Product Description

Genre: Television: Series
Rating: NR
Release Date: 26-AUG-2008
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3145 in DVD
• Brand: PRISON BREAK
• Released on: 2008-08-12
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 568 minutes

Amazon.com
After focusing on the breakout (season one) and the manhunt (season two), season three of Prison Break turns the concept on its head by throwing everyone involved with the show so far--fugitives, lawmen, villains--into the same prison. When we left off in season two's finale, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) had been exonerated of the murder for which he was framed since the beginning of the series, but Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) landed himself behind bars during the escape in Panama. It's no coincidence that he's placed in SONA, a remote place for the lowliest of criminals, along with his pursuers Agent Mahone (William Fichtner) and Bellick (Wade Willams), and fellow former inmate Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell (Robert Kneppner), who naturally cozies up to the crime lord who rules the prison in an effort to move up in the ranks.

The main premise of Prison Break this time around is Michael needing to break someone else out of prison for The Company, the crime network responsible for all nefarious doings on the show. The Company's rep is a homicidal, sneering assassin named Susan (sometimes Gretchen) (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), who's holding hostage both Lincoln's son LJ and Michael's love Sara until Michael carries out his mission. The typically false starts, double-crossings, and man-that-was-close moments you'd expect to come from a series like this are all there, but this time around episodes feel scattershot, a far cry from the white-knuckle tension builder that was season one. Fichtner, who joined in the second season, is a standout as a pill-popping agent-turned-inmate in withdrawal who must now collaborate with the man he chased across the country. The new characters introduced don't have much purpose; the many plot twists (he's a good guy... no, a bad guy... no, wait, a good guy) leave you a little less motivated each time to keep tuning in, and the final straw is one main character's death early in the season (reportedly because of a contract dispute between the producers and the actor). Originally planned as a jolt to the series, it instead angered many fans who had been long awaiting a just payoff. This would later be rectified before the fourth season, but there's no telling how many Prison Break fans may have skipped town before then. --Ellen A. Kim

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Stills from Prison Break: Season Three (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Back in the slammer
As the third season of Prison Break begins, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) finds himself back in prison, only this time it's a down and dirty prison in Panama ruled by the tyrannical Lechero (The Wire's Robert Wisdom). Also sharing space with Michael are T-Bag (Robert Knepper), Bellick (Wade Williams), and Mahone (William Fichtner); while Linc (Dominic Purcell) works on the outside to get his brother free at any cost, with the assistance of a mysterious associate (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) who has her own agenda. The third season of Prison Break manages to provide pretty much the same kinds of action, suspense, drama, and twists that fans of the series would come to expect by now; which adds up to this season being a success. However, falling victim to the writer's strike, the third season of Prison Break ends up feeling rushed and somewhat incomplete. At only 13 episodes, this is something to be expected, but it still comes off as noticeable nonetheless. Flaws aside, this is still great TV to be seen, and everyone in it is in fine form as well. All in all, the third season of Prison Break while flawed, is still enjoyable, and sets the stage for even bigger developments to follow.

Quite Possibly, the Best Half-Season Ever (no spoilers)
If you are into brutal action, seat-of-your-pants suspense, unexpected twists and turns every 5 or 10 minutes, get this set, block a couple of weekend nights and watch it. My wife and I couldn't stop watching. In fact, we gobbled up all 13 episodes over 2 nights and, when it was all over, we felt like we wanted more.

Michael is a different man in Season 3. Now, he is physically exhausted and emotionally drained, not sick but definitely tired. In Season 1, he generally knew what and whom he was facing; it was he who decided who were his friends, his allies, his enemies. He had studied their biographies and he was totally familiar with the environment and he knew exactly what to expect. He had a well-thought plan and he was implementing it. In 'Season 2' he was still following the plan but his control was slipping. By 'Season 3', he has to live with the consequences of his actions - people have died, people got hurt and more are dying and are getting hurt as the tale is told - and he is trying to make sense of his immediate environment (the prison) and those who are pulling the strings and seem to be in control (the Company). We see him tired, desperate, remorseful, doubting himself, sometimes unable or simply refusing to make sense of it all and yet hopeful, seeking some balance between the brutal world in which he has to survive and his desperate struggle to preserve his humanity.

This is the most testosterone-oozing, adrenalin-laced, action-packed TV show - and I could include 'movie' - I've seen in a long time and, possibly of all times. Think 'The Dirty Dozen' or 'The Great Escape' on steroids and uninhibited.

I am not going to give away any spoilers but, if you are going to watch this set, be prepared to for male bonding, explosive violence, brutality (they are not the same), torture (yes, waterboarding too), betrayal, barehanded fights to the death, stabbings, humiliation, sewer-level filth, desperation, blackmail, blood, mud, sweat, deception, mystery, misery, beheadings, execution-style killings, loyalty, fear, starvation, drug addiction, sweat, pain, just to name a few of the included attractions. You are NOT going to see: romantic kisses, bedroom scenes, shower scenes, sensitive metro-sexuals, preaching feminists, starry nights, fast cars, swimming pools or electronic gadgets.

Off the 4 women of this season we have one that's dead, a desperate prostitute, an absolute evil (but super-great looking) gargoyle and a naive but not exactly a shrinking violet, betrayed, girlfriend. I am not trying to even begin to portray 'the men'.

- The pluses - see above.
- The minuses - since we never 'watch TV', we are going to have to wait for one full year before we can lay our hands on 'season four'.

Disclaimer: I watched the Blu-ray release but, for this specific TV series, you should probably be okay with either the DVD or the Blu-ray. We have Seasons 1 and 3 in Blu and Season 2 in DVD. While it is true that the Blu visuals are better, this series is 90% about plot and action and you will be so immersed into it that you'll probably care little about 1080p or HD sound.

Prison Break - The Third Season
The third season of Prison Break was good television but lacked the key element that existed in seasons one and two and that was Michael's connection to the people around him. In season three Michael is again jailed but with characters that neither he, nor the viewer, really care about. In addition, some characters (not those killed off in the second year of the series)are gone due to the actors' contract disputes and/or accepting spots in other series. Finally, the writer's strike left the series with only half a year and although there is some resolution, overall, it felt weak because it was never intended to be the season finale. Will I buy it? Yes, because it builds hopefully to a better fourth season but as a stand-alone year the third season lacks the plotting quality of seasons one and two.