Prison Break

I liked it, although I doubt I'll keep watching it.

I liked it because it was, to be upfront and obvious, cool. I have no idea how plausible it is and don't much care. I liked it for the same reason I like watching Jason Bourne and Batman: very, very smart guy--who thinks ahead--behaves in a levelheaded, yet crazily masochistic way to get his brother out of jail, and he does it in a cool, smart, masochistic way. The whole tattooed blueprint thing was kind of silly but incredibly awesome at the same time. (Although my instant thought was "Yikes, do they make the actor get all that makeup on everyday?" But my reason reasserted itself and pointed out that in the premiere we never see Michael Schofield's chest and back more than once. All the other times, he refers to the tattoo on his arm. Answer: no, he doesn't put the makeup on everyday, however it is done.)

The conspiracy stuff looks pretty lame but again, the plot is not what is so cool about the show. What is so cool about the show is the slow, cautious, cunning brain at work. I prefer the Bournes and Schofields to the James Bonds of the action world. Bond is all glitz and glame and big tanks. He's got the suit and the car and the style and the women, yadda yadda. I prefer desperately insane heroes with photographic memories personally.

I won't watch the show since it is one of these "gotta make you watch every week" types. I prefer House which, despite having a story arc, allows you to miss an episode here and there. And all House episodes are contained, more or less. With Prison Break, my original assumption was that Michael would get his brother out during the premiere and then the rest of the episodes would be about him surviving intelligently in prison. But it's all going to be about the silly conspiracy and Michael saving his brother (sort of 24ish--what will they do next season? Michael Schofield stays in, of course; he will sacrifice himself so his brother can escape, and then . . . he works to get someone else out?). Anyway, I really don't like being hooked on things. But it was a cool premiere. (For you Buffy fans, Michael was one of the swimmers in the episode "Go Fish.")

CATEGORY: TV