Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1417 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-09-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 960 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Season one of Prison Break is great television. Here's the set-up. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is framed and wrongfully convicted for assassinating the Vice President's brother. Lincoln's brother Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), who just happens to have designed Illinois' Fox River Penitentiary where Lincoln is on death row, hatches an elaborate escape plan. Michael's plan involves getting himself incarcerated in Fox River and smuggling the prison's blueprints by having them hidden in tattoos that cover his entire torso. Once inside, Michael must form alliances with a rogue's gallery of felons with their own sometimes unsavory motives. Meanwhile, on the outside, Lincoln's lawyer and one-time girlfriend Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney), pursued by Secret Service agents, attempts to unravel the conspiracy that sent her man to the slammer.

Prison Break is anchored by tight, suspenseful writing clearly relished by the largely little-known cast. Standouts include Robert Knepper as the murderer/pedophile T-Bag, who somehow makes such a despicable character likeable. Stacey Keach of Mike Hammer fame plays the warden-with-a-heart-of-gold, who clashes with Captain Brad Bellick (Wade Williams) over whether to rehabilitate the inmates or makes their lives more miserable. Peter Stormare, famous for his skills with a wood chipper in Fargo, turns in a deliciously menacing performance as mob boss John Abruzzi, while Amaury Nolasco's winsome Fernando Sucre shares a cell and secrets with Miller's Scofield. Watching the show one gets a sense that this is the opening salvo of Wentworth Miller's career, which will doubtless include roles as assassins, detectives, super heroes, and perhaps the champion of staring contests. Midway through the season it's explained that Scofield is a genius with an heightened sensitivity to other peoples' suffering, which sums up what makes the show so great--the mind-bendingly intricate plot is a framework for moments when people make others suffer and cope with the burden of their own suffering.

The six-disc set includes 22 addictive episodes, audio commentary on selected episodes, three featurettes, and alternate and deleted scenes. As with most TV shows on DVD, the "previously on Prison Break" intros can get tiresome, but that's what the fast forward button is for. --Ryan Boudinot

Synopsis
Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is an inmate on death-row for the killing of the brother of the Vice President of the United States, a murder he vows he did not commit but only his brother Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) believes him. Michael takes the extreme action of getting himself arrested. With the blueprints of the jail disguised in a tattoo that encompasses his body, Michael attempts to create a support network in prison that will allow his brother and himself to escape. Fellow prisoners looking to escape and willing to help Michael and his brother include ex-mob boss Abruzzi, C-Note, Sucre and T-Bag. Despite having bonded with prison governor Pope (Stacey Keach), Michael has attracted the suspicions of the menacing Captain Bellick (Wade Williams). Meanwhile, on the outside the brothers' childhood friend and lawyer Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney) works to uncover the conspiracy that put Lincoln in jail. PRISON BREAK first aired in 2005 and quickly became hugely successful around the world thanks to the tension filled, beat-the-clock storyline and cunning plot twists, making it an intriguing combination of the prison drama OZ and the real-time secret service drama 24. Features all 22 episodes of the first season.

Customer Reviews

Move over Lost & 24.....Prison Break is the new #1
I'd seen Prison Break advertised but couldn't believe that they'd be able to make an entire series out of one simple plan....to break out of prison. Then a friend said he'd seen it and raved about it so I took the plunge. Damn am I glad I did. Prison Break is definitely THE best series ever. It knocks spots off Lost and 24 and I see many awards in its future!

The plot centers around Michael Scofield. He is an architect whose brother (Lincoln) has been put on death row for killing the Vice-Presidents brother. Lincoln has always professed his innocence and Michael slowly starts to believe that he's innocent. So Michael hatches a plan......he holds up a bank with the express purpose of getting himself incarcerated at Fox River Penitentiary where Lincoln is being held.....once there he plans to help Lincoln escape.

Meanwhile Lincolns ex-girlfriend takes over as his attorney in a last ditch effort to get a stay of execution. She slowly starts to uncover that Lincolns case was fast-tracked and believes that somebody wants Lincoln dead.....quickly!

The star of this series is definitely Wentworth Miller. He plays the part of Michael to perfection. We see him as a doting brother and fantastic tactician in how he plans everything down to the last detail. And when Dr Sara Tancredi looks into Michaels eyes......all I can say is that I defy any woman in the room not to want to melt into those eyes!

Dominic Purcell plays the part of Lincoln as a man who has accepted his fate and you feel the guy was made for this part. The most disturbing character of all is definitely T-bag played by Robert Knepper. This guy makes my skin crawl and every episode without fail you hope somebody will finish him off. But at the same time you want him in the next episode because he's the guy everyone loves to hate.

How can I possibly rave about Prison Break enough? Impossible. All I can say is that this is my new top series and Lost and 24 are gone and forgotten!

This is better than I ever thought it could be.
A friend of mine who is a fellow fan of Lost and 24 told me about a show called Prison Break some time ago and being the good guy he is he lent me the first half of the 1st series. For some reason I left it sitting on my dressing table for a few months to gather dust.

It was only one sleepless night, when there was nothing else on TV, that I dismissively put the first episode on to see what this show was all about. many hours later in the early hours of the morning I was hooked!

I don't exaggerate when I say that I really rate this program highly. Every character has a story, every plot a subplot and every episode a jaw dropping cliff hanger. The casting is superb and the story captivating.

For me this has all the right ingredients in abundance. At the time of writing they are currently halfway though the second season and I'm still hooked.

If you haven't heard of Prison Break but you like the format of Lost, 24 etc then try season one. Don't wait like I did, this show has everything!

Forget Lost - This is by far the best new show since 24!
This is by far the best new show aired on British television for years - If you are a fan of drama and crime shows such as The Sopranos and 24, then i would strongly recommend this show - the plot is riveting and keeps you right on the edge of your seat and unlike Lost (which i "lost" interest very quickly) the storyline is continuous and answers are revealed! 10/10 - Best Show of 2006! (except 24 of course)