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.

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.

Granted Alcatraz has an interesting premise. As long as the ratings don't disappoint, this show should never run out of juice, after all, there are over hundreds of missing criminals to base future episodes and seasons on. Though, after watching the first two episodes, I can't help but feel like there are some seriously humdrum characters in this show. The leads seem boring to me. I'd like to rate the show higher, but i'm not sure how long I'll be able to remain interested in it. A great premise can take you a long way, but if the series lacks interesting characters, eventually it will grow tiresome.… Expand

It's an interesting idea, but there are several issues with the show. Some characters' motivations are not explicitly proportional to their zeal and determination. There is very little character development for the girl and her lines are sometimes so inane they make this viewer cringe. After the second episode, the pattern of the series became clear: 57 minutes about random prisoner X who has just come back and the events leading to his capture + 3 minutes of exposition that reveals a tiny bit more about the mystery. After 2-3 more episodes, those 3 minutes were down to 1 minute (or nothing at all, as in the one last week.) We still record it, for now. I tell my husband to let me know when there's 5 minutes left because that's all that's worth watching, if at all. I expect to stop watching it altogether before the end of the season. Life is short, no sense in wasting time on mediocre television.… Expand

I was hoping that J.J. Abrams learned on the last seasons of Lost and wouldn't disappoint me with Alcatraz. Especially with Hurley on it. Well... he pulled it off. The show is just plain dumb and boring. Garcia IS Hurley here, the protagonist can find bullets within seconds in a park or deduct just everything from anything. The show is just outrageously simple. It doesn't surprise you in any way and I think it should get canned. Hell, it doesn't even make you think for a second.

The pace is drastically slow, characters are boring and shallow. Acting isn't even worth mentioning. It could've been a good show. I just don't understand why J.J. and half of the Lost crew, that work on this, can look at themselves in the mirror spurting week after week a show so dull.… Collapse

Going no where fast. As another reviewer said "a blonde female cop with a genius." Ho Hum. With JJ producing I thought we might get something interesting. But every week it is "catch the uber bad guy" with no advancement of the overall plot of What happened? Then ad in the over use of the ratcheting "smoke monster" sound, which was creepy when used sparingly. Bad writer's who don't care, lame use of Steve McQueen's Bullit mustang. No original ideas so far. I keep hoping, but not getting.… Expand