Prison Break TV series (2005 - 2009)

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Didn't see a thread dedicated to Prison Break, so decided to create one. Mods, I hope this is O.K.

I just watched all 4 seasons of this series; this is the first time I had ever seen the show. Excellent & extremely suspenseful. This reminded me somewhat of 24 & the original Mission: Impossible series, while still being extremely original & creative.

I break this series up into three parts: Seasons 1 & 2 tells the story of Michael Scofield going into Fox River prison (Illinois) to rescue his brother, then breaking out (end of S1) & being on the run (S2).

Season 3 focused on some of the characters ending up in the Panama prison,

[Show spoiler]and eventually breaking out (end of S3).

IIRC, the reason that S3 was a short season (12-13 episodes instead of 21-22) was because of the TV writers strike that occurred during that time. However, even though this was shortened it was still well-written, and didn't appear rushed.

Season 4 focused on the characters having to get ahold of an elaborate electronic device, in order to clear their names. And, the finale nicely wrapped up the series.

Some comments:

I was extremely surprised when

[Show spoiler]MS's father & later mother (both of who were supposedly dead) were actually revealed to be alive.

The character of Don Self (played by MR) in S4 was unintentionally amusing; I found him the comic relief of S4 - his going around and flashing his Homeland Security badge in various places to get access (a church, a bank) that he had no business being in was hilarious. What a goofball.

I was not that surprised

[Show spoiler]that Scofield died at the end; obviously, this was foreshadowed re: his having an incurable illness, which obviously wasn't taken care of by the surgery performed on him by "The Company".

I still haven't seen PB: The Final Break yet; apparently this is a mini-series?! that "fills in the blanks" re: the final episode in S4.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

I still haven't seen PB: The Final Break yet; apparently this is a mini-series?! that "fills in the blanks" re: the final episode in S4.

Make sure you see it. It is perfect. Very emotional.

[djariya]

Actually you didn't need to put 2005-2009 since it's coming back for "season 5" next Spring.

and wow, yeah I'm shocked. I just did a search and there aren't any Series threads dedicated to Prison Break. I'm quite surprised this series got zero discussion weekly in the 4 years it was on.

Yeah it was an absurd show many times, but it was fun.

Looking forward to it's return next year. The previews look entertaining.

[celticmoon]

Originally Posted by djariya

and wow, yeah I'm shocked. I just did a search and there aren't any Series threads dedicated to Prison Break. I'm quite surprised this series got zero discussion weekly in the 4 years it was on.

Actually, there is a thread for the upcoming revival:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...t=prison+break

I've found that the search function is wonky and doesn't seem to find the thread whenever the title is in quotes (which is the semi-official new format for all of the TV series threads now, it seems.)

Personally, I enjoyed the entirety of the show for what it was (aside from Final Break, which I thought was absolutely horrendous).

S1 was great. S2 was pretty good too, though I think it would have benefited from less episodes. S3 was OK but my least favorite season. It was somewhat of a chore to get through and I probably would have dropped the show if I was watching real-time. But as ridiculous as S4 was (and despite the fact that it transformed into an entirely different show), I enjoyed the last season.

With the creator and original showrunner back for the revival, I expect it to at least be decent. I'll definitely be tuning in.

[SquidPuppet]

The premise for the upcoming season sounds ridiculous.

I'm in.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I did finally see Prison Break: The Final Break last week. Excellent, and a nice supplemental episode to S4's finale.

[Show spoiler]Prior to seeing this, I was not aware that Sarah Tangredi had gone to jail for the murder of Michael's mother.

This was a good "mini" episode that featured Michael orchestrating a Prison Break with the help of his "crew", i.e. the former FBI agent, Lincoln, Sucre, etc.

It was interesting to see Lori Petty play the "leader" of a group of women in the jail that Sarah Tangredi had gone to; her nickname was "Daddy". This almost seemed like a pre-cursor to her prison role in the TV Series Orange is the New Black.

[Show spoiler]The sequence @ the end when Lincoln, Sarah, and the others were waiting for Michael to come out of that door - and you knew he never would - was quite sad.

[KenHurd]

Prison Break is one of my favorite shows, and with the revival coming next year, I have been rewatching the original series this past summer. I just completed season 4, and only have The Final Break left to watch.

It had been a couple years since I last revisited this series, but Season 1 was just as suspenseful as I remember. Those last few episodes, when the plan all came together, were intense. I had forgotten some of the events that happened, so it was fun to see everything unfold.

I always liked the manhunt of Season 2. It has a lot of the intensity of the first season, just outside of Fox River. I liked how they took Paul's character from being a stereotypical bad guy, and spent time developing him. Mahone was also a great addition to the show.

I go back and forth on Season 3. This was my 3rd time to watch the series. When I first watched it, I watched Season 3 on Blu-ray and loved it. I thought it was just as suspenseful as the first two seasons. But on my second watch, I found it a chore to sit through. Since it had been a few years since I last watched the series, I found myself loving this season again.

Season 4 has its moments. I really like the change of pace, and the missions they go on to get the Scylla cards. But I didn't like

[Show spoiler]that they brought Mrs. Scofield in to be the final villain, and claimed that Michael and Lincoln weren't real brothers. That felt like a plot twist that was just thrown in. As far as I'm concerned, Mrs. Scofield was just messing with them, trying to drive them apart.

I do think that Season 4 had a perfect ending, and The Final Break just adds to the Season 4 finale. My hope with the new season is that they don't leave it on a cliffhanger. That was the one thing I hated about 24: Live Another Day. Prison Break gave us a definite ending in Season 4, and didn't really need more. But,

[Show spoiler]since they're bringing Michael back, maybe this time they will let him survive in the end.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

OK, just saw the trailer for PB Season 5. Wow!

[Show spoiler]Very cool that Scofield is still alive! I honestly thought he had died at the end of S4; or, to be exact, had sacrificed himself (by getting electrocuted) during PB: The Final Break so he could break out his wife from prison.

So, since he is still alive & if the writers/producers of the show are keeping with the continuity that was established in S4, presumably this is what occurred:

Scofield somehow survived the supposed electrocution when breaking his wife out of prison, and was captured by the prison authorities, who didn't let on that they had him. Or, maybe he escaped somehow, but couldn't rejoin his wife & Lincoln for whatever reason. The recording they saw he made where he said something to the effect of, "If you see this recording, it means I'm dead" etc. made us think he was dead - which was obviously not the case. And, maybe he made his family think he was dead to protect them....i.e., maybe he had to stay "under cover" because otherwise he would unintentionally lead the authorities back to them?!

So, in S5 he's back in prison in a foreign country - though it's unclear why he's there or how long he's been there.

Also, obviously somehow the brain disease he had must be cured - or else he would have died somehow in the intervening years (even if he hadn't been captured).

In any case, it will be interesting to see if S5 is a full season (21-22 episodes) or a partial season (12-13 episodes). Either way, based on the trailer I'm sure it will be great!

[celticmoon]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

In any case, it will be interesting to see if S5 is a full season (21-22 episodes) or a partial season (12-13 episodes). Either way, based on the trailer I'm sure it will be great!

Well, it's definitely not going to be a full season of 21-22 episodes. It's been referred to as a limited event series and seems to be scheduled for spring 2017 currently. I'm not sure if the actual episode count has been revealed, but I'd expect 10-13 episodes.

It's too bad Mahone doesn't seem to be back, he was one of the best things to happen to the show post-Season 1. Hopefully there's a surprise guest appearance in there somewhere. Honestly, his return would make much more sense than T-Bag. I'm wondering how they will contrive a reason to have him be a regular on this new season. I mean, he was definitely one of the most entertaining characters on the show, but his presence was forced throughout much of the show's run. But I guess we'll see.