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Critic Reviews
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- By date
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Prison Break has the dark social hierarchies of Oz and the clever inventions of Escape From Alcatraz.
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If the show can stay as gripping as its premiere... it will be a welcome new prime-time puzzle.
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As with "24," the whole enterprise, however action-packed, would fall flat if viewers didn't care about the characters, and "Prison Break" doesn't disappoint.
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Creator and writer Paul T. Scheuring offers this deal with viewers: Suspend credibility on a few key points and, in return, get a series that keeps you glued to the set for a full hour. My advice is to take the deal.
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One of the best new TV shows this season.
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Within the first 15 minutes, you realize you have jumped onto what could be one hell of a thrill ride.
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"Prison Break"... is more intriguing than most of the new network series, and it certainly is one of the most original.
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Like any over-the-top, conspiracy-laced concept, "Prison Break" will only work if viewers are giddily enticed to jump aboard the Willing Suspension of Disbelief Express.
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It's outlandish and contrived with story holes wide enough for a jackknifed 18-wheeler. But the two-hour pilot of Prison Break... is irresistible.
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The acting here is first rate -- not a bad apple in the whole rotten bunch.
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Like Lost, the show seems predicated on an unsustainable premise, but Prison Break is moving along more briskly.
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Prison Break may not hold up as a weekly series; it's much too soon to tell. But by and large it works as a two-hour premiere special, one that grabs your attention from its first scene to its startling cliffhanger ending.
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A riveting, suspenseful, briskly paced drama packed with intriguing performances.
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This could be a brisk and bruising weekly fix.
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A preposterous premise...only somewhat distracts from an agreeable escapism and first-rate performances by Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell.
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It's one tasty piece of lunacy.
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The best thing about "Prison Break" is that we've never seen anything like it before.
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What Prison Break lacks in plausibility--basically, everything--it makes up for in plotting, pacing and panache.
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Forget the preposterousness of the plot -- it's easy enough to do -- and enjoy the suspense, of which there's plenty.
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A lot about this series is frankly preposterous, but as pulp logic goes, Miller's bust-out plan is both ingenious and way cool.
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An entertaining big-narrative concept. [5 Sep 2005, p.41]
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“Prison Break” could be the fall’s breakout hit, but only if other actors can bail out Miller.
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It's a comic book, basically, a B-movie, a pulp fiction, and low enough in the cultural reckoning of things to set its own rules with impunity.... Part of the pleasure of the series is that particular pleasure of watching a super-heroic character who can't fail.
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Yet even with the premiere sprinkling enough tantalizing bread crumbs to warrant a return visit, there's insufficient evidence as to how the more muddled aspects will unfold over future installments.
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Unfortunately, Prison Break's dialogue is nowhere near as sharp as its plotting.
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Complexity is one thing; making the complexity compelling is another, and "Prison Break" fails there.
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Preposterous ideas know no bounds on "Prison Break."
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For every step forward (intricate plotting, Wentworth's engaging lead performance), the show also manages to stumble back (rote subplots, incessant lame dialogue as exposition).
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Viewers hoping for a rousing adventure instead will find a dark, grim and often repellent tale.
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The premise, though bold, isn't as revolutionary as the "24" format, and the pilot is seriously lacking in thrills for an alleged thriller.
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A fat snooze.
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Pitifully awful.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 688 out of 746
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Mixed: 27 out of 746
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Negative: 31 out of 746
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A.C.Nov 20, 2006
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Jun 14, 2012
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May 31, 2015