I watched this show eleven years ago and was a big fan during the first season. The second season was decent but in the days before DVR & Hulu I wasn't as dedicated to each episode (forget about VCR's - what a pain those were). And then that first half of season three honestly killed my love for Prison Break. What a disaster that season was! The stupid writer's strike meant a short year for television and the writing in many good shows suffered terribly. Numerous shows jumped the shark and became totally unbelievable or just ended up crappy. Early 2000's television was also competing with an onslaught of reality television. Because of that, many shows seemed to sacrifice writing, dialogue, character development, believability for shock and awe or gimmicky. Examples: 24, Lost, Heroes, the last few seasons of The X-files, the first few seasons of Supernatural - all good shows in their own right but definitely struggled with plot holes and sacrificed consistency for the "dun dun duuuuhn ... what will happen next?! Tune in next week and you'll be stunned into entertainment!" ALL OF THAT BEING SAID... I've given Prison Break an overall 9 rating for my watching ten years later on Netflix. I binged on this show and felt like I sprinted through 81 hours of great television. At the end, I was thoroughly and happily exhausted. I became totally attached to the characters, some who started out as villains ended up having the most enjoyable moments and become the most redeemed (Brad Bellick, Alex Mahone, Paul Kellerman), other characters started as villains and stayed villains but still had superlative writing, fleshed out character development and were all around fabulous to watch (T-Bag, Gretchen, Abruzzi). One of the unexpectedly best things about Prison Break is its ability to show the characters as a mix of good and bad, selfish and selfless, the struggle to do the right thing in most people, all of which allowed the viewer to have moments of compassion for even the most vile characters and see good characters struggle with inner demons and make horrible decisions that had devastating consequences. There are very few characters over the four seasons who were just a black and white cardboard cut out of all good or all bad (the General) and that makes for a compelling show. Another reason for my 9 rating is the truly incredible acting and cast. Wentworth Miller carries the bulk of the show on his tattooed shoulders and he is totally up for the task. You can't help but root for Michael, tortured by his decision to do a horrible thing for the sake of doing the right thing for the one person in his life he loves most and never abandoned him. Michael who throws himself in front of every bullet and jumps off every cliff just to save the people he cares about, even for some people he doesn't care about but still has compassion for. Wentworth Miller makes Prison Break. That's not to take away from the rest of the cast. Each character is impeccably cast and acted. For example, I thought going back to watch this show after being a die hard fan of The Walking Dead I would loathe Sarah Wayne Callies as Sara Tancredi and only be able to see her as Lori Grimes - but kudos to SWC because I saw no trace of Lori Grimes and actually loved her character. Also tortured, broken by bad decisions and ultimately a great match for Michael. Her absence in season 3 is one of many reasons why that season tanked the show. All the rest of the cast is stellar - Dominic Purcell, Robert Knepper, Wade Williams, William Fichtner, Silas Weir Mitchell, etc. Reason number whatever why this show is great: the comic relief. Some of the best moments in the show are saved for Wade Williams as Brad Bellick. Bellick begins as the pompous jackass prison CO who kills a cat, allows Tweener to get repeatedly raped, treats the prisoners with zero compassion into a sweet, misunderstood, courageous character who has some of the best, most hilarious moments in the show. The third season is worth watching simply because of the humorous Brad Bellick on the other side of the law. Robert Knepper as the vile, pedophillic, two faced, one handed T-bag also has some of the most hilarious moments in the show. His tromp through the desert in season four and then assuming the identity of a top salesman at some self help company was a joy to watch. I decided to re-watch PB because I saw the trailer for the new season and wanted to see if it was worth it to brush up. I'm so glad I did. The show was meant to be binged one right after another instead of having to wait a week or more between episodes. Fox's television schedule does not suit my instant gratification needs. Prison Break is a serious adrenaline rush - coming to the end almost felt like the end of a high. I could have done without the two last "extra" episodes - the ending was much more effective with the 4 years later ending - but I'm sure the electrocution and being left behind will come into play in the new show. My suggestion to anyone re-watching or picking this show up later - don't hold it to the current standard of television shows. It certainly lacks the depth of many of the new shows we get from Netflix, Amazon, cable television, etc. Push through some of the believability issues and if you can suffer through the first half of season three - the show is ultimately very enjoyable and has more positives than negatives. I'm very much looking forward to the new season, I hope that it has all the positives of the original without the inconsistencies and need to depend on gimmicks rather than honest character development.
Reviews
5 Reviews
Prison Break
(2005–2017)
Best Gulped Down In Large Doses - Overall Series Review
14 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Just When It Seems Like It Can't Get Better ...
3 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Fargo ups the ante with Key & Peele as bumbling FBI agents. When they start bickering - seriously, it's Key & Peele perfection! This was a solid episode. Lester's plan unfolds with some help from Bill. Gus is tortured over his accidental shooting. Malvo takes care of his Fargo business, in his own special way.
The writing is superb on this show but the acting is equal to the performances in the movie version. The entire cast is fantastic. In this episode, Allison Tolman, Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Kate Walsh. But honestly, Billy Bob Thorton is truly the star of any scene he's in. He could read a menu as Lorne Malvo and it would be entertaining.
Fargo is definitely a show best binged in large doses.
The writing is superb on this show but the acting is equal to the performances in the movie version. The entire cast is fantastic. In this episode, Allison Tolman, Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Kate Walsh. But honestly, Billy Bob Thorton is truly the star of any scene he's in. He could read a menu as Lorne Malvo and it would be entertaining.
Fargo is definitely a show best binged in large doses.
Peaky Blinders
(2013–2022)
Best of the Binge Worthy Shows
8 June 2016
This is such a binge worthy show that I'm holding back the last couple episodes like slowing down before the last few chapters of my favorite book. I'm not ready for it to be over just yet. As someone else mentioned, this show is all about character. You can't help but root for the Shelby's, regardless of how horrible they are. There's a line in the first season, "You are bad men, but you are our bad men." Pretty much sums it up.
Cillian Murphy is the backbone of this show. He says more in his face and through his eyes than any of the dialogue that comes out of his mouth. Although, don't be mistaken, the writing is excellent. However, being the ignorant American I am, I finally had to turn the subtitles on! My ears got used to the strong accents for the most part but I found myself rewinding at least once an episode to either catch a phrase I wasn't familiar with or because the dialogue was too quiet. So I just said to hell with it and turned the subtitles on - now I'm catching way more. I also wasn't familiar with too much British history between World War 1&2 - so I've found myself looking different bits up to find out more. We've had American gangsters in film for years, but this is a fresh and new experience.
I mentioned Cillian Murphy but the other stars of this show are incredible in their own right. Helen McCrory's Aunt Polly could hold her own against Gemma Teller any day. Paul Anderson and Joe Cole are perfect as the brothers. Anderson tortured and erratic, Cole steady and loyal. Annabelle Wallis and Sam Neill are both compelling and Tom Hardy is Tom Hardy, if he's ever bad I haven't seen it.
If you like a show that's character driven but with an exciting, dark backdrop - definitely worth checking out. TV has really gotten better the last few years.
Cillian Murphy is the backbone of this show. He says more in his face and through his eyes than any of the dialogue that comes out of his mouth. Although, don't be mistaken, the writing is excellent. However, being the ignorant American I am, I finally had to turn the subtitles on! My ears got used to the strong accents for the most part but I found myself rewinding at least once an episode to either catch a phrase I wasn't familiar with or because the dialogue was too quiet. So I just said to hell with it and turned the subtitles on - now I'm catching way more. I also wasn't familiar with too much British history between World War 1&2 - so I've found myself looking different bits up to find out more. We've had American gangsters in film for years, but this is a fresh and new experience.
I mentioned Cillian Murphy but the other stars of this show are incredible in their own right. Helen McCrory's Aunt Polly could hold her own against Gemma Teller any day. Paul Anderson and Joe Cole are perfect as the brothers. Anderson tortured and erratic, Cole steady and loyal. Annabelle Wallis and Sam Neill are both compelling and Tom Hardy is Tom Hardy, if he's ever bad I haven't seen it.
If you like a show that's character driven but with an exciting, dark backdrop - definitely worth checking out. TV has really gotten better the last few years.
Roots
(2016)
Beautiful & Terrible Film
5 June 2016
First, I admit I don't remember seeing the first Roots. I may have when I was young but I don't remember it and I've never read the book so I came into the story with no presuppositions. Even though this is a work of fiction (that Mr Haley apparently plagiarized) it is a work of fiction based in historical fact. Like many incredible works of literature or film the thread of the story may be fiction but it's set in a very real period in history.
All that to say, I'm astonished by some of the reviews on this board. It seems some want a polished up version of history, a Gone With the Wind version that is still ugly if you look close enough at the nuances of the story. The truth is, humans were stolen from their homes and the only world they had ever known or seen and then their traffickers sold them like they were livestock or furniture or maybe even less. They had no rights and every single thing - especially their dignity - was stripped from them. They were dropped into a world they didn't understand or recognize, without even the fortune of common language. This isn't some made up perspective to suit the politics of Black Lives Matter or anything else, it is fact.
If a movie were set in the early 1940's in Germany and the story was about a Jewish family who were actually treated decently by their "Christian" jailers while they were living in a concentration camp, that showed some good sides to the camp as well, everyone would RIGHTFULLY be appalled. But here? No, it seems some want to polish up this ugly stain of American history and call it decoration rather than what it was - horrific.
Okay, so now that I got that off my chest... I found myself crying through many parts of this miniseries and gripped by the injustices at every step. I wanted some happy endings too but only because I was drawn in and rooting for the main characters, but I also realize that happy endings rarely happened during this era for Africans and African Americans and as they rarely had control over their own lives they must have had to deal with the emptiness of unfinished stories, unanswered questions, the sickness of not knowing what happened to their loved ones when they were stolen or violated or sold off. As the viewer I felt that pain and I empathized with the main characters. The apathy and sometimes hatred coming from the slave owners and traders and the way one sin would lead to another and to another so even those with some sense of decency were quick to treat black people as less than and not equal to as soon as they felt threatened or to feel better about their standing in society. This Roots was more The Kitchen House than Gone with the Wind, as viewers we benefit from that fact.
The production and settings were gorgeous and the actors were as well. I thought this was a beautiful telling of a most terrible time.
All that to say, I'm astonished by some of the reviews on this board. It seems some want a polished up version of history, a Gone With the Wind version that is still ugly if you look close enough at the nuances of the story. The truth is, humans were stolen from their homes and the only world they had ever known or seen and then their traffickers sold them like they were livestock or furniture or maybe even less. They had no rights and every single thing - especially their dignity - was stripped from them. They were dropped into a world they didn't understand or recognize, without even the fortune of common language. This isn't some made up perspective to suit the politics of Black Lives Matter or anything else, it is fact.
If a movie were set in the early 1940's in Germany and the story was about a Jewish family who were actually treated decently by their "Christian" jailers while they were living in a concentration camp, that showed some good sides to the camp as well, everyone would RIGHTFULLY be appalled. But here? No, it seems some want to polish up this ugly stain of American history and call it decoration rather than what it was - horrific.
Okay, so now that I got that off my chest... I found myself crying through many parts of this miniseries and gripped by the injustices at every step. I wanted some happy endings too but only because I was drawn in and rooting for the main characters, but I also realize that happy endings rarely happened during this era for Africans and African Americans and as they rarely had control over their own lives they must have had to deal with the emptiness of unfinished stories, unanswered questions, the sickness of not knowing what happened to their loved ones when they were stolen or violated or sold off. As the viewer I felt that pain and I empathized with the main characters. The apathy and sometimes hatred coming from the slave owners and traders and the way one sin would lead to another and to another so even those with some sense of decency were quick to treat black people as less than and not equal to as soon as they felt threatened or to feel better about their standing in society. This Roots was more The Kitchen House than Gone with the Wind, as viewers we benefit from that fact.
The production and settings were gorgeous and the actors were as well. I thought this was a beautiful telling of a most terrible time.
Bull Durham
(1988)
A classic
2 January 2015
Thank you Kevin Costner for pronouncing Visalia correctly. You are honestly one of the few actors who can pull it off.
Just watched after not having seen this movie in years - I know I sound incredibly old and cliché but movies aren't like this anymore. A movie that truly loves the game of baseball with no agenda, no trying to force reality down your throat, no tearing down of the game, the institution, the players, or the fans. The three leads are so young, Tim Robbins in particular is practically unrecognizable.
Reality is everywhere, it was a nice break to escape into a few hours of the love and romance of baseball.
Just watched after not having seen this movie in years - I know I sound incredibly old and cliché but movies aren't like this anymore. A movie that truly loves the game of baseball with no agenda, no trying to force reality down your throat, no tearing down of the game, the institution, the players, or the fans. The three leads are so young, Tim Robbins in particular is practically unrecognizable.
Reality is everywhere, it was a nice break to escape into a few hours of the love and romance of baseball.
Tell Your Friends