prison break

THE SHOW: The rise of the serial TV drama has been both a blessing and a curse. Shows like Lost, 24 and Prison Break have elevated episodic television to Hollywood standards, delivering mini-motion pictures in the course of 45-minutes that equal anything you might pay $7.50 for in a theater. But TV is a marathon, not a sprint, and the challenge of creating 20+ episodes of the same quality is next to impossible. And let’s not even talk about the Season Two slumps! That being said, I believe the first season of Lost is the best thing ever produced for the medium. And Prison Break ain’t far behind. The writing isn’t nearly as complex, nuanced or imaginative, but it’s compulsively crafted with built-in cliffhangers and cul-de-sacs that all but guarantee you’ll be back next week. And now that Fox has blessed us with a Blu-ray set of Season One, next week means right now! When Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), a dashing young structural engineer with no criminal record, suddenly commits armed robbery and pleads no contest to a jail sentence, you just know something’s up. And it is. Michael’s brother, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) is on death row in the very same facility for a crime he claims he didn’t commit. So...armed with a camouflaged tattoo of the prison and an elaborate plan, Michael schemes to free his brother from the inside out. Meanwhile, Lincoln’s ex-sweetie (Robin Tunney), conveniently a Chicago area attorney, works to uncover the conspiracy that put him up the creek in the first place. There are so many logical leaps of faith and plain ‘ol plot holes in the Prison Break storyline it’s better to just look the other way; not the least of which is Michael Scofield himself, who breezes through the rigors of prison life like he’s serving out the tail end of a 20-year sentence. I mean, the guy is Clint Eastwood cool in the face of rape threats, guard beatings and shiv attacks?! Come on! Still, trying to guess which manner of deus ex machina is going to get him out of a jam this time is a huge part of the fun. The show enjoys setting up a variety of roadblocks – from psycho cellmates to a full-on prison riot – that mess with the carefully choreographed escape route. Produced by Hollywood whipping boy Brett Ratner (who also directs the pilot), Prison Break seems to be inspired more by famous prison movies past than any real semblance of life behind bars. But that’s exactly what makes it so entertaining. The general populace is full of the familiar brand of thug, deviant or con with a heart of gold we’ve known and loved before in movies like The Shawshank Redemption or Escape from Alcatraz. The guys are so lovable you almost wonder how Michael and Lincoln could ever leave them behind. THE FEATURES: A whopper of a visual upgrade from the standard-def release, Prison Break looks fabulous in 1080p resolution, enhanced with DTS-HD master audio if you have the means to listen. All 22 first-season episodes are included with nary a flaw to be found plus some cool animated menus. All the special features are carried over from the standard-def release as well, including the audio commentary on selected episodes, alternate / deleted scenes, Making Of featurette, Beyond The Ink featurette, a profile of the Joliet Correctional Center used to shoot the show, plus promos and TV spots. No Blu-ray exclusive extras, though.