“I don’t know how you do an hour long show and don’t have some ongoing stuff,” Abrams said. “The fact is both of these shows, Alcatraz more than Person of Interest, definitely has overarching questions you can’t answer in one episode. I love that stuff. It’s one of the reasons I love Walking Dead, I can name 12 massive questions that I must have answered. I love that. I know that not everyone does and I think Person of Interest is definitely a more unserialized weekly crime show that does have threads that if you watch will reveal bigger, larger answers. There’s the mystery of the week thing but there’s also who are these guys who are working so well together? They’re not quite trusting each other. It’s really fun.”

Alcatraz requires flashbacks to show who the prisoners were back on “The Rock.” After producing the ultimate flashback show of all time, Lost, Abrams had no hesitation about using the same structure on a new show.

“There’s a flashback in Person of Interest also. I love flashbacks. There will often be flashbacks. For me it was a necessity of the show as opposed to feeling it’s borrowing an existing gimmick that Lost happened to use well. One of the awesome aspects of Alcatraz is the mystique of Alcatraz as the rock itself, what it was like 50 years ago down Broadway in the middle of these cells. What was it like to have these criminals behind these bars be out in that yard, to have the warden in that office? It would be crazy not to embrace that.”

The only Star Trek 2 update is that he’s still trying to make “a movie that’s worth people’s time.” On Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Abrams confirmed there are four full IMAX sequences, like the Burj Khalifa sequence in the trailer.

In more surprising news, Abrams answered questions about last year’s failed show Undercovers. Abrams produced the married spy series and directed the pilot, and he blames only himself for the show’s failure.

“I do feel the problem with the show was I made bad choices. I wasn’t as respectful of the audience or the characters. I didn’t give people substance. The thing that’s fun about fluff is it needs to be contextualized. It needs to be fun and fluffy within something of meaning and it was kind of fluff on top of fluff as opposed to something more substantial. I wrote it into mediocrity and I feel guilty because I love the actors, I love the idea of the show, I love the idea of a couple who loves each other.”

Person of Interest premieres this fall on CBS.

“Undercovers” is all you could ask for in a TV show. It’s fun and exciting and funny and sexy. You’ll want to tune in for the spy action anyway, but the characters are engaging and the basic premise can inspire endless seasons worth of episodes.

Steven (Boris Kodjoe) and Samantha Bloom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are the ones you go to when you need to get the job done. They already run a restaurant, which is a big job if you watch Gordon Ramsay. If Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney being all Major without the Dad) has to pull them out of retirement, then you know the situation is serious.

Steven and Samantha have good banter. Whether they’re talking about the kitchen, their marriage or the enemy, they have a rhythm where there’s a double punchline. They have inside jokes they let the audience in on and they do love each other. That ideal will be threatened but it’s nice to see a good relationship on television. There’s a lot of fast talking so they pack a lot of wit into the dialogue.

Shaw gets into it too. A grizzled Shaw in his boxers fields calls from Steven, while Samantha solves a crisis with her kitchen staff. It’s just a little bit cleverer than the usual formulaic double talk. The comparison would be Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which it obviously is in broad strokes, but the positive view of a relationship, and the cooperation of the two leads makes it more sustainable long term.

Once they go on the mission, the Blooms execute the full range of spy capers. The break in, they set up decoys, they use technology. The action is crazy, the way I like it. There’s a bazooka involved. A rooftop fight has an intense choreography of moves. Steven and Samantha cooperate in some of the action so they use the timing and compatibility of relationships in that context too. The opening sequence on the side of a hotel would be epic in a movie, only movies aren’t that nuanced anymore so we turn to TV. It’s “Alias” with NBC money.

Since it’s a J.J. Abrams show, of course Samantha is the nex kick-ass heroine. Boy, does she look sexy in an evening gown or lingerie. Steven has some beefcake shots for the ladies too, but the point is, it’s one of those shows. It’s tantalizing, but when the Blooms connect with each other, it’s sweet. You believe them in this ridiculous spy story. The music helps too.

The scene transitions through postcards that begin the scene. It’s an excellent way to make the show feel international, even though they’re faking it. They fake the exotic locations really well. If you were an “Alias” fan, you know they could make the Disney lot look like Egypt, so rest assured downtown L.A. = Madrid.
 
“Undercovers” can go anywhere. They could tell epic stories but I understand the plan is to keep it “mission of the week” and that’s fine too. We’ll like the characters on any mission, so there’s no need to make it more complicated. I’ll still watch every week regardless.

"Undercovers" premieres tonight at 8/7c on NBC.

NBC is taking a chance on a J.J. Abrams project. I know, right? Buncha stupid-heads over there, and no I won’t watch my language. The Peacock has greenlighted "Undercovers," a spy drama from the mind behind the plastic, black eyeglass frames of Abrams himself.

"Undercovers" stars Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Steven and Samantha Bloom, a married couple who run a Los Angeles catering company. Five years earlier, though, they were a pair of the CIA’s best spies. Now, when their old espionage buddy goes missing, they’re reactivated by their boss Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney) and thrown back into the field. Not surprisingly, they discover they missed The Life.

Sounds like my experience as a blogger. The catering racket just couldn’t appease this wild child. Abrams wrote the "Undercovers" pilot with Josh Reims and also directed it, making this the first pilot he’s gotten behind the camera for since "LOST." You took a gamble on this one, NBC, but hopefully it’ll pay off. Abrams seems to have a decent enough reputation around town. Now thank whatever god you sacrifice to for granting your flailing company such a wonderous bounty. (EW)