Prison Break!!

So I know I'm a little behind the times here, but I have finally discovered the wonderfulness of Prison Break! Ok, I lie a little bit, I have known about its existance for a while, and I even thought that I would probably enjoy it but I didn't realise it was one of those series that was going to be added to my ultimate favourites! I've just finished watching season 1 (and it took me all of 3 days to watch the complete series!) and half way through the first episode I knew I was hooked.

I think the main reason I like it so much is how well it is written and thought out. The escape plans are just so clever - in pretty much all of the books/films/tvshows etc I have encountered, the escape plans are so ridiculous that you think that in the real world they just couldn't happen. With Prison Break, the whole plan seems more realistic, because of the extensive planning involved you could see how it could happen! Furthermore the incorporation of mishaps that disturb the plans just add to the realism of the show - of course you expect pipes that have disappeared to be replaced - and they are! I also think that how they chose to present the series - with the main character ensuring he got put in prison so he could help his brother rather than attempting to break in from the outside really works! Furthermore the knowledge that he is innocent really (in that he didn't really want to rob the bank - just get put in prison!) makes us, the viewers, really want the escape to be a success!

It's actually kind of weird how I really did want the escape to go ahead, even when other prisoners in the prison end up involved in the planning. Infact with the exception of perhaps one of the group, I felt really sorry for them! Yes, sorry for criminals in a prison with the highest security! The program illustrated how situations can get out of control and good people can end up in prison (though they are not completely blameless in their situations). I'm not sure how reflective this representation of prisoners is in the real world though, certainly in the prison I used for my dissertation sample all the prisoners more than deserved to be there. And actually I am so glad I didn't watch this series before I went because thinking about the possibility of riots and such would have completely scared me!

So if you haven't yet watched the series, definitely do :D I can't believe how good it is, and I can't wait until I'm able to get hold of and watch series 2!