'Prison Break': Forestalling the break

Remember that part in 24 last night where Jack elbowed the air marshal hard enough to knock him out and steal his badge? The hell with that — remember that scene at the beginning of Prison Break when Westmoreland bitch-slapped Bellick with the back of a shovel? That’s what Scofield should have done to the warden instead of brandishing that sissy steak knife and ridiculous furrowed brow. Bad enough that he brought Sara and that squealing ‘Tweener into his lair but now the warden too? (And let’s be honest; Stacy Keach has about 200 pounds on ol’ skin-and-bones Scofield. He could take that snot-nosed kid down if he had to.) Is this really the same whip-smart engineer who orchestrated the whole break in the first place?

Something stinks at Fox River — and it ain’t those Brussels sprouts that T-Bag smeared all over his bunk.

(Find out what stinks after the jump…)

The EW brain trust, a group with nothing better to do than eat RedVines and discuss the strengths (and weaknesses) of every lastserialized drama on TV, believe that some time this season Fox toldcreator Paul Scheuring and his adept team of writers to stall thisbreak for as long as possible — which is why we’ve seen so manyexcruciating disruptions to Scofield’s once-ingenious plan. MethinksScheuring wanted his motley crew out of Fox River by midseason so hecould start the fugitive leg of this show before the season wrapped(not after). But that’s just me. But, it could be the feeling of manyviewers too; Break was averaging a season-high 12.2 millionbefore that hair-raising winter hiatus; now it’s pulling in just over 9million while Howie Mandel’s Deal or No Deal dominates the hour (viewership for 24, meanwhile, surges to nearly 14 million).

I know, I know — why so antagonistic, Lynette? Are you watching thesame show as we are, Lynette? Your ass will grow from those Red Vines,Lynette! And you would be completely right on all counts. I’m justsaying: Something changed about this show — not enough to repel allfans (look, you and I are still watching, aren’t we?) but enough tohave me thinking Fox somehow mishandled this stellar, but neverthelessfragile, new drama. (A heavy-handed network second-guess

addCredit(“Robert Knepper: FOX”)

ing a show’s creative team ? What else is new?) What do you think?