J.J. Abrams, who seemingly loves a good mystery more than anyone else on the planet, is behind yet another “what the devil is going on here then?” show, due to start up in the US in the autumn/fall.
This time around, the launching-off point for the show is that when Alcatraz closed in the 1960’s, it because all of the inmates disappeared suddenly, rather than them having been transferred to other facilities, as was claimed at the time. Now, the disappearing inmates are starting to return, they haven’t aged a day and someone is pulling the strings towards no doubt nefarious ends. Certainly it’s a doozy of an idea and if the new trailer is anything to go by, there are plenty of great elements at work here, not least Sam Neill, ditching the good-natured fatherliness of Jurassic Park in favour of the unbalanced edginess of Event Horizon. Here is someone who is clearly up to no good.
I suppose the issue here is not so much whether it looks interesting, but rather whether it has staying power. After 24 shot to fame, all manner of high-concept shows tried there hand and they all (such as Boomtown) floundered. Off the back of the beguiling mystery of Lost (which stretched the patience of the most loyal of its followers), we were given Flash Forward (which was canned after one season) and recent arrival The Event, which has shifted in the UK schedule from a prime time slot (9:00pm) to the graveyard shift (midnight).
Interestingly and tellingly, the article on Gordon and the Whale states that the mystery will begin to unravel next year, which seems like a tacit admission that the audience’s patience for long drawn out teasing mystery is beginning to wane. For the time being though, enjoy the impressive and anticipation-whetting trailer.
Source: Gordon and the Whale.
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