Alcatraz
FOX | Release Date: January 16, 2012
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
16
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
People WeeklyTom GliattoJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: The show has the makings of great--what else can I say?--escapist entertainment. [23 Jan 2012, p.39]
83
NewsdayVerne GayJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: It was a dark and stormy night--and a weird, fun, trippy one, too. Read full review
80
Miami HeraldGlenn GarvinJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: For now, Alcatraz is a sinister bag of sinister pleasures. Read full review
80
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: The pilot looks great, offers an intriguing plot and effortlessly introduces the show's characters and premise. Read full review
80
Denver PostJoanne OstrowJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: It's all very creepy, mysterious and loaded with questions. Read full review
75
New York PostLinda StasiJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: The pilot moves along well, is a lot of fun--but Madsen is just too blond and bland to create the kind of excitement that Jennifer Garner or other of Abrams' female kick-ass characters were able to do with both hands tied behind their backs. Read full review
75
USA TodayRobert BiancoJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Alcatraz is easy enough to follow tonight, with twists and surprises that are enjoyable and not enervating. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Alcatraz sure is [fun]. Read full review
75
Uncle BarkyEd BarkJan 3, 2012
Season 1 Review: For now, though, this is a series that's seemingly built on an arresting foundation. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Here he has both--mood galore and a premise strong enough to not only sire a great pilot but to sustain a solid series. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: A spunky upgrade over the collection of interchangeable police procedurals clogging the television schedule. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf SmithJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Inquiring minds who liked "Lost," or "The 4400" and "The Event" will find much to feast on. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyKen TuckerJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Alcatraz lacks humor and suspense but it could morphs into something interesting. [20 Jan 2012, p.69]
60
Washington PostHank StueverJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: There is something to like in Alcatraz's smooth momentum. The show has a spirit that comes through in spite of the flavorless cheese crumbles piled atop it. Read full review
60
Zap2it (Inside the Box)Rick PorterJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: There's enough in the premise and the performances (particularly those of Garcia and Neill) to keep us watching, but to really hook us in Alcatraz needs to decide what kind of show it wants to be. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Happily, there are reasons to watch Alcatraz, starting with an appealing cast and a premise that really does not require a college degree in the mythology of other worlds. Read full review
60
VarietyBrian LowryJan 13, 2012
Season 1 Review: Although there's no shortage of romance surrounding Alcatraz -- and the idea of hardened criminals becoming dangerous anachronisms is a time-worn concept -- there's a nagging sense these are just going to be (very) cold cases, which will grow tedious without something more, and quickly, to fuel the larger mystery. Read full review
58
HitfixAlan SepinwallJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: It's much too generic given Abrams' reputation from "Alias," "Lost," the better years of "Fringe" and the "Star Trek" reboot. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: I'm not hooked, but I'm not yet planning my escape, either. Read full review
50
TimeJames PoniewozikJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Alcatraz's early crime stories are competent enough, in a moody, achey, men-gone-wrong kind of way. But there's a coldness to the show, and no sense that these are characters I want to invest in and spend time getting to know. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: The mysteries of the mythology--Where were they for the last half-century? Who's pulling their violent strings?--are more compelling than the plodding mechanics of the weekly manhunt. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: There's not much payoff to the premise. Which is a real shame, because there's a good show here somewhere Read full review
50
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Alcatraz isn't bad, but it's not exactly brimming with the kind of engaging magic and memorable people that you want from a J.J. Abrams project. Read full review
50
PopMattersChris ConatonJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Based on the first two episodes, Alcatraz is a middling show. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Obviously, it's necessary to give viewers the backstory on the returning thug of the week, but let's hope that if the show finds its legs, it won't need quite as many reminders of its fundamental concept. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris HellerJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Now, if Alcatraz would only ditch Michael Giacchino's melodramatic score, go all-in on the lingering gloom, and give Sam Neill something to do besides scowl, it'd be a show worth watching. Read full review
50
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Like "Lost," the show is burdened with flashbacks and divides its time between the present and the prison 50 years earlier. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: The characters are so TV cute (and in some cases TV pretty) and the storytelling so mechanical, that I couldn't give myself over to it either way. Read full review
40
SlateTroy PattersonJan 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Soto helps the mood of the show with his wry attitude and occasional gee-whiz-ardry, and he helps to move the plot along by stating facts that Rebecca would otherwise have to pause and look up. Read full review
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