First we got The X-Files, and then over the course of April and May of this year, we were gifted with the return of another beloved FOX TV series: Prison Break.
The series had most of the original cast returning for another round of prison breaking escapades, conspiracy filling plots, twists, turns and above all the bond that family can bring.
Prison Break: The Event Series follows Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) not doing so well with himself but, who has kept in touch with Sarah Scofield (Sarah Wayne Callies) and his nephew (also named Michael after his father) since the past events that saw his brother and Sarah’s husband Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) seemingly dead! Lincoln comes across information from none other than Theodore Bagwell (also famously known as T-Bag played by the wonderful Robert Knepper) that he may not be dead after all and begins his quest to find the truth. Along the way we are quickly reunited with some old favourites Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) and Benjamin Miles also known as C-Note (Rockmond Dunbar). A highlight for me were three new cast members Sheba played by Imposters Inbar Lavi, Hitwoman A&W played cold and smoothly by Marina Benedict and Sarah’s mysterious new husband Jacob Ness (Mark Feuerstein).
I don’t want to go into too much detail, that would ruin the ridiculous and over the top events that follow. I am not saying it isn’t fun to watch, because it is, the series lets itself run free of most common sense in favour of thrills and quite frankly, no one cares, because the brothers are back, the family is back. In my opinion, what we can now call season five, really made up for the lacklustre season four and it had no real right to come back, but I am so glad it did. My fears that it would be an empty reboot along the lines of the very disappointing 24: Legacy were put to bed fast.
By the end of the show we have seen some of the original Prison Break cast return (even if some are far too brief), a new ongoing threat and plot emerge for the possibility of more. I’m not going to argue either, sometimes all we want on TV is something we can sit back and not think too hard about. Overlooking all its silly flaws (Tattooed hands getting past facial recognition software cameras comes to mind) and enjoying it for what it is, a great series about the bonds that tie family together and as we come to find out, a well-made update to Homer’s Odyssey for 21st Century Television.
Review Score: THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Prison Break Event Series DVD and Blu-Ray release also consists of a sadly too short 13 minute-long Making of featurette titled “A Return Home: The Making of Prison Break: The Event Series”! Breaking down the cast reuniting with each other after so long, how they made the interior of the prison and other sets in Vancouver and most of the outside shots for Yemen were filmed in Rabat, the capital city of Morocco (Dominic Purcell was reported to have come close to death on set when an iron bar fell on his head, thankfully not shown in the behind the scenes). A cool insight for me was finding out that both Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell came up with the idea of returning for another series while reuniting on the set of The Flash and the creator Paul Scheuring wanted to re-tell the story of Homer’s Odyssey, making me want to return to the show and watch it again in a whole new light.
Prison Break: The Event Series is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray!
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