Creator:
Paul Scheuring
Cast:
Wentworth Miller ………. Michael Scofield
Dominic Purcell ………. Lincoln Burrows
Amaury Nolasco ………. Fernando Sucre
Wade Williams ………. Captain Brad Bellick
Sarah Wayne Callies ………. Dr. Sara Tancredi
Robin Tunney ………. Veronica Donovan
Marshall Allman ………. LJ Burrows
Robert Knepper ………. Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell
Stacy Keach ………. Warden Henry Pope
Peter Stormare ………. John Abruzzi
Rockmond Dunbar ………. Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin
The Show:
A bunch of guys break out of prison. That’s how the show can be described in one sentence. Actually, the show’s two-word title is enough of an apt description. In actuality, the show is actually much more about the relationships between its characters, than it is about its seemingly impenetrable location.
Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is given the death sentence after being found guilty of murdering the vice-president’s brother.
There are two primary plots in the first season of the show. The one that is often ignored is the conspiracy that has led to Burrows’ execution. There are many powerful people who want him to take the fall for the murder that he didn’t commit, and this is balanced by the escape and what actually happens at the prison. While he awaits execution at the Fox River State Penitentiary that is run by Warden Pope (Stacy Keach) and monitored by Captain Brad Bellick (Wade Williams), the protagonist of the show is Lincoln’s brother, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller).
Scofield is a structural engineer who had a hand in building the prison where Burrows is being held and comes up with the plan to break him out of jail. In order to do this, Scofield holds up a bank and allows himself to be sentenced so that he can put his plan into motion.
While the show is clearly about Scofield’s genius, it is clear that this is not a Shawshank Redemptionesque escape and that the shades of grey hero needs help along the way. This is where the other inmates come in, each bringing their own flavor to the action.
Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) is Scofield’s cellmate and provides most of the comedy in the series. Michael needs to work with him because as he digs through the prison walls, he needs his partner to stay on the lookout. Even though Sucre only has 18 months left in his sentence at Fox River (for armed robbery), he wants to get out quickly so that his fiancée doesn’t run off with his best friend.
There’s also John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare). He’s the mob boss and Scofield relies on him primarily for what he can deliver outside the gates… a plane ride to freedom. While you would think that Abruzzi would probably be the toughest guy around, that honor undoubtedly belongs to someone else.
Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell (Robert Knepper) is undoubtedly the villain of the series and that is where an interesting dynamic comes into play. While you would think that Captain Brad Bellick is the one who gives Scofield the most problems (which he does), T-Bag is much more interesting to watch because he is technically on Michael’s side. Whereas Scofield tries to plan the escape without human casualties of any kind and in an ethical manner, Bagwell provides the muscle and the willingness to do anything that provides a lot of the grit in the show.
Finally, Sara Tancredi (played by Sarah Wayne Callies) serves to humanize Scofield’s character. For all of his methodical and meticulous planning, which could almost be described as robotic, Scofield clearly develops feelings for the prison’s doctor and these sometimes force him to balance his mission with his heart.
While the show is definitely about some convicts escaping prison, it also examines their relationships with each other.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Pilot (Airdate: 8/29/05)
Structural engineer Michael Scofield purposefully has himself incarcerated in order to orchestrate the escape of his brother Lincoln, whom he believes has been wrongly sentenced to death.
**Optional Episode Commentaries with Series Creator, Cast and Crew
Allen (Airdate: 8/29/05)
Setting his plan in motion, Michael seeks the aid of his fellow inmates, but makes some deadly enemies along the way.
Cell Test (Airdate: 9/5/05)
Michael’s plan to test Sucre’s loyalty backfires when Sucre requests a cell transfer, and Abruzzi joins in Michael’s plan to escape.
Cute Poison (Airdate: 9/12/05)
Michael fears that his psychotic new cellmate will expose his plan, while Veronica enlists the aid of another attorney as she uncovers new evidence in Lincoln’s case.
**Optional Episode Commentaries with Series Creator, Cast and Crew
**Alternate/Deleted Scenes
Disc Two:
English, Fitz or Percy (Airdate: 9/19/05)
Kellerman and Hale blackmail Warden Pope into moving Michael to another prison, and Michael must think quickly in order to avoid the transfer.
Riots, Drills And The Devil (Part 1) (Airdate: 9/19/05)
With the escape plan falling dangerously far behind, Michael sparks a full-scale riot by sabotaging the prison’s air conditioning system, and then Veronica, growing suspicious of Nick, rejects his help with Lincoln’s case.
**Optional Episode Commentaries with Series Creator, Cast and Crew
Riots, Drills And The Devil (Part 2) (Airdate: 10/3/05)
As the rioting rages on, Michael must rescue Sara from the other inmates, while Abruzzi and Sucre team up to help expedite the breakout.
**Optional Episode Commentaries with Series Creator, Cast and Crew
The Old Head (Airdate: 10/24/05)
To his great dismay, Michael discovers that an old storage shed, crucial to his plan, has been converted into a break room for the guards, while outside the prison, Veronica, Nick and LJ find their lives in danger.
Disc Three:
Tweener (Airdate: 10/31/05)
Fearing for the life of his son, Lincoln’s desire to escape becomes more desperate than ever, and Michael faces a tough decision as the vile T-Bag continues to sexually prey on young inmates.
Sleight Of Hand (Airdate: 11/7/05)
Michael is forced to reveal the location of Fibonacci, an innocent man whom the mob wants dead, in order to keep the breakout plan on track, and Kellerman and Hale receive some unwanted help in their pursuit of LJ.
And Then There Were 7 (Airdate: 11/14/05)
Everyone, especially Sara, is shocked when Michael’s wife arrives for a conjugal visit, bringing with her an important key to the escape plan.
Odd Man Out (Airdate: 11/21/05)
As the time of escape draws near, the group, needing to reduce its number by one, targets T-Bag, but he’s got other ideas. Meanwhile, Veronica, Nick, and LJ continue running for their lives.
**Deleted Scene
Disc Four:
End Of The Tunnel (Airdate: 11/28/05)
Just hours before Lincoln’s execution, the teams makes its desperate and daring break for it, while outside a guilt-ridden conspirator betrays the others.
The Rat (Airdate: 3/20/06)
After the failed escape attempt, Michael tries desperately to have Lincoln’s execution postponed. Meanwhile, Sara pleads Lincoln’s case to her father, the governor.
By The Skin & The Teeth (Airdate: 3/27/06)
Lincoln’s execution is stayed by a last-minute phone call, but not before he glimpses a man he believes to be his father. And, as Michael works on a new escape plan, Veronica has a corpse exhumed in her attempt to prove Lincoln’s innocence.
Brother’s Keeper (Airdate: 4/3/06)
A series of flashbacks reveals the origins of Michael’s plans and how each of the escapees landed in Fox River Penitentiary.
**Optional Episode Commentaries with Series Creator, Cast and Crew
**Deleted Scenes
Disc Five:
J-Cat (Airdate: 4/10/06)
With Michael out of commission in solitary confinement, it’s up to Sucre to conceal the tunnel beneath the guards’ break room before it’s too late.
Bluff (Airdate: 4/17/06)
Michael seeks Haywire’s help in remembering the missing piece of his blueprint tattoo, while T-Bag and C-Note must join forces to win a high-stakes poker game.
The Key (Airdate: 4/24/06)
A face from Lincoln’s past re-emerges to reveal the motives behind his set-up, and Abruzzi’s return to Fox River sets T-Bag on edge.
Tonight (Airdate: 5/1/06)
With Bellick bound and gagged, the inmates’ escape plans are rapidly accelerated, and Sara is left reeling when Michael reveals his secret to her.
Disc Six:
Go (Airdate: 5/8/06)
The cons make their desperate break for freedom via the Psych Ward, and Nick double-crosses Veronica, hoping to save his dad.
Flight (Airdate: 5/15/06)
The inmates are safely over the wall, but they’re still a long way from freedom as the deadly manhunt begins.
**Additional Special Features
The DVD:
Video:
The DVD is presented in a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The display is clear in some parts and pixilated in others (primarily in the aerial shots), but it good for the most part. Also, note that the reviewed DVD set was a screening copy so it is unknown whether this will translate to the purchased copy. The framing and color of shots is quite vivid with the blue of the prison outfits matching with the outside green quite well.
Audio:
The sound is presented as English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. There are English, French and Spanish subtitles available. The conversation is clear, but the volume must be turned up in order to hear the many whispered secrets.
Special Features:
Audio commentaries are available for six of the episodes (outlined above). In most cases, there are usually two commentaries available for the episodes that feature commentary, and this was a little baffling. While there are ten commentaries in total, it would have been smarter to spread these out and have more episodes covered. That’s because the commentaries are excellent and interesting to listen to, especially for fans of the show. The participants in these include combinations of Paul Scheuring, Dominic Purcell, Brett Ratner, Mark Helfrich, Wade Williams, Matt Olmstead, Peter Stormare , Silas Weir Mitchell, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper, Sarah Wayne Callies, Greg Yaltanes, Robert Mandel, Nick Santora, , Garry Brown, Bobby Roth, Karyn Usher , and Zack Estrin. The most obvious omission is Wentworth Miller.
There are also four deleted scenes (as outlined above), but these are only of interest to hardcore fans of the show.
The goodies are really on Disc 6, where there are some phenomenal featurettes, starting with the “Making Of Prison Break” which runs for approximately 30 minutes. This features most of the big players behind the show, and is very informative about its conception, set-up and intent. Mr. Miller is featured in this and that is a welcome addition. This is definitely worth watching and one of the highlights of the set.
Next up is a featurette entitled “If These Walls Could Speak: Profile of the Joliet Correctional Center” which runs for about nine minutes. It’s primary a profile of the actual prison that doubles as Fox River in the series. I thought this was interesting at first, but boring after the first minute.
The third featurette is “Beyond The Ink” and it runs for approximately 16 minutes. This goes behind Michael’s tattoo in the series which features a blueprint of the prison underneath all of the intense graphic design. This is exactly the type of featurette you would want in a DVD as it focuses on the tattoo artist that designed it, and his methodology in creating something that he didn’t have a lot of direction for. It shows designs that weren’t used as well as alterations that had to be made in the final product. It also shows the fake tattoo being applied to Miller and explains that the process takes four to five hours on each shooting day where it is shown. It’s a fantastic addition and really raises the profile of all the extras available on the DVD.
The final featurette, is an eight-minute lift from the Fox Movie Channel, where they detail what it was like to shoot one particular scene of the series (it is the one where Michael is introduced to his new cellmate, Haywire). It’s interesting just to see how cameras are squeezed into a narrow cell because that is what is involved in the majority of the series.
Finally, there are a series of promos and commercials. These include six spots that aired on FOX to promote the show. There’s also a long trailer for Vanished, which is the new FOX show that currently airs after Prison Break on Monday nights.
| InsidePulse’s Ratings for Prison Break – Season 1 | |
