TV Column: Prison Break Becoming Must-See TV

(andPOP) - Though I'm still counting down the hours and minutes until "Lost", "Las Vegas" and "Desperate Housewives" once again have me glued to the TV on a weekly basis, I seem to have found a suitable replacement, at least for the time-being.

The show that has wonderfully bridged the void that has been sadly vacant all summer is none other than Prison Break (Mondays 9 p.m. ET on FOX) about a law-abiding structural engineer Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller)who purposely ends up in jail in the hopes of breaking out with his older brother who is sentenced to die for allegedly murdering the American Vice President's brother.

Throw in a couple of suspicious secret service guys, a crazy woman directing them (always chopping vegetables for some reason, and always with her face hidden), a shooting, the friend/lawyer who suddenly takes on the case and lo and behold a gripping drama is created. Advantage, Fox Network.

Now this show is by no means perfect but it sure is entertaining, and the fact that it's pacing is rather quick makes it more exciting to watch. It's been described as "OZ" meets "24" and I think it's a fitting description, every week we get a new piece of the puzzle. Will he manage to escape the greatest escape EVER? Tune in next week!

First let's analyze the good things.

The star of the show, Miller, besides being the dreamiest guy on TV since Anderson Cooper (I really should get over that, I'm sorry), was cleverly marketed in the Mariah Carey videos for "It's Like That" and"We Belong Together", giving viewers a wee little glimpse of the hotness we would get treated to every week. Though his overly-furrowed brow and tense expression are a little forced, he pulls off the Scofield character with a little bit of rustiness (though I could argue that it's fitting for his character).

The plot moves very, very quickly. In the series premier alone we saw Scofield attempt to rob a bank, be put on trial, be found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison and begin his new "life" there. The next few episodes continue with that same flow with the shocker at the end of the second episode really taking me, and I'm sure caught other viewers totally off guard (I'm so tempted to tell you what it is but I won't spoil it for those that haven't seen it).

Dominic Purcell (as Lincoln Burrows, Scofield's doomed brother) is great as well, though he's not in each episode for very long (if at all). He conveys just the right mix of anxiety at his impending execution and resignment to the fact that despite years of pleading innocence, he's likely still getting that fateful injection.

Now on to the bad.

And maybe I'm biased but I absolutely, for the life of me CANNOT STAND Robin Tunney who plays Veronica Donovan (Lincoln's former girlfriend and lawyer).

Maybe it's the fact that she has an absolutely infuriating habit of constantly letting her mouth just hang open in a perpetual state of shock whenever she's not talking. Maybe it's not her but rather her character, who conveniently decides to believe her ex-lover THREE WEEKS before he's slated to die. Where were you for the past three years when he was appealing?! Well!?!

Argh, I should calm down. She almost made me stop watching the show but somehow I managed to get over my extreme agitation (well trying to get over it) and continue watching. I recommend you do too, cause next time I won't be so nice with the spoilers...