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Prison Break Season 1
At any given time, I typically have a number of TV seasons on DVD on hold at the Carnegie library. Some are latter seasons of shows I've seen and liked. Some are first seasons of show's I've heard about and look interesting enough for whatever reason that I figured I'd give them a try. Most new shows I try in this manner are watchable, a few are disappointing, and some are so fabulously surprising that I end up watching them every waking moment and finishing 22 episodes in three days.

Prison Break
Prison Break Season 1
Prison Break is one of those shows.

The title is fairly self-explanatory, after all, and thus the main plot should not come as a surprise. It is the subtle wrinkles on this plot—you guessed it, character-driven wrinkles—that make this show truly exceptional. The main protagonist of Prison Break is Michael Scofield, played by Wentworth Miller. He's a structural engineer with a peculiarly genius eye for detail. Upon discovering that his engineering firm built the prison where his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), is on death row, Scofield gets the plans tattooed onto his upper torso in a cleverly surreptitious design and then gets himself arrested and sentenced to the same prison where his brother is being kept. And thus begins his odyssey to break his brother out of prison. Meanwhile, on the outside, Lincoln's former girlfriend, Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney)—who is also a lawyer—takes his case in effort to clear his name before the execution, but ends up in the throes of a political conspiracy that goes all the way to the top.

This show has so many storytelling strengths that it's tough to pick where to start. The plot-weaving in this story is truly amazing. The writers manage to craft riveting plot twists, constantly throwing new roadblocks in front of Scofield and giving him believable "outs" from his dilemmas. Their true mastery at plot-weaving comes clear at the end of the season where all the plot threads come together, after all the while managing to end every episode on a cliffhanger. If I could figure out how to write plots like this, I'd have already sold a novel.
Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield
What sets Prison Break apart, though, from similar plot-twisty shows like Lost, is the fact that character conflict is always underlying every move. Scofield's drive to free his brother is the heart of this character and of this show. As a result, when the show cut to Veronica's conflicts on the outside, I found it slightly less interesting, though still cleverly plot-twisty. The prison scenes are truly the liveliest, in large part because of the characters populating them, from mobsters to murders to the simply luckless. Scofield is the strongest character in the show, certainly. Wentworth Miller does an excellent job of portraying the quietly-driven, even-tempered Scofield—and bonus, he's pretty hot to boot. Dare I make the comparison... but I cannot help but muse that he may be the Yul Brynner of the 21st century. Dominic Purcell does a similarly excellent job with Burrows, but I didn't find the character of Burrows as interesting as Scofield. Probably because the main point of audience-identification with him so far is the trauma of facing execution—harrowing, sure, but original? Not so much. All of the prisoners are well-drawn, as are the prison staff, but the standout character among the supporting cast has got to be T-bag (Robert Knepper), who manages to be at once objectionable and sympathetic. The only huge disappointment in the first season of this show is the "flashback" episode that shows how each of the characters got to prison in the first place. While this episode conveys essential information, the episode as a whole falls very flat. They should have dropped this information progressively throughout the series in flashbacks. They told the back-story of character John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare) in this manner, why couldn't they have done so with the rest of the characters? It would have had more emotional resonance. It should be noted, however, that I found this episode disappointing in large part because the show is otherwise so excellent.

Prison Break is the perfect balance of plot and character. If you're looking for the television equivalent of a "page turner," then pick up Season 1.
2007-08-03 19:34:20 GMT
Comments (4 total)
Author:Anonymous
Excellent series!!
--Saundra Kane
2007-08-04 17:57:34 GMT
Author:Anonymous
Wow, I had heard critical acclaim of this show but you are the first person I know who has now actually seen it. And no it sounds very intriguing. A guess on the "flashback" episode -it seems this show debuted shortly after Lost and my guess is that the writers didn't use gradual backstory reveals for the characters so as to not be accused of directly copying a narrative structure that is now heavily associated with Lost. I don't have a problem with multiple shows using similar formats but some critics probably do, or the writers do, or...anyway, just a guess.
--Roger
2007-08-04 20:53:58 GMT
Author:Anonymous
That was supposed to be "now it sounds...". The W on my keyboard has performance issues
--Roger
2007-08-04 21:08:27 GMT
Author:Anonymous
I hope you give it a look-see Roger. It really is quite good. There's usually a pretty long line for it at the library, but the wait is worth it.
--Sarah
2007-08-07 23:05:28 GMT
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Media Reviews
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Bones Season 1
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Prison Break Season 1
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