Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) meets Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia) in the first episode of "Alcatraz"

When Jorge played Hurley in LOST, he looked so natural that it seemed he wasn’t even acting. But, of course, he was. Being able to appear that natural in the role was a great gift. He’s brought that same gift to his Alcatraz role of Diego Soto — comic book fan, PhD expert on Alcatraz history, and unlikely recruit in a crime-fighting partnership with girl detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones).

He even has a LOST-like moment when he asks “Is anyone else’s head exploding now?,” acting as the stand-in for the audience, just as he had several times on LOST when bizarre events happened and none of the other characters seemed to notice how strange they were.

Even if you didn’t watch the premiere (which was two episodes long), you’ve probably already heard about the plot. A bunch of prisoners and guards disappeared from 1960s Alcatraz and are believed to be dead. Now the prisoners are coming back to the contemporary world, one by one, and they haven’t aged a day since they disappeared over 40 years ago. No one knows what is going on, or at least no one is saying, though Sam Neill (Emerson Hauser) and Parminder Nagra (Lucy, currently in a coma) probably know a lot more than they are letting on.

J.J. Abrams recently said that Alcatraz “is designed very much as an episodic show with … large stories, mythological stories that we’d be able to get to over time.”

The episodic part was surprisingly conventional, a standard police drama of finding and catching a criminal. It’s the mythology that’s interesting. After each criminal is caught, they get driven in a black SUV down a deserted road into a lush forest. They are escorted into a run-down cabin and through a door — and, boom, they are in a bright, white, shiny modern replica of the old Alcatraz cell block. Someone was very prepared for their arrival in the modern world.

But who? And what do they know? Madsen, Hauser, and Lucy all have connections to the old Alcatraz. As much as J.J. Abrams wants to emphasize the episodic nature of the show, I think the show will succeed or fail based on how the mythology plays out and how long it continues to generate suspense.

How does Alcatraz compare to LOST? On a scale of 1 to 10, the Alcatraz premiere was a solid 7 or 8. The LOST pilot, though, was a 12. Alcatraz is better than most shows now on TV, but whether Jorge’s naturalistic charm, the spooky mythology, and the gorgeous photography are enough to carry the show for the long term still remains to be seen.

Jorge Garcia and J.J. Abrams at the 2012 Television Critics Association

A few days ago, in a talk at the 2012 TCA (Television Critics Association), J.J. Abrams said that Alcatraz would not be like LOST. Alcatraz, he said, would have storylines that were resolved every week, and questions would be answered quickly.

The TV critics in the room had their doubts about that, according to a critic who was there.

Alcatraz starts on Monday, January 16, at 8 p.m. (7 central) on FOX.

Josh Holloway telling a story about running into Jimmy Kimmel in a fly-fishing shop in Idaho

Josh Holloway talks about filming Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol:

Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, and Jorge Garcia relaxing on the set

You have to see this. Josh Holloway, Terry O’Quinn, and Jorge Garcia are singing “On the Bayou” while taking a break on the LOST set, sitting under a tarp with fellow cast mates.

The video is by @bethanyshady (Jorge Garcia’s wife), and you can watch it on her Facebook page.

(via @JoshHollowayFF)

Lance Reddick had an all-too-brief role in LOST as the mysterious and creepy Matthew Abaddon. Here he is visiting Hurley in the mental hospital (this scene is in LOST episode 4×01 The Beginning of the End). I love this scene — it’s one of my favorite LOST scenes — it’s the kind of thing that LOST did so well, did so much better than any other show. At the end of the scene, I had chills in the back of my neck. Video embedding has been disabled for the clip, but you can watch it on YouTube here — and it’s very much worth (re)watching: Are you fine, Mr. Reyes?

(more after the jump)

Reddick had a larger role as Lt. Cedric Daniels of the Baltimore police force in the HBO series The Wire (2002-08). Here he is in a scene with Detective Dominic West (Jimmy McNulty), who is The Wire‘s main character, to the extent an ensemble show can be said to have a main character:

I watched The Wire a few years ago on DVD, and I thought it was one of the best television dramas I had ever seen — right after The Sopranos and LOST. Like those two shows, The Wire has long story arcs. Although each season has a theme — drug dealers, dockworkers, crumbling public schools, politics, and the press — with some story lines that were resolved at each season’s end, there were also longer story arcs that spanned several years or even the entire series. Also like those two shows — especially The Sopranos — the drama is character-driven more than plot-driven.

It’s set in Baltimore — more than that, it’s about Baltimore — and was created and written by David Simon, who had been a police reporter for the Baltimore Sun for 12 years, an experience that clearly informed the show. Simon won a MacArthur genius award last year.

The show’s overriding theme is about how institutions corrupt people on both sides of the good-guy/bad-guy divide. It tackles serious themes in a way that few other television shows ever have — and develops them in a way that no movie or play ever could, because it has the luxury of time — five seasons’ worth of time. The slow-simmering drama often builds to shattering heights, at times (as in the final confrontation of two competing drug dealers) resembling a Shakespearean tragedy. No exaggeration.

That said, The Wire is not for everyone. It has moments of hope and redemption, but is mostly a grim indictment of how our institutions have failed our cities. It’s violent. It requires concentration while you watch. I found the combination of Baltimore accents and drug-dealer slang hard to decipher, and watched parts with the closed captioning on. But if you like it, you will really like it — and I have a feeling that a lot of LOST fans will appreciate the intelligence of the thought-provoking script, the power of the acting, and the quality of the production.

During Black Friday week, the complete collection (five seasons) of The Wire: The Complete Series is on sale for $94.99, which is 53 percent off the list price of $199.98.

If you’re not sure if this is your cup of tea, I’d suggest watching one episode. After you see it — maybe even after the first ten minutes — you should know whether or not you want to watch the entire series.

Lance Reddick, of course, also has a large role in Fringe, which was created by another LOST alum, J.J. Abrams. I must confess I only watched a few episodes, as it was too scary/gory for me, but I know it has many enthusiastic fans. For them, and those who want to join them, check out the Black Friday sale on Fringe DVDs: The first season is $27.99, which is a 53 percent savings off the list price of $59.98. Second season is $23.65 (61 percent off), and the recently released third season is $38.99 (35 percent off).

Remember Me stars Emilie de Ravin (Claire) and Twilight guy Robert Pattinson. I don’t know anything about the film, but as I was looking for information, I saw several people warning that we shouldn’t read what other people had written because they had ruined the ending. As I don’t like spoilers, I was glad to avert my eyes. So all I can tell you is that it’s a love story set in New York City with a twist or surprise ending. The Black Friday week price for Remember Me is $8.49, down 69 percent from $26.99.

Last item from the virtual bargain bin is The Big Lebowski, which I also haven’t seen, but this is one of those movies I keep promising myself I will see someday. It’s written and directed by the Coen Brothers and stars Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Julianne Moore. The reason it’s on this list is because Mark Pellegrino (Jacob in LOST) has a (presumably small-ish) role as “the blond thug.” Black Friday week sale price for The Big Lebowski is $7.99, for a 53 percent savings from $14.98.

So there you have it — a selection of drama, romance, and comedy, all featuring our beloved LOST alums. By the way, if I’ve made any new converts to The Wire with this post, let me know, if you feel so inclined.

For more sales items, see the complete list of Amazon Black Friday week items.

Heather Bormann, the bus driver who says she was assaulted by Matthew Fox

This all started when Matthew Fox may or may not (depending on who you believe) have drunkenly punched a Cleveland bus driver in the private parts when she wouldn’t let him get on her chartered party bus. Prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges, but the bus driver sued.  Then Matthew Fox sued back, claiming he wasn’t the one who punched her. She punched him, he said. He also sued her for defamation.  Now the bus driver has filed a motion asking that Fox’s countersuit be dismissed.

Here’s video about the incident from a local Cleveland television news broadcast, which has an interview with the bus driver, a short clip of her 911 call, and an interview with a fan who met Fox a few hours earlier.

(If video doesn’t load, click the picture at the top of the post for a link.)

Scary Claire in LOST 6x05 "Lighthouse"

Poor Claire was in bad shape in the last season of LOST, with her scraggly hair, squirrel baby, and ax-killing ways.  Now Emilie de Ravin will get to clean up and look pretty again for a new role — on Once Upon a Time, which has become the hit drama of the new fall season.

TV Guide reported this afternoon that de Ravin has been cast as Belle, the beauty in Beauty and the Beast.

De Ravin is the second LOST actor announced as being in the show, which is already strongly identified with LOST because its creators, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, were LOST writer/producers. The first LOST actor announced as being on OUAT was Alan Dale (Charles Widmore on LOST), who was cast to play Prince Charming’s father.

A version of this post was cross-posted in my Once Upon a Time blog

Lana Parrilla as Greta in LOST 3x22 "Through the Looking Glass"

Matthew Fox as Jack in "There's No Place Like Home," the LOST Season 4 finale

A couple of months ago in Cleveland, a 29-year-old female bus driver accused Matthew Fox of repeatedly punching her when she wouldn’t let him get on her bus, which was reserved for a private party. Fox was in town filming the movie I, Alex Cross. Although no criminal charges were filed, the bus driver filed a civil suit against Fox.

Five days ago, Matthew Fox sued her, saying that she was the one who had assaulted him. In addition to suing her for assault and battery, he is also suing for defamation, saying that she lied about what happened.

Just in case this story wasn’t tabloid-worthy enough, Cleveland Channel 5 News is reporting that Fox was in a strip club right before this all happened.