1. JennetP

   7

   I've seen three episodes now, including the one in which Robert Knepper's T-Bag escapes yet again, and I like the show well enough. Of course, the premise is ludicrous (and overused), though I don't think there's anything wrong with making the point that US prisons house a range of criminals, from decent people with problems better addressed therapeutically to homicidal sociopaths. Most of the characters are weak, however. The two not in jail are burdened with serious health and legal problems--a sign of inadequate characterization when it happens in the pilot. You can almost hear a writer say, "I know, let's give him a heart condition!" but it's hard to care when that's his defining trait. And the mostly bland cast doesn't help much, except for Jimmi Simpson, who is great as the brilliant-but-feckless MD/PhD. Domenick Lombardozzi is the other actor who stands out, but it's because he's doing Herc from The Wire, which just makes me miss that show. But "Breakout Kings" almost gets it that there's something fascinating about prison breaks, a moral complexity for onlookers who admire the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the escapees while horrified by their crimes. So far, the show has come down heavily on the "horrified" side by depicting particularly brutal escapes, but I hope to see a few cases that challenge the felon-marshals' commitment to the cause. And it wouldn't hurt to change up the cast a bit--easy enough to do given their many problems.… Expand

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     1 of 2 users said yes
2. Gavinn

   4

   So much potential wasted here. Despite a decent cast, apparently the writers can't break out of the formula they are using. Whether by design or sheer lack of imagination, every episode follows the exact same pattern. Guy or gal escapes, hurts/kills people in the process, heads immediately to rendezvous with friend, relative, or acquaintance for [insert reason here], marshals arrive only to find out they have narrowly missed the suspect. Repeat a few times. Catch up and capture bad guy. Solve personal problem of one of the cops or cons that was alluded to earlier in the episode. End. I could forgive a lot for a show that casts a veteran of "The Wire", but unfortunately they go a step further and pretty much put paid on this already troubled show with a completely laughable lack of continuity. They don't pretend to be following even "make believe" law enforcement procedures, let alone real ones. (Crazed convicted child molester is going to the office of the social worker who testified against him. "She doesn't answer her phone? Oh, we better get driving." Followed by the inevitable, " Gee, we just missed him...." Why not...I don't know...call the local cops to go babysit her and make sure she's safe. Or something.) I know sacrifices need to be made in order to spin a good yarn, but one can't help thinking that your average high schooler could sign on to the writing staff and turn out more plausible stories. The last thing that bugs me a little bit is that a fair few of the episodes drag discussions about racism into the show for some reason. This typically wouldn't bother me, but in this case it seems a little ironic and meaningless coming from a show about convicts breaking out of prison. ~14% of the U.S. prison population is Caucasian, yet 100% of escapees on the program are white.Any way you try to come up with a logical reason for that decision stinks to high heaven.… Expand

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     1 of 1 users said yes
3. TVG

   0

   Apparently the default score is a '10', that is a little ridiculous in itself. I'm correcting my scored opinion. Well, looks like I haven't made my 150 character 'minimum character' count yet...… Expand

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     0 of 1 users said yes

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