Prison Break makes you an addict. You can’t wait to watch the next episode on TV. Your eyes might be dead and tired watching the episodes back to back (I got it downloaded from the Net), but your motivation to keep watching it is so high that your eyes can’t do a thing about it. Such is the addiction. Right now, two seasons, each of 22 episodes, are over. The next season is to start in September. Can’t wait. Feeling breathless already.
SO WHAT IS PRISON BREAK?
It’s about an average bloke Lincoln Burrows getting framed for the murder of the vice president’s brother. The first season is all about how Michael Scofield, Lincoln’s exceptionally talented brother (possessing something called ‘low latent inhibition’ that equips him with a remarkable capacity to remember everything he sees) lands in Fox River prison as a fellow prisoner by purposely committing a bank robbery and his eventual escape from prison with seven other prisoners who help him in his endeavour.
Seems like a simple enough premise for the first season. But the way it’s executed is a screenwriter’s test of skill. Watch each of the episodes and you will notice that there isn’t a dull moment and I mean it when I say this. This is a thriller all the way. The dialogue delivery, the impeccable casting and the characters make your day. Each of their uniqueness is what allows Scofield’s gameplan to work. And how? Watch it to FEEL it.
SO WHAT’S THE SECOND SEASON ABOUT?
How all the fugitives try to save themselves from the clutches of the law. If you think, it’s boring, brace yourself for some mind-blowing ‘cops and robbers’ game you’ve never watched on Indian television. There is the US secret service, the President’s men and the FBI coming together to put the pronounced fugitives back in the cage.
TERSE ACTION, CONSISTENT CHARACTERISATION
Each character is given equal ammo to make his presence felt. Be it the psychopathic T Bag who is always on a killing spree or the super sensitive Scofield who can’t bring himself to hurting anyone leave alone killing. There’s the hip hop kiddo who eventually turns out to be quite a toughie who will give his life for the safety of his prison inmates. There’s Sucre, who will do anything to lead a happy life with his wife. This is one ‘on the run’ season that grips you from the word go. You feel what they are feeling, you experience the same knots of anxiety, confusion and sheer dread, you feel transported into the world of these characters and don’t see a way out… until the next episode starts rolling in. It’s a great feat by the writers and the different directors who helm it from time to time.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE THIRD SEASON?
To the point of getting repetitive, Scofield is now back in prison, this time in a prison in a banana republic like Panama where there is no extradition policy – if you are jailed here, you can never go back to your country.
Therefore, the problem here is more compounded. Escaping from a prison in the US was still easier, but at Panama, it can be quite a roller coaster ride filled with too many lows and very few highs. It seems to have all the promise of the previous seasons and the potential to be better than all of them. We are waiting, Scofield. Bring it on.
PS: The first episode of Season 3 was out a few days ago… disappointing fare… hope it revives interest and starts winning back viewers soon.