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POLL : What did you think of Alcatraz - Cal Sweeney?

31 Jan 2012

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42 comments:

  1. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 02:56

    It was really good! I love this show. it's pretty interesting, and I hope it stays on the air.

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  2. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 03:03

    I'm really enjoying this show, it's setting up some nice mysteries, I hope it works like Fringe and we get some type of story arc closure for this first season, and that too many mysteries don't carry on. 

    Also, anyone else think the opening sequence is awesome? Something about it is just so epic I love it, haha

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  3. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 03:07

    Yuck...they used the cow-killer thing...reminds me of No Country for Old Men lol

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  4. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 03:22

    Wow! Nothing says "bad boyfriend" like that double-wing slicked back haircut Cal had in the present day! Ladies, do yourself a favor and just avoid the double-wing slicked back d-bags! XD

    It appears we are getting to know one of the prison heirarchy in each episode. After meeting Lucy Benrjee and Emerson Hauser in the pilot episodes, last week we got to know the Warden a bit more and this week we get to know Deputy Warden Tiller better!  Next week is Ray Archer who was a gaurd, so the pattern continues....

    Tiller a pretty good character too! Pretty 'sharp' to make a shaving analogy on the spot like that (ignoring the fact he is a fictional character and has writers of course). I wonder if he just wanted to be 'smooth' or he thought it gave him an 'edge' over Cal.

    Nice to see Geri Jewel (Deadwood) again.

    Was that drycleaner flirting with Doc? XD
    Either she charges more for extra large clothing or she's a bit of a chubby chaser! XD No offense meant to Doc or Jorge....



    Favorite quotes:
    -- Soto ask to go someplace "with syrup" for breakfast! XD

    -- I loved Hauser telling the SWAT guy . "Believe me when I tell you that I have a lot more experience in this than you do!" XD

    -- I bet the last thing Sweeney expected to hear from an agent at the door was "I'm here to break you out." XD

    -- "Get in!! Mr. Hauser,sir..."

    -- "Some other day..."



    Possible Mythology connections:
    Safety deposit boxes # 73, 74, 80, 81, 88, 96 I think....
    Then # 1869 in robbery two.

    Were the dinner guests at the table coincidental? 
    We had Warden James, Dep. Warden EB Tiller, Dr. Beauregard and wife(?) and Dr. Sengupta.... the invitees (not their plus ones) have all been killed by 63s or involved in present day Team Alcatraz.

    Hmm interesting, again someone mentioned trauma and its effects. The erasing memory aspect is VERY interesting too! It could play into why Jack Sylvane did not know where he had been for the past 50 years in  the pilot...

    Cal Sweeney robs a bank for a deposit box and has no idea what's in it, but knows he is "not supposed to open it".. Then it turns out to be another clack bag with a key! That certainly looks like another 63 returned on a mission, but who is the mastermind?

    Even Hauser does not know what the keys open.... the sub-secret-under-the-Bat-Cave-bunker-bunker !

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  5. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 03:24

    I was thinking of that too, but had more of an "Oooooooh" reaction than an "Ewwwwwwwwww" reaction! XD

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  6. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 03:52

    So, we get mentions and nods to mind alteration, a weird set of keys, a door that obviously has something to do with how Mr. Hauser says the inmates "jumped" and a crisp story of the week with great action, acting, and just enough dark drama/violence and awesome toned cinematography to set on top of a Giacchino score.

    This show really is LOST+FRINGE. They might as well call it FROST or something. But, it's beginning to take the best attributes of each show and put them to good use, rather than have it come across as a half-hearted procedural. Each of the inmates have been well-crafted and unique...and each episode seems to get better as it goes. We also get a fair amount of intrigue as to what exactly is going on... Here we saw the magic door, the 3 keys, and the word "jump" was used. 

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  7. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 03:56

    Well, it was ewwwww but of course, much like the NCFOM film, the intrigue factor was there too.

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  8. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 03:59

    Some caps of items related to the myth arc.

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  9. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 04:41

    I liked the ep and although I thought that the "63 of the week" was just ok, I loved that the show's pacing gave us alot of the mytharc forwarded and deepened the conspiracy pool a bit with the warden and the 3 keys to the mystery door... but who's behind the door? I liked that Lucy and Dr Beauregard didn't seem to like each other and it'll be interesting to see if part of the mystery has anything to do with her theories about "removing memories to rewire a person"......

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  10. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 04:58

    Love this show, and tonight's episode was really great. I've liked Eric Johnson since he was Brady the demon on "Supernatural."

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  11. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 05:13

    Whoever judged the show prior to the Pilot and assumed it would be purely procedural was just proven wrong. It has the perfect combination of mythology, character development and "Bad Guy of the Week." 

    I hope that the other comments are true, and towards the end of this season/the next few seasons, it will become like Fringe, and become mythology heavy. Because so far, the mythology seems great!

    By the way, was I the only one reminded of the Island's "Heart/Source" when Edwin James opened the door and said something about light? Possibly the transportation the inmates/guards used to disappear?

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  12. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 05:41

    There was SOME good stuff but I'm not satisfied.  I should be blown away but I'm not and its some of the obvious things that are getting to me.  Yeah the mythology has some interesting mysteries but none of the cases so far have shown me anything that says this bad guy is out of his time.  They look and act like modern day cases.  The only reason I accept that these criminals are special is because I'm told they are.  Also the good guys are supposed to be talented investigators aren't they?  Why didn't anyone ask how Sweeney was choosing the safety deposit boxes.  He clearly wasn't emptying all of them but nobody seemed interested why these particular boxes or what was driving him.  This was a marginal episode only for the fact that it moved along some of the mythology pieces.  Otherwise it was half baked.  I'm hoping for some better momentum and I'm willing to accept that much like Fringe; a lot of the early episodes are going to be more set up than resolution.  Fair enough.  But by the fourth episode of Fringe we already knew Peter, Olivia, Walter and Broyles well enough to like them.  With Alcatraz I'm struggling to understand why I should care about these characters.

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  13. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 05:55

    I agree completely about the lack of inquiry by the Alcatraz Team. 
    At least ask aloud "Why that hotel?" or "Why those particular safety deposit boxes?" and I could respect you as investigators. As it stands now they are basically just doing the job of US Marshals and capturing the "escaped" criminals without looking into the "why" and the "how" of their escapes. Well, even Marshals might look into the cases more honestly!

    I find myself liking the characters more and more... if I can say I like the older generation of people involved with Alcatraz. Hauser, Dr. Benerjee, Dr. Beauregard, Tiller and Warden James are all quite interesting to me.

    Soto and Rebecca Madsen less so. Soto has had his origin story and it was okay, but I'm still seeing Hurley.. I want to see Soto more confident and this episode was an improvement most of the time.

    Madsen I cannot quite be into either. Either the writing or the actress, but something keeps me at arm's length. 

    The mystery is the most compelling aspect of the series to me.

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  14. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 06:09

    I see the Fringe and LOST combo and will also toss in Alias with our heroine believing her dad (or grandpa) was one thing, when in fact he was something else.. Plus Hauser working for the FBI out of the sub-basement of Alcatraz feels a bit like SD-6 to me. 
    Maybe ALIFROST?I'm not sure I would call it "Perfect" though.  I understand the desire to shy away from myth arc whenever possible to attract more viewers while the show is new, but It would be nice if the team would investigate the cases post-capture too! See what they can find about why the returned 63 did the things they did, trace the 63's steps backwards and see when they returned, where they went or hid out, and how long they were "back" before moving into their endgame or mission. Of course, all of that would lead to more serialization and into more myth arc I guess. Like I said, I understand why they are doing it, but I do not like it!

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  15. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 06:58

    Agreed, and that why I'm loving this show so far, which I wasnt expecting before seeing it.

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  16. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 08:16

    Florist, not drycleaner.

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  17. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 08:20

    D'oh! 
    Um... yea...I was watching the episode at the time I jotted that note down! I have no idea why my mind went to dry cleaning! XDMaybe last week's dry cleaning van on FRINGE? Too odd!

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  18. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 08:29

    Hmmmm.  Nothing about Cal Sweeny was what I expected just from looking at him, from the timber of this voice to his build.  Weird observation but it stuck out in my mind.

    The bank robber stuff didn't draw me in as much as a couple of the previous episodes.  I felt like there were connections missing.  Most notably, why did Call need to know the story of the jewels he stole?  I think that connection might have gotten me into the story more.

    I was really glad to see that Cal was sent back on a mission, but the key reveal didn't make me feel better about the mythology of the show.  It made my previous questions stronger.  Are ALL of these guys being sent back on a mission?  That question is bugging me and the longer I go without an answer to more frustrated I get and not the good. kind.  The mythology is losing me rather that hooking me.

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  19. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 08:41

    re: your question about the woman flirting with Doc...are you talking about the woman selling flowers?  She gave them the name of the third teller?  Looked like flirting to me.  :-)  Doc looked a bit uncomfortable.

    Geri Jewel  thanks.  I haven't seen her since...was it...The Facts of Life.  Enjoyed seeing her and her...um...saucy character. :-)

    Oh, and your comment about erasing memories is really interesting.  My first thought was what if Lucy was working with our team in the present to atone for providing whoever took the '63s with the "tech" (for lack of a better word)  to erase these guys memories of what happened during that 50 years.

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  20. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 08:44

    "See what they can find about why the returned 63 did the things they did, trace the 63's steps backwards and see when they returned, where they went or hid out, and how long they were "back" before moving into their endgame or mission."
    That would fix my biggest problem with the show so far. 

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  21. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 08:57

    Yep the florist! Florist! 
    I don't know why I wrote dry cleaner! XD

    Facts of Life! My sister loved that show growing up and I can still hear that theme song in my head - I'm traumatized! XD

    I still have not figured where Lucy falls on the scale of good or bad... 
    I too thought she was trying to make amends at first. IF not trying to atone, maybe she was in some way responsible for the disappearances since she seemed t0 be doing unusual treatments or experiments at the prison.

    Then I thought maybe she was from the present and went back to gather blood or data from the 63's for Hauser. How many Indian and female Doctors/ Psychiatrists were there that worked for government jobs in the late 50's or early 60s? I could be completely wrong, but I thought that was still a very male dominated field and very white at the time too. I think I've dismissed that theory for now at least.....

    I am loving Dr. Beauregard! I'm glad he is part of the show and a much larger part than I expected! It's odd he has more face time than say Ray Archer and Jimmy Dickens, but they have their own promotional photos!

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  22. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 09:00

    I can wait for one larger part of the mystery to be revealed at the end of this shortened season, but along the way I would like to get more information!

    I don't need answers just yet, but more info that gives direction to the mystery would be nice!!!

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  23. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 09:46

    First of all, let's talk tourism. Alcatraz went to two towns and sends us postcards from both Cliche Town and Convenient Town. It actually liked it there so it returns every week. Two doctorates? Cons needing their small vices? 'I guess there's a con like me in every prison in America'. Oh, wait...
    Prisoners are waiters for the warden? Michael Scofield would sure like having that one. There is something here, but writers are missing the appropriate 'C' town - Creative town. Things are more magically connected than in 'Touch'. Well, I guess what for CBS are procedurals, for FOX are convenienters

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  24. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 10:19

    I really hope that, once we learn what is the mystery, writers give a damn good reason to those responsible for returning prisoners to our time for doing that, because as of now, it seems like a lot of trouble to time travel people so that they could get you keys from the bank rather than you doing it yourself via some organized robberies, hacking, or whatnot. If you can travel through time, you can surely get couple of keys by yourself, especially since it doesn't seem that prisoners possess any kind of special knowledge or invaluable skill set. So, the motivation for all this, while now intriguing can crumble once we get answers, or it can prove to be the work of a genius. I hope for the latter

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  25. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 11:23

    That's true.

    I guess maybe the mastermind is attempting ot hide connection to himself by using assumed dead, disappeared Alcatraz prisoners? I would think that if the mastermind has a strong connection to Alcatraz they would be easier to track. That is assuming the team ever actually investigates the why and the how of the Alcatraz 63s in addition to capturing them! XD

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  26. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 11:50

    Yes, but the problem with strange is that, as Holmes says in the 'Valley of Fear', strange helps solving the cases, because it is uncommon. It is the perfectly ordinary circumstances that make cases difficult

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  27. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 12:10

    Latest episode was decent. Cool mystery at the end there. Although I can't help thinking if I fell behind on this show, I wouldn't be all that bothered about catching up straight away. A bit like Fringe.

    I agree with prpleight - why did he want to know the story of the items he stole? I'd assume it will be answered later, but we haven't really seen the previous inmates so who knows.

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  28. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 13:21

    I recorded this but haven't yet watched it. I understand there's yet another bank heist for a safe deposit box? This is fast becoming a TV cliche, as Kate Austen did this, so did the perp in Cops and Robbers (on Castle), and now again with Cal Sweeney. At least he didn't get a toy airplane.

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  29. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 14:03

    I did it too! (I think us Bad Robot viewers must be the actual experiment!) XD

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  30. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 14:35

    Glad to know I was not the only one! XD
    Well, I think I'm glad... O-o

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  31. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 15:27

    I'm giving it more time before I worry about that. We're on episode 4 and we're already getting to see doors, and interesting dialogue...I don't want them to go too far too fast...I like it when the story is fleshed out. Of course they could be fleshing it out more through follow-up investigations, but so far I won't complain because it's been very good for me. I am willing to give an Abrams show a whole season before I give up on it if it starts as good as this show has. So far I think I enjoy it a little more than I did the 2-4th episodes of Fringe. I remember being on the fence about Fringe until the episode "Bound"... And that's episode 11 if I remember correctly.

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  32. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 15:30

    What if he was eating a strawberry pop tart?

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  33. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 17:20

    I read someones theory on EW that he was using other people's memories to smooth talk the ladies.. The teller said he gave her a brooch and a whole back story about it belonging to his grandmother, and we find out he robbed a bank and killed a man b/f we came into the story.. the theory is the brooch and grandmother story came from that dead guy.. he would use the necklace and wife story on the next teller he seduced.. 

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  34. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 17:26

    i'm getting a similar vibe to when Desmond awakens years after leaving the island with the brand new memory that he HAD to find Ms. Hawkings... b/c of Faraday going back in time to button pushing Desmond putting the memory there..

    perhaps they are sent back knowing they will repeat what they do (sniper, bank robber etc.) and that somewhere in that wiring they've place a 'landmine' with a mission in it.. once triggered they act according to those instructions (which puts to use the individuals skill set) it's not a clear picture but enough of a road map to lead them to these keys.. and navigate the modern world. The 'landmine' also gives them info on hideouts.. stashed id's, money etc...

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  35. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 17:56

    I'm willing to give it time, but it annoys me that Rebecca and Soto do not even ask about why they are back or how long they've been back. Why they do what they do (rob particular SD boxes or kill an unconnected man for a key) should be part of any manhunt and investigation wrap up.

    I do not need answers to those questions now, but the team should be asking it. Who hunts for assumed dead fugitives that are actually just missing for 50 years, but have not aged since 1963 and does not ask about the mystery?? Seriously!

    Plus 4 episodes into this shortened season and this season is actually one-third completed! I have a harder time accepting filler episodes in a short season.

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  36. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 22:32

    I get the feeling Hauser already knows a fair bit about these questions.  As he promised Madsen, he'll spill the beans soon enough. We just have to wait.

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  37. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 23:02

    In general, I'm enjoying the show.  But I'm still not entirely convinced.

    A few points, mostly gripes, a few praises:
    - Soto is basically Hurley except they have clearly been ordered to avoid the word 'dude'.- Sneaking in via the air-vent?  Come on, seriously?  It seems there is definitely a niche in the market for 'sneak-proof' air-vents in America.- I'm a bit concerned about how each week introduces a new inmate.  Soon the little replica prison will be full of these interesting people, and I assume we'll be revisiting some of them once a few have been introduced.  But 43 mintues a weeks won't be enough time to deal with them all while chasing after a new person each week at the same time.  And I can't see the likes of Jack Sylvane's actor coming back week-in-week-out to stand in a cell for five minutes for the duration of the show unless there is still some important part for these characters.- No offense to Giacchino, but has he actually written a new score for Alcatraz or have they just chucked the Lost soundtrack onto CD player as they're filming?I appreciate the reasons behind the procedural format, but I'm champing at the bit to get stuck into some nitty gritty mythology. The keys and the door were a good start. But I'm not getting that much of a sense of intrigue yet, because it keeps being distrubed by bad guys running around killing people.

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  38. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 23:23

    You're not wrong.  I'm filing Lucy's having that job (or acquiring the education) as an anachronism.  I'm just ignoring it. A woman of color going into that environment (an environment where the prisoners were segregated) and being allowed near the white prisoners.  Wouldn't have happened.  They might have let her near the 'colored' prisoners but the white ones.   I just decided to ignore historical reality here.  

    ( Aside:   I had a huge laugh watching the ep of Doctor Who when they went to the Nixon White House.  My first thought was...not written in the US.  A black secret service agent?  Lol  And he had enough clout to make the president listen to him?  Nope.)I don't know about gender prejudices against women in India at the time.  Perhaps if she were raised in England.  I just don't know about that side of the equation. 

    the actor playing Dr. Beauregard is a hoot.   Though he has played that character more often than not.  He's great at it.  

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  39. DarkUFO31 January 2012 at 23:53

    I don't need the answers right  now.  For me this one point muddles the list of questions I'm supposed to be asking about the show.

    and I want this question defined.  If you look at The 4400.  The list of questions was specific and you knew that list by the end of the pilot.  Why were these people taken?  Where did they go?  and Why are they being returned?

    It's pretty much the same set here.  But I can't nail down what questions I should be asking about these people's return.  Are they being sent back on specific missions?  Did someone just get sick of looking at their faces?  If they've got a mission then why send back nutjob wild  cards?  I'd leave them in cryo and just send back the ones that are going to accomplish my mission?  It's too fuzzy for me.  I want to know what I'm watching for.  If every single guy is being sent back for a mission and we're sending back nutjobs that we know will instill chaos...then that's an intentional redirect and I want to be watching to see if I can find the clue.  But because this question hasn't been laid out definitively for me...I don't know what I'm looking for.

    That's why this particular issue is annoying me.  Personally, I would have shown the audience, at least, the mission behind the first three guys return.  Then the audience would know...there's always a mission can you spot it.

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  40. DarkUFO1 February 2012 at 19:35

    Finally watched this episode. I am enjoying this show but it still feels a little too basic to me, I need something a bit more complex to get my teeth into.

    I did like prisoner of the week though, got a total Lost vibe from him part Sawyer with the conning the ladies angle and also part Kate with the safety deposit bank robberies.

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  41. DarkUFO2 February 2012 at 23:01

    This episode was interesting, now we know what is the key open. But new curiosity, what behind inside the door?!

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  42. DarkUFO5 February 2012 at 20:00

    Not bad.
     - It said a lot about Madsen that Hauser would ask her to go into a bank that's being held hostage and she'd do it, unarmed, without hesitating.
     - I gotta say, the backstories of these criminals are the least interesting feature of Alcatraz so far.
     - I wish Soto would stop being so damn sheepish around Hauser.
     - Eric Johnson plays a decent villain.
     - It's nice to see that even Hauser is in the dark about some things.
     - Did the warden introduce the guy behind that triple-locked door as a "subterranean friend?"

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