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91Prison Break has the dark social hierarchies of Oz and the clever inventions of Escape From Alcatraz.
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80As with "24," the whole enterprise, however action-packed, would fall flat if viewers didn't care about the characters, and "Prison Break" doesn't disappoint.
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80"Prison Break"... is more intriguing than most of the new network series, and it certainly is one of the most original.
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80One of the best new TV shows this season.
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80If the show can stay as gripping as its premiere... it will be a welcome new prime-time puzzle.
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80Creator and writer Paul T. Scheuring offers this deal with viewers: Suspend credibility on a few key points and, in return, get a series that keeps you glued to the set for a full hour. My advice is to take the deal.
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80Within the first 15 minutes, you realize you have jumped onto what could be one hell of a thrill ride.
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75The acting here is first rate -- not a bad apple in the whole rotten bunch.
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75Prison Break may not hold up as a weekly series; it's much too soon to tell. But by and large it works as a two-hour premiere special, one that grabs your attention from its first scene to its startling cliffhanger ending.
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75Like any over-the-top, conspiracy-laced concept, "Prison Break" will only work if viewers are giddily enticed to jump aboard the Willing Suspension of Disbelief Express.
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75Like Lost, the show seems predicated on an unsustainable premise, but Prison Break is moving along more briskly.
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75It's outlandish and contrived with story holes wide enough for a jackknifed 18-wheeler. But the two-hour pilot of Prison Break... is irresistible.
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70A preposterous premise...only somewhat distracts from an agreeable escapism and first-rate performances by Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell.
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70This could be a brisk and bruising weekly fix.
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A lot about this series is frankly preposterous, but as pulp logic goes, Miller's bust-out plan is both ingenious and way cool.
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70What Prison Break lacks in plausibility--basically, everything--it makes up for in plotting, pacing and panache.
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70Forget the preposterousness of the plot -- it's easy enough to do -- and enjoy the suspense, of which there's plenty.
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70A riveting, suspenseful, briskly paced drama packed with intriguing performances.
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70It's one tasty piece of lunacy.
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70The best thing about "Prison Break" is that we've never seen anything like it before.
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63An entertaining big-narrative concept. [5 Sep 2005, p.41]
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60Unfortunately, Prison Break's dialogue is nowhere near as sharp as its plotting.
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60It's a comic book, basically, a B-movie, a pulp fiction, and low enough in the cultural reckoning of things to set its own rules with impunity.... Part of the pleasure of the series is that particular pleasure of watching a super-heroic character who can't fail.
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60Yet even with the premiere sprinkling enough tantalizing bread crumbs to warrant a return visit, there's insufficient evidence as to how the more muddled aspects will unfold over future installments.
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60"Prison Break" could be the fall's breakout hit, but only if other actors can bail out Miller.
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50Complexity is one thing; making the complexity compelling is another, and "Prison Break" fails there.
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50Preposterous ideas know no bounds on "Prison Break."
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50For every step forward (intricate plotting, Wentworth's engaging lead performance), the show also manages to stumble back (rote subplots, incessant lame dialogue as exposition).
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40Viewers hoping for a rousing adventure instead will find a dark, grim and often repellent tale.
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40The premise, though bold, isn't as revolutionary as the "24" format, and the pilot is seriously lacking in thrills for an alleged thriller.
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30A fat snooze.
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10Pitifully awful.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 165 out of 183
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Mixed: 4 out of 183
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Negative: 14 out of 183
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A.C.10