Customer Reviews

Best TV I Have EVER Seen - By: A. J. Hepworth, 28 Jun 2008
Its not often I bother to write reviews but I have enjoyed Prison Break so much I just have to write to say its the best tv I have ever seen. I was gripped from start to finish, sat on the edge of my seat & glued to the screen. Brilliant casting, superb acting & amazing writers. The plot twists & turns - its full of adventure along with cliff hangersin each & every episode. Its been worth every penny...I am completely hooked & now a huge fan.

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Buy It!! - By: S. Thomson, 14 Jun 2008
Massive fan of 24, & less so of Lost, I was reluctantly persuaded to buy this as something to watch while waiting for 24 season 7 to arrive. The first episode had me so hooked (not just for the wonderful eye candy of the 2 brothers!) for the script, but also wondering how a whole series could be dedicated to breaking out of prison (like all the other reviewers say). However, the show was so addictive, I found myself abandoning the kids, the household chores & everything else to watch the whole lotin one weekend - then immediately had to get both Seasons 2 & 3. This is not something I usually do, prompting me to write this review. Everyone who likes a good story which does make your mind work will enjoy this - though I must say it is without doubt the best of the 3 seasons so far.

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THE BENCH MARK HAS BEEN RAISED!!!! - By: Jason Thorne, 16 Apr 2008
I am a massive fan of 24 & I mean massive I am waiting for season 7 to hit our shores so I wanted something to watch until this happens. I decided to give Prison Break ago because I saw it cheapin my local DVD shop. Well I am lost for words how good this is it is totally brillant & the story & acting hasin my eyes raised the bench mark big time. I never ever thought I would say this but this is better than 24 by a mile you really have to sit back & admire how clever this is the story grips you & doesn't let go. As for the Michael goingin to the Prison with blue prints all over his body was mind blowing & it does look so real. There are some really likeable charactors but for me T-Bag steals the show top draw acting & some brillant one liners. The main boys like Michael, Bellick, Abruzzi,C-Note,Sucre & Lincoln are again very good actors I hope season 2 is as good as this if it is I will be well pleased. If you haven't watched this I would say to you that you are missing out on a real treat, for a die hard 24 fan to say this is better than 24 it must be worth watching!!!

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Top-notch pacing and tight story telling - By: Mr. T. COLEMAN, 15 Apr 2008
Prison Break series 1 is a strange pastiche of dramatic layers; some work so well they positively shine, & others feel rusty & under developed.

First, the positive. The plotting here is first rate. Unlike other comparable series, such as 24 Season 6, the plot has a clear & causistic direction from day one: Michael Scofield's (Wentworth Miller) brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) is on death row for the murder of the Vice President's brother. Lincoln claims he was framed, & while his lawyers work on the outside to exhonerate him (as mysterious Secret Service agents attempt to thwart their efforts with lethal force) Michael takes more direct action: tattooing the blue prints for the prison onto his body, he gets himself incarcerated & has 30 days to break his brother out.

The set up is fresh & brilliant for dramatic tension: the clock is perpetually ticking, & as Michael unveils his plan step by step, it inevitably hits a barrage of challengesin the form of vindictive guards, interfering inmates, & of course the (possible) conspirators on the outside which is hell bent on silencing Lincoln for good.

The problem is that the script, at least to begin with, feels rushed & shoddy. Character's talkin cliches, prison sterotypes abound (old timer with a pet? Check. Gangster who quotes 'the Godfather"? Check). On top of this perhaps the three most central actors are probably the weakest - Miller, Purcell & Robin Tunney (as Lincoln's ex-girlfriend) are all slightly wooden at times, although Miller does show real flarein some scenes where the unpredictable violence & (at times) looming despair of his situation seem to knock the wind out of him.

The good news is that these short comings are countered by an incredibly strong supporting cast. Stacy Keach is excellent as the warm hearted warden who believesin rehabilitation rather than punishment; Sarah Wayne Callies as Dr. Sara Tancredi, the prison doctor who signed up to make a difference but gets more than she bargained for; Wade Williams as Bellick, the twisted head of the guards on a power trip. However, most notable of all is Robert Knepper's turn as the villainous T-Bag, a serial murderer & paedophile who sexually preys on other inmates & is down with the white supremacist gang. The surprising thing is that Knepper makes T-Bag not only a highly watchable love-to-hate character, but gradually helps the audience see inflectionsin his character that hint that he is a victim of sorts himself. As such T-Bag becomes a king of tragic anti-hero rather than a two-dimensional bad guy, & for that both the writers & Knepper should be applauded.

In fact, the supporting cast is so strong that to go on any further (and I could) would labour the point. However, this, combined with excellent plotting, gut churning cliff hangers & a few scenes which for me stand out as almost perfect examples of what a thriller can be when combined with actual emotional weight, comes together to make Prison Break an iconic, layered, & ultimately emotionally compelling drama full of moral dilemmas & even spiritual questions. Make your escape, & watch it now.

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Entertaining TV - By: Brendan O. Clarke, 13 Apr 2008
Prison Break was one of those kind of shows that always fits through the cracks. For every show like Lost or Heroes that manage to stay on the air, there's always those that get cancelled prematurely so I didn't bother to check it out. Not having anything to watch I thought I'd give it a shot. While I wouldn't say it's one of the best shows on television right now, it's certainly one of the more entertaining & addictive ones.

Most spend their life trying to stay out of prison but for Michael Scofield, he wants in. His brother Lincoln Burrows is on death row framed for the murder of the Vice President's brother & so it's Michael's plan to get into the prison as an inmate & with knowledge & a near full-torso tattoo of the prison's layout, setsin plan an elaborate escape. But that's not so easy as some inside the prison find out & wantin while others outside the prison want to make sure Burrows is dead one way or the other.

One of the strengths of a show like this is each episode gets you more & more excited about nearing the end as the story continues to leave you guessing. And with a show like this where every episode ends with some kind of cliffhanger, you'll find you keep putting on the next DVD to find out what happens. However that can also be the show's weakness as it's hard to re-watch the show since you know where it's going & how it'll end. It's good TV anyways although it's hard to tell if the show has lasting power if you already watch the whole season.

One of the things you need to do when you watch is to turn your brain off just a tad. It's not a show where anything can & does happen but there's some many instances of coincidence or convenience that you just have to forget all of it & just go along with it. There's some trouble spots such as a big cliffhanger followed by a flashback show of all things & you start to get a little impatient at just how long it's taken to get to the breakout but then we have the last 3 episodes which are probably one of the more exciting season enders around.

While Wentworth Miller & Dominic Purcell do admirable but not stellar jobsin their roles, the strength largely comes from its supporting cast from Robert Knepper playing the creepy pedophile "T-Bag" to "C-Note" to Scofield's cellmate, the likable Sucre who's suspicious that his girl will move on while he'sin jail, it's easy to like the cast around them & root for them, particularly Knepper who somehow manages to be darkly funny yet a huge dark part you don't want to be near.

The suspenseful series got the right promotional push from Fox & luckily audiences were ready for another ground breaking series using a season long story arc much like "24" & "Lost". I would have expected a show like "Prison Break" to be on HBO or Showtime (as their answer to "OZ" another ground breaking prison drama that focused less on the gimmicks of this show) not on Fox's network. Reportedly the producers planned a shelf life of "Prison Break" for two seasons recognizing the issues they had with shows such as "The X-Files". I suspect that if the show continues to be popular this will morph into something akin to "The Fugitive". The show also was clearly inspired by "The Shawshank Redemption" & the TV show "OZ" but has its own unique flavor making it much more than a simple copycat. Between top notch writing, directing & acting the show has become the only breakthrough hit from last season worth following.

If you know what this show is about skip this paragraph & go to the extras. The story for those that haven't followed the show is quite simple; Michael Scofield's brother Lincoln has been sentenced to diein the electric chair for a crime he didn't commit. Michael will do anything to get him out of prison. As the clock is ticking & its clear that legal options are limited he obtains the prison blueprints to get his brother out. How can he get them to his brother so he can use them? Simple Michael has them tattooed on his back. He then stages a bank robbery to get himself thrown into the same prison as his brother. His plans are to break out with his brother & eventually disappear. While their lawyer tries to get Lincoln out legally Michael must move forward with his plan & also negotiate a complex peace with inmate John Abruzzi who controls many of the inmates inside the prison to achieve his goal.