Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1083 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

When's the next series out?
In the "edge of the seat" vein of 24, Fox has produced another superbly gripping series. Engaging, multifaceted characters with plenty of secrets build the interest but this story is a little unusual in that although Michael and Linc form the story's focus, no one character takes the lead. Each of the gritty characters is worthy of praise but T-bag is my favourite. A more menacingly charming personality is difficult to imagine. Desperate to see what happens next.....

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)

Just fantastic!
I missed this show when it first came on TV, falling into the trap of 'it's on channel 5 so it must be rubbish'. I'm so glad I rectified my mistake and bought the boxed set, as this is right up there with Lost and 24 as one of the best series on TV.

There's no need to ruin the plot by giving any details, but suffice to say the characters are fascinating (likeable without letting you lose sight of the fact some of them are Very Bad Men); the story moves along at a rate of knots, and it's difficult to predict what will happen next. Also, a previous reviewer stated rather naively that this show isn't for girls...with totty like this, what's not to like, eh ladies?