"Prison Break": Asking For Too Much

It seems like every year, it happens to me. I tell everyone I know to watch a show because it’s so good; and then the show comes apart.

This year, that show is “Prison Break.”

As you may recall, I was all excited about how this was becoming a different show. It is definitely a different show—the most unrealistic I’ve ever seen.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve missed two or three episodes; but because of the show’s ludicrous pace, I haven’t really missed much. I say ludicrous because some stories creep painfully slow while others move way too quickly.

For example, Governor Tancredi finally getting wise to The Company was a good development, but he was killed way too quickly. Why not let him do some further investigation?

Meanwhile, to extend the escapees’ pursuit of the money as long as possible, we had to sit through those painfully icky scenes between T-Bag and the woman who owned the house. I would rather have seen T-Bag stab her in the throat than to see him flirt with her for such an extended period of time (I actually turned the channel.). Why couldn’t they have extended the story by making it take longer than two episodes to get from Illinois to Utah?

One of the reasons I was excited about the shift from prison to the outside was because I thought it would end all the tattoo nonsense; but it only got worse. The tattoo actually contained directions to the bridge where Lincoln and Michael would fake their deaths. But worse than that, it contained the actual mileage marker where they would need to stop the car to push it off the bridge. They couldn’t figure that out by just looking at it?

I still love William Fitchner as Agent Mahone, but he’s starting to get a little too weird. Why did he just blow away Tweener? Does he also work for The Company?

But probably the biggest problem with the show is its biggest storyline hole—the absence of President Reynolds (Patricia Wettig). I respected the show’s decision to not recast the role after Wettig joined “Brothers and Sisters,” but now that the show has decided to continue the conspiracy storyline, her absence is sorely felt. It just doesn’t make sense that she would completely alienate Agent Kellerman after everything he did for her (although it could set up an interesting betrayal).

For the record, I’m not ready to abandon the show just yet—especially since we’ve been promised a Michael-Sara reunion in November—but the show is truly trying my patience. I’ve got no problem with suspending disbelief (I’m a “24” fan, after all.), but I think “Prison” may be asking for too much…

And those “Friends” re-runs on TBS are starting to call my name…

“Prison Break” returns tonight (Monday) at 8 on FOX.