Fox Breaks Into 'Prison'

Prison Break's title is self-explanatory. Its plot, on the other hand, is anything but. And no, just in case you were wondering, this is not Fox's latest "you've got to be kidding" effort at furthering the decline of reality TV.

The story begins with Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) intentionally getting himself incarcerated at Fox River State Penitentiary in Joliet, Ill., after holding up a Chicago bank and firing shots in the air (to ensure some jail time). It's a puzzling move for this young, successful structural engineer with an impressive résumé. But, as is underscored in most scenes of this far-fetched drama, Michael always has a plan.

His grand scheme is to save his brother, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), who's also at Fox River and is on death row for murdering the vice president's brother. Lincoln was framed, however, and the real culprit has a couple of Secret Service agents lurking around to make sure he's executed as soon as possible. What's worse, the bad guys have done a remarkable job of covering their tracks, as there doesn't seem to be a shred of tangible evidence to prove Lincoln's innocence.

That's where Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney) comes in. As Lincoln's ex-girlfriend and Michael's lawyer, she's their only means to uncovering the truth outside prison walls. And when a key witness suddenly disappears from her office, she becomes convinced that it isn't coincidence that everyone connected to the crime has conveniently been "removed" from the picture.

There's a catch, though (of course): Lincoln's date with the electric chair has mysteriously been pushed forward, leaving only 30 days to unravel this wickedly woven conspiracy web. Oh, and in the meantime, remember Michael's master plan? It includes breaking out of prison. How? you ask. It just so happens that Michael designed the prison and, prior to being sent to the slammer, had its blueprints tattooed all over his body in an encrypted format. Since he put in place every nut, bolt and air vent, it follows, then, that he knows how to remove them.

Deconstructing a Drama
I guess you could say that in the same way Michael copied floor plans onto his skin to break out his brother, Fox "borrowed" ideas from previous hits to ensure that Prison broke in to TV's Top-10. Producers openly tagged the show as having "the hope of The Shawshank Redemption, the camaraderie of The Longest Yard and the tense procedural and spectacle of The Great Escape." Fox has also unabashedly touted it on par with the critically acclaimed 24.

That last bit may indeed be true, but not in exactly the way the network meant it. Both series bestow star status upon the ticking clock. And both suffer from a tendency to glorify—and show—extreme violence. So far in Prison Break, Michael has already gotten his toe cut off with a pair of garden shearers by a mafia-related prisoner who unofficially runs the joint. An all-out brawl resulted in a man getting bludgeoned to death with a 16-inch screw. And despite pleading for her life, a bound-and-gagged woman gets shot first in the leg, then in the head by those creepy government guys.

Both shows also share a similar theme: Man beats back evil with wits and fists. But like a younger brother mimicking the older for a parent's approval, Prison Break often seems to be trying too hard. Beyond the sheer improbability of the plot and a horde of stereotypical characters—the malicious prison guard, the warden with the wool pulled over his eyes, even the old lifer who's inseparable from his kitten—lies a script saturated with clichés. A lowlight example: When Lincoln asks his angst-ridden teenage son to visit him the day before his execution, the boy denies him, adding, "You're already dead to me." How fitting ... for a Lifetime movie.

All About the Grit
Creator, writer and executive producer Paul Scheuring said he wanted to create a gritty show that depicted prison life as a racially explosive war zone full of gangs, henchmen and bosses. But he didn't want it to be too raw. "We're not really going to delve into the depravities of mankind behind prison walls like [HBO's] Oz did," he said.

I'll grant that Prison Break isn't as extreme as Oz was. (What is?) But what viewers get here, aside from the ceaseless—and usually senseless—mood-altering gray/blue hues, are searing acts of intimidation, bloody violence (including torture), sexual situations (including prison rape), situation ethics and few, if any, relatable—or even redeemable—characters.