Alcatraz: The Complete Series

I really like the story and found the series to be quite good. Sadly there was only one season, as the series was cancelled for a second season. The reason I mention this is there was never closure on the mystery behind the series plot. This was quite a bummer and I traded/sold the dvd back to Amazon for a significant loss compared to what I paid. This is no ones fault but my own as I should have done more research on this series before I ordered it. Hopefully this will help some one interested in buying the DVD.

JJ Abrahms, the creator of the long-running suspense serial Lost starts a new series with elements of mystery, magic and police procedural, however, those looking for realistic procedural should look elsewhere but those looking for serial mysterious suspense should be right at home.Alcatraz, arguably America's most famous prison was closed in 1963 with all inmates transferred, but that isn't what happened the opening voiceover informs us. Instead, the prisoners and guards disappeared into the ether and were never seen again. Until 50 years later when the criminals start reappearing, unaged and unchanged and committing the horrendous crimes they were incarcerated for.A young detective with a family connection to Alcatraz catches the first homicide connected with the mysteriously reappearing prisoners. Of course no one else knows this and she figures it out fairly quickly with the help of an Alcatraz historian, Dr. Soto. The detective and Dr. Soto stumble on a mysterious organization tasked with catching the prisoners as the reappear and finding out what happened in the first place. The viewer is given hints that this organization is not all that it seems and that the prisoners may have been the subject of medical experiments that may or may not be related to the current predicament.Perfect combination of weekly arcs for new viewers and longer arcs for those who like to follow a mystery. Mr. Abrahms excells at grab you by the throat openings but sometimes has trouble with middle and last acts. Viewers will have to see if Alcatraz follows this pattern or breaks it. Intriguing and worth a look.

I have to say that I enjoyed the show and the lead, Sarah Jones, who plays her cop role in a low key ladylike fashion. It is peopled with interesting characters, including the escaped cons. The camera pans in and out as a whooshing sound in the background signals the audience to be ready for a shift in scene or a new show in the series and it lends a comic book flavor to 'Alcatraz', still, I liked it. Alcatraz has always had a mysterious flavor to it and legends developed over the years such as the Birdman. San Francisco is too close to Hollywood for Alcatraz to remain just another prison that closed. No, the moviemakers have to make it a special place. So, with legend underlying this pilot series. No spoilers here. Worth watching.

"Alcatraz" COULD have worked and worked well...I think its only major flaw was that some of the episodes, particularly midseason, felt more like a crime procedural ("hey, another inmate appeared, let's go get 'im") than a surreal mystery. If only EACH ep had given us a bit of the plot points! It seemed like several went by with little more than a tease into the three keys, the '63s, and the sleazy Warden's master plan...and then in the season finale we had major points all dumped at once!Still and all...this could have been MAGNIFICENT in a second season. I detest Fox for pulling it.My question is, WHY can this story not continue in graphic novel form?? Hey you producers and writers, if you're reading this, FINISH THE STORY! I want more Senator BadA-- (aka Hauser -- as Sarah Jones so perfectly called him), more Doc, more Becca, more Warden! I wanna know how it ENDS! Bring in Joss Whedon, bring in any of the supremely talented writers and artists working in comics today, and let this continue the same way "Firefly/Serenity" has! At least let us find out what the heck happened!Kudos to all who worked on this show. It did not deserve the treatment Fox gave it.

Alcatraz was a brilliant little gem that unfortunately landed on the wrong network! A very strong cast, the story lines were intelligent and so intriguing! Every time an episode ended it left you wanted more. The lead character played by Sara jones from Sons of anarchy and the recent Vegas on CBS is beautiful and effortlessly our hero of this series along with jorge Gracia of Lost fame as her partner try to unravel fact from fiction in this past meets present storyline filled with twists and turns. I totally recommend watching this although the show has been cancelled so you will be left wanting more when you finish the last episode and left with unawswered questions. It is totally worth the ride to watch it!!!

I catched some episodes by chance on German TV and decided to buy the complete season. I like the character played by Jorge Garcia, plus the story itself was promising. But - due to whatever reason - the series should not get more than this one season with a handful of episodes. Therefore, the ending is not really satisfactory. Although they try to give some answers and explanations, but it feels like "we must end the story within one episode". What started with great expectations could not fulfil them in the end. Anyway, it is a good recommendation, the single episodes are thrilling!

This show had potential, and in my honest opinion, was cut short way too soon. It seems a lot of shows I like do that though, get me hooked and then get canceled. Like The Glades, Firefly, The Finder... To a lesser extent, the animated show Sit Down, Shut Up. Anyways, the whole premise of the prisoners of Alcatraz suddenly returning in the present day, the same as they looked in 1963, to me was just brilliant. Would have loved to see more of this show.

Alcatraz fast became one of my favorite TV series, which means the kiss of death. Anytime I find myself getting immersed in a new show, the networks take it off the air after one or two seasons. Unfortunately, Alcatraz only was given one season just as it was finding its rhythm..Convicts who were held in Alcatraz back when it was still open escape - in today's time and repeat the crimes that they were incarcerated for. Part sci-fi, part thriller, this action packed show was amazing and fun to watch. In some ways, it reminded me of the show Brimstone (also a show that was brilliant and was yanked off the air too quickly).There is something about dealing with people from the past who come back to life in today's world that has always interested me and Alcatraz takes this focus and intermingles it with interesting facts about the prison, what it looked like and how it felt to be incarcerated there.I am happy to get this DVD of a show that received too little attention and praise.

my son is a police officer I bought it for him ...........I also went to Alcatraz and went into one of there cells so I had a hands on what this series is about pretty scary lol

Excellent show. Been looking everywhere for this

CONTAINS SPOILERS.If you employed a mason to build a wall in your garden and he half built it and walked away you'd be unhappy.Equally, if you bought a tin of baked beans and upon opening the tin you found it was half empty you'd be unhappy.In both cases we, the customer, would have some form of redress against the builder and manufacturer in the above examples.But NOT AT ALL with this series; the producers have stopped the production after 1 season with the story incomplete and hanging on the edge, and it seems to me that they can get away with it. That's wrong but legal.I have mixed feelings about Alcatraz; I found it very episodic: each segment involved an inmate reappearing after 50 years 'in limbo' (somewhere) and reenacting his crimes from the 1950/60's and then being killed or tracked down by using modern crime detecting methods. The odd clue was given towards the reasons for the disappearance of the inmates and staff 50 years ago, though never really leading to our understanding of the situation: a government experiment? A hidden agenda of the Chief Warden? Alien abduction?Much of the acting is very wooden, even from Sam Neill who looked so uncomfortable in his role.The lack of a romance between our heroine, Sarah Jones, and even a pet cat may explain why there was no spark in her performance.The only star for me was the outstanding turn by British actor Jonny Coyne as the Warden; his diction was perfect and he was blessed with the meatiest dialogue of any of the cast. Sadly he wasn't on screen enough to give the series gravitas.The final nail in the coffin for me is that 2 of the team searching for the answers were involved in the disappearance 50 years before but neither were forthcoming with exactly what happened to them to help us, the viewers, or even the heroine and her sidekick. Why not?I'm not sure I'd recommend this box set as its clearly an unfinished work; however some people will enjoy a meal of a starter and main dish and forsake the pudding and feel satisfied.My afterthoughts: our heroine drove a green 1968 Mustang throughout: in the last episode the reason for this oddity was revealed, which is about the only resolution that was satisfying in the series. A homage was paid by the writers and producers to  Bullitt (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVD ], which was also set in San Francisco. The famous car chase scene was reinacted involving the iconic Mustang and even included a green VW Beetle poodling along the chase route ala mode 'Bullet'.24 Hours,Season 9 has begun filming; I'm spotting actors whom have appeared in the series and one appears in Alcatraz. The actor who played the character Marcos Al-Zacar (terrorist who blows himself up) appears here as one of the inmates.He also had a key role in the series  The Pacific - Complete HBO Series [DVD ] and much later has been cast as the main man in 'Robot'. Bullitt (2 Disc Special Edition) [DVDThe Pacific - Complete HBO Series [DVD

Alcatraz was gritty, suspenseful and got closer and closer with each episode to answering the tantalizing questions you had from the very beginning. I binge-watched the entire series over a couple of nights and was left breathless. Get the popcorn ready...and enjoy!