New series in focus: Fox's 'Alcatraz'

'Alcatraz' has received mixed buzz this pilot season, calling into question how much its J.J. Abrams pedigree will be worth (a year after his "Undercovers" was a mitigated disaster).

But the sneak preview that Fox offered today following its 2011-12 schedule announcement showed the potential of a good yarn, and who can't be excited about seeing Jorge Garcia of "Lost" back in a regular series role —  helping drive the investigation into the mystery of prison inmates from the past who have inexplicably reappeared in the present, no less?

Sarah Jones, Sam Neill, Parminder Nagra, Robert Forster, Santiago Cabrera, Jonny Coyne, Jason Butler Harner co-star in the series, exec produced by Abrams, Bryan Burk, Elizabeth Sarnoff and Danny Cannon.