Welcome to another island of the lost.
Not to mention another TV show where your first reaction is likely to be, "Huh?"
That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Produced under the aegis of J.J. Abrams, the big-screen director and TV wunderkind behind such shows as Alias, Lost and Fringe, Alcatraz (* * * out of four, Fox, Monday, 8 ET/PT) reflects Abrams' abiding passion for complicated, fantasy-fueled but character-driven serialized dramas. What viewers know by now with Abrams is that multiple questions will be posed in tonight's two-hour opener that will be answered, avoided or compounded as the show runs on. The mystery is the thing.
In Alcatraz, the mystery is â€" at least initially â€" a bit more straightforward than the multiple realities filtering through Fringe and Lost. The setup takes us back to 1963, when the notorious federal pr ison on Alcatraz Island was closed and all its prisoners were transferred.
Except, as we're instantly alerted, "that's not what happened." Instead, 302 men vanished and were never heard of again. Until now, of course, or there wouldn't be a show.
Much â€" perhaps too much â€" like Fringe, the show centers on a blond female detective, Rebecca (played by Sarah Jones), who's dragged into a closely guarded government secret when the murder suspect she's chasing turns out to be one of those men last seen imprisoned on Alcatraz. She seeks help from an Alcatraz expert, "Doc" Soto (justly beloved Lost veteran Jorge Garcia), who can't figure out how the guy got here or why he hasn't aged.
If anyone knows, it's the head of a clandestine task force, Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill). B ut if Hauser does know the who, how and why, he's not telling.
Which leaves you, at the moment, with two shows floating along at once. There's the self-contained procedural, as Rebecca and Doc try to recapture a weekly Alcatraz convict. And there's the continuing plot, as they try to figure out what's really going on and what Hauser and his assistant Lucy (ER's Parminder Nagra) are really up to.
It's an interesting idea â€" but for now, the idea is a bit more interesting than the show around it. While Garcia remains a tremendously appealing, cuddly TV presence, his co-stars are a bit of a blank slate.
Both may improve with time, but in tonight's dual episode, Jones too often comes across as petulant when she should seem tough, and Neill comes across as tougher and harsher than the show may be able to bear. We don't have to like him, but we do have to want to spend time not liking him.
And of course, there's another problem: that inchoate, TV-watcher fear that the show may become too interesting, as Abrams' shows tend to do. Alcatraz is easy enough to follow tonight, with twists and surprises that are enjoyable and not enervating. But you still may leave it wondering how long it will be before there are eight timelines and six universes.
That's the thing with islands. They can be easier to get on than get off.
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