Alcatraz 1 hour special - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

nicoge21 · 12-02-2010, 11:47 PM

Are there different versions of the Alcatraz prison segment? The one I have on my tape is the 1 hour special with Robert Stack on a boat with a scuba diving team. The divers swam to the shore to see how long the guys who escaped could have lasted before getting worn out.

Guardian · 12-03-2010, 06:59 AM

I believe there are different versions of this. Spike edited the crap out of it. If you have the 1 hour special of it, I believe you have most if not all material that was aired. I remember watching the 1 hour special as a kid with my grandpa.

When I saw the segment years later on lifetime, I believe they still showed the majority of the segment, but as I recall, the "in the field" segments were cut down by a lot. As I recall, the edited segment has the swimmer going into the water then we don't see him again until he comes to shore. In the original version, if I recall correctly, they interview him a time or two from a boat that is along side him while he is swimming. I believe there may have been other interviews cut down as well, such as the guys in the make shift raft being interviewed in a similar manner.

Not certain 100% about all that as I have not seen it unedited in years, but I know there were things cut in reruns.

RobinW · 12-03-2010, 10:12 AM

The original UM special on Alcatraz was a full 90 minutes long. This is also where they originally aired the segment about Jean-Marie Gagnon and profiled a couple of other wanted prison escapees who were on the run. It wouldn't surprise me if the Gagnon segment was edited out of future airings since he was eventually captured.

12-02-2010, 11:47 PM	#1
nicoge21 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 19, 2009 Posts: 176	Alcatraz 1 hour special Are there different versions of the Alcatraz prison segment? The one I have on my tape is the 1 hour special with Robert Stack on a boat with a scuba diving team. The divers swam to the shore to see how long the guys who escaped could have lasted before getting worn out.

12-03-2010, 06:59 AM	#2
Guardian Member Forum Regular Join Date: May 19, 2010 Location: WA Posts: 522	I believe there are different versions of this. Spike edited the crap out of it. If you have the 1 hour special of it, I believe you have most if not all material that was aired. I remember watching the 1 hour special as a kid with my grandpa. When I saw the segment years later on lifetime, I believe they still showed the majority of the segment, but as I recall, the "in the field" segments were cut down by a lot. As I recall, the edited segment has the swimmer going into the water then we don't see him again until he comes to shore. In the original version, if I recall correctly, they interview him a time or two from a boat that is along side him while he is swimming. I believe there may have been other interviews cut down as well, such as the guys in the make shift raft being interviewed in a similar manner. Not certain 100% about all that as I have not seen it unedited in years, but I know there were things cut in reruns.
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12-03-2010, 10:12 AM	#3
RobinW Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2010 Posts: 1,874	The original UM special on Alcatraz was a full 90 minutes long. This is also where they originally aired the segment about Jean-Marie Gagnon and profiled a couple of other wanted prison escapees who were on the run. It wouldn't surprise me if the Gagnon segment was edited out of future airings since he was eventually captured.