fy nuts that Abrams did with Lost, but also manages to keep up interest (and more importantly its ratings) with more casual viewers.
It's still a niche, but it's a relatable niche... Rating: A-
