Don’t you just hate it when your favorite television series gets cancelled? It’s bad enough when something like that happens, but it’s even worse when it ends on a bad note. There have certainly been quite a few examples of tv series that were incredible but wrapped up with an absolutely horrible ending. I still remember the end of Dexter and how that really made me wonder how on Earth the creators of that series managed to completely ruin an otherwise brilliant show. Luckily there are also tv series that do end on a high note, and manage to give closure to the fans that have been following it. Prison Break was a televisionshow that ran for four seasons during a time that I always like to call “The Reign of the Big Three”. Yes, I know that sounds quite dramatic. The “Big Three” that I am talking about are three television series that really made an impact on the world of the small screen, 24, Lost and the aforementioned Prison Break. The final episode of that show aired just about seven years ago. It ended the series in a pretty satisfactory way, and I was quite happy with it myself.
Lately there has been a renewed interest in resurrecting old television properties with small new seasons. The X-files and 24 already had a go at this, and this year it was Prison Break’s turn to continue the show with a 9 episode event series. This fifth season picks up the story seven years after Michael Scofield’s death. His brother Lincoln Burrows has tried his best to make a living, but has fallen back into some of his past criminal behaviour. One day when he arrives back at his home, he sees an old familiar face sitting on his porch: Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell. Apparently he has just been released from prison, but he brings with him a message that is kind of hard to believe. Bagwell shows Burrows a picture of Michael sitting inside a prison in Yemen, alive and well. Lincoln at first thinks this is all a trick. But soon certain events are starting to happen that are beginning to make him doubt. Reaching out to Michael’s former wife Sara, who is now remarried, he says he is going to Yemen to find out the truth once and for all. But why has Michael not reached out to them once in all those years? And is Michael still the same man he was or has he turned into someone who is all but unrecognisable……
So the question I guess that is very valid to ask for this fifth season is: Do we really need this? As I mentioned before I was quite happy with the way the show ended. It gave closure to all the storylines and characters and nothing was left untouched. When you do something like this, you of course run the risk of ruining things. But before I get into that, let’s first start with the positives. It was awesome to spent some time again with all the old familiar faces. Fan favorites T-Bag, Sucre and C-Note all returned for this, and played in a few critical events. However the main focus was on Michael, Lincoln and Sara, and that was a good thing. It’s almost as if they never left, and it was great to see the actors play again and reprise the roles of these beloved characters. The cast is joined by a couple of new characters as well, of which the most interesting one is Whip. There is a revelation about him later on in the season which I certainly did not see coming. He is a great character and played very well by actor Augustus Prew.
Another thing that was very positive was that this season takes us all over the world. Most of the time is spent in Yemen and these were definitely the best episodes. They don’t call this series Prison Break for nothing, and of course a jailbreak is again part of the story. But the location itself adds a pretty cool element, and gives it a bit more flavour. The problem I had with this event series is that it all started very well, but then something just went wrong. The first couple of episodes were full of action, had a lot of tension, and some nice twists and turns. But by the time the series hits episode 7 it all started to drag a little bit. It’s almost as if the money ran out, and the writers were told they had to finish it all. As such we end up with a really rushed finale that just did not leave a lasting impression and left me feeling a bit hollow. It again brings me back to my original question, did we really need this?
It’s a tough question to answer. I can honestly say that this certainly wasn’t a bad season. For fans of the series, there was enough in it to certainly make it a worthwhile watch. It was nice to see most of the original cast returning for this, and in the beginning it recaptured a lot of the magic of what made the show so awesome in the first place. But the wrap up for this event series did leave a lot to be desired. If this season would not have been made, I would not have felt left out in any way whatsoever. I’m going to leave it up to you to decide whether or not you should watch this. If you are a fan I guess you will enjoy it, I won’t lie to you there. To give you a little bit of an impression for this season I’m going to leave you with the trailer.
I give Prison Break Event Series a 7 out of 10 score.
Dark Angel ended early due to death on set.
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I really enjoyed the first series of Prison Break, I loved the intricacy of it and all the things Michael had to do to make things happen. It was really cool. However, after that when he was out of the environement none of the characters were especially interesting to me and I just got bored. I liked the FBI agent, but again lost interest in him in the Sona plot. I was also kinda annoyed that the start of S4 basically rendered S3 meaningless (The prison burned down, so the others got out anyway). Honestly, going to give this a miss. If I rewatch, I will rewatch season one and enjoy it. And then pretend the rest never happened.
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I agree with you on the fact that season one was definitely the best. A lot of people did mot like the follow up seasons, but I am an exception to this. I did enjoy it, even though the seasons certainly got weirder and weirder and threw logic out of the Windows at times. But I don’t know, I just liked the characters a lot as a whole,and it still made for pretty entertaining television.
As for this series, I think especially in the beginning it came close to recapturing the first season’s Magic, but ultimately fizzles abd dies near the end, which was a bit of a shame. I don’t blame you for passing on this one 😀
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7 out of 10 isn’t too bad. It sounds like this return was better than last year’s X-Files. I’m undecided if I’m even going to try the new season.😒
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It certainly wasn’t a bad season. I held no regrets for it whatsoever having watched it. But it really could have been better. Especially the ending.
As for the new X-files season…I recently saw the trailer for it and I have to admit it looks pretty cool, much better than the last attempt. If you have not yet seen it, I included here for you: https://youtu.be/0zImuHH6nUc
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I did see it Michel, so I’ll probably try it, keeping my fingers crossed.
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I HATE IT SO MUCH when they rush to finish aVERYGOOD series on something very weird and unnecessary hahah. Love reading your review and it reminds me to start watching Prison Break too *shame* I haven’t started it yet T_T
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Thank you very much 😊 I really hate that myself. As mentioned it wasn’t a really bad season, but if they had included a better ending, it really could have been so much more. As for the shame: no worries, I am running behind with do many things right now, that it’a almost impossible to see it all before I reach retirement age lol 😂😂
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Agreed Trang!!!💯 I hate when things are rushed!😒 Michel has some great reviews!!!😁 I’m glad I told him about Bookidote!!📚 You guys have a lot of similar interests!!!! You are the best Trang!!! Well both of you! Yay!!!🙌🙌🙌 *Happy people dance*💃💃💃
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Haha, yeah thanks for pointing out Bookidote: her reviews ate definitely a joy to read. And thank you so much again for these incredibly kind words 😊😊 Just remember that you are just as awesome 😀
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Yay!!! All the awesome people connected n shit!!!🤗💖💙💛💜💚
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I enjoyed the 5th season quite a bit. Much more than the 4th season for sure. The actual prison break style story really brought back some of the original magic of the earlier seasons. It also felt pretty exciting and I Iiked the location. I liked it enough that I actually wouldn’t mind seeing another season 🙂
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Yeah, except for the ending it was an okay watch. I don’t think they will do another season though. I’m not seeing how they could continue the story at this point (but then again I never thought they could do a 5th season either 😂😂😂).
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They could made a good movie but decided to do series.
First one I liked, fifth I haven’t seen.
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This one does capture a bit of Magic back from the original show. It is by no means perfect, but it’s still an okay watch 😀
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Reblogged this on mamabatesmotel.
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Thanks so much for the reblog, appreciate it 😊
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You’re welcome, have a great day !
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Sir. I am with you on this one. Prison Break ended on a great note, it even had me on the verge of dropping a tear with the death scene. I didn’t think they’d ever bring the show back and continue it, but based on the premise that the first trailer showed, I was starting to fear that it might actually fail and ruin the show. It’s good to hear that it isn’t a bad new season as all. No wonder Wentworth Miller was dropped from the DC shows (or at least is about to completely drop it soon). I do hope this Prison Break run won’t run out of ideas though. Thanks for the wonderful review, I might have to try it out now.
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Thanks for the great comment and really kind words: appreciate it 😊 As for Wentworth Miller dropping out on the DC shows, he said on the dvd extras that reuniting with his former Prisonbreak co-star Dominic Purcell that actually gave them both the idea to do another season. This is now the result 😊
It certainly wasn’t very bad and there was enough in it to enjoy. But that said, I don’t think that there will be a follow up to this one. The story is pretty much done now, so it would be a major surprise if a sixth season would be released. Then again, after season 4 I did not expect a season 5 either so there is that 😂
If you are a fan of Prisonbreak I think you will still enjoy this enough though 😀 Thanks again for the wonderful comment 😊
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My pleasure man. I’ve been recently updating my follower list (I used to be super old school and bookmark blogs) and it’s good to finally fix things up to have you among those I follow (there aren’t many guys out here…) I didn’t know it was going to be just one special season though. I thought it would be a sort of reboot-continuation. I’m actually glad to know that it MIGHT just be ONE season. I’m curious to find out what exactly the story is about and how they NOW ended the series.
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I’m honored, thank you very much 😊
But yes this is a one time event. Seeing as to how they ended this season I don’t think a follow up season is in the works. In fact I really don’t know how they could make another season for this one after the way this storyline ended. That said, I also did not see how they could continue after the events of season 4, so never say never I guess 😀
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Man I didn’t realize they were going to cancel Prison Break!!! I really enjoyed the first series of this show the best!!😊 Fantastic Review Michel!!!😊🤗😗 You always catch me up on the latest shows and movies that I love!!!📚💖😊 I always look forward to checking your page to see if something new is posted!!!💖🤗😊💯🙌 Great post as always! You are awesome!💯😎📽😁🎬🤗📺
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Haha…Aww man, these comments of yours always manage to put a smile on my face, really awesome: thanks so much.
Yes Prison Break was unfortunately cancelled, but it’s okay. I liked the original ending for the series better (season 4 that is). This one time event show really wasn’t bad, but it could have been better. And as I said the ending felt a bit rushed. But other than that it’s a pretty okay watch. Still doesn’t beat the first season though, that one will always be the best for me as well 😊
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I hate when things are rushed and I rather everything go with the flow! I’m still going to have to check it out because of your fantabulous review! You are the best Michel!🤗😍😗
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I remember people raving about that Big Three back in the day, but I have yet to check out any of those shows as I don’t don’t watch much TV. If I was a television producer I would do my best to end every season well. Ending on a cliffhanger is too risky in this age were everyone gets cancelled.
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Well, no worries: I have that same problem with anime. I am just happy that ever since I started blogging again, I have rediscovered my love for anime again 😊
As for the Big Three: 24 is the one I recommend the most. It used to be my number 1 alltime favorite series, before I became addicted to the Walking Dead.
Yeah cliffhangers these days are very dangerous. I actually wrote a post about cliffhangers in my early blogging days. As frustrating as cliffhangers can be, I honestly also like them at times 😂😂
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I loved season one, felt okay with season two and never went back. I didn’t even realize that he came back with another season.
There’s been a lot of reboots or sequels these days though. It might sound great to bring back a beloved series, but I wonder if the actors and writers ever get nervous that they might ruin a good thing.
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Yeah, so far the track record for these reboots of tv series isn’t really good. They were okay, but never really great. Still, shows that inteelt love, even if they return with a season that is okay (like this one) I don’t mind seeing more of it. It’s when they completely ruin the original experience that I start to get annoyed 😀
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Excellent review Michel! I saw this TV show when it was on TV but never got around to watching it. Overall, what would you rate it? That’s interesting that they travel all over the world, even to Yemen. I will have to consider watching it later when I have time for Netflix 🙂 (I have too many books to read at the moment lol).
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Thanks for the very kind words again: appreciate it always 😀
The rating that I would give for the series as a whole would be 9/10. It really was an awesome series that nearly always had me on the edge of my seat. The first season will always remain the best one though 😀
Haha, well there is never such a thing as too many books. Have fun reading. Looking forward to more reviews 😊
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That’s great. Next time I reinstate my Netflix subscription, I will watch Prison Break then 🙂
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I’ve never seen this (or any of your big 3 for that matter) but I think it’s really tempting to go back to things that were so well loved. They still talk about a Friends reunion. In fact, they are doing another season of Will & Grace, which I was surprised to learn anyone was wanting after all this time. We live in a very different time, LGBTQ wise, than we did during its first run. They went back to the trough a few times with Sex and the City movies as well – possibly to their detriment, though with fans clamouring and willing to buy tickets, it’s hard to say no.
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It’s not a bad idea to revisit old series. In fact I could think of quite a few that I would love to see new seasons for. The trick is keeping the spirit of the original series intact, and that usually is the hardest part. I would not mind seeing a friends reunion. I’m not a huge comedy fan, but that series just rocked.
As for the Big Three, I highly recommend 24. Before the arrival of the Walking Dead, that was my favorite alltime number 1 series. It’s a great and tense thrill ride that is just awesome to watch 😀
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Prison Break was one show I could never really get into. Not that it wasn’t good or anything like that. I think it aired here, really late at night and my brain just didn’t want to deal with it, at that hour (shamefully, I probably watched something ridiculously stupid instead of Prison Break).
As for making another series of a show, that ended really well. I can’t think of an example, that worked out good and didn’t just disappoint the fans 😀
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Haha, well the great thing is: you can watch it at Netflix right now and decide your own timeframe for it lol 😂 But yeah, I guess I know what you mean. Sometimes watching something really late can make your mind go in all the wrong places.
I had been thinking about the same thing, but I did find one example: and that’s the movie Serinity that followed up the cancelled tv series Firefly. That film was awesome and a very worthy successor to the terrific television series 😊
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Awesome review. I think in fact it could have been better to make a feature film instead of a new season, like it happened with Serenity.
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Thank you very much: always appreciate the kind feedback and words😊
Yeah, a feature film might have been a good idea. It’s not to say that this season was a total loss though. It just could have been a lot better. It was a bit of a missed opportunity.
As for Serenity, that review is coming up next week. If all goes well, Tron Legacy will be up either tomorrow or on friday 😊
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That’s cool, Michel! 😉 Do you have any idea whether this new season was successful?
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Hmm, well I did some research for you, but overall it did not really get a warm reception. It opened pretty strong, but with the series progressing viewership went down again. As I mentioned it wasn’t exceptionally bad, but it found have been so much better when the ending would not have been rushed as much as it did 😊
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The market is fair.
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I totally get what you mean- both about shows that end on a high and ones that are just about ruined by the end. It’s especially interesting with all the revivals going on, like you said. It’s good that there were a lot of positives here and that it was enjoyable, even if the end left a lot to be desired. Great review!
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Yeah,it seems that currently I keep ending up with things that end on a bad way, but are still enjoyable up until that point. Still, as you say, this really wasn’t bad, and for fans of the series this was quite enjoyable 😀
Thanks 😊
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hehe yes, I noticed. That’s great though. You’re welcome 😊
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I love prison break, I just did a review on it on my blog
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I just “rescued” your comment from the spamfilter. For some weird reason only WordPress knows, it got sent there. So, sorry for the late response but I did not see it until today.
Prisonbreak is definitely cool. One of my alltime favorites for sure. Thanks for your comment.And again, my apologies for the late response 😊
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