The television series Alcatraz, which has a complete series Blu-ray and DVD release out today from Warner Home Video, is one of those series where I don’t really get it. Of the shows that didn’t see a Season 2 last year (sorry, Secret Circle), this was one that I think didn’t really get a fair shot.
JJ Abrams was an executive producer on the show, which explored the mystery and procedural aspect of what happens when a series of criminals who disappeared on Alcatraz Island in 1963 showed up in present-day 2012.
The JJ Abrams connection certainly helped get Alcatraz on the air, as did its cast, which included folks like Jorge Garcia, Sarah Jones, Parminder Nagra, Sam Neill, Robert Forster and Jonny Coyne. The show went out the gate with what were, admittedly, somewhat repetitive stories… but then again, most TV series seem to begin with a repetitive, formulaic approach. Some creative changes behind the scenes at the start also couldn’t have helped.
But despite that early-run drama… Alcatraz was a really good show that was becoming and did become an even better show. Mysteries started to build and we really became more attached to the characters as time went on. That is, those of us who were watching the show live, if we managed to know when the show would be on.
A lot like Human Target the year before it, FOX seemed to like to be a little random with Alcatraz on the schedule. Some weeks, we’d get no episodes; others, we’d get two. I think there was even an unannounced pre-emption in the mix, and it felt like scheduling the show was almost an afterthought for FOX. The show was also airing Monday nights at 8, against NBC’s new powerhouse The Voice. Oops. It seemed that if people didn’t catch the show, they weren’t going to catch the show.
It’s a shame that FOX couldn’t have re-aired Alcatraz over the summer in repeats; I think it would have really caught on with lesser competition. The amount of promotion that went into it, it was a shame it didn’t get the chance to show what it was capable of. As it stood, in such a competitive timeslot with all of the random changes, how could it have built an audience?
Was budget a concern? Yes, those fantastic sets surely were costly. But guess what? They’re already built. So that shouldn’t have impeded a second season. (Sadly, they’re since dismantled, and an operating room for Emily Owens, M.D. stands where the control room once stood)
But this isn’t a “How FOX Botched Alcatraz” column. This is an Alcatraz DVD review. So let me get to that.
The Complete Series DVD contains all 13 episodes of Alcatraz. There are deleted scenes and the requisite gag reel. Most interesting, though, is a featurette about “The Allure Of Alcatraz” that talks about the island and how it inspired the show. There’s an extensive look at the amazing Alcatraz sets within this feature. I had the fortune of visiting the sets in late 2011, and I was so impressed. While I have never been to the real Alcatraz, the attention to detail was all kinds of creepy… in a good way.
Having all 13 episodes of Alcatraz at one’s disposal means that you don’t have to worry about the whims of the network. It’s fun to look at these again and see what clues are dropped, and to think about what might have been. Some questions were raised in the season — now series finale, and those, too, would make you want to know what would happen next. Alas, it was not meant to be.
The DVD menus are average at best but the box art is nice. The picture quality and sound are great; I would have loved to have seen how the Blu-ray edition turned out.
Still, I really like this set, and I will definitely see Alcatraz as one of those series “that got away.” There should have been more, but I’m thankful that we got what we did, and I’m thankful to have all of these episodes right here. As “one season and done” series go, this is definitely one of the better ones.
Alcatraz: The Complete Series is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Order yours from Amazon.com at a discounted price and support KSiteTV: Blu-ray – DVD
