Alcatraz: Season 1
  • Network: FOX
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 16, 2012
  • Season #: 1
Metascore
63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    Jan 13, 2012
    83
    It was a dark and stormy night--and a weird, fun, trippy one, too.
  2. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Jan 13, 2012
    88
    The show has the makings of great--what else can I say?--escapist entertainment. [23 Jan 2012, p.39]
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User Reviews

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User Score
6.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 125 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 39
  3. Negative: 6 out of 39
  1. agagil
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. This show had such promise, a talented creator, a basic idea with some merit, decent cast. Alas, the weak script doesn't hold water. Instead of an interesting drama we get another police show in which a blond cop teams up with a genius professor in order to catch bad guys, all the time working for a secret government agency. Haven't we seen this hundreds of times before? Seems like they tried to combine CSI, The 4400 and Fringe into one lousy show.

    The script itself is astonishingly stupid. A guy who disappeared 30 years ago, pops up and goes on a violence spree although we are told countless times that he is not a killer, only a thief. The deputy warden used to treat him badly because that's what deputy wardens do, without any motives or explanations, they're just "bad" people, so he kills him. And then he decides to kill two more cops and another man from whom he takes a key, in order to plant the seed for the show's mystery. The first episode ends with him visiting the grave of his dead ex-wife who divorced him while he was in prison in order to marry his brother. By the way before visiting the grave he kidnaps the brother however we are never told if he killed him or not. Seems the writers forgot about the brother.

    I almost cried from the absurdity of that last paragraph! They writers actually forgot about the brother. What's the point of him kidnapping him if we are not shown the police freeing him. I would advise showing this episode in film school in order to teach people what not to do.    … Full Review »
  2. Ken_M
    3
    Having lived in the Bay Area for 8 years and enjoying "Lost", I *really* wanted to like this show. Unfortunately, though, the dialogue was pretty poor and the acting was so-so at best. I'll tune in for the next few episodes, but I'll be quickly tuning out if they're anything like the first two episodes.… Full Review »
  3. shepsii
    3
    Just really, really mediocre. The show's "goody" characters hide secrets from the audience uneccesarily, the dialog is terrible, simplistic and makes me feel like the writers are saying, "do you get what's happened here? No? Ok let us go over it for a 5th time!" As a fan of both Fringe and Lost I am horrifically disappointed by this effort.… Full Review »
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