Fox officially announce 24: LEGACY

It's 2006, right? No, it's 2016. I've checked my watch. But that hasn't stopped Fox turning back the clock today. They've announced the return of two defunct shows from their recent past, which we've been expecting to hear official confirmation of for many months now...

Fox favourites 24, PRISON BREAK and THE X FILES to return! Uh, maybe.

Do you ever get the impression U.S network television wish they could turn the clock back a decade or two? Speaking at the Television Critic's Association winter press tour, Fox Television chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman announced the network was in a rebuilding mode, and have been discussing the return of some old hits...

PRISON BREAK: THE FINAL BREAK ("The Old Ball And Chain" & "Free")

"If I had a list of all the people that might come to visit me, your name would be at the bottom. Somewhere below Jesus Christ and Scooby Doo."

-- Krantz (Leon Russom) to Michael (Wentworth Miller)

[SPOILERS] The Final Break is a feature-length addendum to the recently-axed Prison Break. It plugs a gap in the TV show's finale, which jumped ahead four years for a bittersweet denouement at the grave of pragmatic protagonist Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller). I guess it's also a peek at what a fifth season may have resembled had Fox unwisely re-commissioned the show, while reviving aborted plans for a female-only spin-off called Cherry Hill...

Recently exonerated by the government, Michael and Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) get married in a beach ceremony attended by Linc (Dominic Purcell) and a bearded Sucre (Amaury Nolasco), before the FBI rudely interrupt their reception to arrest Sara for the murder of Michael's mother Christina -- a clear-cut crime caught on security camera. It's not the honeymoon they had planned, clearly.

Pregnant Sara is sent to the Miami-Dade State Penitentiary to await trial (likely to get at least 25 years for murder), and her husband is unable to pull any strings to get her released. Unlike previous seasons, there's no lawful injustice going on here (Sara did kill a woman), but it's nevertheless a cruel and unfair twist of fate -- so Michael starts hatching a plot to break his wife out of jail, so they can elope to raise their family in peace.

The Final Break introduces us to the women's-only penitentiary, where all that estrogen doesn't make prison life any more palatable: Sara is picked on as the new "fish"; beaten up by the guards (as payback for disciplinary action doled out to Fox River staff after Sara assisted in the breakout -- wha--?!); meets "Daddy" (Lori Petty, resembling a fat Michael Douglas in Falling Down) who runs a respected "family" of girls Sara has to ingratiate herself with, and then realizes she's incarcerated with an old enemy --superbitch Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, a cross between Miss Piggy and Elvira.)

In the male division of the penitentiary, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) has become the would-be sidekick of General Krantz (Leon Russom), who discovers Sara has been jailed next door and puts a $100,000 bounty on her head. Beyond the prison walls, Mahone (William Fichtner) is trying to get his old job back at the FBI, but finds that he'll only be taken seriously if he helps the Feds keep tabs on Michael Scofield, whom they suspect is mounting an operation to spring his wife from jail. Will Mahone turn traitor just to get his job back?

Clearly, at its core, this is all preposterous guff. But, intended as a straight-to-DVD treat for incorrigible fans, it worked surprisingly well. I'm not convinced this set-up would have worked as the basis for a fifth season (Sarah Wayne Callies makes for a bland heroine), but there are glimpses of potential in redoing Prison Break in a female environment. By now, the writers are so adept at writing to formula that The Final Break passes by very smoothly, with twists and development that are inert but still entertain. The show was always high-concept silliness at heart, but it's been insanely dumb for the majority of its lifetime. The Final Break takes that to the nth degree, but it's still curiously easy to be swept along and enjoy the latest shake-up.

For fans, it's an intriguing frippery: seeing villainous Krantz as an inmate without his usual influence, Michael devising a total of three escape plans in an hour of screen-time, watching waiflike Dr. Tancredi face vindictive inmates, and watching fan-favourite Gretchen become her cohort. In some ways, this felt like the writers were scratching an itch to redo Prisoner: Cell Block H in the Prison Break mould, and they condense what could have been a painful 22-episode run into a nimble double-episode.

Of course, what could have been an insignificant side dish is actually of greater relevance to diehard audiences who stuck with Prison Break till the end, because we learn the circumstances behind Michael's death. After successfully breaching the penitentiary to meet with Sara at the prison chapel, it becomes clear that one of Michael's contingency plans to extricate them out involves him electrocuting himself to open a sealed doorway for Sara to exit through to freedom -- a self-sacrifice he's prepared for because his brain tumour has returned and his days are numbered anyway.

To its credit, The Final Break manages to tug at the heartstrings with Michael's sacrifice (despite the fact we're denied a proper on-screen death and instead have to make do with Sara staring at a closed door from the other side of the prison fence), but Wentworth Miller emotes a little better than usual. It's a cliché, but the special ends with Sara and Linc on a sailing boat, watching a video Michael made before he died, and the moment works well as thick melodrama. It's just a shame that, with actors like Dominic Purcell around, the audience are likely showing more emotion than the actors in the actual scene (Purcell manages a smirk at his screen brother's final words, signifying either sorrow or trapped wind), and then the whole thing ends with an infuriating abruptness.

Overall, there's not much reason for fans to see The Final Break unless you're desperate to know exactly how Michael met his unfortunate end, as nothing else of relevance is really explored. Emotionally, this leaves us with a similar feeling to the series finale's coda (minus a surprise punch) and, while it thankfully doesn't stomp all over the TV series' respectable finish, it wasn't really worth dragging everyone back for another go-round. Still, despite viewers being asked to swallow the most absurd development ever presented to us in Prison Break's history, it accomplished what it set out to do. It's a silly caper, aimed squarely at the fanbase, that plays like a cheeky glimpse at an alternate universe's fifth season, and fills in a blank for those who detest ambiguity... but it's nothing more.

Hopefully this really does mark the end now, once and for all. Or will there be a low-budget special set entirely in Michael's coffin, where he wakes up to find himself buried alive and forced to escape using a brooch pin? I wouldn't put it past them...


writers: Nick Santora & Seth Hoffman (story by Christian Trokey) director: Brad Turner starring: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Dominic Purcell (Linc), Jodi Lynn O'Keefe (Gretchen), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Leon Russom (Krantz), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), William Fichtner (Mahone), Lori Petty (Daddy), Alicia Lagano (Agatha), Adrienne McQueen (Prison Guard), Peggy Dunne (Motor Pool CO), Damien Leake (Detective Marlin), Livia Trevino (Hucks), Wendy Riordan (Mail Con), Sufe Bradshaw (Wife), Chris Bruno (Agent Wheatley) & Aisha Hinds (Guard Cowler)

PRISON BREAK 4.21-22 - "Rate Of Exchange" & "Killing Your Number"

[SPOILERS] And you thought it would just run and run? Truth is, Prison Break never really justified continuing beyond the post-escape manhunt of season 2, and its premise was always a one-season wonder at heart. But, here we are, at the tail-end of the fourth season, finally slamming the cell door shut after the cons have bolted...

The finale's double-bill of "Rate Of Exchange" and "Killing Your Number" was more of the same, by and large. The show has become an exhausting farce, with characters running around trying to find macguffin Scylla (the high-tech doodad nobody really understands), only now we have two competing "forces": there's Michael's mother Christina (Kathleen Quinlan), who wants to sell Scylla into dangerous hands, make billions, but provoke global war; and there's General Krantz (Leon Russom), who wants Scylla back so his Company can sit on the technology for indeterminate reasons.

As of last week's episode, Christina has captured Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) and shot him in the lung, giving his brother Michael (Wentworth Miller) five hours to relinquish Scylla before his brother dies. Concurrently, the General is holding Michael's pregnant girlfriend Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) hostage, threatening to kill her unless Scylla is returned within the hour. This dilemma is at the heart of the finale, as Michael weighs up the situation with his only remaining compatriot, Mahone (William Fichtner). Can't he somehow rescue them both and keep hold of Scylla?

As Michael and Mahone devise ways to delay Christina and Krantz, we also catch up with Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) in Chicago, who essentially walked out on the situation mid-season. Clever guy. Here, Sucre's tracked down by a familiar face from his days behind bars -- C-Note (Rockmond Dunbar), one of the "Fox River Eight" that escaped to a normal life back in season 2. Turns out C-Note's knows a man with connections to the United Nations, who claims he can get everyone exonerated and destroy the Company if they get Scylla to him. But can he be trusted?

To be honest, the events of this two-part finale blurred into one. There are lots of incidents, double-crosses, twists, deceptions, and blah-blah-blah. It's all become too repetitive to really surprise you, but with the promise of a definitive end the finale milked twice the tension of recent episodes. We at least knew there was going to be a point to all this. Prison Break has spent too long treading water, annually rewarded with renewal that just gave its writers headaches about how to keep a prison-set idea alive in the outside world.

There are some enjoyable moments that stood out, though: T-Bag (Robert Knepper) threatening Sara with rape, before realizing his former-doctor knows about he's "erectorially challenged"; Michael turning Scylla into a bomb for "traitor" Mahone to deliver to his mother and detonate; Michael scaling the General's building to rescue his girlfriend, and a few others. You could almost hear the writers squeezing every last drop of creativity from their dry sponges to keep things rolling for just two more episodes -- and they did a good enough job, all things considered.

The finale also worked as a treat for fans who have stuck with the series through thick and thin -- C-Note's sympathetic government contact turned out to be fan-favourite Paul Kellerman (Paul Adelstein), the former-Company agent who was a season 1 bogeyman, before redeeming himself by joining the brothers and helping Sara avoid prosecution in season 2's finale. He was last seen being assassinated by Company agents in a van, but it was filmed with enough ambiguity for his return to work -- well, just about. Fans have swallowed a beheaded Sara being written back into the show, so pretty much anything can happen and be accepted on Prison Break!

One thing that the show has always had is a certain macho charisma, thanks to the sense of camaraderie between the mostly-male cast. Most aren't great actors, but there's a strong bond between them that helps sell quite a few moments.

Despite all that, it was a masterstroke to keep Dominic Purcell (by far the show's weak link, no pun intended) out of action with a punctured lung! Purcell's sidelining allowed Miller, Fichtner, Knepper and Callies to handle most of the drama, with support from Quinlan and Russom as the antagonists with endless contingency plans. And that worked fine. Everyone else floated around on the periphery until needed -- C-Note and Sucre in Chicago discussing their plan to end everyone's suffering, Don (Michael Rappaport) recovering from his gunshot injury in hospital and being pressured by the FBI into locating Michael, who's still wanted for assassinating the Indian PM's son.

To cut a long story short, after the Looney Tunes-style antics of exploding bombs, booby-traps, jammed handguns, and deceptions at every turn, Michael and Mahone finally succeed in rescuing Sara and Linc, keep hold of Scylla, shoot Christina dead, and prevent the General from killing Linc's girlfriend Sophia (Danay Garcia) on a live video-feed. And... finally.... they deliver Scylla to Kellerman and his UN buddies, who stay true to their word and facilitate their freedom in the eyes of the US government.

I have to admit that the scene with everyone sat around scribbling their signatures carried a surprising amount of weight for me, purely because these characters have struggled through a ridiculous amount of obstacles to reach their goal. Even as a viewer, it was quite cathartic to know they'd finally won! It would have been too cruel to give them a fifth season, don't you think?!

However, what I especially liked about Prison Break's finale was the ten minute denouement. First we see Sara and Michael walking together on a beach, discussing their future as regular parents, but there's a tinge of sadness when Michael's nose starts to bleed again -- signifying his brain operation hasn't been a total success.

From there, we jump forward in time by four years and catch up with the main characters:

T-Bag is back inside Fox River penitentiary where he belongs (and where he has a modicum of the respect he craves), only to be enraged when he spots a con reading a GATE book; Mahone is posting a birthday card to his wife Pam, but has actually hooked up with Agent Lang (the black lady who regularly helped him through seasons 2-4); General Krantz is being wired up to the electric chair to fry for his crimes; Senator Kellerman is being cheered by a crowd as he gets into his limo, but one woman who knows about his past crimes spits in his face; dopey Don, the victim of a Company attack in hospital, is now mentally handicapped and wheelchair-bound (a harsh state of affairs that puts him in the position of his disabled late-wife); Sara has given birth to her son, four-year-old Michael (wryly getting a tattoo on his arm); and Linc is driving somewhere important. In fact, they're all converging on the same place: a beachside cemetery, where Michael Scofield's grave resides. He clearly didn't last very long from the resurgence of his tumour.

And you know what? Damn, that was raw stuff. Killing your hero. The man responsible for getting this group through a multitude of terrible situations (including two seemingly-impossible prison escapes.) Wentworth Miller isn't the best actor, but he played the character well enough and stoical Michael was always a likable and charismatic protagonist. Killing him in a coda didn't seem fair; but then again, death never does. Miller himself thought Michael should atone for the bad things his decision to spring Linc from jail set in motion -- as his intention to save his brother did ultimately cost dozens of people their lives, and created a lot of pain and suffering.

It was a surprisingly tender and emotional end, actually, which was nice to see. I'll admit to feeling choked when Linc set that origami swan on his brother's headstone, too. I never thought Prison Break would touch me like that, but it did. Bravo.

Of course, Sky1 have the world premiere of "The Final Break" next week (a double-bill set between the end of this finale and the flashforward, which will undoubtedly fill some gaps.) Interestingly, the special is written by creator Paul Scheuring, who essentially washed his hands of Prison Break after season 2, and will involve Sara going to jail for killing Christina¹ and the return of Gretchen (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe -- who was sadly absent in this finale, despite being credited, so I assume her scenes were cut.)

Overall, Prison Break will always be remembered as a show that grossly overstayed its welcome, but it gets my respect for choosing to embrace its silliness and ensuring it was mostly fun, fast and frenzied. This finale was a 3-star effort at heart, but the fact it resolved the storyline and provided a heartfelt denouement boosted it to 4-stars in my book.

Like the series as a whole, it was utter nonsense -- but at least it was nonsense done with conviction.


19 May 2009
Sky1, 10pm

Writers: Zack Estrin (4.21) / Matt Olmstead & Nicholas Wootton (4.22)
Directors: Bobby Roth (4.21) / Kevin Hooks (4.22)

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Dominic Purcell (Linc), William Fichtner (Mahone), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Kathleen Quinlan (Christina), Paul Adelstein (Kellerman), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Michael Rappaport (Don), Danay Garcia (Sophia), Rockmond Dunbar (C-Note) & Amaury Nolasco (Sucre)

1. That does sound dumb, I have to say! So what, Kellerman couldn't stretch to exonerating Sarah, too? And will this special be set in a women's prison -- the proposed backdrop for a Prison Break spin-off a few years ago? I'm predicting Michael's death wasn't as simple as succumbing to ill health because of his tumour, either -- so it should be fun to see exactly what happened.

UK TV Ratings: Dollhouse & Prison Break

The numbers are in. Joss Whedon's new series Dollhouse premiered on The Sci-Fi Channel last night @9pm and attracted 263,000 viewers (+76,000 watching on time-shift), to earn a 1.3% share of the audience.

Over on Sky1, the finale of Prison Break got its lowest figures ever. An average of 233,000 viewers tuned in @10pm for the final episodes, to cap a terrible year ratings-wise. My review of the finale will be up tomorrow. Also, a quick reminder that Sky1 has the world premiere of the Prison Break "Final Break" special next week (27 May).

Sky: Prison Break's Final Break Exclusive

The two-hour finale of Prison Break airs tonight on Fox in the US (and next Tuesday on Sky1 in the UK.) As fans know, a direct-to-video special is being released in the summer ("Prison Break: The Final Break"), but Sky1 will actually get the world premiere weeks before...

The last scene of the season 4 finale will apparently jump forward four years into the future, revealing the death of a main character. On 27 May, Sky1 will premiere "The Final Break", and that two-hour special will reveal what happened in that missing four year period. US audiences will have to wait until 21 July for "The Final Break" on DVD/Blu-ray, as it won't be screened on television.

PRISON BREAK 4.20 - "Cowboys And Indians"

[SPOILERS] That was better. I'm still bored by the Scylla silliness, but in some ways that took a backseat in "Cowboys And Indians", which distracted us with an entertaining escape from a besieged hotel, refocused the stakes slightly, and ended on the show's best cliffhanger for ages...

After the assassination of Banerjee at Miami's Progressive Energies conference, Linc (Dominic Purcell) and Michael (Wentworth Miller) are trapped inside as the hotel fills with armed police, knowing Christina (Kathleen Quinlan) has framed them for the crime and escaped with Scylla. Outside, Don (Michael Rappaport) and Mahone (William Fichtner) try to help their colleagues escape the hotel, by snooping on the cop's plans and relaying intel. Trapped on the 16th floor, trying to gain access to the roof to make their way to a laundry exit on the other side of the building, Michael must improvise a bomb to provide them with cover when they're cornered...

Elsewhere, General Krantz (Leon Russom) sends a henchman to extricate the brothers, lest they blab to the authorities after arrest, and Christina tries to sell Scylla to Banerjee's grieving father, Indian Prime Minister Nandu Banerjee (Marshall Manesh), by telling him the Chinese were responsible for his son's death, hoping he'll buy her technology to use as a weapon to reignite a border dispute between with China. I guess she's hoping the Prime Minister won't hear about the fact she's framed Linc's team for the assassination? Can you say "plot hole"?

Ignoring nitpicks, this was an entertaining episode from writer Nick Santora, who kept things moving and threw in some surprises. It's always fun to see Michael get out of tight spots with an ingenious plan (a la The A-Team), and the way in which he evades the armed cops with Linc was particularly good, as their situation really did feel hopeless. Okay, I'm not convinced by how quickly he managed to do certain things (make a bomb from toilet tolls and an aerosol, change into an assailant's body armour), but that's TV for you.

Once Michael and Linc are safe, they're captured and sent to meet with the General. There follows a scene intended to remind us of the stakes, which have certainly become very hazy. The General puts everyone's names in a lottery, selects "Don", and has an operative kill Don's disabled wife in New York (live to the room, via speakerphone.) The moment even allows for exposition that belatedly gives us reason for why Don stole Scylla himself earlier this season (to pay for his wife's treatments, whose circumstance he blames himself for.) Sure, it's retroactive patching that's come too late, but at least it's there now. Don feels a bit more sympathetic and, after jumping out of the General's window into the harbour below, he's escaped to pose a real danger. After all, he now has nothing to lose, and there's nothing the Company can threaten him with.

Less interesting was T-Bag's (Robert Knepper) desperation to "earn his stripes" in the General's eyes as a Company Man -- the script reminding us that T-Bag was once a big player in Fox River, so wasn't always the incompetent, selfish creep he appears to be. Shame seasons 2-4 wrote him that way, then. Anyway, T-Bag gets a chance to demonstrate his loyalty by finding Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) and bring her to the General, as leverage to ensure Michael, Linc and Mahone get Scylla back from Christina. Indeed, they actually do -- by locating her at a Federal Bank, cashing her money, and staging a bank robbery to grab Scylla from here.

Unfortunately, Linc is captured by Christina's gang during their getaway, leaving Michael with a terrible choice when he receives phone calls from both the General and his mother: give Scylla to his mom and condemn his girlfriend to death at the hand of Krantz, or give Scylla to the General and allow his brother to bleed-out from a gunshot to the lung.

Overall, Prison Break's existence post-season 1 has largely relied on pace, excitement, camaraderie and regular surprises. Its strong suit has never been plot or characterization, but it can distract you with "incidents" well enough for you to merrily be swept along. Season 4 has started to struggle with this formula, sadly -- as the show's become rat's nest of confusion now the writers are forced to keep the story alive by cannibalizing their own premise (the brothers are no longer related, they don't have the same goal, and the big villain is their "dead" mother.)

"Cowboys And Indians" didn't solve any of these problems, but it alleviated them slightly (getting the brothers back on the same side, indulging us with the set-pieces) and ultimate it managed to distract you from its flaws again. For that, just be grateful, don't think too deeply about any of it (the writers clearly don't) and just hope the series finale ends things on a relative high.


12 May 2009
Sky1, 10pm

Writer: Nick Santora
Director: Milan Cheylov

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Dominic Purcell (Linc), William Fichtner (Mahone), Michael Rappaport (Don), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Kathleen Quinlan (Christina), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Amy Chaffee (Marjorie Swift), Ian Bohen (Darrin Hooks), Marshall Manesh (Nandu Banerjee), Michael McGrady (Capt. Hutchinson), Raphel Sbarge (Ralph Becker), Ted King (Downey) & Jane Yamamoto (Reporter)

PRISON BREAK 4.19 - "S.O.B"

[SPOILERS] No, no, no. Sorry -- I still don't care about anything that's happening right now. To be fair, writer Karyn Usher did a better job at making this episode feel more interesting than the preceding two installments, and the storyline even progressed a notch, but it was still torturous nonsense...

We're knee-deep in a thick malaise of implausible rivalries, flip-flopping loyalties and questionable logic, with Linc (Dominic Purcell) failing to get anything useful out of narrative dead-end Mr. Sandinsky, until The General (Leon Russom) arrives to takeover the interrogation. T-Bag (Robert Knepper) is then exposed as the General's inside-man who's been feeding him intel about Linc's attempts to find Scylla, prompting a laughable storyline with T-Bag trying to endear himself to the General so he can become a Company agent. The bizarre thing is: idiot Krantz actually believes a convicted paedophile with pathological disloyalty would make a fantastic new recruit! Jeez.

Meanwhile, Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) lure Christine's (Kathleen Quinlan) party to a warehouse, where they've set a trap to knock them all unconscious when they get back into their car and turn on the air-con they've laced with a chemical. This allows Michael to whisk his unconscious mom to his apartment, to interrogate her about Scylla. In a bland episode, this was the minor highlight -- as Christina reveals to Michael that Linc isn't his brother (he was an adopted orphan -- a twist too far?), and correctly guesses that Sara is pregnant with her grandchild (improbably noticing the doc's "protective" body-language!) Even more implausibly, Christina continues to claim she knows her son better than anyone else, despite the fact we know she left home when Michael was five years old! I don't know about you, but my formative years weren't while finger-painting at primary school.

Miller isn't a strong enough actor to run the gamut of emotions required upon hearing his beloved bro's a stray, either -- so he instead opts to break his trademark serenity by just shouting a bit. Then he drags his mom to a bathroom and threatens to drown her in hot water unless she cooperates and tells him where Linc is. So he can intercept Linc if he manages to steal Scylla, assumedly? I'm past caring. Christina gives up the information, so Michael hotfoots it to a Progressive Energies conference, leaving Sara alone with his mother, where she's predictably tricked and allow Christina to escape using, er, dental floss.

The episode's climax is relatively sane (unless you think about it for more than a few seconds), as we realize the Progressive Energies conference is just an elaborate set-up by Christina, who has her men assassinate Scylla's buyer as he gives his key-note speech, having planted evidence around the building that implicates Linc's team in the deed. Across town, Christina flees with her right-hand man Mr Downey, with Scylla still in her possession.

I've skimped over several details about "S.O.B", but the one thing more disheartening than watching Prison Break is actually writing about it just recently. It's become over-reliant on formula (more numbers and letters to decipher), and Christina just isn't working as a Machiavellian super-bitch villain. This episode wanted us to believe she has a similar knack for engineering traps and getting out of impossible situations as Michael, but she's still not a believable antithesis of her genius son. And now the writers want us to believe Michael and Linc aren't even brothers? Admittedly that's not difficult to accept (given their disparity in IQ and temperament), but it feels like the writers are just getting desperate for things to surprise us with. What's next? Sarah's actually the General's daughter? T-Bag and Mahone are cousins?

Overall, "S.O.B" was another awkward and tedious episode, enlivened by a climax that gave the preceding hour slightly more credibility, as a few strings tightened around our heroes' necks. But really, Prison Break has descending into a rather farcical miasma of stupidity that beggars belief. It's a spinning plates act where the sound of smashing crockery is becoming deafening.


5 May 2009
Sky1, 10pm

Writer: Karyn Usher
Director: Garry A. Brown

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Dominic Purcell (Linc), William Fichtner (Mahone), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Michael Rappaport (Don), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Kathleen Quinlan (Christina) & Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara)

PRISON BREAK 4.18 - "Vs."

||SPOILERS|| The versus of the title refers to two things: the fact brothers Linc (Dominic Purcell) and Michael (Wentworth Miller) are effectively working against each other in pursuit of Scylla, and initials found as part of another interminable puzzle -- one Vincent Sandinsky (Ivar Brogger), a scientist due at a Progressive Energies conference...

After the resolutely poor restart of season 4 last week, things aren't much better in "Vs.", although the episode contains more incident and one important reveal that made it worth the effort -- just. Michael and Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) are back in Miami trying to find Scylla using a coded message they found on a dead assailant (that indicates the arrival of the titular "V.S" at a Miami airport), while Linc's team are likewise chasing Scylla and follow its owner Christina (Kathleen Quinlan) to the Indian Embassy -- where she intends to sell it to an academic, and they intend to steal it.

It's while in the Embassy that we finally discover what Scylla actually is. It's a database of advanced material concerning revolutionary technology that will enable genetically-modified crops that can grow in any climate. Yes, The Company have been sat on an end to world hunger, it seems.

There's really not much more to say. Prison Break's running on fumes these days, with writers Christian Trokey and Kalinda Vasquez leaning on familiar series tropes to eat up time: a coded message to decipher for Michael (ooh, initials and numbers you can input into Google Maps), and an extended Embassy break-in. Yawn. The latter provides the most fun, but the tension usually associated with the show's covert ops is beginning to run dry. And it's not helped by the silly sight of T-Bag (Robert Knepper) distracting Embassy guards by cuffing himself to their gate to protest Indian cruelty to elephants.

Essentially, it's become impossible to care about the fate of Scylla or The Company and, by turning Michael and Linc into opposing forces, well... the show's lost some of the camaraderie it once had, too. It's no fun seeing Michael and Sara as a loved-up double-act; while it's a little perplexing that Linc is leading his team, considering Mahone's a former-FBI agent who led teams of people for a living. The writing finally gets around to making Sara pregnant (nobody in TV-land practices safe sex, remember), but even the idea of Michael having an unborn baby to protect doesn't really engage me.

No, Prison Break's sinking fast. The season has stretched itself too far and the storyline has become painfully thin, meaning recent episodes feel like exercises in keeping a ball rolling on a plateau. They can introduce competitive siblings, a long-lost mother, and a pregnancy, but none of it's really worth caring about.


28 April 2009
Sky1, 10pm

Writers: Christian Trokey & Kalinda Vasquez
Director: Dwight Little

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Dominic Purcell (Linc), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Michael Rappaport (Don), William Fichtner (Mahone), Steve Tom (Stuart Tuxhorn), Kathleen Quinlan (Christina), Leon Russom (Krantz), Anthony Azizi (Naveen Banerjee), Raphael Sbarge (Ralph Becker), Ted King (Downy) & Ivar Brogger (Vincent Sandinsky)

Dexter HD; Ashes To Ashes' strong return; Prison Break takes a ratings dip

A quick reminder that Dexter's third season gets its UK premiere on FX this Friday @10pm. The series is being simulcast on FX HD for Sky subscribers, but Virgin Media will also have HD episodes available on-demand a few days later. Those HD episodes will stack-up on Virgin's platform until the whole season is viewable by 9 August.

In ratings news, Ashes To Ashes pulled in a very respectable 7 million when it returned to BBC1 on Monday. That exactly echoes the numbers that watched the series 1 premiere. Of course, it probably helped that the BBC have been trailing its return every hour the past week or so!

Over on Sky1, it was bad news for Prison Break. The return of the cancelled series for its final six episodes only mustered 318,000 viewers. Its season 4 average had been 476,000 before the four-month hiatus. A similar downturn was recorded in the US, with 3.4 million viewers tuning in for "The Mother Lode" on Fox, a loss of 1.6 million viewers.

PRISON BREAK 4.17 – "The Mother Lode"

||SPOILERS|| Back for its final half-dozen episodes (plus a two-hour DVD special in the summer), Prison Break's fourth season feels ridiculously tedious and tough-going after a four-month hiatus. The show has been running on fumes since the latter half of season 2, but it can usually build enough delirious pace to pull viewers through each episode on pure momentum and machismo. Season 4 was mindlessly enjoyable until mid-season (when the twists just became too far-fetched and in service to keeping this juggling act going), and now we're coasting by... to predetermined death.

"The Mother Lode" has split the brothers into two groups. There's Michael (Wentworth Miller), rescued from the Company's grip by girlfriend Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies), and now on the run after discovering his mother Christina (Kathleen Quinlan) is still alive and a high-ranking Company employee. Then there's elder sibling Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), who is trying to retrieve Scylla for Company boss General Krantz (Leon Russom) as payment for Michael's life-saving brain op. To this end, The General threatens Linc's team by sending them photos of loved-ones, to ensure their obedience. Linc learns his mother's alive after Michael calls him, but his on-the-run younger brother refuses to help find Scylla.

This episode was a tedious mess. My patience is at a low ebb already, and it's been so long since the show last aired that it was a struggle to remember all the background to character's motivations. Not that they even make sense, if you know! Mahone (William Fichtner), T-Bag (Robert Knepper) and Don (Michael Rappaport) head up a subplot about retrieving the names of the group that have stolen Scylla, by gaining access to a database of names after noticing a key taken from Caruths contains a microchip. Forgotten who Caruths was? That's the problem. If it helps, he was the guy who shot Gretchen in the last episode, that feels like it happened over a year ago.

It's actually very difficult to find the enthusiasm to review this episode. It's another story that creates things to give its characters something to do, usually resulting in a foot chase, shootout or break-in (that the series choreographs nicely, admittedly.) But the characters are empty puppets to be manipulated one final time, and I've about exhausted my ability to keep up with what's going on. Or really care. The Company will be beaten if the plot deems it so, as the writer's hand is always so infuriatingly visible. The fact is, nothing here makes a whole lot of sense, and I don't have much faith that the ambiguities it spoon-feeds us will be explained very well.

And the acting remains questionable at best. There's a terrible moment when Linc goes to meet with his mother; a woman he thought has been dead for 23 years and abandoned him as a child. This is a BIG moment. A moment of reunion that should have been a chokingly real, emotional real highlight. But, oh shit, you've got Dominic "the human pork scratching" Purcell as its star. Kathleen Quinlan's a decent enough actress (heaven knows what she's doing slumming it here), but she can't really help, either. Her character's supposed to be very stoical and reserved, so the whole success of the scene rests on Purcell's shoulders. And he has BIG shoulders. But, the best he can do is look vaguely numbed, before they stick on a scene afterwards where he leans against a wall to recover from the shock. Dear, oh dear.

Michael and Sara spend most of the episode stuck in the back of a truck, after hitching a lift from a trucker, before it's commandeered by a bad guy. This gives Michael the chance to ponder his mother's survival (similarly, Miller doesn't have much range as an actor to do any of this stuff justice), before he employs his trademark MacGyver-like skills to escape from the locked truck and avoid the baddie, who gives chase to a local ghost town in the desert.

Overall, there's really not much to say. The impetus has gone, the show is on its death bed, the actors fail to sparkle, and there are half-hearted ways to keep some semblance of drama (they even threaten to kill off The General.) Some may say I'm a fool for even bothering with Prison Break for as long as I have, but it's generally served up a fairly consistent mix of incident, fun, escapism, silliness, twists, and fast plotting. But now, I'm just very, very bored. The idea of putting Michael and Linc on separate sides isn't one I want to see, and introducing their mother as a villain (or is she? Ooooh) just feels like another shark has been jumped.


21 April 2009
Sky1, 10pm

Writer: Seth Hoffman
Director: Jonathan Glassner

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Michael Rapaport (Don), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), William Fichtner (Mahone), Kathleen Quinlan (Christina), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Dan Sachoff (Krantz's Aide), Roberto Sanchez (Rubin), Daniel Zacapa (Priest), Ted King (Downey), Shaun Duke (Griffin Orern) & David Parker (Trucker)

Prison Break: The Final Break DVD

Some confusing news regarding Prison Break, which returns to Fox this Friday for its final six episodes. Apparently, the producers have made a standalone two-hour movie designed to be the series finale (assumedly in case Fox cancelled the show outright), and this contingency special may not be broadcast by Fox because they "neither ordered nor scheduled" it. So, it seems that Prison Break will have its televised series finale on 15 May, but a TVM entitled Prison Break: The Final Break will be released on 21 July as a DVD/Blu-ray exclusive. My head is spinning.

Matt Olmstead, executive-producer, on ending the series:

"At the wrap party, there was a real sense of accomplishment. There was no feeling of 'we got cut short' or 'we could have gone more years.' It feels as though the story got [told in its entirety]. Read more..."

Prison Break: The Final 6 Episodes

Remember Prison Break? I'd almost forgotten we hadn't reached the end of season 4 when the mid-season hiatus struck and Fox cancelled it due to poor ratings. But don't worry, unlike a lot of US dramas, it's being allowed to wrap-up its storyline with six new episodes starting in the US on 17 April and 20 April in the UK.

Apparently Michael and Linc will find themselves framed for a crime they didn't commit, a few old faces will return (including someone from Fox River), evil Gretchen won't die from that gunshot, and there will be a two-hour finale.

So, are you looking forward to it? Or did you ditch this show years ago? You have to at least respect how it stretched its thin premise over four seasons, with each one tweaking the concept to keep the ball rolling.

Prison Break: Dead Show Walking

Fox have announced that the current season of Prison Break will be the show's last. Season 4 has already aired 16 episodes, before going on winter hiatus, and four more have been completed. It's not yet known if an additional two, taking the season to its 22-episode target, will be made. Regardless, fans face a long wait for the remaining episodes, as Prison Break won't return until 17 April.

PRISON BREAK 4.16 – "The Sunshine State"

Spoilers. By rights, the mid-season finale should have been "Selfless", as Prison Break has awkwardly plodded on past that ideal twist-ending, trying to sculpt a half-baked reason to justify its existence. Cynics might say that's been the case since Michael Scofield scaled Fox River's wall back in season 1. "The Sunshine State" scores points for narrative momentum, now that it's decided on its new direction, but loses them entirely for concocting such a ridiculous, improbable gambit...

Linc is now working for The General, having agreed to retrieve Scylla as payment for The Company's life-saving operation to remove his brother Michael's brain tumour, on the understanding they'll all be left alone when Scylla is back safe and sound. Yeah, he hasn't learned anything from past events, and thus proves he's as dumb as he looks...

Inexplicably, The General thinks that Linc should lead a team to track down Scylla's thief, Scott Carruth (Titus Welliver); a group that includes the two people who made the botched exchange in the first place (Gretchen and Don) and regular third-wheel T-Bag. All of them are liars with shaky morals and questionable ethics, so quite why they'd agree to help The Company is anyone's guess. Add to that the question: why would The General entrust Scylla's safe return to the people responsible for stealing, selling and losing it in the first place!

Elsewhere, Michael wakes up after his brain op, like Patrick McGoohan from The Prisoner, transported to the Prison Break version of The Village (a remote cabin, 60 miles from the nearest town). Here, he faces psychological turmoil from enigmatic shrink Dr. Roger Knowlton (John Getz), who has some surprising news for Michael regarding his long-dead mother and The Company's true motives.

Half the episode is taken up with Team Linc, trying to trace the mysterious Carruth before Scylla is lost to them forever. But it's very difficult to believe in this new set-up, particularly once a clean-shaven T-Bag reveals he's in cahoots with The General and is keeping him informed of developments. How this happened, why T-Bag decided to trust a villain he's never even met, or how he got The General's cell-phone number are questions you'll just have to answer yourself. Good luck. While you're at it, how did Mahone find Linc – and why, as an intelligent man, he forgets to mention how hopelessly ridiculous this scheme is, and blindly joins their team on the grounds of owing Linc a favour. Indeed, much of "The Sunshine State" contained developments and changes of allegiance that made me consider the possibility I'd missed an episode or two.

Another sizeable problem was the amount of double-crossing that happens in a typical episode of Prison Break; because they've now lost all sense of surprise. It's now unusual for a scene to end without someone changing their half-established loyalty. In particular, Gretchen pin-balls around the fidelity board in this episode – being relatively palsy with Don and T-Bag (who were threatening her daughter's life a few episodes ago), makes a sexual advance on Linc (whose life she ruined in season 3), sides with Carruth once she tracks him down single-handed, only to renege on that decision during the final confrontation – for which she's rewarded with a belly-full of lead. But don't worry, her survival is almost guaranteed, if only because Prison Break relies on "surprise returns" and will doubtless utilize Gretchen for one soon enough.

In the end, Sarah finds an unexpected ally in The General's estranged daughter Lisa (Stacy Haiduk), who gives her Michael's location, and helps him get away from his captors after he masterminds another McGuyver-like escape plan. The big twist as the mid-season finale is the reveal that Michael and Linc's mother Christine (Kathleen Quinlan) really is alive, and also Scylla's secret buyer. A predictable development and, historically, once a television series starts retconning their own history like this, it doesn't bode well.

In its favour, Prison Break has been jumping sharks for quite a few years now, and it's usually able to make you forget all the inconsistencies with sheer bravado and the charisma of its actors. The same might also be true here, but with rumours Prison Break is facing cancellation before its twenty-second episode, I just hope the writers find a way to bring this series to a half-decent finish if asked to do a premature finale. Or have they truly lost the plot and exhausted audience's goodwill, as seems to be the case?


29 December 2008
Sky1, 10pm

Writers: Matt Olmstead & Nicholas Wootton
Director: Kevin Hooks

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), William Fichtner (Mahone), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Gretchen), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), Michael Rapaport (Don), Stacy Haiduk (Lisa), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Kathleen Quinlan (Christina Scofield), Crystal Allen (Tia Hayden), John Getz (Dr. Roger Knowlton), Titus Welliver (Scott Carruth) & Graham McTavish (Ferguson)

PRISON BREAK 4.15 - "Going Under"

Spoilers. How about that Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), eh? He's such a genius that he cracks the whole Scylla mystery while having experimental brain surgery! Beyond that significant puzzle piece, I still think Prison Break's suffering a mid-season lull since Don (Michael Rapaport) turned traitor. Still, a few developments here might finally have realigned the series into its latest guise...

Linc (Dominic Purcell) has made a faustian pact with The General (Leon Russom); he'll reacquire Scylla from Don and Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), in return for the safe removal of his brother Michael's brain tumour, using The Company's cutting-edge resources. After interrogating T-Bag (Robert Knepper) by extracting a few teeth, Linc and Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) race to Arlington Pier, where the Scylla exchange is due to take place at 3pm.

In a rather humdrum subplot, Mahone (William Fichtner) is on his way to jail after being duped by Agent Lang (Barbara Eve Harris), but has a plan to escape from Agent Wheeler's (Jason Davis) charge -- which involves the clichéd request for a toilet break. Fortunately, Mahone knows the urination regulations for prisoners, and uses Wheeler's by-the-book character trait against him.

As Michael undergoes his brain op, conscious and with Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) by his side for support, some of Prison Break's strangest moments occur, with Michael visualizing a darkened prison cell at Fox River, where long-dead inmate Charles Westmoreland (Muse Watson) acts as his "spirit guide", encouraging him to reconsider what Scylla actually is by perusing a mental wall-chart of knowledge. Far from being a simple "little black book" of Company personnel, Michael comes to realize Scylla must contain scientific data about how to create a futuristic power source equal to the Sun's solar output…

At the pier, Gretchen realizes the Company probably know where their deal is taking place, after receiving a phone call from her sister Rita (Heather McComb), who tells her their accomplice T-Bag was taken by Company agents. Fleeing the scene, just as Linc and Sucre arrive to bust them, the Scylla exchange is hastily rescheduled -- but Gretchen and Don are then left high-and-dry when their buyer (Titus Welliver) steals Scylla…

"Going Under" felt like an episode where all the thought had gone into creating a plausible new identity for Scylla. It's been inferred throughout season 4 that it was always more than a simple list of contacts (as Michael says, why would you protect something so easily deletable?), and the idea that Scylla contains advanced science data is a good move. It's not that people want to steal Scylla to expose and dismantle The Company; they actually want to become The Company. It's a twist that works well -- especially if Michael's brainwave that the chemical elements "B", "Ar", "Ga", "In" (BARGAIN) can indeed be used to create a new type of energy.

Away from that, it's interesting to see Linc working for The Company and discovering his mother worked for them before she died, although I think we're supposed to feel there's a possibility Linc will join them permanently. And, let's be honest, that's a ridiculous idea after all that's happened. Michael remains steadfast in his hatred of the Company, but now that he knows Scylla can't destroy the Company, what's the next move? Is it better the devil you know than the devil you don't? The continual evolution and switches of allegiance have kept Prison Break lively and entertaining, but it's beginning to grow tired. It's almost as if the writers run into dead-ends when they take a character in a new direction, so when an avenue exchausts itself they force them into shaky alliances to keep the stone rolling for a few more episodes.

Overall, "Going Under" wasn't too shabby, and it was nice to see Westmoreland again, but I'm not convinced the writers have a clear and concise plan. Scylla's true identity is definitely more interesting than the "little black book" idea, but it's at odds with previous episodes that mentioned The Company destabilizing the economy of Laos, etc. Prison Break's ability to think on its feet and creatively escape from narrative dead-ends has always been fun, but a few developments in "Going Under" stretched things a bit too far…

Sucre suddenly deciding to leave for a "normal life" -- forgetting that he's still a fugitive from justice? It's not the first time Sucre's said farwell to Linc before scurrying back, though -- and this would be a weak end for Nolasco, one of the show's original actors. How about Linc apparently forgetting Michael and their established principles, to work for The Company, with no intention to trick them? And he was pushed into that decision just because The General proved his mother was a Company employee, too? After all Linc's been through, is he really stupid enough to believe The Company will let them all live happily ever after once Scylla's back under lock-and-key? Well, yes. Stupid question.


16 December 2008
Sky1, 10pm

Writer: Zack Estrin
Director: Karen Gaviola

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Michael Rapaport (Don), William Fichtner (Mahone), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Gretchen), Barbara Eve Harris (Agent Felicia Lang), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Denise Crosby (Doctor), Heather McComb (Rita), Jason Davis (Agent Wheeler), Muse Watson (Charles Westmoreland) & Titus Welliver (The Representative)

PRISON BREAK 4.14 - "Just Business"

Spoilers. We're still in the awkward mid-season transitional phase, and Prison Break's predictable unpredictability continues to surprise and aggravate in equal measure. "Just Business" has Michael (Wentworth Miller) targeted by Don (Michael Rapaport), who wants the missing Scylla component so he can sell The Company's "black book" to his buyer…

As usual, the episode bulldozes by on sheer volume of events and developments, no matter how unlikely or silly they may be. Traitorous Don is captured by Michael and Linc (Dominic Purcell) after tear-gassing their warehouse surprisingly early, but Gretchen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) expedites his escape thanks to her armed back-up. What the brothers don't realize is that Don's managed to plant sonar surveillance on their premises, enabling him to keep watch on their activities from a local hotel via laptop -- to see where Michael has hidden the Scylla chip. Don himself doesn't realize that Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) has smuggled himself into their car trunk, and informs Michael of Don and Gretchen's position…

Elsewhere, Mahone (William Fichtner) makes contact with his FBI friend Felicia Lang (Barbara Eve Harris), persuading her into believing his story about the mythical "Company" and their imminent exposure as part of a buried covert operation by Homeland Security. Lang agrees to hook him up with the only untouchable bureau agent she knows: Wheeler (Jason Davis), the stiff Fed from season 2 who always hated Mahone and considers him an embarrassment, but who apparently has the ear of the Attorney General.

T-Bag (Robert Knepper) is still holding Rita (Heather McComb) and Gretchen's daughter Emily (Regan Licciardello) hostage in their home; the script unsure whether it should hold true to T-Bag's paedophile origins. Of course, T-Bag is now going through a change, having tasted normality and respect while undercover as salesman Cole Pfeiffer. Rita tries to use T-Bag's inner conflict, appealing to his better nature and desire for a new start, but the arrival of a clichéd Bible salesman pushes T-Bag back into old habits -- convincing himself the salesman is a Company agent.

The action climax involved a multi-pronged attack on Don and Gretchen in their hotel, using homemade tear-gas propellants. During the commotion, Michael's nose begins to bleed again and he loses consciousness, before being captured by Company men and bundled into a van. Don manages to get to Michael's empty warehouse and retrieves the missing Scylla chip, before hotfooting it to a nearby pier to make the transaction with Gretchen's buyer.

The episode's most intriguing moments has Michael about to undergo life-saving surgery, now that he's under the care of The Company, and Linc (sans Scylla chip and his brother) has no option but to meet with General Krans (Leon Russom) and make a deal. The Company will use their advanced medical resources to remove Michael's tumour, but only if Linc helps them get Scylla back from Don. Will Linc make a deal with the devil to save his sibling? Well, yes, although quite why The Company can't capture Don and Gretchen themselves is a moot point.

"Just Business" was one of those episodes where a lot happens, but most of it doesn't really connect emotionally. I'm exasperated by all the double-crossing now, and the twists have become so commonplace their shock-factor has vanished. The only one that worked effectively was T-Bag's uncertainty over the pious Bible salesman. Seriously, if Character X aims a gun at Character Y's head, you can guarantee Character Z will cause some kind of distraction, nanoseconds before the fatal shot is fired. And, ultimately, the prospect of an extended runaround for Scylla isn't that exciting -- even if Linc regroups his team to work for the villains. A mini prison break for Mahone is probably on the way (again), as he's arrested by Wheeler once the Scylla plan falls through. Or is it finally William Fichtner's time to bow out? Hope not.

And I don't think anyone's really worried about Michael's well-being, as Prison Break would be totally adrift if they were foolish enough to kill him. More interesting was the caring look Krans had when Michael underwent his CAT scan -- the look of a creator worried about his project (a callback to season 2's inference that Michael is genetically predisposed to be a master escapologist?), or is Michael the General's son? Krans' dismissal of daughter Lisa (Stacy Haiduk) for not being the son he craved was perhaps a red herring? Or am I reading too much into a show that's beginning to run low on surprises? Hmm.

Overall, this was entertaining and bursting with incident, but still a bit awkward and difficult to care about. It's hit that crazy phase where the series is more concerned about keeping you wrong-footed than genuinely concerned for anyone's outcome. Well, except Mahone.


9 December 2008
Sky1, 10pm

Writer: Graham Roland
Director: Mark Helfrich

Cast: William Fichtner (Mahone), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Gretchen), Michael Rapaport (Don), Wentworth Miller (Michael), Leon Russom (General Kranz), Barbara Eve Harris (Agent Felicia Lang), Jason Davis (Wheeler), Stacy Haiduk (Lisa Tabek), Raphael Sbarge (Ralph Becker), Regan Licciardello (Emily), Mark Pellegrino (Patrick Vikan), Heather McComb (Rita) & Graham McTavish (Ferguson)

PRISON BREAK 4.13 - "Deal Or No Deal"

Spoilers. The second half of season 4 gets underway, with all the expected strains and turbulent repositioning we've come to expect from Prison Break. Trying to keep a grip on the fluid situation ensures a certain level of commitment and interest to see you through, but "Deal Or No Deal" is an awkward episode that doesn't inspire much confidence in the new direction…

Homeland Security's Don Self (Michael Rapaport) has turned traitor (a clue in his surname?) and stolen Scylla, meaning Michael's (Wentworth Miller) team have been left high and dry. Worse, Self quickly engineers a frame job, making his superior Herb Stanton (Kevin J. O'Neill) believe it was Michael and Linc (Dominic Purcell) who reneged on their deal and taken Scylla.

As Michael's gang deal with the shock of betrayal and debate their next move (find Don to steal back Scylla, or flee to Mexico before the Feds throw them in jail), Don uses T-Bag (Robert Knepper) to track down Gretchen's (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) sister Rita (Heather McComb), intending to use her as leverage. With her sister and daughter Emily's lives threatened, Gretchen is forced to help Don find a buyer for Scylla. Meanwhile, General Krans (Leon Russom) holds a crisis talk with The Company's top brass, pouring their resources into finding Michael's team, unaware of the treachery that has taken place…

With so much in flux, "Deal Or No Deal" ultimately involves a lot of sitting around, thinking, phone calls and double-crosses. The direction is unclear, and the plot seems to jump around, trying to settle on a firm idea for how the rest of the season will play out. It was something of a relief to have Don's bosses, Stanton and Senator Dallow (David Clennon), realize he's been playing them for fools and side with Michael within this episode, but then it devolves into a messy shoot-out with a Company hitman -- after which, Dallow apparently gives them the option of destroying the files on their covert operation and disappearing.

Rapaport doesn't quite work as a villain, either. His unmasking worked fairly well last week, but it's still difficult to accept Don would value riches over taking down The Company and becoming a national hero. It's probably a twist the actor himself doesn't believe in, as Rapaport looks slightly uncomfortable throughout, and just doesn't carry the right degree of malice to become an effective villain. I wouldn't be surprised if his role comes to an end soon, and someone better takes his place as the main antagonist -- possibly whomever buys Scylla.

Again, the motivations and loyalties of Gretcher and T-Bag cause some concern. It was a decent call-back to involve Gretchen's family, forcing her to help Don, but begs the question: what was Don's plan when Gretchen wasn't on the scene? T-Bag historically sides with whomever appears to be top dog at any given moment, but I have no idea why he's become Don's sidekick so quickly. Maybe he thinks Don will split the Scylla money with him -- which makes him an idiot for believing that again. Does he never learn from past experiences?

General Krans doesn't get much to do, beyond kill one of the season's potentially interesting bigwigs, Howard Scuderi (the excellent Jude Ciccolella). Indeed, quite a few characters I thought were about to be promoted to important roles for the rest of season 4 are killed in this episode. Important clearance of the year's deadwood, or narrow-minded shock-tactics?

The only moment that truly worked was the reveal that Michael had the foresight to keep a Scylla microchip, rendering the mother-unit unusable to Don's potential buyers. Admittedly, you have to accept that Michael has a preternatural gift for contingency plans, but it was a nice way to scupper Don's plan at the eleventh hour. Other moments, like Michael's secret plan to put Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) and Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) on a bus out of town, were confusingly handled. Sarah and Sucre even share a moment at the depot, trying to fathom the logic of his decision!

Overall, Prison Break has needed to reinvent itself year to year, and sometimes in the midst of a season. After four years, Michael and Linc's battle against The Company is becoming quite exasperating, particularly when a clear win is cruelly snatched away at the last second by a slightly implausible backstabbing. Hopefully, after the creaky re-alignment of "Deal Or No Deal", the series will quickly re-build its momentum and offer fans a definitive climax. The future of Prison Break is still undecided, but I'd be very surprised if it gets a fifth season, and the hope of a big ending is what keeps me watching.


2 December 2008
Sky1, 10pm

Writer: Christian Trokey
Director: Bobby Roth

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Dominic Purcell (Linc), Michael Rapaport (Don), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Gretchen), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Sarah Wayne Callis (Sara), William Fichtner (Mahone), Leon Russom (General Krans) Jude Ciccolella (Howard Scuderi), David Clennon (Senator Conrad Dallow), Heather McComb (Rita), Graham McTavish (Ferguson), Kevin J. O'Neill (Herb Stanton), Mark Pellegrino (Patrick Vikan) & Kirk B.R Woller (Richard Sooter)

PRISON BREAK 4.12 - "Selfless"

Spoilers. A rip-roaring climax to the various plot-strands of Prison Break's fourth year; featuring long-awaited confrontations and a plot that keeps the audience in the dark for as long as possible. This series is a smorgasbord of stupidity, silliness, machismo, fun, cliché and discordant twists, but it's always made for a deliriously entertaining weekly fix...

Having broken into The Company's secret underground chamber to lay their hands on Scylla, Michael (Wentworth Miller) has tripped the alarms and caused the arrival of The General (Leon Russom) and his two bodyguards. Fortunately, even this apparent misstep was part of Michael's plan, as The General and his men are quickly disarmed by Linc (Dominic Purcell), Mahone (William Fichtner) and Sucre (Amaury Nolasco). The General then watches incredulously as Michael takes his Scylla card and manages to activate the host unit with the other copies -- revealing a small device inside: Scylla.

"Selfless" is enjoyable because it appears, not for the first time, that the writers have written themselves into a tight corner. The gang's escape from the locked-down Company HQ, even with The General as a prize hostage, isn't going to be easy, and it's difficult to see how they're going to do it. We're just as confused as The General about where this is all heading, until Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) comes into play and holds Lisa (Stacy Haiduk) at gunpoint in a restaurant across town. Okay, so the sudden reveal that Lisa's The General's daughter was probably added to provide Michael with leverage, but it's a twist that actually makes sense -- as The General's rapport with Lisa always seemed deeper than any other Company head.

Elsewhere, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) and Gretchen (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe) are waiting patiently in GATE for Michael to return with Scylla, but face their own problems when it finally dawns on gullible CEO Mr. White (Michael Bryan French) that "Cole Pfeiffer" has ulterior motives -- but even then it takes seeing a huge gun under Cole's desk for him to finally twig that the one-handed slimeball isn't a high-flying salesman after all. Their cover blown, Gretchen and T-Bag have no choice but to break out their weapons and hold the GATE employees hostage -- crowding them into Mr. White's office.

Meanwhile, Agent Self (Michael Rapaport) and Trishanne (Shannon Lucio) have been caught by Mr. Feng, who had agreed to help Gretchen take the Homeland Security agents out of the equation. Fortunately, they both manage to escape, with Don rushing back to his office to hear word about the Scylla operation, as Trishanne arrives back at GATE and attempts to help her co-workers escape. Oddly, nobody thinks to call the police using one of the office phones, as T-Bag and Gretchen discuss matters in a separate area. Inevitably, the situation descends into chaos when Mr. White tries to flee and Trishanne (cute as a button, but the world's most implausible Fed) starts shooting...

For fans, "Selfless" gives us the first shared scene between Michael and The General -- which didn't deliver the expected chills, but was nevertheless good fun. Russom was particularly strong, finally given an interesting situation to play, intead of just sit behind a desk looking authoritative and make threatening phone calls. Seeing his confidence slowly crumble, ultimately leading to his total defeat and inability to think up a countermove, was very satisfying. Indeed, the whole escape from Company HQ and avoidance of Company agents at an airport, was tense, fun, unpredictable and plausible.

The overriding feeling throughout this episode was anxiety, as we awaited the unavoidable twist to keep the series going, as events drew closer and closer to an impossibly neat, tidy ending. There's always been a degree of schadenfreude to savour in Prison Break's characters, and the rug-pulling climax managed to surprise -- when, after succeeding in their mission, it becomes clear that Agent Self has never had any intention of using Scylla to takedown The Company, and welches on his promise to free Michael's team as their reward. The rotter.

Now, whether or not it's always been the writers' intention to unmask Don as a traitor is up for debate (it wouldn't be the first time they've changed a character's loyalty for an easy surprise), but it worked well. In hindsight, I suppose Michael's team did place too much faith that Don was on the level.

So, does this mean Don has a Mr. Feng-style buyer lined up for Scylla and intends to pocket the $125 million? Michael and the gang will apparently have to go rogue to get Scylla back from Don, while avoiding The Company's attempts to steal it back from them. Is there enough material there for Act II of this season? How will T-Bag factor into things, now he's been caught by Don? It's hard to see why Don wouldn't just kill him to tie-up a loose-end. Incidentally, is T-Bag's character on the precipice of reform? He seemed genuinely upset to see his cushy GATE job come to an end, and obviously saw his alter-ego Cole Pfeiffer as a legitimate new start in life.

Overall, there were still some rough patches and a few unintentionally funny/stupid moments sprinkled throughout this episode, but "Selfless" was undeniably entertaining and gripping a good 90% of the time.


25 November 2008
Sky1, 10pm

Writer: Kalinda Vazquez
Director: Michael Switzer

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Michael Rapaport (Don), William Fichtner (Mahone), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Gretchen), Ron Yuan (Feng), Michael Bryan French (Gregory White), Stacy Haiduk (Lisa Tabak), Shannon Lucio (Trishanne), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Kevin Sizemore (Harlan), Graham McTavish (Ferguson), Kevin O'Neill (Herb Stanton) & Jamison Haase (Damani)

PRISON BREAK 4.11 – "Quiet Riot"

Writer: Seth Hoffman
Director: Kevin Hooks

"Quiet Riot" is the halfway mark of the 22-episode season, although there are strong rumours Prison Break may not be picked up for a full run after Christmas. As usual, the show likes to get tantalizingly close to its goal by mid-season (see: the aborted Fox River escape in season 1, or failed escape from Sona in season 3), so episode 11 finds the team finally setting their eyes on the miniature-monolith Scylla, like eager little chimps...

There are less subplots this week, with the focus primarily on Michael (Wentworth Miller), Linc (Dominic Purcell), Mahone (William Fichtner) and Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) getting their hands on Scylla, by breaking through a thick concrete wall and negotiating their way to Scylla's protective glass box – without tripping the heat, noise and pressure sensitive alarms. Of course, for such a high-tech environment, it's strange nobody thought to install a simple motion-sensor, which would have foiled Michael's plan. Indeed, just a simple guard would have sufficed!

But, this is Prison Break – the problems its characters face are only as difficult as the writers need them to be, and the method of entry (involving a wire-suspended ladder, a canister of liquid nitrogen... and two umbrellas!) made for a creative, compelling, near-silent sequence. In fact, the break-in success was in stark contrast to nearly everything else – with Gretchen (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe) reduced to dressing up as a schoolgirl to entice General Krans (Leon Russom) to a hotel apartment, where she intended to seduce him and steal the last remaining Scylla data-card.

While I'm sure plenty of men will enjoy seeing Ms. O'Keefe in knee-high socks (although I personally thought she looked a bit too sleazy), it's a cheap moment that doesn't ring true. The General correctly guesses she's playing him, and yet he's unable to kill Gretchen because she's the mother of his estranged child. What, so she's not even worth torturing for information? His history with Gretchen didn't make that a problem earlier this season, and now you know she has valuable information to spill.

Slightly better is the situation at GATE, where T-Bag (Robert Knepper) amusingly turns down $50,0000 and a luxury holiday from his boss Mr. White (Michael Bryan French), who wants to say thank you for the successful pitch "Cole" gave. It's rather tragic to consider a murdering paedophile like T-Bag perhaps has aptitude as a salesman, isn't it? This episode also continues last week's surprise that T-Bag's secretary accomplice Trishanne (Shannon Lucio) is actually working undercover for Don Self (Michael Rappaport), with T-Bag and Gretchen setting them both up for capture with the help of Mr. Feng (Ron Yuan), the Chinese gangster who wants Scylla.

As usual, there's a jumble of ridiculous moments to try and ignore – not least why the team allow Michael to perform a critical role in the Scylla mission, knowing full well he's a liability because of his brain tumour. Even with the dampening effect of an injection given to people with epilepsy, it seems crazy to allow Michael to undertake the final, critical move in their plan. Also, after all this effort, nobody considered Scylla itself might have pressure sensitive alarms or a security camera positioned nearby? Was none of that on the architect's blueprints?

Overall, after ten weeks spent collecting Scylla cards, "Quiet Riot" was the resulting mini-climax with a tense, creative, and enjoyable break-in sequence. However, everything else wasn't terribly involving this week – particularly in respect of Gretchen's unclear motives. Why does she want to takedown The Company? If she just wants out, she could have vanished after her escape from Wyatt ages ago. Right now, she's involved in events seemingly because the writers just like her character and T-Bag needs someone to bounce off.

This wasn't a great episode, but the Scylla break-in was fun and the unexpected cliffhanger will definitely have you tuning in next week. Of course, as history has shown on Prison Break, it's now likely the direction of the season will shift focus. I assume Scylla will be moved elsewhere, Michael's team narrowly escape, GATE will have to be abandoned, Don and Trishanne rescued, and the Chinese element of the story will become more central to the plot.


8 November 2008
Sky1, 10pm

Cast: Wentworth Miller (Michael), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Gretchen), Robert Knepper (T-Bag), Dominic Purcell (Lincoln), Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara), Michael Rapaport (Don), Amaury Nolasco (Sucre), William Fichtner (Mahone), Michael Bryan French (Gregory White), Stacy Haiduk (Lisa), Leon Russom (General Krantz), Shannon Lucio (Trishanne) & Ron Yuan (Feng)