Information AboutPrison Break |
''Prison Break'' is an ''. July 6, 2006. Retrieved on October 10, 2006. Currently, two seasons of the show have been aired. Due to its immense popularity in its key demographics, the show was renewed by Fox for a third season,Andreeva, N, " Fox springs 'Prison Break' for third season ", ''''. September 27 2006 . Retrieved on October 10 2006 . PRODUCTION Conception ''Prison Break'' began as a concept (a man deliberately getting himself sent to prison in order to help someone else escape) suggested to 2007 . Casting The premiere had eight major speaking roles with star ''. August 8 2006 . Retrieved on September 17 2006 . Dominic Purcell was cast three days before the start of production and consequently, he was the last actor to join the original cast. Purcell auditioned for the role of Lincoln Burrows , a death-row inmate and the brother of Michael Scofield, while he had a recurring role as Tommy Ravetto on '' North Shore ''. Since working on '' John Doe '', Purcell has had an amiable relationship with Fox. Hence, he was sent the pilot script of ''Prison Break''. At first, Scheuring thought Purcell was "too much of a pretty boy" after he went to the audition with his hair styled and a tan. However, Purcell won the role and arrived on the set on the first day of filming with a shaved head, which amazed Scheuring with the physical likeness of the series' two leading actors. Upon receiving the pilot script, 2007 . Retrieved on May 19 2007 . After reading the pilot script, Wade Williams initially did not want to portray the role of Brad Bellick because the character was "horrible and despicable". His reluctance stemmed from being the father of a four-year-old daughter. However, his manager persuaded him to audition for the role and Williams landed the role of Bellick. He has received many plaudits for his on screen performances. Sarah Wayne Callies was the first actress the producers saw at the audition for the role of Sara Tancredi and was also the first to become a principal cast member.Prison Break Season 1 DVD commentary - Riots, Drills And The Devil (Part 1) After her final audition at the 20th Century Fox lot, Callies came back outside to find that she had left her keys in the ignition inside her locked car. While she waited for the AAA to arrive, she received a call from her agent that she had been cast. The remaining original cast included Robin Tunney , Marshall Allman , and Peter Stormare , who were cast as Veronica Donovan , L. J. Burrows , and John Abruzzi respectively. Music The '' October 17 2006 . Retrieved on November 12 2006 . Similarly, "Ich Glaub an Dich" (performed by Azad and Adel Tawil) and "Prison Break Anthem" (performed by Kaye Styles) are used in the title sequence in Germany and Belgium respectively. Broadcast history The first season of ''Prison Break'' premiered on the 2007 in the United States.1 Filming locations The majority of the first season of ''Prison Break'' was filmed on location in ''. March 17, 2006. Retrieved on September 14, 2006. Lincoln's cell is the same one that John Wayne Gacy was incarcerated in. Most of the production crew refused to enter the cell, thinking that it was haunted. The cells that housed the general prison population were specially built with three tiers whereas the actual cells located in Joliet Prison only had two Tiers and were smaller. Exterior scenes were filmed in areas around Chicago , Woodstock , and Joliet in Illinois . Other locations included O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and Toronto , Ontario in Canada . ''Prison Break'' spent $2 million per episode in the state of Illinois, which cost them a total of $24 million in 2005. Renewed for a second season, ''Prison Break'' resumed filming on ''. Retrieved on April 2, 2007. Each episode takes eight days to film and approximately $1.4 million goes to the local economy per episode.Sayres, S, " Incentives Would Draw More Film, TV Productions ", ''FOX 4 News''. February 12, 2007. Retrieved on February 15, 2007. The show is expected to spend in excess of $50 million in Dallas. Dallas Welcomes Hit Television Series . ''Dallas Film Commission''. May 15, 2006. Retrieved on January 17, 2007. PLOT See Also: List of Prison Break episodes The first season consists of 22 episodes. Lincoln Burrows is accused of the murder of Terrence Steadman , who is the brother of the female Vice President Of The United States . With strong evidence supporting the charges of first degree murder and aggravated discharge of a Firearm against him, Lincoln is sentenced to death and is sent to the Fox River State Penitentiary to await his execution. Lincoln's brother, Michael Scofield , is convinced of Lincoln's innocence and hatches an escape plan. After installing himself at Fox River, time works against Michael as he must overcome various obstacles and make the right connections among the inmates and prison staff to be successful in breaking out his brother. The protagonists are aided by their lifelong friend Veronica Donovan , who begins to investigate the conspiracy that put Lincoln in jail. However, they are hindered by covert agents, who belong to an organization known as The Company . The second season of ''Prison Break'' consists of 22 episodes and directly follows from the first season finale. It begins eight hours after the prison escape from Fox River State Penitentiary, focusing mainly on the escapees. New characters are introduced, including federal agent Alexander Mahone , who is assigned to track down and capture the eight escapees. Series creator Paul Scheuring describes the second season as "'' The Fugitive '' times eight" and likens it to the "second half of '' The Great Escape ''". The fugitives journey to locations across America with the authorities close behind them as they each pursue their individual goals. The secondary plot involving the political conspiracy develops as The Company continues their plan to locate and eliminate Lincoln Burrows and others who get in their way. Though on the surface much of the storyline concerning the conspiracy concludes by the season finale, there are indications that both the role of The Company and that of Michael Scofield are far more complicated and interrelated than it appears. Series creator Paul Scheuring has commented that the third season will consist of most of the original cast with new additions and that the overall theme will be "redemption". The plot will continue from the second season finale, where most of the main characters have ended up in Panama . Although the conspiracy storyline has not finished, the third season's plot will be "as different in tone as Season 2 was from Season 1". A preview on Youtube reveals in the third season that Michael Scofield, T-Bag, Mahone and Bellick are trapped in SONA and must work together to escape. FOX made the first half of the season three premiere available for streaming on August 22; it was subsequently posted on various television media websites. The clip, which was offered on a limited basis from FOX, expired on August 31.2 CHARACTERS See Also: List of Prison Break characters Although each season consists of more than ten regularly appearing characters, only seven characters have appeared consistently throughout the series so far. The series' protagonists are Lincoln Burrows (played by Dominic Purcell ) and Michael Scofield (played by Wentworth Miller ). Lincoln is a high school dropout and a convicted felon, who is wrongfully accused of and charged with the murder of the Vice President Of The United States 's brother. Michael is Lincoln's brother and worked as a structural engineer before devoting full-time to his brother's case. In order to save his brother's life, Michael creates an elaborate plan to help his brother escape from prison. Over the course of the series, Michael and Lincoln are shown to be protective of each other. They are the only characters to have appeared in every episode to date. The two most prominently featured prisoners who Michael meets at Fox River State Penitentiary are Fernando Sucre (played by Amaury Nolasco ) and Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell (played by Robert Knepper ). Sucre is Michael's cell-mate and provides Comic Relief to the show. His character's story focuses mainly on his wish to reunite with his girlfriend. Sucre develops a friendship with Michael and Lincoln, and becomes their ally. On the other hand, T-Bag is mainly seen as a villain in the series due to his murderous ways and for blackmailing Michael to be included in his escape. As well as other prisoners, Michael meets the captain of Fox River's correctional officers, Brad Bellick (played by Wade Williams ) and the prison doctor, Sara Tancredi (played by Sarah Wayne Callies ). Bellick dislikes Michael and causes trouble for him throughout the series. Sara is Michael's love interest. As their relationship develops over the course of the series, her role is also increased in the storyline. Although Paul Kellerman (played by Paul Adelstein ) was introduced as a Secret Service agent working for the Vice President to make sure that the execution of Lincoln Burrows goes smoothly, his character has alternated between a villain and an ally to Michael and Lincoln. Veronica Donovan (played by Robin Tunney ) is Michael and Lincoln's childhood friend and decides to review Lincoln's case at Michael's insistence. She becomes Lincoln's lawyer and appears as a major character in the first season and a minor character in the second season. L. J. Burrows (played by Marshall Allman ) is the teenage son of Lincoln Burrows and is greatly affected by his father's death sentence. He is forced into hiding after he becomes the target of the people who wants Lincoln dead. After he was incarcerated, John Abruzzi (played by Peter Stormare ) became a prominent figure at Fox River State Penitentiary due to his role as the leader of a Chicago mafia. He agrees to provide an escape plane for Michael in exchange for the location of the eyewitness to his crimes, Otto Fibonacci. He appears regularly in the first half of the first season and makes selected appearances towards the end of the first season and the beginning of the second season. Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin (played by Rockmond Dunbar ) is introduced as a Fox River prisoner, who becomes suspicious of Michael. He later forces Michael to include him in the escape. Along with T-Bag, C-Note is seen as Michael's opponent in the first season, although he is a more sympathetic and likable character than T-Bag. The second season introduces a new major character, FBI Special Agent '', June 22, 2007. Retrieved on June 24, 2007. Major recurring characters from the first season include Fox River's Warden Henry Pope (played by Stacy Keach ) and lawyer Nick Savrinn (played by Frank Grillo ). Charles Westmoreland (played by Muse Watson ) is a veteran of the prison having served 32 years and has a daughter, who is dying of cancer. Michael believes he is D. B. Cooper and has hidden $5 million outside the prison, which forms a subplot of the second season. Two other Fox River prisoners who join in Michael's escape are David "Tweener" Apolskis (played by Lane Garrison ) and Charles "Haywire" Patoshik (played by Silas Weir Mitchell ). Additionally, some of the walk-on characters who played prisoners actually served time at the Joliet Prison. One major recurring character, Bill Kim , was introduced in the second season as an operative of the Company who is ordered to oversee the actions of Mahone and Kellerman. The character of Terrence Steadman was played by two actors, first by John Billingsley in the first season, then by Jeff Perry in the second season as Billingsley was cast as a regular on the ABC series '' The Nine ''. Steadman has few appearances in the series, nevertheless, the character is at the center of the conspiracy which caused Lincoln Burrows to be charged with his murder. Caroline Reynolds (played by Patricia Wettig ) is the sister of Terrence Steadman, who has ambitions to become the President of the United States, which she later achieves. RESPONSE Reception in the USA The following seasonal rankings are based on average total viewers per episode as recorded by Nielsen Media Research . The recording period begins in late September (the start of the U.S. network television season) and ends in late May. ''. February 2 2006 . Retrieved on February 17 2006 . ''Prison Break'' was originally planned for a 13-episode run, but was extended to include an extra nine episodes due to its popularity. The premiere of the second season of ''Prison Break'' obtained an average of 9.4 million viewers, down from 10.5 million for the series premiere in August 2005." Premieres, finales falter " ''''. February 13, 2007. Retrieved on February 14, 2007. On the other hand, the season finale on its original airdate received one of the lowest audiences in the series' history with 8.01 million viewers. Broadcast TV Ratings for Monday, April 2, 2007 , ''Entertainmentnow.wordpress.com''. April 3, 2007. Retrieved on April 5, 2007. Reception outside the USA As the only new television series to be positioned in the top 20 television shows of 2005/2006 in ''. September 18, 2006. Retrieved on October 1, 2006. During its second season, the show has consistently retained the highest number of viewers in its timeslot in Canada. Following a huge advertising campaign on '', June 27, 2007. Retrieved on July 11, 2007. The popularity of the show was also evident in New Zealand , where ''Prison Break'' won the People's Choice Award for Favourite New Television Drama. Prison Break , ''TV3''. Retrieved on May 22, 2007. In Europe, the series premiered in '', June 29, 2007. Retrieved on July 3, 2007. In the UK Prison Break was aired on the underviewed domestic Channel Five which is only available in certain parts of the country. It has become one of the most viewed programs on this Channel. The first season's broadcast in , broadcast on the MBC Action Channel. Ratings Due to its storyline and setting, ''Prison Break'''s target audience is the 18–34 age group. The show contains adult content including violence, coarse language, sexual and drug references. Concerns have been raised by the ''. September 5, 2006. Retrieved on September 15, 2006. The series is given a TV-14 rating in both the United States and Canada. A similar rating is also used in other countries. ''Prison Break'' is rated ''. November 21, 2006. Retrieved on November 21, 2006. Awards Following a successful airing of the series' first thirteen episodes, ''Prison Break'' was nominated for its first award, the 2005 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama. The other nominees in the same category were '' Commander In Chief '' and '' Criminal Minds ''. ''Prison Break'' won the award in January 2006 and it is the only award the show has won to date. Also in January 2006, the show had two nominations at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards , which were Best Drama Television Series and Best Actor in a Drama Television Series for Wentworth Miller 's performance. The show's lead actor, Wentworth Miller, received another nomination for his performance in the first season at the 2005 Saturn Awards for Best Actor On Television . Likewise, the series was nominated for 2005 Saturn Award for Best Network Television Series. At the 2006 Television Critics Association Awards , the show was nominated for Best New Drama Series. Nominations for technical awards include the 2006 Eddie Award for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television ( Mark Helfrich for the pilot episode) and the 2006 Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music ( Ramin Djawadi ). In December 2006, Robert Knepper was nominated for the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Controversy On ''. October 24 2006 . Retrieved on October 26, 2006. DISTRIBUTION Television ''Prison Break'' has been aired in other countries around the world including non-English speaking countries. . DVD and Blu-Ray Disc releases See Also: Prison Break DVD releases So far, the DVD sets have been released shortly before the television premiere of the new season in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. In the UK, the seasons have been split into halves with the first half released during that season's initial run. At the 2007 ''. January 8 2007 . Retrieved on January 10 2007 . Online distribution In addition to the television broadcast of the show, episodes of ''Prison Break'' has also been released in on the internet. Towards the end of the first season, episodes of ''Prison Break'' were made available for purchase online at the ITunes Store , which began on May 9 2006 . After the premiere of the second season of ''Prison Break'', Fox began allowing online streaming of the current episode for free via more than 50 websites including ''. October 4, 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2006. OTHER MEDIA Derivative work of the show has been produced in the form of short videos for mobile phones. There has also been several official Tie-in s in print and on the internet. A spinoff series, '', 2006 . This was an exclusive deal made between Toyota Motor and News Corporation 's Fox network, allowing Toyota to sponsor exclusive content of the show and to obtain advertising exclusivity. In printed media, the show's tie-in products include an official magazine and a book written in an in-universe perspective. The official magazine, published by Titan Publishing, was launched on 2007 . REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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