Back in July 2005, I had the chance to watch the Prison Break screener. Even if I thought back then that the story was a bit far fetched (the evasion plan hidden in a massive tattoo), I put that aside and enjoyed the storylines and the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed Season 1 because it was all about the ingenuity of the escape plan and Michael trying to put it in motion. In retrospect, Season 2 was entertaining even if not that good: there were too many storylines going on at the same time and all the characters were spread out over the country.
When I was given the chance to review the Season 2 DVD, I was not only looking forward the insights brought by the DVD extras but also to watching the entire series almost non-stop and see if my opinion would change on the second viewing.
It sort of did. Watching the second season over three days made it easier to keep track of where everyone was and what they were up to. I didn't listen to all the commentaries (there are 11) but those I did listen to were somewhat interesting. For example, we learn why season 1 ends in the evening and why season 2 starts at day time. What happened during that nine hour time jump? In the same commentary, we are told how Mahone got his name (I can't repeat it here). Speaking of Mahone, some fans actually thought he was an oracle of sorts because he was quick on finding where Michael was and what his tattoos meant!
Only actors William Fichtner, Reggie Lee and Amaury Nolasco take part in some of the commentaries. However, the writers, producers, and directors chosen to comment the other episodes are able to bring in some insights on the going ons of the series.
Disc Six offers three special features:
- Reinvention of a Series Featurette: The cast and crew discuss the changes the show underwent to go from trying to escape prison to on the run. Prison Break fans will enjoy this featurette because we learn how the actors felt about the changes their characters had to go through.
- Turning Dallas Into America Featurette: Season 1 was short in Chicago. Because they needed a shooting location that would allow them to have scenes set all over the country, the show moved production to Texas. It's an interesting featurette but nothing to write your mother about since most of us already knew why they made such a change and how TV (and movies) can make a location look like pretty much anywhere around the globe.
- Prison Break Theme: Ferry Corsten Breakout Mix: I didn't watch the entire thing because after a minute, I got tired of the music and club footage. I would I liked a sort of "Season 1 to 2" recap with the music in the background. Since the DVD was released in time for people to watch it before Season 3, a quick recap of both seasons would have been welcomed. The featurette does include footage from both seasons.
The DVD set contains one easter egg. During the commentary of first episode, we are told that there is an hidden clip on the set showing us how the writers keep track of all the deaths on the show. The featurette shows all the death scenes from the first two seasons. In a corner of the screen, we see a stickman drawing of the deceased (yep, that's how writers keep track, they have a "death wall" of sorts). In all, there were over 48 human deaths (that's an average of over 1 death per episode!) and a few animal deaths (including Marylin the cat, the rat and pigs). Here is how to get to the easter egg:
- Put disc 6 in your DVD player.
- Select "special features."
- "Reinvention of a series" will be underlined. Click on the right arrow on your remote once.
- A stickman will appear. Click on enter.
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