Alcatraz Premiere: This Isn’t A Comic Book World, Is It?

In the series premiere of Alcatraz, Dr. Diego “Doc” Soto (played by Jorge Garcia) says, “This isn’t a comic book world, is it? You know, real people are going to die if we don’t catch these guys.” However, Alcatraz is very much a comic book world, and I mean that in the very best possible way. The premise is something straight out of what you would expect to find in a great graphic novel.There are supernatural elements, unexplained phenomenon, groovy flashbacks, and an all-knowing narrator. The story kicks off in 1963, when 302 prisoners and guards mysteriously disappear from Alcatraz. Flash forward to present time, and the missing prisoners are suddenly re-appearing to do what they do best, which is terrorize and murder other people.Detective Rebecca Madsen, who recently watched her partner fall to his death, is on the trail of one of these recently returned Alcatraz prisoners, which leads her to hook up with Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast Dr. Diego Soto. The basic plot of each episode seems like it is going to be Madsen and Diego tracking down one of the re-appearing Alcatraz prisoners.Along the way, there are plenty of twists and turns. For example, the returning prisoners are apparently being directed to kill certain people by a mystery person. There is also a man named Hauser, who was one of the young guards who originally discovered the prisoners were missing back in 1963. Hauser has now built a Batcave under Alcatraz and seems determined to re-imprison all the former Alcatraz inmates.Dr. Diego Soto drops plenty of comic book references throughout the premiere. In addition to referencing origin stories and the Batcave, Soto also turns over the day-to-day management of his comic book store to one of his employees so he can focus on crime-busting. His advice to his employee, “You have to run a register, do inventory, and stock. It’s not all videogames and the first crack at DC’s latest.”While the series has met with some mixed reviews from critics, I hope it does well enough in the ratings that FOX will keep it running for several seasons. It definitely has me hooked, and J.J. Abrams series often tend to get even better as they go along. I can’t wait to see what happens next.  If you watched the premiere, weigh in with your thoughts below.