Not long ago, the only show that I watched regularly on TV was The Sopranos. But when that show came to a close, I found myself without anything to watch besides the occasional movie and, of course, plenty of YouTube. Then around fall of last year a co-worker recommended Prison Break. At the time, Prison Break was airing its third season, so I found myself with two complete seasons to watch at my leisure, and that’s exactly what I did.

At first, the whole idea of a prison breakout scheme seemed highly unimaginative, but as the story unfolded it grew more interesting with plot twists and the introduction of new characters. Eventually, I’d find myself at the end of season two thinking that it was a very decent show – not the best I had ever seen – but certainly entertaining, with consistent cliffhangers and some great acting.

With the third season came a new prison to breakout of, with new bad guys to contend with, and a new inmate for the protagonist to rescue. In other words, it was a shameless rehash of the first season! Along with this tiresome scheme came the extension of the show’s long running story arc involving the proverbial bad guys who are known simply as ‘The Company’.

For me, this is where Prison Break really started to fall apart. You see, we’re supposed to be heavily interested in uncovering the secret machinations of this Illuminati-like group, but unfortunately it’s a lot less exciting than trying to understand, for instance, the bizarre physics of the island in Lost or even the confusing supernatural elements in Battlestar Galactica. This is due to the show’s overly trite and uninspiring portrayal of The Company. As such, I now find myself totally disinterested in learning anything more about these antagonists. Who cares where they come from and why they act so evil?

Now in its forth season, the regular cast of Prison Break is back yet again, but it’s becoming painfully obvious that the characters haven’t grown since we first met them in season one. Compared with high quality shows like The Sopranos or Dexter, the characters in Prison Break are shockingly one-dimensional and only seem capable of displaying a limited range of emotions and personality. This has lead to the severe typecasting of its characters, such that the we now have: the smart guy, the tough guy, the loyal guy, the untrustworthy guy, the nerdy guy, the druggie guy – and the list of clichés goes on.

If that wasn’t enough, the ever extending plotline makes every obstacle thrown at protagonists seem completely artificial, and the motivation for the characters to continue chasing the carrot is becoming laughable. In the latest season, the crew must risk their lives going after the bad guys or else they’ll be thrown back in jail. I’ve played Milton-Bradley board games with better plots!

So, I guess this post is sort of my farewell eulogy to the show. It was a good ride early on, but now it’s like watching someone play the puzzle sections in Max Payne.