Alcatraz Open Thread

Did you watch Alcatraz last night? What did you think of it? Did you love it? I did! I LOVED IT.

Here are the Top 5 things I loved about it (some minor spoilers):

1. I love Jorge Garcia! I love his character, Dr. Diego Soto, soooooooooo much! I really love how he is shown to be sensitive and empathetic during his every interaction with any other character. And it is not pandering or paternal, but simply considerate, which is, frankly, pretty revolutionary for a male hero on a network show. Jorge Garcia plays him so well; he can break my heart just with a look. Jorge Garcia, you are awesome.

2. I love Sarah Jones! I love her character, Det. Rebecca Madsen, soooooooooo much! I love that there has never been any question about her competency in her professional role because of her womanhood, because the show's writers aren't so goddamn lazy that they think throwing out casual misogyny only so it can be refuted is radical and feminist. Instead, they're doing something genuinely radical and feminist, which is to write a character that sounds and feels and behaves like a real-life woman might, instead of a writing a dude character with a female name. Thank you, writers! Thank you, Elizabeth Sarnoff! Thank you, Jack Bender! Thank you, Sarah Jones!

3. I love Robert Forster! I once read that he doesn't really like playing bad guys, and I don't really know if that's true, but it kind of gave ma a soft spot for him.

4. I love the mystery that's building. I loved the scene in the car with Sam Neill and Guy Hastings, the guard, and Guy's heartbreak when he says, as a statement, with grim resignation, "I'm never going to see her again, am I." I love that this show won't let you enjoy the mystery, won't let you see the violence, won't let you in on the family secrets, without reminding you squarely of the consequences of this THING that happened. I love that the show loves its characters enough to exhort us to care about each of them.

5. Everything else!

Alcatraz Open Thread

I am sorry I forgot to post this yesterday! Whooooooooooooops! Did you watch Alcatraz Monday night? What did you think of it? Did you love it? I did! I LOVED IT.

Here are the Top 5 things I loved about it (some minor spoilers):

1. I love Jorge Garcia! I love his character, Dr. Diego Soto, soooooooooo much! And the first scene, in the restaurant, you know the one I mean, where his partner asks him how a guy with two PhDs ends up running a comic book store? And he tells her? And she's all, "That's pretty close to adorable." And it was! OMG. Jorge Garcia, you are awesome.

2. I love Sarah Jones! I love her character, Det. Rebecca Madsen, soooooooooo much! She is very smart and competent and brave! And cheeky and nice! I cannot even begin to describe how much I am enjoying a female character who is allowed to be tough and vulnerable and smart and silly, and isn't just a caricature. Also: "Know what they didn't have in the 1960s...? Seatbelt laws!"

3. I did NOT love the violence, because gross. But what I did love is that the show, which is, after all, about violent criminals, does not encourage us to elide the reality of violence. It is hard to watch a widow scream with the agony of loss, and to watch Dr. Soto's face contort with pain at the sight of violence, and it is also important. I think it's really kind of brave to do a show about violence that doesn't approve of violence.

4. I loved this exchange between Det. Madsen and Dr. Soto: "Thanks for having my back." "Always."

5. Everything else!

Alcatraz Open Thread

Did you watch Alcatraz last night? What did you think of it? Did you love it? I did! I LOVED IT.

Here are the Top 5 things I loved about it (some minor spoilers):

1. I love Jorge Garcia! I love his character soooooooooo much! And the last scene, in the bedroom, you know the one I mean, where the kid says the thing, and he gets all teary? I was reelected as Mayor of Blubbington six times during that scene alone. Jorge Garcia, you are awesome.

Do you know how awesome Jorge Garcia is? I already don't even think about Hurley when I'm watching Dr. Diego Soto, and Hurley is one of my favorite things in the universe.

2. I love that Sarah Jones' character is a real female character—not a "generic" (read: male) character that's being played by a woman, but a female character who says things the way human beings socialized as women say things. That is very good writing!

3. I love that Alcatraz looks like Lost because Jack Bender is directing it. I am a fan of his directing!

4. I love that the only time any reference has been made to Jorge Garcia's weight, it was sneered out of the mouth of a horrible person. That's RIGHT! Fat hatred is a horrible thing that horrible people do!

5. Everything else!

Alcatraz Open Thread

So, do we want to talk about Alcatraz? Did you watch it? What did you think of it? Did you love it? I did! I LOVED IT.

Let me tell you what I loved about it: Two investigators—one white lady (Sarah Jones) and one man of color (Jorge Garcia). Whut. It's like this show doesn't even KNOW that every set of investigative partners needs at least one white man to make all the decisions! (Yay.)

Also: I'm pretty sure I just watched two hours of television with a fat main character and zero fat jokes. (Yay.)

And the rest of what I loved is spoilers, so I will save them for comments.

Spoilers are imprisoned herein...

Set Your DVRs!

Cast member Jorge Garcia arrives for the premiere of the Fox television series "Alcatraz" at the famed former prison in San Francisco Bay in San Francisco, California January 11, 2012. [Reuters Pictures]

Heads-up, Losties, Bad Robotos, and other assorted nerdz: J.J. Abrams' new series "Alcatraz," which stars Jorge Garcia (Hurley from "Lost") and Sarah Jones as the primary investigators, premieres tonight on Fox. The trailer's here, if you haven't seen it.