In my spare time I watch so much TV/Films its unreal as you can probably tell from most of my reviews being reviews of TV shows or films. I came across this through recommendation of my sister and at first I was very sceptical about how good this show could possibly be. My initial thought without knowing much about the plot other than a man is breaking out of prison was how on earth would breaking out of prison be so complicated to stretch 4 seasons.
Despite this I decided to watch mainly due to lack of having anything else to watch and also seeing the DVD cheap for season 1.


----------------Cast------------------
Dominic Purcell -- as --Lincoln Burrows
Wentworth Miller -- as -- Michael Scofield
Robin Tunney -- as -- Veronica Donovan
Peter Stormare -- as -- John Abruzzi
Amaury Nolasco -- as -- Fernando Sucre
Marshall Allman -- as -- L.J. Burrows
Wade Williams -- as -- Captain Brad Bellick
Paul Adelstein -- as -- Secret Service Agent Paul Kellerman
Robert Knepper -- as -- Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell
Rockmond Dunbar -- as -- Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin
Sarah Wayne Callies -- as -- Dr. Sara Tancredi


-----------------Plot--------------------
The plot for me took a few episodes to get me intrigued. It started with a man Michael Scofield being imprisoned for a crime he committed. At first Michael seems rather weird and closed of and sort of lost. When his intentions of breaking his brother Lincoln Burrows who is currently on death row for a crime he was framed for the plot gets very interesting. Lincoln burrows was actually supposed to have killed the Vice President of the United States but as the story progressed it came apparent that there is corruption in the United States government and more deaths start happening to cover up the mysterious death of the Vice Presidents brother.

Michael is a actually a very smart guy and has fooled his way into prison with the blueprint of the prison tattooed to his body. His escape plan starts very simple but along the way there are so many bumps in the road I was starting to question weather they would ever make it out of jail. More and more prisoners started getting involved with the escape plan despite Michael trying to keep it as low key as possible making it even harder. The series plot had me on edge right up until the end and I can't say much more because there is a lot to spoil which I don't want to do but believe me the escape plan is genius. In general the whole question to be answered is will they or won't they escape Fox River State Penitentiary.

What I liked about the plot is that there was drama in every episode and every episode had a me obstacle for Michael and the team to overcome. Michael was like the mastermind that carried the plot along and without him the whole thing would have been a sham. The series does stretch 22 hour long episodes and there were many points when I just thought break out of the prison already but the plot always brought me back in with a knew twist which was good otherwise this series would have been very long winded.
I like that the government was the reason for Lincoln Burrows imprisonment and they were willing to do anything to keep there corrupt ways under wraps. It's much more interesting watching the government that is suppose to do well for their country be the bad guys rather than your regular criminal.


--------------Characters & Performances-------------------
I must say the acting in this TV series was outstanding and loved every minute of how the actors were performing their characters.
Michael Scofield played by Wentworth Miller was my favourite an also the main character of the series. I like the bond that Lincoln and Michael have as their bond is what drives this whole escape plan in the first place. Michael has nowhere and his brother Lincoln is all the family he has left so there is no way he wants to lose him for a crime he didn't even commit.
Dr Sara Tancredi was another one of my favourite characters. She works in the prison as a doctor and develops a crush on Scolfield. Her and Scolfield relationship develops on his visits to the infirmary for his Diabetes injections (which he doesn't really have) and grows throughout the series. I liked Sara because in the first place she was standing up to her father who is Governor by working in the infirmary in the first place which he doesn't want her to be doing but she still seems rather closed off abit. As the series goes on she develops more personality and becomes someone who stands up to her father more by asking him to look at Lincoln Burrows case by request of Michael. I like her very much and liked they way she grew in the series.

One of the main character I disliked was Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell because just everything about him was so creepy and evil. He is in prison for being a paedophile and spends alot of time in jail picking on the young one in the prison. He is pretty much a low-life and after he found out about the escape plan in the middle of a prison brawl I wanted to kill him myself there and then so he couldn't get out. He was only let in on the plan so he would keep his mouth shut but was the main one of the group that kept bringing heat to their plan by just being a little devil and never listening. An example killing the police officer that found out about their plan by accident. I think the actor who plays him done a stunning job and must admit although I didn't like him as a character he is good for bringing the drama and entertainment and aggression to the series which was a good thing about his character. His quite a raw character which since it's a prison show you really need someone like that. Just like T-Bag most the the corrupt people protecting the government are pretty raw in this series aswell killing anyone and everyone who got in their way.


-------------------Overall Thoughts----------------
This is a very gripping, raw and entertaining TV series and I would recommend it to anyone who likes this sort of thing. It has quite alot of violence and pretty much almost the whole background of the prison and someone of the inmates are just dodgy and it made me just wander if real prisons are this dodgy. There are likeable characters and characters that you just want to strangle. I think all the twists and corruption in the plot just makes every episode worth watching. there is probably nothing negative I can really say about this series to be honest.

The DVD is available to buy on Amazon new & used from £12.66 but I'd actually recommend getting season 1-4 which is on Amazon for £28 which is more worth is because 1 it's cheaper and two after season 1 you will wan't to keep watching as it does sort of end on a cliffhanger.