1223 Alcatraz

Alcatraz
August 18, 1958

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary / Somewhere in the New Mexico Desert


Sam and Al each have a wrong to put right. For Sam, it?s another leap, another day. For Al, it?s personal.


Written by: Tom Nicklis


Thanks,
TVS Team

Our rating system this season consists of six raters and three back-up raters! We took the average of six raters and came up with an average for that episode. Based on ratings of 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, the average of this episode was: 8.17

Please be aware that some reviews may contain spoilers! Some of the comments given were:

Seeker said:
Stylistically, in "Alcatraz" I continue to see some improvement with the dialogue. A couple of things that did give me pause were the instantaneous manner of Al's mental reversion to his MIA days in the prison camps upon his finding himself in solitary confinement, and Jules' total breakdown. Still, the explanations for both were handled logically and well. However, there was one thing that was a sticking point for me, and that's Beth's autopsy, thus the lower rating.

I still enjoyed the story, the pacing was right on the money, and the story was ultimately brought to a successful and tantalizing conclusion. What indeed awaits us beyond the horizon? I'm not sure, but to paraphrase a line from an old movie, "I'm going to fasten my seat belt, because I've a feeling it's going to be a bumpy ride ahead."

You tell good stories, Tom, and I look forward to more of them in the future. Keep up the good work.

RATING: 7.5

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Morris J. Finkle said:
To quote the Grateful Dead, what a long strange trip it's been! I thought this was a fantastic mini-arc of leaps. It was cool seeing Al mentally revert back to his POW days briefly. It took me by surprise, though, when he actually leaped into Beth toward the end and left Sam to complete the Alcatraz leap by himself. Once Al and Jules went down in the plane instead of her and Beth, I had a feeling that Sam would end up leaping into Al to send him back home (ala "The Leap Back"). We knew that Beth couldn't remain dead, but the ending really threw me for a loop. I didn't see that one coming. Looks like Tom Beckett will be the acting observer for a while longer.

This will be very interesting now to see how things will be playing out over the next few weeks. It's clear that several of the writers have been collaborating recently to put our heroes through hell and back, and it seems they're not done yet! What could possibly top this, dare I ask?

Excellent "trilogy," Tom! I look forward to reading more from you in the near future.

RATING: 9.5

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Sporty said:
A great story. I am glad that Beth is alive again, but now Al is in a coma. I have a feeling we have not seen the end of this scenario. A great job!

RATING: 8.0

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Ziggy's Soul said:
I really liked the concept of this story and felt that the arc was well resolved. However, there were some issues with how the story read. Just didn?t have the easy reading feel to it that the other stories did. The explanations of what is happening sometimes seemed forced and not as well thought through as was evident in the other stories in the arc. Since it is unlikely that the author ever served time in Alcatraz, these inconsistencies are expected. However, as said before, the story concept itself was good. Thanks for saving Beth?what?s gonna happen to Al? Inquiring minds want to know!!!!!

RATING: 8.0

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Vince Beckett said:
This was pretty interesting. Interesting ending. It looks like Tom has to fill in for Al a while longer.

RATING: 9.0

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Gooshie said:
This was another excellent story idea for this trilogy, Tom. However, like your first episode, I found that there was something lacking in the substance of the writing. A little bit of detail goes a long way, especially during conversations. Your fight scene in the prison cell was done quite well - that kind of writing applied throughout the episode would have made it a bit more enjoyable.

Overall, a nice "cliff-hanger" ending to this mini-arc. At least nobody was killed in this episode!

P.S. I will be moving to a different city over the next while so I won't be able to do any further rating. I look forward to reading the upcoming stories over the summer. See you all next season.

RATING: 7.0

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The Virtual Seasons Team