Megan standing in front of one of the Alcatraz cells
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When we were moving our daughter to Orlando, we stopped briefly for a car shuffle. Rob ended up in a car with the two dogs and most of Megan’s stuff, and I ended up driving Megan’s car while she went through a movie magazine, reading excerpts about the new TV shows this season. The two she mentioned that hit my buttons were Touch, which we wrote about, and Alcatraz. We saw the first two episodes of Alcatraz tonight.
I’ m a sucker for these kinds of shows. Give me a riddle, an essential mystery and sympathetic characters and the promise of illumination at the end, and I’ll follow you anywhere. J.J. Abrams, who brought us Lost and Alcatraz, is my pied piper.
Lost affected me the same way that X-Files did. The terrific stories aside, I felt that I was being prepared for a collective experience, for something big. That’s how I felt when we watched these episodes of Alcatraz.
We visited the rock some years ago, walked through those old cell blocks, strolled past the barracks where employees and their families were housed. Children were raised on this rock. Books have been written about these kids, their families, the guards, the inmates, the warden. There’s a collective consciousness in this place that you can feel. It seeps into you when you walk around, move through those cell blocks, and try to imagine the lives of the men who lived there.
The place closed in 1963 – the last of the inmates supposedly transferred to other prisons. But were they transferred anywhere? Here are the episodes so far, available on hulu.com
Even thought it’s never mentioned during the first two episodes, this series is about time travel – specifically where nearly 300 inmates and employees went when the place closed in 1963. And, even more to the point, why are these disappeared returning now? Why have none of them aged? Where have they been all this time?
Echoes of these questions could be seen in the TV show, 4400.
But the bottom line in all these shows is that although speculation is rampant, the bottom line is that we just don’t know. We don’t yet know the extent to which time travel is possible; we don’t yet know for sure who or what is visiting our universe, meddling in human affairs. Even though we hear the voice of synchronicity, we really don’t yet know what role it actually plays in our lives.On one level we know we are interconnected, that the degrees that separate one human from another are probably fewer than the six percent. We have theories hopes, our personal certainties and worldviews about how stuff works. But like the characters on Alcatraz, we’re groping in the dark, digging into the mystery.
PS. Now we’ve seen a couple of more episodes. This series may get old quickly. Each episode is about one of these criminals returning. You sense the larger picture, but no one really talks about time travel or how it might be possible. No one talks about who or what may be behind this. It feeds like a gimmick, not an intricate part of the plot.
I haven’t seen this show,because just like Britain,it’s ‘coming soon’ to Australia.
I like J J Abrams movies,but I was never a fan of “Lost” and I doubt I would be a fan of “Alcatraz”,either.
But I might give it a view,since all the rest of the family are going to be watching it,they tell me.
My guess though (knowing nothing about it at all) would be that it is less about time travel and more about the sins of the past being projected in to the future,or our present.
E.g. Banksters,hit men,corruption at all levels,legal drug pimps…I mean Medical Practitioners,etc.
“Alcatraz” is probably like the movie “Bronson”,where we are becoming our own jailers,whether we are on the inside with real bars surrounding us,or whether we are on the outside with mental bars and laws surrounding us.
I’m most probably wrong,but that would be a great show if you had crooks from the past showing us in the present where we went wrong,and maybe a suggestion on how to fix that mistake.
I’ll give it a watch,but I don’t have high hopes for it.
Only the future will tell,I guess .-)
The premise is intriguing, that the last inmates in Alcatraz weren’t transferred to other prisons – they were taken back in time – somewhere. Now they’re returning to commit specific crimes. They appear to be controlled in some way.
Each week, a new convict returns – that’s the part that’s going to get old quickly. Don’t think we saw Bronson. Off to google it!
“Bronson” is an English movie based on the real life English Criminal Charles Bronson AKA Micheal Peterson,made by a lot of the crew that Kubrick used on making “Eyes Wide Shut” and stars Tom Hardy (Inception) in a career best performance.It has some brutal fight scenes,full frontal nudity (Tom Hardy) and some very foul language…so be warned. Apart from that it is a good movie.-)
great! was just thinking about what “they” say about paranoia – it’s not paranoia when they’re really after you….. 😉 was wondering if you [and/or i] were being stalked by BB again!
ok – two weird or what things just now – first of all – i had just finished a comment about the streiber video of the ladies’ room time travel issue and then followed up with something about the photographs i had mentioned – i hit publish – and then a message came up saying that your site was no longer available and/or was taking too long to respond – i tried again – and again – and then, it just all went away – just now got back in and my comment is not here –
back to what i was commenting: in watching the TT video, at the part where the woman materialized in the rest room, i got those godawful chills that make my hair stand on end and feel as if my head will explode – and then, this overwhelming feeling as if i were going to cry – not cry, really, but “sob” – i mean, overwhelming sense of grief or something – i’ve had that same kind of response to a couple other of your posts but it’s been a long time – anyway – weird –
then, i was commenting about those photographs – and saying that my sister and i always wondered what happened to them – we never saw them again but we know that our mother would not have discarded them – and our father would not have unless it was to protect us – but why show them to us children in the first place? if there were inherent danger – or was that part of it – that we were safer by having seen them? weird –
Your first comment shows up…this one, too. Let me know if you have other trouble with it. Yesterday, there was a glitch in a plug-in so the comment form didn’t show up!
i’ve not seen any of the episodes so i’m really happy to have you mention the show – it’s disappointing, the bottom line – approaching the topic of time travel but not really delving into it wholeheartedly – i mean, what an incredible show it “could” be especially given the circumstances/purpose of that particular place – and it’s place in history – so many many possibilities – but for all that lacking, i am definitely going to be checking out the episodes i’ve missed – thanks so much for this post – i’ve not ever visited alcatraz although we – our fam when i was a kid – visited some very unusual places – i just realized we never went there – i do remember the birdman movie, too, as lauren mentioned – now i may have to see if i can find it on hulu and watch again –
oh, this is off subject – but i don’t want to forget – so while i’m thinking of it, trish – remember those “unusual/unique” black/white photographs i told you our father showed us when we were kids? i don’t think i’ve mentioned it [although i may have – the mind is a terrible thing to lose], but before my sister died, she mentioned several times that after our talking about it, she had begun to remember as well – and the things that she remembered were not things i had mentioned at all – actually, they were some of those things that sort of come together – pieces of the puzzle – when two people began talking about the same thing – and one remembers some things and the other person remembers other things – and then, those memories form the whole – anyway, for a lot of reasons, i was thrilled that she did remember –
I remember your talking about those photos! Wouldn’t it be something if they suddenly turned up?
Just saw a trailer for Alcatraz. It’s coming to the UK ‘soon’ – whatever that means. One to look out for. Saw Alcatraz when we were in San Francisco, but only from a distance, as we didn’t have time to fit everything into our schedule. Maybe next time.
The first episode is intriguing, Mike. Worth a look.
Sounds like a show I should take a look at. I remember the movie about the “The Bird Man of Alcatraz” (starring Burt Lancaster) ……..another strange story housed at Alcatraz. And I really appreciate your words about the mystery we ourselves ultimately live in.
For some reason when I went to your site recently there was no comment section. Must of been my computer.
No, there was a glitch in a plug-in that I fixed!!