Prison Break - Season 2 [DVD]

This really is a great second series. Whilst watching series 1 (and thoroughly enjoying it), I was often thinking where they could take this show in its second season. Well, where did they take it?

Essentially, this series is all about the relentless pursuit of the escapees by a significant new character, Agent Mahone, played by the outstanding William Fichner. He is on an intellectual par with Michael and what we end up with is a real game of cat and mouse. Mahone is almost like a Terminator and his presence adds another layer of intensity to an already tense show.

Meanwhile, we see Michael attempting to locate Westmorelands $5,000,000 stash, clear both his and Lincolns names, reunite with the very pretty Sara Tancredi and flee the USA. Not only does Michael have to contend with Agent Mahone, he also has to evade, Kellermann, a now rogue Belick and the might(?) of the USA's finest law enforcement agencies.

One area in which Series 2 surpasses Series 1, is the embellishment in the secondary characters storyline's. T-Bag, Sucre and C-Note are given more screen time and, as a result, there is even more depth/emotions/humour there.

Sure the show is extremely far-fetched,but it is supreme fun and highly addictive, with lots of cliff-hangers. The finale is inspired (if a little over-the-top) and, for me, laced with genious and originality.

We are in a golden era of television, what with Sopranos, 24, Heroes, Lost, Rome, The Dead Zone etc and this is no exception!

Enjoy!

Prison Break, the best thing on tv for the past 2 years, in my opinion of course !

Put simply for those that are new to this, its about one brothers plan to break his wrongly accused brother out of Prison by getting himself locked up enabling him to set about his intricate break out plan. Oh yeah, I forgot about the tatoo...

Season 2 continues where the first left us, the prison break out. Our group of cons are now on the run across America with Officer Brad Bellick and others in tow.

British-born Wentworth Miller as in season 1 plays Michael Scofield brilliantly, he continues to carry out his plan of helping his brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) escape following his ultra finely executed plan. Cool to the point of frozen, Scofield is a focused, finely detailed individual who is so driven you wonder if its all way too perfect.

On the run the brothers are aided by their motley crew of fellow cons who despite differences inside know the reward awaiting them if they are successful in escaping. One of the fellow cons and the stand out character for me in this whole programme is Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell played amazingly by Robert Knepper, at times his portrayal of this perverted, creepy letch is mesmorising. T-Bag also happens to be one of those characters granted the best one-liners in the show and Robert Knepper delivers them with aplomb !

Unfortunately this time around the escapees don't have it all their own way as in pursuit for this season is FBI Special Agent Alexander Mahone played brilliantly by William Fichtner (ex-Invasion). Along with T-Bag this guy is unforgettable, not only is he battling the brilliant mind of Scofield but he is also battling his own demons which enables Fichtner to demonstrate some great acting. There are some great moments where the brilliance of both Scofield and Mahone's minds clash as they attempt to outwit one another.

This season delves a little deeper into the cons relationships both with one another and others. The brothers blood is tested as Scofield's heart is continually tugged by his feelings for Sara Tancredi and at times he must decide where his real path lies. Each of the cons have their own agendas on the outside, Sucre longs for his woman, ditto T-Bag and C-Note yearns for the day he can be reunited with his daughter and loving woman.

But with Mahone on their tail like a dog with a bone and the desperate Bellick in tow with the smell of reward money in sight Season 2 for me improves on season 1.

What makes Prison Break so great is firstly its strong characters, there are many memorable in particular T-Bag, Mahone and Bellick aswell as the brothers. Every episode rarely fails to deliver, at times the pace is frenatic - take note "Lost"..ha ha ! But it has a good mixture of action, comedy et al.

However, lets not kid ourselves, yes the plot at times is flimsy, yes its a little far fetched but hey its great entertainment. Just put your cares and worries to one side, look at the screen, relax and enjoy the ride its tv, enjoy.

Until a couple of years ago, "24" was the stand out prog for me but that has been surpassed for the last couple of years by Prison Break, this show is definitely underated and many people are missing out on an enjoyable romp of television.

I really don't know how some people can say ''This show should have ended after Season 1''; breaking out of prison is far more than just getting over the wall. The suitably titled first episode of Season 2 ''Manhunt'' proves exactly this. The escapees are out and now on the run.
The introduction of the new FBI agent (Agent Mahone) assigned to tracking down the escapees is an excellent addition to the cast. Michael Schofield and Mahone in this season are almost locked in a battle betwwen the criminal mind, one that plays out very well on screen. Furthermore the conspiracy theory begins to unravel with interesting consequences.
The acting and direction is still superb with some great scenes from T-Bag.
Prison Break in its second season is still as addictive as the last, even more so that we see characters go their separate ways and the possibilities with regards to their actions are limited to the outside world, not to the confines of the prison where we always knew the outcome would be them breaking out.
From the looks of this, the third season is going to be an absolute corker.