#5 Prison Break (Through Season 2 Only / 2002 - 2006)

Pretty tats! Pretty fucking useful!

This show is a singlehanded instruction guide on how to build and maintain intense ridiculous tension for two seasons. I admit I only watched up to the end of season 2 and a lil bit of 3 before it was abundantly clear that everything past the end of season 2 was a cash in. I mean really now, wtf were they thinking? Aside from clearly PAYDAY, which, okay, fair enough but I'm not watching it. I really wish more U.S. stations and such had the balls to just cut their shows off when they're still good. Brits do it all the time, they'll even air a show and then end the series and BRING IT BACK years later. There's a thought gang. Sometimes an idea or a concept has run its course and prolonging it to rake in advertising dollars does no one any favors. Just sayin'.

In brief the premise of the show is that Michael Scofield's (Wentworth Miller) brother Lincoln Burrows (a shaved bald Dominic Purcell) has been framed for the murder of the United State's Vice President's brother. Michael realizes he's wronged his brother for years and written him off for no good reason. He then, quite logically/insanely, has himself arrested for armed bank robbery and sent to the same prison. Michael does this 'cause he's ridiculously brilliant and psychologically flawed and has created an elaborate escape plan to get his brother off of death row and out of prison before it's too late.

Scary Linc is ...sexy...

The tension of the show is clearly centered around Michael's desperate bid to get Linc out of hock before he's murdered by the state. Dominic Purcell's performance as Linc is key to this. He is tortured by his past, what his incarceration has done to his son, and of course his impending death. Without Purcell's skillful performance a lot of the believablility and tension in the show would have evaporated. Kudos for that.

Michael is equally key, he's the POV character for the audience. An intelligent guy that once worked as an architect he has to negotiate the foreign waters of prison. He's further hampered by a psychological condition which prevents him from being a selfish cold-hearted bastard aka someone that can survive prison. A conceit that works nicely to add justification for some stupid shit Michael pulls to help out other prisoners at the potential cost of his brother's life.

 There are various scaly and hideous inmates he has to do business with in order to effect his escape but one of the skeeviest is a prison guard Brad Bellick who causes no end of suffering for the brothers. Crises occur, alliances are made and broken, tragedy and a bit of comedy run rampant and so on.

The show is great, it's a lot of fun but come the end of the second season my brain checks out. About five minutes before the end of the last episode Michael pulls a move that makes me want to stab random strangers with plastic sporks. Everything following I wash my hands of, however, the first two seasons are great and loads of fun.


Availability:

Netflix - Yes, instant and disc, Seasons 1 - 4 are available as well as 'the final break' which is apparently two hours missing from the series finale, according to amazon reviews there were 'creative difficulties' around the finale. As noted above I stopped paying attention after the stupid shit they pulled for season 3 so I have no idea if the final break is worthwhile viewing.


Hulu - Yes, all four seasons no mention of the final break.


Amazon - Yes for both, clickable pics below