10 of our favorite shows that use time travel as a premise

By Jeff Michael Vice
Special to MSN TV

It's a riddle that's wrapped up in a mystery that's wrapped up in an enigma. "It," of course, is "Alcatraz," FOX's buzzed-about mystery/thriller/crime drama, and the creepy old island prison isn't just a setting -- it's one of the show's most crucial characters.

The new series, which debuts Jan. 16 with a two-hour premiere episode, follows law-enforcement officials -- including a San Francisco Police detective, a government agent and the former warden -- who must figure out how and why several missing, high-profile prisoners from the ill-fated penitentiary have suddenly reappeared, years after they disappeared and years after the facility shut down.

We have to admit we're intrigued. The descriptions so far have been pretty vague, but the equally nebulous ads have led us to believe it might be a crazed cross between "Lost" and "Prison Break," which were both guilty pleasures.

Besides, the show not only lists J.J. Abrams as its executive producer; its creators and head writers include Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. Their credits include HBO's "Deadwood," "Kyle XY," "Boomtown" and Abrams' beloved but baffling "Lost."

And then there's its cast. Among the actors who appear in the series are Sam Neill (the "Jurassic Park" movies), Parminder Nagra ("ER"), Robert Forster ("The Descendants," "Jackie Brown"), Sarah Jones (FX's "Sons of Anarchy") and Jorge Garcia from "Lost."

"Alcatraz" is also one of two time-traveling shows on FOX -- the other one being "Terra Nova," the as-promising-as-it-is-frustrating sci-fi program that took soldiers and ordinary families back into past, pitting them against dinosaurs and other threats from their own time.

In the meantime, here's our list of some of our favorite science-fiction series featuring time travel as a story component:

(FOX)