'Break'-out Hit?

It might finally be time for me to declare Fox's freshman drama Prison Break a good show. Now that doesn't mean I'm not ready to jump on board with the plethora of critics and the abundance of T.V. buffs that are calling the show one of the best on television, but I will give credit where credit is due.

There were a handful of provocative, new, unique television shows that premiered over the past four weeks, but I don't think that any of them were as unusual as the premise for the freshman drama Prison Break. As described by tv.com, "This drama focuses on a prison designer who gets himself thrown into one of his own prisons to help his falsely accused brother escape death row." The show has aired 7 episodes (including a two-hour series premiere) and as was predicted by the critics, it did start off slowly. Through the early episodes, it was difficult to see how this story was going to play out over a 22-week span and how the creators were going to find a way to first get the audience intrigued and second, KEEP them intrigued. Early on, storylines included a son's drug problem manifesting his resentment toward his convicted father, an entire episode revolving around testing the loyalty of a cell mate, and Warden Pope (Stacy Keach) bouncing back and forth on whether or not to succumb to blackmail and allow the transfer of main character Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller). The problem was that the writers didn't delve deep enough into these issues and simply compacted them into one episode or sometimes one subplot in a single episode. The stories were simply too one-dimensional. There just didn't seem to be any flow or continuity to the overall story arcs, or lack thereof.

However, over the past few episodes the creators have undoubtedly found the show's identity. Last night marked what undeniably has to be the best episode put forth, so far. In it, the viewer saw the final chapter of a 2-part story arc that put a strain on everything that Scofield had spent the first 5 episodes working toward. The relationship between Scofield and Dr. Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) was put to the test when she was cornered by salivating jailbirds, not to mention her trust in him when she started wondering how he found her. A guard was captured during the riot that not only raised the issue of what you really sacrifice when you work in such a facility, but also brought forth the conflict of how they were going to deal with a guard who realized their escape plan. On top of the introduction of more complicated plotlines, the individual performances are starting to shine through, as well. Surprisingly, it is the characters of Captain Bellick (Wade Williams) and T-Bag (Robert Knepper) that have become the scene stealers. I mean, has anything been as disturbing, chilling, and creepy as T-Bag sitting in Scofield's cell with the guard licking the picture of the guard's daughter while he explains the naughty things he's going to do to her when he gets out? Don't get me wrong, it's way too early to predict Golden Globe or Emmy prospects, but keep an eye on these two characters over the next few months.

So it looks like the show has finally moved from decent to good. Again, I'm not quite ready to declare it a great show, but it has definitely shown the potential to move in that direction. The writers and creators have found their voice and the last two episodes have shown that they know where their strengths lie. I'm sure part of my skepticism was a safeguard against buying in too quickly, especially after critics and audiences praised last season's House as such an amazing piece of television. But if Prison Break keeps the train on this track, eventually I might be able jump aboard for the ride.