Prison Break
Pilot
TV Flash files “Pilot” as a desk essential hour — Prison Break (2005–2009) on Fox, season 1, episode 1, aired 2005-08-29, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 88 in the Prison Break guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 2005-08-29 (60 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Allen” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Pilot”. Pilot is the high-concept drop: Michael Scofield's blueprint on skin, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as escape-as-plot faces.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Lincoln Burrows is currently on death row and scheduled to die in a few months for an assassination his younger brother Michael is convinced he did not commit. With no other options and time winding down, Michael takes drastic measures to get himself incarcerated alongside his brother in Fox River State Penitentiary. Once he's inside, Michael - a structural engineer with the blueprints for the prison - begins to execute an elaborate plan to break Lincoln out and prove him innocent. When Michael arrives at Fox River State Penitentiary, he meets the prison denizens who will, unknowingly, help in his escape plans - his cellmate, the lovelorn Sucre; beautiful prison doctor Dr. Sara Tancredi, who happens to be the governor's daughter; former mob boss John Abruzzi; and Warden Henry Pope. Meanwhile, outside the prison walls, the brothers' childhood friend and Lincoln's lost love, attorney Veronica Donovan, works within the law to free them; Lincoln's teenage son LJ may be going down a path similar to his convicted father's; and Secret Service Agent Paul Kellerman's investigation into Lincoln's case proves that there may be a national conspiracy.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Pilot sit in the Prison Break guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 88 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Prison Break S01E01 air?
Pilot aired 2005-08-29 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is season one of Prison Break the whole pitch?
Season one is the clean hit of adrenaline architecture — the tattoo as blueprint. Later seasons and a revival stretch the cage; start with the first escape.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Engineer Michael Scofield tattoos a prison blueprint on his body to free his brother — high-concept serialization as summer obsession. Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as the faces of escape-as-plot. Season one is the clean hit of adrenaline architecture; later cages stretch the premise.
The first useful image is ink, not a lock. Engineer Michael Scofield tattoos a prison blueprint on his body to free wrongfully accused brother Lincoln Burrows — high-concept serialization as summer obsession. Paul Scheuring's Fox thriller premiered August 29, 2005; Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell became the faces of escape-as-plot beside Sarah Wayne Callies, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper's T-Bag, and Robin Tunney. Twists, conspiracies, and ever-larger cages kept the engine screaming. Original run 2005–2009…
Filed against
- Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield
Wentworth Miller’s Michael Scofield tattooed a prison blueprint onto Prison Break — high-concept serialization as summer obsession, engineer as escape artist, Dominic Purcell as the brother the ink was for. Season one is the clean hit of…
- Dominic Purcell as Lincoln Burrows
Dominic Purcell’s Lincoln Burrows made Prison Break a brother with a death sentence — Michael Scofield tattooing a blueprint to free him, high-concept serialization as summer obsession, Wentworth Miller as the engineer face. Season one…
- Sarah Wayne Callies as Sara Tancredi
Sarah Wayne Callies's Sara Tancredi gave Prison Break a doctor inside the walls — high-concept serialization as summer obsession, Michael Scofield's tattooed blueprint, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as escape-as-plot. Season one as…
- Amaury Nolasco as Fernando Sucre
Amaury Nolasco’s Fernando Sucre gave Prison Break its heartbeat under the tattooed blueprint — Fox summer serialization as escape-as-plot, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as the faces, season one as clean adrenaline architecture.…
- Robert Knepper as Theodore 'T-Bag' Bagwell
Robert Knepper's Theodore 'T-Bag' Bagwell made Prison Break's summer obsession feel dangerous on purpose — engineer Michael Scofield's tattooed blueprint, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as escape-as-plot, Knepper the smile that…
- Robin Tunney as Veronica Donovan
Robin Tunney's Veronica Donovan kept Prison Break's first-season adrenaline from becoming only a tattoo — lawyer-sister weather beside Michael Scofield's blueprint, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as escape-as-plot. High-concept…