Park Service Posts Signs Telling Alcatraz Tourists That TV Show Isn't Real

You know that new truck commercial where the dude drives it down the snow-covered mountain and barrel rolls the vehicle in the air? There’s a warning that shows up at the bottom telling people that trucks can’t actually snowboard and barrel roll. To most of us, that seems obvious to the point of being stupid, but every time I wonder if maybe companies should dispense with the absurdly obvious warnings, a story like this comes along that makes me think maybe it’s best to just cover every base imaginable.

Apparently, more than a few visitors to Alcatraz Island slipped away from their groups this past week. That’s not a shock. If you’ve been to the prison before, you know there’s a ton of areas that are restricted and off-limits, but what’s noteworthy is the exact reason why many of these brave souls crept off. Apparently, they were searching for the underground control room featured on the TV show Alcatraz. Obviously, given how long the prison has been closed for and when it was built, no such tech 2.0 space exists.

According to TMZ, the ill-advised hunts for the fictional place have become so frequent since the show’s premiere that the Park Service has actually posted the following sign…

"The TV show Alcatraz is fictional, many areas it depicts are not real. Closed areas protect you, historic structures and nesting birds."

I don’t know whether this whole situation is really funny or really sad, but I’m glad the authorities have addressed it before someone died trying to shimmy themselves down into the sewer system. For the record, Alcatraz Island is extremely interesting on its own, and you’ll have a fine enough time on the real tours without making your own adventure.

Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.