J.J. Abrams Welcomes You to ALCATRAZ

Next week will see the two-hour premiere of J.J. Abrams latest television endeavor, Alcatraz, on Fox. In preparation for the event, Fox sat down with Abrams and had him explain what is to be expected from his new show, specifically: will it be a show that’s easily accessible, a quality that most of Abrams’ series have lacked in the past. The answer I take from the video, viewable down below, is both a yes and a no.

Abrams explains the premise of the show, which we should all be familiar with by now, yes? Just in case: Alcatraz revolves around Rebecca Madsen as she investigates a series of crimes committed by former inmates of Alcatraz, inmates that disappeared 50 years ago. Despite being missing for years, they haven’t aged a day. To flesh out these prisoners, the show will include flashbacks to when the legendary prison was still operational. Each week will feature a new inmate resurfacing, though he might be someone we’ve seen in a previous episode. The idea, as Abrams explains it, is it won’t matter if you’ve never seen an episode before. You should be able to drop in and pick up what’s happening, and if you have been following along you’ll see things new viewers won’t.

Essentially, this will have a serialized mythology, but it will be structured in such a way that you won’t need to know everything from week to week. This method of story telling was used in the other Fox/Abrams series, Fringe, during its first season. Ultimately though, Fringe dropped the format and committed to its mythology, creating a much stronger show. I can’t help but feel Alcatraz will inevitably go through a similar transformation. It will strengthen the show, but casual audiences will be alienated.