Alcatraz – net may hold the answer if series is cancelled

Note: If you haven’t seen the last episode then you may not want to read this article as it will contain spoilers. If you don’t want to spoil the ending before you get to see it then skip to a different page. Otherwise, read on….

Executive producer, and writer, Daniel Pyne

After a disappointing two hour finale that saw some viewers so uninterested they turned off half way through, the series executive producer (who is also one of it’s writers) Daniel Pyne has suggested that if a second series doesn’t materialise the fans could still get their answer…..thanks to the internet.

Pyne mentioned the possibility of revealing the answers to fans in the form of short stories that could be published online in the event that the series is indeed cancelled, a way for fans to get the answers they’ve been seeking.

Unsure of the shows future he doesn’t want to give anything away but he did reveal the obvious, that the gold has gone and that Harlan double crossed the Warden. He also said it was possible that Rebecca has the same unique blood as Tommy, and that the knife wound has activated it but would not confirm or deny it.

While this would provide a convenient way to bring her back from the dead it would make a large hole in the plot.

Rebeccas father, Tommys son, could not have the “colloidal silver” in his blood because he was born long before Tommy’s blood was tampered with and so, while in theory she could inherit relevant genes from him she could not have the healing silver because this was not part of Tommy’s genetic makeup but was instead added to his body much later. For her to be bought back in this way would therefore require having some sort of blood transfusion from Tommy to her or her father, something only possible if Tommy was around during their childhood years.

The logo for the series Alcatraz

This would of course also mean that Tommy does not age, and could also be the reason no one gets to see ex con millionaire Harlan…after all, if he doesn’t age it would be easier to hide away from public scrutiny than to try explaining his abnormal longevity.

Will Alcatraz be cancelled? It seems we’ll have to wait a little while before we get an official answer but it seems ever more likely that yes it will in fact be declined a second series.

The problem with Alcatraz is that it offers a fascinating idea, people time travelling into the future en masse at the hands of a mysterious mastermind, but it fails to deliver any real answers. It’s all to easy to bring Rebecca back by doing a blood transfusion from one of the captured 63’s, so even the shock ending can be reversed, and the series as a whole has gently plodded along with not much revelation of the mystery behind it.

The man behind Alcatraz, JJ Abrams

JJ Abrams biggest success, Lost confused many viewers right until the big reveal in the final episode six years after it started and it feels as if he is trying the same tactic with Alcatraz, dragging out the plot for as long as possible without really knowing what the plot is or where it’s headed. Unfortunately Lost left many people feeling a little let down with its big reveal and perhaps as a result of that viewers are less inclined to let a series go on for as long without giving a few concrete answers along the way, something Alcatraz fails to do.

Should it be renewed? Yes, the series has a good cast and a promising story, but it needs to shift up a gear and reveal more. As it stands the big question of how the 63’s time travelled could easily be left unanswered until the final episode of a third or even fourth series if before then viewers get to find out why Tommy and Rebecca have been so important, how Hauser knew the missing people would return, what made those responsible carry out the experiment in the first place (was there a previous test subject who time travelled, un noticed, leading the powers behind it all to try again on a larger scale?), why Lucy and the doctor seem to be the only 63 ‘s that haven’t been given orders, how the keys could be cut with post 1963 technology, why Tommy stabbed his grand daughter and why Lucy is so important that she will always be a target for the 63’s.

Alcatraz could be in a good situation if it plays its cards right. Viewers already know the outcome, that people from the past disappear and reappear fifty years later, what the series can do is take the obvious questions and reveal them over several seasons. One season could concentrate on why the 63’s are worldwide, what happened to the warden, how they knew Tommy was important, maybe tease the existence of a previous test subject (perhaps even Rebecca herself, she could heal from the wound and find a photo of herself in 1960 as a child – after all there seemed to be a girl outside at the house with Tommys son). Another could reveal the mastermind behind it all, perhaps tie the experiment in to the story of the civil war gold with maybe a civil war soldier being the first test subject and waking up in 1960’s alcatraz, etcetera.

It has the power to be a gripping long running series IF it sets aside certain issues and addresses them series by series. As it stands there are lots of questions and very few answers, now what’s needed is for Fox to take a chance and commission a second series rather than play things by the numbers.

Apple to rest of world – we’ll let you use our nano sim patents free, for a price

This week the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI for those of us who prefer something less tongue twisty) meet to decide what will become the next sim card standard, the nano sim.

A micro sim card, the nano sim card will be even smaller

The current sim cards, and micro sim cards, used are limited in how much information they can hold and in what features they offer. There are a couple of competing solutions being proposed for this weeks vote and one is from Apple who have apparently sent a letter to ETSI saying they will allow their patented design for a nano sim card to be used royalty free….for a price.

Yes there is actually a catch, in order to allow phone manufacturers to use their designs for what would, if Apple succeed, become the new sim card standard, Apple expect other manufacturers to let them use their standard essential patents for free.

Florian Mueller who broke the news on his blog after being shown a private letter sent to the institute from an Apple lawyer said Apple would grant  “royalty free licenses to any Apple patents essential to nano-SIM, provided that Apple’s proposal is adopted as a standard and that all other patent holders accept the same terms in accordance with the principle of reciprocity”.

What Apple are doing is essentially shrinking down already existing technology, and then trying to use that as leverage to avoid paying licencing fees to their rivals when Apple uses their rivals technology.

So for simply scaling down existing technology, the sim card, Apple expect to be allowed to use everyone elses standards essential patents without paying for them, or to use their more obtuse phrase “in accordance with the principle of reciprocity”. Nokia have weighed in on the debate over this saying:

“we don’t believe it represents a significant reduction in size. We believe that in practice it would mean it was just different from micro SIM, rather than smaller, which could be a barrier to broad adoption as an alternative to micro SIM, potentially leading to fragmentation”.

Apple seem on the surface to be offering their technology for free when in reality what they are actually doing is slightly modifying someone elses work (if Nokia are right then Apple are essentially just shrinking the existing sim card design) then trying to get this accepted as a standard so they can then demand others return the favour by allowing Apple use of their more important, and more valuable, patents.

Indeed Nokia went so far as to say that Apples design could lead to people trying to insert it in normal sim or micro sim card slots and causing damage to the card or phone, which would suggest that Apples design is indeed little more than a shrinking down of current technology, in which case asking for free use of others patents in return seems more than a little cheeky.

Being Human – series five to have less episodes, but why?

When the first series of the BBC’s Being Human hit our tv screens in 2009 it ran for six episodes. The BBC were rightly hedging their bets and giving it a shorter run, long enough to gauge popularity but not the full eight episode run that series two three and four would later be given.

With the show now a firm fan favourite and with viewing figures averaging, despite an overall down turn, around 950,000 per episode it would seem straightforward that series five would again have eight sixty minute episodes so it comes as a surprise to find that instead the BBC are giving it just six, two hours shorter than usual.

In with the old and out with the new? Annies exit leaves room for new ghost Alex to join the cast

But why?

The lower audience figures for this series did put the shows future in doubt, though they did improve a little it’s clear a number of people were put off of viewing this series for whatever reason with figures suggesting that some fans returned only for selected episodes and with talk on a number of internet forums suggesting that some were put off by the Eve story in which a time travelling ghost sought to change the future by affecting events in her past.

There are two equally valid reasons for series five having less episodes than normal. One is that the BBC are being cautious, seeing if the fans return but spending less on the show in order to be able to cut their losses if it doesn’t work out. The other is that series five could be the end, that the BBC are giving the show one last series to wrap up the Being Human story.

The original Annie (Angela Riseborough) in a scene from "The Devils Whore"

To be fair that second option is less likely, the BBC could have ended the series as it stands. The main characters have all now left the series and as such there are no loose ends that really need wrapping up, those that remain could be comfortably concluded in a one or two part special, so it seems more likely that the BBC are hedging their bets a little and giving the series a chance to re establish itself now that the cast has changed and now that the potentially off putting story of Eve has been resolved.

It’s been confirmed that Annie (Lenora Chrichlow) will not be returning for series five, which will be shown in 2013, but that Vampire Hal and werewolf Tom will be although no confirmation as yet on whether new ghost Alex also returns – although it’s highly likely she will indeed be the shows new resident ghost (but perhaps played by a different actress as happened with the character of Annie who was originally played by Angela Riseborough before Lenora Chrichlow took over after the pilot episode).

So it’s good news and bad news for fans of the series, good news – it is coming back, bad news – all the original characters have left and it will have less episodes. It’s not unusual for a series to have less episodes than eight (the popular Sherlock only has a three episode series, although each episode lasts longer than those of Being Human) but it is unusual for a series used to eight episodes to suddenly have its run shortened. Hopefully it is indeed just a case of the BBC adopting a cautious wait and see approach to the shows new dynamic.

For those who want a little more of the lovely Lenora she can be seen discussing the character she plays in a BBC video about Annie on the Being Human website, which can be seen below.

We won because we said so – Nexus wins Microsoft challenge but MS say no

It’s a great marketing trick by Microsoft, you offer people a free laptop and phone if their smartphone can do a set of pre chosen tasks quicker than a Windows phone.

In theory Microsoft can’t lose, they choose the tasks and could in theory at least pre set the Windows phone up to achieve those specific tasks quicker than would otherwise be possible but Microsoft did lose despite making sure in advance they would win.

Sahas Katta won the "Smoked by Windows phone" challenge but was told Microsoft won "just because"

Sahas Katta wrote on his blog about how he and a Microsoft employee competed to see who could get the weather for two different locations in the least amount of time. It would appear the MS employee who selected the task had naturally preset their phone for this particular challenge as unusually it just happened to have two of its live tiles set to show the weather in two different locations (that Microsoft choose the tasks in advance seems a little unfair as it gives them an advantage) but regardless of whether this was pre planned Saha and his Galaxy Nexus did indeed win and he asked to claim his prize only to be told that he had lost, in the words of the employee, “just because”.

He was then photographed in front of a sign saying his phone had been smoked by a Windows phone. A day after Saha blogged about the incident, and after many websites featured the news, Microsoft decided to offer him a phone and laptop after all with Ben Rudolph at first offering a rematch but later tweeting “I want to make things right. So I’ve got a laptop & phone (& apology) for you. Email me!”.

Rudolph went on to say that he was trying to make it right but that he didn’t see “what really went down”. No word on Sahas blog as to whether he did indeed get his apology or prize but it seems that controlling the circumstances of the test, and knowing what is required in advance, is not always enough to secure a win.

Update (27.03.2012):

Sahas picked up his prize, check out his blog for the details. Shame that Microsoft only admitted he won after much bad publicity online from leading but at the least they did come through.

[App review] 3DSteroid Pro – Who’s the 3D daddy?

Some of 3DSteroids many output formats, swiping the screen when using it shows even more supported formats

Stereomaker, the developer behind the excellent 3DSteroid Pro, delivered not one but two new updates this week that took what is already the acknowledged king of Android 3D apps and made it even better. So what is 3DSteroid pro, and are the updates really a big deal?

There are two versions of 3DSteroid Pro. One is free and the other is paid for, for the purposes of this review 3DSteroid refers to the paid pro version but both apps are identical in look and use with the only difference  being that the free version cannot save high resolution images or auto align stereo pictures.

3DSteroid lets you take a 3D picture, with or without a 3D camera, and save it in any 3D format you wish. You can edit the 3D image by adjusting the left / right /up /down position and rotation of each viewpoint and you can share the file through email.

Let’s say you don’t have a 3D device but you want to take 3D pictures. Simply load the app, click the camera button at the bottom of the screen and it will show you a camera view. Take the picture then move your Android to one side a little and snap another pic. The application will automatically align the two images and create one 3D photograph for you which you can adjust and edit, save or send by email to someone else.

Editing the 3D image is made easy with 3DSteroid showing both viewpoints simultaneously and offering a wide range of easy adjustment options

If you have a 3D phone or tablet and want to be able to share pictures you’ve taken with friends who don’t have one you can save your pictures in a different format such as anaglyph, cross eye or even as wiggle animations.

The app is very straight forward and easy to use, and a must have for any one interested in 3D and especially those with a 3D phone (the Gadmei 3D tablet is now supported as well as Optimus 3D , Evo 3D and Sharp 3D phones), but if you are unsure then try the free version out.

You can of course use just the free version of the app if you don’t want to save high resolution images or use the auto align feature, there are no adverts in the application and no other restrictions, something you rarely find in free versions of paid for apps where usually there are more significant differences than found between 3DSteroid and 3DSteroid Pro.

3DSteroids main screen

With its two new updates 3DSteroid now supports glasses free 3D Android devices for output. Previously you saw the images you were working on in the appropriate 3D format (anaglyph, sbs, etcetera) but could only see the sbs (side by side format) images as 3D by viewing them with the Android gallery. Now you can select 3DLCD as the display option and see the results of your editing instantly in glasses free 3D, perfect for testing changes between the different formats.

The second update introduced the ability to select different cameras so now you can use any of your Androids cameras. On an Optimus 3D for example you can choose the default camera, the front facing camera or use the twin 3D cameras. A welcome addition to an already impressive application.

It’s official – Being Human gets fifth series after shock finish, teases new plot

The BBC’s supernatural drama, Being Human, has been officially renewed for a fifth series after what was, to say the least, an interesting final episode last night. If you haven’t seen it then you won’t want to read any further as it will spoil the ending. If you have seen it, or if you don’t mind spoilers, read on….

Will Annie be back making her cups of tea in series five?

As expected Annies door finally appeared after her unexpected act of heroism in which she saved the world from the old ones, wrapping up the Eve situation in a shocking and unexpected act of self sacrifice that saw Annie being responsible for the baby meeting a very violent end, something that will no doubt divide some fans but which was definitely a brave and unexpected move, and one that opens the door for a new enemy to emerge in series five – as teased yesterday on the official Being Human blog with an interesting new photo.

Posting a picture of the cryptic phrase “he will rise” written on a scrap of vampire parchment it’s the BBC’s nod towards the plot of series five, but just what does it mean? It’s written on what appears to be the same material as the war child prophecy so the first thought would be that it refers to a vampire, that Mister Snow will somehow rise from the dead (it happened with vampire Herrick in series three so it is possible).

But is it really mister Snow?

Eagle eyed fans may have noticed the presence of a young girl (possibly an old one) being taken out of the building before the explosion. It could well be that she has something to do with the person who “will rise”, she was certainly important in some way given that she was being protected from harm.

Could it be the mysterious mister Rook? Perhaps but then he isn’t meant to be nasty, after all he never harmed any of those who saw Tom transform, and if the mystery figure hinted at is indeed the new bad guy Mister Rook would seem an unlikely choice although it is clear he will play a key role in it.

Will Hal and Alex be more than friends in series five, as Mitchell and Annie were in series three?

Whatever secrets series five holds there will of course need to be an explanation as to just how vampires such as Hal still exist given that Eve is dead, but it’s probable that the answer will be tied in with the new mystery character and that with Annie gone Alex will take over as the shows resident ghost.

But fans of Annie needn’t be downhearted as she may well return, when telling her that she couldn’t go back Eve added that all important line “but then you were never one for following the rules”, hinting that she will indeed be brewing her tea in Barry again sometime in the future.

Will the new series continue with the trips between future present and past or will it return to form with a formidable new enemy for what is effectively “being human – the next generation” to confront?

Time, of course, will tell but the final episodes have shown that there’s still life in the show and it’s good to see that, as fans hoped, the BBC still have faith in it.

iPhone to copy Galaxy S2? – Korean media say yes, meanwhile new iPad is hot topic

According to an un named industry source quoted in a South Korean newspaper today the next iPhone is to have a 4.6 inch retina screen.

The iPhone

Apples biggest Android rival, Samsung, use this exact size in their Galaxy S2 smartphone and while it makes sense to use a bigger screen it’s something that the late Steve Jobs refused to do, and something that could cause a back lash from some iPhone fans used to the smaller screen it has had since its first release back in 2007.

According to Reuters Apple are already placing orders for the new 4.6 inch screens but Reuters say this is again based on a Korean report and with no named sources it’s simply rumour. The iPhone could get a larger screen, in fact if it doesn’t I would say it’s going to be causing problems for itself as many new phones use larger screens and people are finding that larger screens can be a good thing, but whether Apple would jump to the exact size of their nearest rivals flagship product is something I doubt not least because it would garner yet more accusations of copying (after they allegedly “borrowed” Androids notification bar for iOS 5) and the current iPhone apps would look awful on a much larger screen.

On the plus side though it would allow the use of larger more powerful processors and gpu’s, the smaller form factor currently used restricting the iPhone a little, but again there is a downside and that is battery life which would suffer. Will the new iPhone really have a 4.65 inch screen?

Unlikely, but a four inch screen is a more probable option and one which would be easier for die hard fans of the traditional iPhone form to accept, although once Apple do release a large screen iPhone you can be sure that those fans who currently criticise larger screens will be the first to extol their virtues.

Meanwhile after a noticeable lack of queues for the new iPads (most people bought them online this time round) a mini debate has begun over the popular tablet.

The new iPad

The new iPad has a 70% more powerful battery but, conversely, uses 150% more power than before thanks primarily to its new screen and as a result a large number of users have complained about the fact that it gets uncomfortably warm. US consumer site “consumer reports” found that in their tests it reached a temperature of 116 degrees Fahrenheit when plugged in and 113 degrees when unplugged and this has led to a number of technology sites (and even some newspapers) claiming it’s a big problem.

While not a fan of Apple I think personally that people buying the new iPad should cut Apple a little slack. The screen is a lot better than before and with such a high resolution (and of course with an excellent quad core gpu) it was never going to have the same battery life as its predecessor did.

It’s not uncommon for phones, tablets etcetera to heat up when charging, in general the more powerful a device is the more heat it will generate which is why laptops will always be physically warmer than tablets for example. The truth is that yes it gets warm, but those who aren’t out to scare potential buyers or simply bash Apple at every opportunity freely admit its warm – but not hot. It will not burn you, it will not cook your hands or legs or help you fry eggs on a camping trip should you forget your stove…it may get warm after a while but that is all.

Who’s that girl? – New Dr Who companion revealed as Amy exits

Doctor Who's new assistant makes her debut in the 2012 Christmas special

It’s official, twenty five year old Jenna Louise Coleman will take over as the doctors new companion this year after Amy and Rory exit the series in dramatic fashion following their final encounter with the weeping angels in episode five of the new series airing later this year on BBC One and BBC HD.

The former Emmerdale beauty will make her first appearance in this years Christmas special, in the episode after Amy and Rory (Karen Gillan and Arthur Darville) leave.

Not much is known about who she plays, current speculation suggests she may play an alien companion but if that is true it would have to be a very human looking alien if only because, were she clearly alien in appearance, it would be difficult for her to blend in on visits to earth so will she be an alien?

Earlier this year Steven Moffat said of the new companion “he’s about to say hello to someone very different – the Doctor is going to meet someone very new in the very last place he could ever have expected”.

This suggests that unlike previous more human companions the next will either be alien herself or at the very least found on an alien planet (“very new” suggests either someone very different to previous human companions or new as in young and perhaps unused to earth and its people) after all it would certainly be the last place you expect to find a human. Of course the last place you’d expect to find a new companion could actually be the Tardis itself!

With just six episodes being shown this year Amy makes her exit in the penultimate, fifth, episode  in what has been described as a “final encounter” with the weeping angels (better known as “the stone angels”). Moffat has already stated that the two current companions, Amy and Rory Williams, will be “gone forever” and that their final episode is an emotional one in which not everyone gets out alive so it’s safe to  assume that Amy will be killed. Or is it?

Amy meets her end during an encounter with her old enemies the weeping angels

The weeping angels live off of their victims energy by sending them into the past, although they do also kill outright their usual modus operandi is to feed off a person rather than kill them outright. If Amy or Rory are simply fed upon in this way the doctor could simply go back in time and rescue them so that’s not an option. But in a previous episode a weeping angel began to take over Amy, if this process (which was temporarily halted) was restarted after an encounter with another angel then it’s possible that in fact Amy could herself become an angel and kill Rory providing a dramatic exit for both in such a way that neither could return.

Is that likely? Well yes and no. Yes it’s the sort of thing that would make a great story and leave many fans emotional, but it would tar Amy’s character to have her lose her humanity and kill Rory so it’s more likely that if she does become an angel husband Rory dies trying to save her and with his last breath sees her transformed. A truly final, and shocking, ending that would fit all the teased descriptions given by the cast to date.

It's all change in Doctor Who 2012

What we know for certain is that the new companion is a fast talker and is found in the last place you’d expect, that she makes her appearance in Decembers Christmas special, that Amy will not be returning (ever, although while it’s been stated she will not return even in a cameo it hasn’t been stated that Rory’s exit is also as final which could mean he lives although it’s unlikely) and that however they exit Amy and Rory leave the show in the same episode where the villains are the weeping angels.

Let the speculation begin.

Snow joke – the old ones return as Being Human aims for fifth series with a big finish

Being Humans audience share fell again this week, after a brief increase for recent episodes, back to the low level it hit with episode three which has so far been one of the lowest rated episodes of the series. Of course these are based on overnight figures which do sometimes get amended later but it’s a surprise given that Sundays penultimate episode was a return to form for the series.

What will happen to Eve as Annie makes her choice?

The Eve plot featured heavily as expected but it was Cutlers plans for werewolf Tom that made the episode a must see and resulted in the gripping cliff hanger ending between Hal and Tom, it was also proof that the new Being Human can still cut it without needing the use of contrived and ill fitting sub plots such as the time travelling ghost. The interplay between new ghost Alex and vampire Hal was fun and introduced a character that if she became a regular would be a welcome addition and (die hard fans close your ears for a moment) could fill in the ghost gap if Lenora Crichlow (Annie) were later to leave the show. Indeed it felt to me that Alex was introduced for just such an eventuality and that perhaps Annie will finally get her door in the series finale.

In a recent interview Being Human creator Toby Whithouse confirmed he has been sketching out ideas for a fifth series but that nothing has been confirmed. With overall viewing figures lower than usual but not really dismal, and with Whithouse full of ideas for a fifth series, it makes sense for the BBC to give the show a chance and renew it for a fifth series and while it’s only speculation I would be surprised if it didn’t return for a new series next year.

It’s likely the series finale will see the Eve plot resolved (probably by Annie not killing the baby) and set the scene for an Eve free series five where the old ones, led by the sinister mister Snow, finally take centre stage and, with a strong enemy, a new series would undoubtedly find more viewers than the current one has.

Mark Gatiss stars as the evil vampire mister Snow

This week we see Annie make her choice, Hal under the influence of head vampire mister Snow, and of course we find out what happens with werewolf Tom.

What secrets does the final episode hold?

Well it’s only speculation but I expect that Annie will come to realise that she mustn’t kill Eve, and that by doing so may even get her door while Cutler will go underground and reappear in a new series as leader of a new set of vampires (a group who may even end up fighting against the old ones).

Although actress Lenora Chrichlow has not announced any plans to leave the show I can’t help thinking that new ghost Alex may replace her as Annie gets her door, walking through it to be reunited with Eve at the same time that mister Snow makes a surprise decision involving former comrade Hal.

As for the Tom and Hal cliffhanger from last week and how that will be resolved well there are a few ways for that to be resolved. Hal could fight him (unlikely), ghost Alex could lock the doors and have Tom trapped until the sun rises (strong possibility), Tom could spill some of the vampires blood and retreat injured as a result or even have Tom realise what he is doing and stop himself.

If I had to guess I’d say the doors get locked and / or Tom gets injured but that’s part of the fun, there are plenty of possibilities and as usual the show may surprise everyone with something unexpected.

What is certain is that the final episode will be one well worth watching, and a big, shocking, finish could be just the thing needed to swing another series.

Alcatraz to end on cliffhanger? – Fox posts synopsis for two hour finale

As the number of viewers for the latest episode of Alcatraz dropped to five million in the US, down from an initial high of ten million for the pilot (suggesting moving it to Monday nights wasn’t a good idea), Fox published the official synopsis for the two hour series finale which suggests a cliffhanger ending rather than, as fans hoped, a definitive reveal…

What secret is the warden keeping, and just who is behind the 63's disappearance?

“Doc and Rebecca close in on a man who may be the key to revealing the secrets behind all the returning criminals. Meanwhile, Hauser makes a discovery beneath the halls of Alcatraz that brings him ever closer to the truth. Then, revealing doors are opened and lives hang in the balance as Rebecca will stop at nothing in pursuit of the man who killed her partner in the all-new special two-hour season finale”

It doesn’t say “all will be revealed” as some claimed it might but it does give an interesting hint as to what will happen, the discovery beneath Alcatraz would seem to be related to the mystery door opened by the keys (the first of which we saw in episode one) especially in connection with the phrase “revealing doors are opened”, and the use of “lives hang in the balance as Rebecca will stop at nothing” makes it clear Tommy has a big part to play (that and of course the fact that the final episode is appropriately called “Tommy Madsen”).

The fact it doesn’t offer any hint of a definitive ending points to the likelihood that we will be told a key part of the story but not enough to give a proper answer as to just what is going on at Alcatraz, and with the series having now lost literally half its viewing audience and most experts believing the series will be cancelled it’s looking ever more likely the whole story will never be revealed.

So, just what will be revealed? UK viewers might want to skip the next four paragraphs as they deal with episodes not yet aired in Britain but for the rest of us here’s what is likely…

Is Lucy really a 63?

The one thing that recurs in Alcatraz is the 63’s blood, particularly that of Tommy Madsen, and so it makes sense that (given the write up and episode title) the final episode will reveal just what has been happening to the prisoners blood but just as with Abrams other series about a mysterious island (Lost) we won’t get a full answer because it will simply bring up more questions. Tommy Madsen clearly holds the key but we know the warden is hiding a secret of his own (other than the gold), something hinted at in episodes such as “the Ames brothers”. While fans will want to know how the warden had laser cut keys before the technology even existed, and exactly who is sending the 63’s through time (and how they are doing it) these answers are unlikely to be revealed in the finale.

Instead we are likely to find out what was put into the prisoners blood, that the warden isn’t actually the one behind it all, and that there is more to Lucy than we thought.

Why Lucy? Jack Sylvane said that he doesn’t dream anymore since he left Alcatraz, and the doctor said the 63’s heal very quickly and are abnormally healthy. Yet not only is Lucy not recovering as quickly as the 63’s but she still dreams, which begs the question is she really a 63 after all? The only way for a laser cut key to be in the wardens possession before the technology was invented is simple, someone had to make the key after 1963 and travel back in time for the warden to have it. Could that someone be Lucy?

It would be a gripping finale indeed if we found that Lucy isn’t a 63 as we suspect but is instead someone from the present who somehow went back in time, that Tommy Madsen had an evolutionary defect in his dna that was utilised to help the others survive time travel or even make it possible (maybe this is why Rebecca is so important?), that the warden is working for someone we already know of but never suspected and that what lies behind the locked door will turn what we thought we knew of the series on its head just as happened with Abrams Lost.

Fans look set for a mouth watering finale that will reveal some answers only to raise more questions, and a dramatic cliffhanger that as the screen fades to black will leave us open mouthed and praying to the tv gods that Fox don’t give up on the series.