TV: Prison Break

"Prison Break" is one of the best television series of the 2005 - 2006 season.

When I first heard that the premise would be about a man who intentionally gets himself sent into jail just to break his brother out, I didn't think the show would survive a full season. It's one thing for a series like "24" to show what it takes to thwart a terrorist plot, but how much action could go on in a prison and how do you stretch that over 20+ episodes? I imagined it might steal a bit from The Shawshank Redemption where the main character manipulates everyone while perhaps digging a tunnel a few inches longer each week.

[And if that tiny revelation has somehow spoiled the movie for you, I apologize. but how do you miss a movie that's been shown on TNT about a trillion times?].

The show's trailer was repeated sufficiently enough over the summer to brain-wash me into giving the show a chance. I was pleasantly rewarded. The creators apparently did their homework and constructed an intricate plotline with many unexpected twists and tricks literally hidden up one's sleeve (or even inside the arm as the case may be). The writers mixed the gritty prison tension of "Oz", a lighter version of government conspiracy from "The X-Files", the urgency of "24", and a healthy dose of humor to form one riveting hour of TV each week.

Now I'm worried that the show is so good, that Fox will inevitably ruin it, cancel it, or both. Yes, their track record is pretty bad. I can only hope that popularity will not be harmed by the decision to put the show on yet another hiatus. It was initially interrupted for 3 weeks by the baseball playoffs and now until May [due to "24" and "American Idol"?].

** POTENTIAL SPOILERS [for those who haven't watched this yet] **

Other pluses:
Some nice cinametography. Scene of Veronica in a public square with a potential witness while faces appeared on giant screens around them was pretty cool.

I cannot complain about a quality show that gives me the opportunity to see Robin Tunney and Sarah Wayne Callies with guest appearances by Holly Valance and Jessalyn Gilsig.

Robert Knepper plays one creepy dude, almost too well.


Minuses [that keep it from being the best show this year]:
Some plot points still require much suspension of disbelief. Latest example is leaving Lincoln unguarded in the infirmary so soon after he had attacked a guard and with little left to lose with an execution just hours away. How the bad guys could eavesdrop on a cell phone conversation but completely ignore text messaging when a teenager is involved is beyond me.

Sometimes plots rely too much on sheer luck. But I guess the writers are trying to establish hope and faith as recurring themes.