PRISON BREAK
SEASON 1: PART 1

"We go tonight"

Pilot
Michael Scofield, a structural engineer, attempts to rob a bank in order to get incarcerated at Fox River State Penitentiary, where his brother Lincoln Burrows, accused of murdering the Vice President's brother, is scheduled to be executed. At Fox River, Michael approaches a number of inmates, all of whom play an important role in his plan to free his brother from the inside. Meanwhile, agents Kellerman and Hale are determined to make sure the execution goes through as planned.

Allen
Michael seeks help of his fellow prison inhabitants to execute his escape plans.

Cell Test
When Michael reveals his escape plan to Sucre, Sucre chooses to be no part of it, and requests a cell transfer. Michael gets a new cellmate called Haywire.

Cute Poison
Veronica keeps uncovering new information regarding Lincoln's case and decides she wants to work on the case full-time. When no one wants to help her on the case, Nick Savrinn (an attorney) offers his assistance and the two of them visit Lincoln.

English, Fitz or Percy
Kellerman and Hale blackmail Warden Pope. Michael finds out he might get out earlier than anticipated. Veronica becomes uncertain of her allies.

Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 1 & 2)
Michael creates a lockdown by sabotaging the air conditioning in order to execute his breakout plan properly, and unintentionally causes a riot that gets Sara into huge trouble. Meanwhile, an ex-con is blackmailed into seeing to that Lincoln is killed. While the riot intensifies, Abruzzi and Sucre join forces. Michael must decide whether or not to save the life of Dr. Tancred.

The Old Head
Michael finds out a storeroom fundamental to his escape plans has been converted into a break room. Veronica and Nick are being threatened, where Nick has a place where they can go which is off the radar of the secret service.

Tweener
Abruzzi's demotion in the prison hierarchy puts the entire escape plan at risk. Michael finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to protect T-Bag's new "fish" and facing the threat of T-Bag exposing the plan to the guards. The inmates dig themselves into a hole.

Sleight of Hand
Abruzzi struggles to get his crew back to PI. He tries to convince Michael to reveal Fibonacci's whereabouts to Falzone. Agents Kellerman and Hale receive some professional help for their search, as the vice president isn't satisfied about their progress so far. An inmate becomes suspicious of the escapees' work at the break room. Steadman's money trail leads Veronica and Nick to a surprising discovery.

And Then There Were 7
Michael gets a visit from his wife, much to everyone's surprise. She brings him what appears to be a credit card, but is in fact something entirely different. Bellick does some research after seeing Michael's wife, whom he thinks looks oddly familiar. Michael learns that a guard has stolen his watch, and he must enlist the help of an inmate in order to get it back. In the woods, Quinn, who is determined to find out who else knows about the conspiracy, threatens Veronica, LJ and Nick.

Odd Man Out
After learning all the escapees can't make it over the prison wall, the group decides to get rid of T-Bag. T-Bag has a plan of his own that doesn't involve him staying inside. His "insurance", however, is too obvious for Abruzzi, who takes action to undermine it. Sucre gets some good news from Maricruz. Abruzzi's operation goes wrong, and he turns to God for help. He pulls himself together as he takes on T-Bag.

End of the Tunnel
A bleeding Abruzzi is transported to a hospital. With Lincoln's execution scheduled for the following day, Veronica comes out of hiding to contact him and gains an ally. Kellerman makes the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the conspiracy. Michael looks for a way to get Lincoln out of solitary confinement in time for the escape that evening. The PI crew gets a prolonged stay in the break room they're renovating as they prepare to attempt their escape.

Continuing dramas are the new television sensation in the US but can the story of a 'Prison Break' captivate an audience?

After years of individual episodes and the odd two-parter, American TV companies found that their audience might prefer something different. The idea that an audience would invest in a show for the entire season was something the big networks didn't think would work but they underestimated their viewers. Now with successes like 'Desperate Housewives', 'Battlestar Galactica', '24' and 'Lost', the continuing story arc is now becoming the way they want to tell their tales.

Paul Scheuring's 'Prison Break' uses this story telling technique to build tension and drive the story along at a break neck pace to produce one of the most compelling new series to take up this approach. The premise is intriguing, mixing the thrilling elements of a prison escape and a conspiracy surrounding innocence of the man they are trying to break out.

Convicted for killing the brother of the Vice President of the United States, Lincoln Burrows has only one month left on death row. His brother Michael has a plan but that plan means that he also has to be in prison. After getting conflicted of a crime that will send him to the same maximum-security prison as his brother, Michael finally gets to see his brother and explain his plan. He worked on the refit of the prison and has studied the blueprints but instead of memorising them, he has had them tattooed onto body as part of an elaborate design.

The first thirteen episodes of the first season of 'Prison Break' introduce the characters and builds the plot at a breakneck pace. From the pilot episode we are quickly introduced to the characters and the situation because the clock is ticking down to the day of Lincoln's execution. As we discover Michael's elaborate plan and meet the men he needs on the inside to make his escape possible. An ex-mobster, a murderous rapist are just two of the inmates that Michael has to get onside if they are going to escape, as well as keeping the guards, the warden and the prison doctor in the dark about what he has planned.

On the outside Lincoln's ex-girlfriend and lawyer Veronica Donovan and her associate Nick Savrinn are trying to find evidence to exonerate Lincoln but they have opened a can of worms that could cast them their lives.

It is the mix of the escape and the conspiracy that makes 'Prison Break' so compelling. The cast also do their part with exceptional performances from Wentworth Miller as Michael, Dominic Purcell as Lincoln and Robin Tunney as Veronica. This is a show that is instantly compelling and completely addictive, meaning you can't wait to see what happens next.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the series looks great.

BONUS FEATURES

Trailers
'24: Season 5 Preview', 'Over There: The Complete Series', 'Walk the Line' and '24: Season 4'

OVERALL

The lack of any bonus features is almost criminal especially when you realise that this is a Fox release. Whether or not they are keeping them for the second part of the season is unknown but this is not an excuse. Also the season shouldn't have been split in two because this only means that the fans end up paying more for the series they love.

DVD

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