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January 27, 2012

Joe Hadsall: 'Alcatraz' puts us back on the island

By Joe Hadsall Globe Features Editor

JOPLIN, Mo. — The power of “Lost” fans continues to amaze me.

References to it have appeared in other shows. Cast members who crashed on the island had their survival skills touted in other TV shows. All the new “Hawaii Five-O” needs is a spinal surgeon and a mysterious hatch to feel like a spinoff.

“Alcatraz” is the latest to capitalize on Losties’ love. Produced by J.J. Abrams, the show features Hurley — um, Jorge Garcia — as one of the main characters. As Dr. Diego “Doc” Soto, Garcia plays a Hurley who earned a Ph.D. in criminal justice, wrote a book on Alcatraz prisoners and owned a comic book store.

Soto gets recruited by Rebecca Madsen (played by Sarah Jones), a cop who takes on Soto as a partner after they are recruited by the reclusive Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill), a secretive authority who keeps a high-tech lab underneath the San Franciso prison. Together, they investigate cases of Alcatraz prisoners who disappeared in the ’60s, and are slowly reappearing in modern times.

The show is filled with Hurley moments. After Hauser reveals his lab and the prisoner-hunting purpose for it, Soto says, “So, you built the Batcave underneath Alcatraz?”

After Madsen has hesitations about breaking rules, Soto said this: “My folks are really, really smart. They teach at Stanford and they’re always telling me what to do. But it’s not always what makes you happy. So mostly I just hear what they have to say. And then I do the opposite.”

Totally Hurley!

There’s some moments made for “Lost” fans, too: The number 8, one of “Lost’s” mysterious numbers, is prominently displayed on a tag. And Soto makes a tongue in cheek joke about leaving “the island.”

And that’s basically what the show is: A new island to explore. (Yeah, I know, I know. Countless headline writers have written that same thing, but it’s still true.)

It appears to offer some interesting story arcs, as viewers find out who was in the past, who comes back and what they are trying to do. The “other Alcatraz” in the show is also reminiscent of the panopticon theme behind “Lost.” The show’s pacing feels more at “Fringe” speed, however.

That’s the big thing: In attempts to give “Lost” fans a new “Lost,” the shows are setting up meta-arcs and mythology right up front, forgetting that “Lost” didn’t reveal that until, arguably, Rousseau started talking about the Others. (How’s that for a debate question? You could make the same argument about finding out Locke was in the wheelchair, Charlie saying, “Where are we?” or even the trees moving and the sound of the monster on the first night.)

I’ll go along with the show for a while. It looks interesting, and Garcia is awesome at being Soto. But, as Ken Tucker wrote for EW.com, the next “Lost” won’t be anything like “Lost.”

Meaning that when a show as engaging as “Lost” surfaces, it will be a true gem.



Joe Hadsall, Globe features editor, can be reached at jhadsall@joplin globe.com.

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