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Once more into the hoosegow for 'Prison Break'
Well hello, Prison Break. It's so nice to have you back where you belong. By "back where you belong," of course, I mean "in prison, where the show's title can, once again, become appropriate."
After a second season spent joyriding around the United States (and eventually Panama) in search of buried treasure and various forms of legal and spiritual redemption, Prison Break began its new season on Monday (Sept. 17) night with most of its characters back in jail. This isn't some sissified American maximum security prison like Fox River State Pen, though. Our heroes now find themselves in Sona, a Panamanian facility that only houses the worst of the worst. And, if the first two episodes sent to critics are any indication, they could be there for a while.
Continuing the show's depiction of Panama is a lawless fictional realm Way Down South Somewheres, Prison Break has constructed Sona as a prison that owes more than a little to the place poor Brad Davis found himself stored in Midnight Express. It's filthy, run-down and the guards abandoned the place to near post-apocalyptic squalor long ago.
"The government just stays back, keeps the perimeter," an embassy man explained to Linc. "To them, Sona's a one-way street. What goes in, never comes out, unless it's dead."
The fact that government officials were actually talking to Dominic Purcell's Linc encapsulates the main conflict for the third Prison Break season: The roles have all been reversed. When we began this journey, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) was devising an elaborate stratagem to get his brother out of jail. Bellick (Wade Williams) was a prison guard and Mahone was an FBI agent. Now, Michael, Bellick and Mahone are behind bars and Linc's the man on the outside.
While I was glad to have a "prison" back on Prison Break, I have my concerns. If I were in jail, I would think it'd be might helpful to have Michael Scofield trying to get me out. If, however, I were in jail and I was relying on Lincoln Burrows to find some previous untapped intellectual resources to advance my liberation? Well, I'd pretty much give up, or else I'd befriend a magical mouse with messianic powers to help me pass the time. This season may be hamstrung by the fact that the people on the inside are vastly more capable than those on the outside (wait til next week, fans, when Sucre returns to whine about Maricruz).
Naturally, though, we discovered before the first episode what many of us have suspected since the last finale: Michael's only in Sona to break somebody out. There are People With Power who arranged the whole thing (though last season's plot twists were a mighty complicated way to go about setting this plan in motion). The flaw in this particular reasoning is that Michael isn't an expert in general prison breaking. He's an expert in breaking out of one specific prison and he was able to break out of that specific prison because he had several months to plan, plus he had the building schematics tattooed to his body. Anybody who watched last season knows that improvising isn't really Michael's strong suit (his idea of being a master-of-disguise was donning a baseball cap with formal wear), so if I were the People With Power (stupid vast government conspiracies) trying to get the mysterious James Whistler out, I'd have a back-up plan.
Seeing so many of the cast members pop up in Sona was a smidge like Saved By the Bell: The College Years (what a coincidence that so many of them went to the same university together, despite Zack's surprisingly high SAT scores!), but there were still plenty of new characters introduced. We'll get more on the fetching females played by Danay Garcia and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe in the second episode, but for now, the new season's stand-out is Robert Wisdom as Sona kingpin Lechero. While fans of The Wire may yell "Bunny!" the minute Wisdom comes on screen, viewers who don't necessarily recognize the actor will get to enjoy a performance that seems cribbed from Isaac Hayes' turn as the Duke of New York in Escape From New York.
Other thoughts from this episode:
What were your thoughts on the episode? Are you excited about Prison Break again? Or has the show run its course?
"The flaw in this particular reasoning is that Michael isn't an expert in general prison breaking. He's an expert in breaking out of one specific prison and he was able to break out of that specific prison because he had several months to plan, plus he had the building schematics tattooed to his body."
I was going to say, does he even have any more space on his body for tattoos? Unless he's something of a 'grower', my guess is no. Maybe he can talk to that Chuck guy and "upload" Panamanian prison specs to his brain.
ciw | Sep 17, 2007 8:41:17 PM | #Nice Saved By the Bell reference. There aren't enough of those.
Brandon | Sep 18, 2007 12:52:50 AM | #I noticed that Dominic Purcell gets top billing this season over Wentworth Miller. Anyone else notice that?
Suspending disbelief aside, I still love this show.
Linda | Sep 18, 2007 4:53:02 AM | #GREAT SHOW, GLAD IT'S BACK...DOMINIC PURCELL AND WENTWOTH MILLER ARE GREAT
BATMAN | Sep 18, 2007 5:07:05 AM | #Noticed that Michael had long sleeve shirts on the whole episode. I guess applying his elaborate tattoos every day for filming is such a pain in the rump, they're going to try to hide them this year. We'll probably get to see them only once or twice, just for continuity's sake.
I can see the hooker/nun becoming a love interest for Michael as well. Rumor has it that Sarah is off the show. They'll probably kill her off which will serve to motivate Michael to go after "The Company" when he busts out. Next season's plotline?
righteousdude | Sep 18, 2007 5:23:25 AM | #Linda-
Dominic Purcell has always had top billing over Wentworth Miller.
My question - I get that Michael get some respect because he's a "superstar" and Bellick, as a former prison guard [if the prisoners know that] is harraised; hence, Michael still has his clothes, is not forced to clean toilets, etc., but what about Mahone? As a former lawman, it seems that the prisoners would harrass him. And not that I like Bellick, but I have to close my eyes when he's on screen -- dirty, practically naked, ugg, my eyes can't take it!
Oh, in my opinion, if Sarah is off the show, I'd rather they go ahead and kill the character now.
Mo | Sep 18, 2007 7:07:55 AM | #An hour watching Wentworth Mitchell do ANYTHING is my kind
of show. yum
I too have to suspend disbelief
but did enjoy..
If any of the other networks put
something good on opposite, I might jump ship, cause if you
just watch the last 10 minutes,
you've pretty much "got it"..
Also think its a good pairing of Prison Break & K Ville.
I could have sworn that Wentworth got top billing over Dominic the last 2 seasons. I didn't watch when Fox re-ran last year's episodes over the course of the last few weeks, so I'm not positive. But it jumped out at me when they were running the theme last night.
Linda | Sep 18, 2007 8:08:09 AM | #I liked the premiere. Took a while for the main story to get underway, but I'm sure I will be entertained. At this point (season 3), I'm already dedicated to this show. No turning back now...haha
CW | Sep 18, 2007 8:20:44 AM | #No, Dominic has always had top billing. Wentworth was always immediately after, but Dom was first.
Kath | Sep 18, 2007 8:43:20 AM | #Not only does Michael have to get one other Prisoner out, but we have 3 leftovers from last season that are still in prison. It's the all for one. Everybody goes.
Cruzin Tom | Sep 18, 2007 9:19:27 AM | #Sarah better be coming back I love her relationship with Michael.
Beth | Sep 18, 2007 9:24:24 AM | #While I agree that it is nice to have the prison back in "Prison Break", I still think that Season 2 was a waste of time. I have been a faithful follower since season 1, but even I can't suspend my disbelief for much longer.
First, it's hard to believe that the U.S. feds would just let Sucre and Lincoln go after escaping from Fox River.
Also, I understand that Michael's "job" is to help Whistler escape from Sona, and that is why he is stuck there with Mahone, Bellick and T-Bag. However, if this conspiracy is so powerful that they can arrange Michael's fate, kidnap LJ and Sara, etc., it would seem relatively easy to get someone out of Sona, where there are NO GUARDS (just Lechero). I was thinking why not just bribe Lechero and his henchmen with A LOT of money, and they should let Whistler go (as long as the Panamanian government doesn't find out about it)?
It was good to see Marshall Allman again, but lately LJ's only purpose has been to become a hostage/ pawn. I think his talent is being wasted on another storyline of "Oh, no! My son's been kidnapped again!" I would like to see more bonding moments between LJ and Lincoln, since the actors had good chemistry with each other in the past.
To Linda: Dominic has always had top billing over Wentworth, even though Wentworth probably had more screentime in the first two seasons.
Paige | Sep 18, 2007 9:26:34 AM | #i seee whole lot of white people and folks in general speaking ENGLISH for a show thats in a Latin American county.
| Sep 18, 2007 9:47:43 AM | #i think the billings have stayed the same but they switched the pictures which makes people think the credits were switched----and am i the only one that liked season 2 better than season one? as a fan of OZ, the prison scenes seem a little silly.
tim | Sep 18, 2007 10:32:34 AM | #Not as good as season 1 (with all that scheming along with the tension that it might not even pan out), but better than season 2 (which looked like the writers were improvising as well -- which they probably were).
THe great thing about this season is that they can even taunt the audience who are in the know if the doctor is dead or alive. (That, or pull another Vice President.)
For some strange reason, all the geniuses from last season (the architect, the FBI agent, the sociopath, and the corrupted) are all behind bars with the mysterious man in the iron mask-- I mean, wall. Hopefully this can lead to a meaningful clash of intrigue. It already seems like Whistler has a plan of his own.
And that is the best thing about this season so far. Everyone looks to have their own unique agenda. Who knows if they'll clash, team up, or outright implode. (Especially a proven racist like T-bag in a South American prison.)
pakopako | Sep 18, 2007 12:24:15 PM | #About the Bellick/Mahone thing...Lechero said he gets the news, that's how he knows who Scofield is; Bellick probably made the headlines too for being arrested, and it would have mentioned he was a former prison guard. Mahone's name was probably kept out of the papers by 'the company' or what have you. If that explanation doesn't fly, well then maybe its just Bellick's attitude that got him where he is, and Mahone has mostly just kept to himself...apart from that neck-snapping thing. I think Mahone probably just guaranteed that nobody will touch him after that! Anyway, this looked like a good start to the season, nice to see T-Bag up to his usual tricks.
Phil | Sep 18, 2007 12:29:56 PM | #Gotta Say I loved it. It keeps getting better and better. I have enjoyed Seasons 1 and 2 as well as the start of the new Season. It's great and I can't wait. I live for Mondays at 8:00. My only complaint is C-Note was one of my favorite characters. I hope they have a surprise return for him down the line.
Jason | Sep 18, 2007 1:10:57 PM | #IN YOUR REVIEW YOU STATED "FICTIONAL" LAWLESS PANAMA,I'VE BEEN THERE BROTHER THAT WAS THE ONLY REALISTIC PART OF THE SHOW, LOVE THE BROTHERS MAY THEY RUN AS WELL AS DR. RICHARD KIMBLE!
WHOLETRUTHY | Sep 18, 2007 1:32:01 PM | #Sarah is not comming back. TV Guide had reported that her contract was not renewed
Nothing but the truth | Sep 18, 2007 1:52:39 PM | #I hope Sarah does come back. The way they looked at each other wow.....
Karen | Sep 18, 2007 2:15:33 PM | #Absolutely a very dissapointing episode so boring such as a snooze fest.I have a feeling the rest of the season will stink to high heavens.They throw in lots of viloence to distract the audience from how bad this show really is.The only reason to watch is to see Wentworth and nothing more!
Awe | Sep 18, 2007 2:23:58 PM | #Last night's Prison Break was disturbing, but I will get used to it. It was definately entertaining, though I really didn't need to see Bellick running around in his "not so tight" tighty whities the whole hour. My how the mighty have fallen - serves him right though.
And I think Sarah Wayne Callies will be back despite the rumors.
NY1 | Sep 18, 2007 3:41:28 PM | #" seee whole lot of white people and folks in general speaking ENGLISH for a show thats in a Latin American county."
And I hear a whole lot of Hispanic folks talking SPANISH for a country that's official language is ENGLISH.
So what is your point, jerk?
To the idiot who posted this | Sep 18, 2007 3:47:45 PM | #
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