The Great Escape

The new fall season of TV got off to a bit of an early start tonight with the premiere of Prison Break. Fox, the network behind such colossal stupidity as the cancellation of Firefly and Wonderfalls, has shown at least the tiniest bit of good sense in recognizing that 24 has been an ever-growing hit for them. Of course, fans of 24 all know it's the smart writing, excellent acting, and clever plotting of the show that makes it a success. But, given the rather limited intellect of a network TV executive, one can understand how they might assume it's solely the bizarre gimmick and highly-serialized nature of the show that's luring people in.

And so, to that end, Fox is bringing us two more "high concept" serial dramas this season. (The other one, Reunion, debuts next Thursday night.) I decided I'd check out Prison Break and see if there's anything there. After all, it is occupying the time slot 24 is going to reclaim come January.

So far, I have to say it's no 24. It did have a few good moments here and there, which is perhaps more than I would have expected from director Brett Ratner (who directed the first hour). But I still remember very clearly watching the very first episode of 24 that ever aired, back in 2001. That was only a 1-hour premiere, not a 2-hour, and it had me completely addicted long before "12:59:59 AM" came up on the screen.

The pieces are definitely in place. As a fan of heist movies like Sneakers and Ocean's Eleven, I'm intrigued to watch the details of the escape plan unfold. As a fan of mysteries, like the brilliant-but-canceled TV show Murder One, I'm looking forward to seeing exactly how Lincoln was framed and the reasons why. But so far, the pace is awfully slow. And the parts that so far have been meant to be clever have fallen short... it was no surprise at the end of hour one that Michael had had the prison blueprints tattooed on him, nor was it a surprise near the end of the second hour that "allen" was a reference to an allen wrench. So thus far, we have "not fast-paced enough to compete with 24," and "not unpredictable enough to compete with Lost." Which means those two kings of the "labyrinthine plotting" hill are at the moment in no danger of having to give up their land.

Still, the Prison Break premiere did have a couple moments of good tension, particularly in hour two with the threat of inmate violence. And it certainly ended with a cool display of torture (and resolve in the face of it) that would do Jack Bauer proud. Michael won't be needing his insulin-blocking pills to have an excuse to visit the infirmary next week.

So I guess I'm in for another episode or two... at least until the rest of the fall season starts up in earnest. I watch too much TV to make room for something I'm not totally enthralled with, so the clock is ticking for Prison Break.

Anyone else catch the first episode and have any thoughts?