Prison Break - Season 1, Part 1 [DVD]

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Volume one of the first season of the popular drama series. Michael Schofield (Wentworth Miller) is a desperate man in a desperate situation. His brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), has been convicted of a sensational murder and subsequently put on death row in the Fox River State Penitentiary. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Lincoln, Michael is convinced of his innocence. With no other options and time running out, Michael holds up a bank to get himself sent down alongside his brother. Not just content to while away the hours until Lincoln's execution, Michael hatches a plan, helped in no small part by his skills as a structural engineer. With the blueprints to the prison in his possession, Michael plots an elaborate escape to break out Lincoln and prove his brother was framed. Episodes comprise: 'Pilot', 'Allen', 'Cell Test', 'Cute Poison', 'English, Fitz Or Percy', 'Riots, Drills and the Devil', 'Behind the Walls', 'The Old Head', 'Tweener', 'Sleight of Hand' and 'And Then There Were 7'. .co.uk Review ------------- Whatever you do, don’t give up on Prison Break. Depending on who you talk to, it either races out of the traps at speed, or is a dish that takes some while to warm up. While this reviewer verges towards the latter, by the time the show gets it first few episodes under its belt, it’s perfectly clear that this is one hell of a ride. It’s built on a very simple concept. Michael Scofield gets himself arrested and thrown into Fox River prison. It’s a deliberate ploy, for not only was he involved in the prison’s structural design, but his brother also happens to be on death row, for a crime that he believes he didn’t commit. In short, the idea is to break in so that he can break them both out. From this simple premise, Prison Break then builds. With game nods of the hat to the ste prison movie clichés you’d expect, it nonetheless pulls a few trump cards. Firstly, it takes time to built up interesting characters. Next, it wisely keeps a parallel storyline running outside the prison walls. And thirdly, it’s casting is quite superb. Its final ace is the intricately plotted escape plan itself, and the numerous twists and turns along the way. This initial boxset gets you just past the halfway point of the first season, and at times it’s likely to leave you flat-out breathless. At worst, you’re likely to be relentlessly entertained, and pulling out that credit card to order the concluding boxset. For Prison Break is that rare thing--a show that accepts it’s riddled with clichés, but is clever enough to work that to its advantage. Gripping viewing.--Simon Brew