Prison Break (season 3)

Prison Break season 3
Prison Break season three DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	13
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox
Original run	September 17, 2007 (2007-09-17) – February 18, 2008 (2008-02-18)
Home video release
DVD release
Region 1	August 12, 2008 (2008-08-12)
Region 2	May 19, 2008 (2008-05-19)
Region 4	December 3, 2008 (2008-12-03)
Blu-ray Disc release
Region A	August 12, 2008 (2008-08-12)
Region B	October 6, 2008 (2008-10-06)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 2 Next → Season 4
List of Prison Break episodes

The third season of the serial drama television series Prison Break commenced airing in the United States on September 17, 2007. Prison Break is produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions, in association with Rat Television, Original Television Movie and 20th Century Fox Television. The season contains 13 episodes, and concluded on February 18, 2008. The season was shorter than the previous two because of the Writer's Guild strike.

Prison Break revolves around two brothers: one who has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit and his younger sibling, a genius who devises an elaborate plan to help him escape prison. The two brothers escape prison in the first season, but are hunted down during the second season and ultimately recaptured and sent to a Panamanian jail, Penitenciaría Federal de Sona, at the end of the second season. The third season revolves around Michael's breakout from Sona with several other inmates.

For the season, three characters are removed, and four new characters are added as series regulars. Filming continued to take place in Dallas, Texas.

Production

Filming

Unlike many other TV shows, Prison Break was primarily filmed outside of Hollywood. The first season was primarily shot in and around Chicago, Illinois.^[1][2] During the second season, filming was moved to Dallas, Texas.^[3] Filming for the third season continued to be done in Dallas, but the price tag increased to about $3 million per episode.^[4] Several of the exterior scenes with Lincoln and Gretchen negotiating the escape from the Panama jail were shot in the Casco Viejo quarter of Panama City.^[5]

Cast

Main characters

• Dominic Purcell as Lincoln Burrows
• Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield
• Amaury Nolasco as Fernando Sucre (Does not appear in "Orientación")
• Wade Williams as Brad Bellick
• Robert Knepper as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell
• Chris Vance as James Whistler
• Robert Wisdom as Norman "Lechero" St. John
• Danay Garcia as Sofia Lugo
• Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Gretchen Morgan
• William Fichtner as Alexander Mahone

Recurring characters

• Carlo Alban as Luis "McGrady" Gallego (13 episodes)
• Laurence Mason as Sammy (10 episodes)
• Marshall Allman as L.J. Burrows (7 episodes)
• Barbara Eve Harris as Felicia Lang (4 episodes)
• Crystal Mantecon as Sister Mary Francis (4 episodes)
• Kim Coates as Richard Sullins (3 episodes)
• Gustavo Mellado as Alphonso Gallego (3 episodes)
• Dominic Keating as Andrew Tyge (2 episodes)
• Camille Guaty as Maricruz Delgado (1 episode)
• Silas Weir Mitchell as Charles "Haywire" Patoshik (1 episode)
• Leon Russom as General (1 episode)

Release

DVD and Blu-ray releases

The season was released under the title Prison Break — Season Three as a widescreen four-disc Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray box set in the United States on August 12, 2008. In addition to all 13 episodes that aired, it included behind-the-scenes footage and making-of features, including a featurette, "Breakout Episode". The release also contained a special bonus episode of The Unit, "Force Majeure." The same set was released on August 20, 2007 in Region 2, two weeks before the Region 1 release, and on September 19, 2007 in Region 4.

Episodes

№	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	U.S. viewers (millions)	Original air date	Production code
45	1	"Orientación"	Kevin Hooks	Paul Scheuring	7.51[6]	September 17, 2007 (2007-09-17)	3AKJ01
Michael, T-Bag, Bellick and Mahone are incarcerated at Sona penitentiary in Panama. Michael is forced to perform in a fight to the death with another inmate. He beats him, but refuses to kill him. Mahone rescues Michael by killing the inmate after the inmate breaks the rules by brandishing a shank. Bellick has become the lowest type of prisoner, and befriends another low prisoner, who is later killed after attempting to escape. Meanwhile, outside prison, the Company wishes Michael to break out another inmate, James Whistler. At first he refuses, until he learns through Lincoln that they have kidnapped L.J and Sara to get him to cooperate.
46	2	"Fire/Water"	Bobby Roth	Matt Olmstead	7.41[7]	September 24, 2007 (2007-09-24)	3AKJ02
Michael cannot find Whistler, as he is hiding from the prisoners because he has a bounty on his head, and Bellick knows where he is. Meanwhile, a scuffle leads to the loss of Sona's water supply, where other prisoners start a revolt, and T-Bag slithers his way into Lechero's graces. Sucre buys a gun and forces Bellick to tell him where Maricruz is, who actually returned to the US. He later finds out the hard way that he cannot see her again. Lincoln offers him a job to assist Michael to break Whistler out, but declines. Mahone is able to find Whistler in order to get out of Sona. However, Michael manages to return Sona's water supply. The bounty on Whistler's head is dropped.
47	3	"Call Waiting"	Milan Cheylov	Zack Estrin	7.29[8]	October 1, 2007 (2007-10-01)	3AKJ03
After Michael admits he has no idea how to break Whistler out, he asks Lincoln to find Sara and L.J. Michael blackmails T-Bag to get Lechero's phone, where the Company allows Sara to call Michael. She gives him vital clues on her location, and Lincoln is able to find them. However, the Company escapes from the hideout before he could rescue them. Whistler tells Michael that the Company wants him out of prison, so they could force him to find someone. Bellick manages to get up the ladder again, and is no longer a low inmate. Anthony contacts Lincoln, and tells him to pick up a box, in order to persuade him not to attempt to rescue Sara and L.J again.
48	4	"Good Fences"	Michael Switzer	Nick Santora	7.35[9]	October 8, 2007 (2007-10-08)	3AKJ04
Lincoln finds Sara's head in the box, and hides it from Michael. Mahone is haunted by hallucinations of Haywire, who tells him that Michael will double cross him. T-Bag becomes a member of Lechero's crew after murdering Nieves. Michael shuts down the prison's power, and persuades Lechero to let him fix it on No Man's Land. In the process, he reactivates the Electric fence. Bellick's attempt to expose Michael's escape plan backfires. Lincoln and Sofia, Whistler's girlfriend plan to pay Sona's gravedigger to work for him, but is killed by Susan after he could not be trusted. Sucre manages to replace him, and uses a chemical to melt the electric fence as part of Michael's escape plan.
49	5	"Interference"	Karen Gaviola	Karyn Usher	7.44[10]	October 22, 2007 (2007-10-22)	3AKJ05
With only a day until their deadline, Michael plans to break out during the day, since escape at night would be impossible. Lincoln doesn't say this to Susan, so the escape team could plan on rescuing L.J. Meanwhile, a new inmate enters Sona, unnerving Whistler and raising Michael's suspicions. Lincoln and Sofia join forces. Michael works on distracting the tower guards to ensure the escape, but is backfired when guards find him looking at them, and locks down his cell, which contains some tools vital to the escape plan. Lechero's cousin, Augusto pays Sucre to get goods into Sona.
50	6	"Photo Finish"	Kevin Hooks	Seth Hoffman	7.69[11]	November 5, 2007 (2007-11-05)	3AKJ06
Mahone is approached by Sullins and Lang, and offers him a way out of Sona, which he eventually takes. An inmate is found murdered in Sona, and Whistler is a suspect. However, in the end Lechero kills one of his own men instead. As Lincoln plans on spiking a guard's coffee cup, he mistakenly tells Susan that they will escape by day. Michael threatens to cancel the escape plan unless he sees proof that Sara is still alive, but is devastated when Lincoln is forced to admit Sara is dead, and as revenge drops the chicken foot on Whistler.
51	7	"Vamonos"	Vincent Misiano	Zack Estrin & Kalinda Vazquez	8.00[11]	November 5, 2007 (2007-11-05)	3AKJ07
Michael uses the chicken foot as a diversion for their escape, but it is backfired after cloud coverage blocks the sunlight, exposing the blind spot. Michael and Whistler are forced to fight, and make a tough decision on who is going to die. However, before one could be killed, the guards raid Sona again after they find the ladder, and kills the cell's owner, believing him to plan the escape. Lechero finds out that Michael is planning a break out, and wants in, believing the prisoners are starting to lose faith in him. Lincoln attempts to rescue L.J again, but fails. Mahone realises that his trial is postponed. In the end, it is revealed that Whistler actually works for Susan, and she allows him more time to escape.
52	8	"Bang & Burn"	Bobby Roth	Christian Trokey & Nick Santora	7.18[12]	November 12, 2007 (2007-11-12)	3AKJ08
Mahone is to testify against the Company, but due to his drug addiction, he is unable to testify, and is denied entry back into the US. Lechero shows Michael that Sona has a collapsed tunnel, which is instrumental in the new escape plan. Meanwhile, the Company takes the escape into their own hands, and targets Lincoln and Sucre. Fortunately, Lincoln manages to take out the assassins. Sofia finds proof that Whistler isn't who he says he is. The Company sends two attack helicopters to break Whistler out. However, Michael is able to prevent him from doing so, and the helicopters retreat after taking fire. However, General Zavala steps in, and takes Michael away to solitary confinement.
53	9	"Boxed In"	Craig Ross, Jr.	Karyn Usher	7.87[13]	January 14, 2008 (2008-01-14)	3AKJ09
Michael is taken to harsh solitary confinement in order to make him confess to the escape attempt. He breaks and tells Zavala everything. He finds Susan, who is revealed to be Gretchen Morgan. He tortured her in order to reveal L.J's location. However, she sends him into a decoy and kills him. Bellick is forced to fight an inmate, and manages to kill him by using some acetone. Mahone returns to Sona, and decides to face his withdrawal. Sucre gets his hands on more money by making the Company believe that he will work against Lincoln. Sammy, Lechero's right hand man is given a gift from Augusto in order for him to take out Lechero, a gun.
54	10	"Dirt Nap"	Michael Switzer	Matt Olmstead & Seth Hoffman	7.81[14]	January 21, 2008 (2008-01-21)	3AKJ10
T-Bag and Bellick are now part of the escape plan, and since Sammy is now in charge, T-Bag wants Bellick to use the same tactic to kill Sammy, but he is out of acetone. Lincoln buys a bomb to take out Gretchen. Sammy puts a bounty on Michael's head, but soon finds him planning to escape. Fortunately, Michael manages to sabotage the tunnel's support, and Sammy dies from the tunnel's cave-in. Lechero is now back in power again, although Lincoln tells Michael about what Sofia found concerning Whistler.
55	11	"Under and Out"	Greg Yaitanes	Zack Estrin	7.35[15]	February 4, 2008 (2008-02-04)	3AKJ11
Gretchen kidnaps Sofia in order to have Whistler give the Company what they want. Heavy rains force Michael to move up the escape timetable and break out of Sona that evening. McGrady joins in on the escape, and T-Bag and Lechero form an alliance as Bellick hopes to form one with Mahone. Lincoln and Sucre help bring the lights down on Sona. However, Sucre runs into some unexpected trouble with his alias. With only 30 seconds of lag time until the generators kick in after the power cut, Lechero, Bellick and T-Bag force Michael to let them escape first, or Whistler dies.
56	12	"Hell or High Water"	Kevin Hooks	Nick Santora	7.84[16]	February 11, 2008 (2008-02-11)	3AKJ12
Lechero, Bellick and T-Bag attempt their escape, but the generators kick in sooner, and they are caught, and Lechero is shot. This turns out to be a diversion for Michael, Whistler, Mahone and McGrady to escape. However, Whistler loses his bird book. The team are able to elude authorities by water and make it back on land, where they are tracked by the Company. They elude them, and Lincoln contacts Gretchen on a new exchange plan. However, from panic, Whistler flees.
57	13	"The Art of the Deal"	Nelson McCormick	Matt Olmstead & Seth Hoffman	7.40[17]	February 18, 2008 (2008-02-18)	3AKJ13
Michael and Lincoln quickly catch Whistler, where he is to be exchanged for L.J and Sofia's lives. Michael plans on making the exchange in a museum. Anticipating they'll get gunned down as soon as they exit, Michael is able to create a diversion to get out alive. However, a scuffle between them and the Company results in Sofia getting shot. McGrady reunites with his family in Colombia. After Sona guards learn of Sucre's identity and fail to get information from him regarding Michael, he is tossed into Sona, where T-Bag manages to take control of the prison after killing Lechero. Mahone decides to rejoin the Company. While Sofia recovers from her injury, Michael leaves his brother to find Gretchen, to get revenge for Sara's death.

References

1. ^ Ryan, Maureen, "Joliet prison is a 'Break'-out star", The Chicago Tribune. August 24, 2005. Retrieved on December 5, 2005.
2. ^ "Inside Prison Break: Chain male" Sydney Morning Herald. February 1, 2006. Retrieved on October 10, 2006.
3. ^ "New 'Prison Break' to be filmed in Dallas". USA Today. May 16, 2006. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-05-16-prison-break_x.htm. Retrieved February 22, 2011. 
4. ^ Weatherford, Angela, "A little bit of Hollywood", Athens Review, December 13, 2007. Retrieved on December 14, 2007.
5. ^ "Panama 'Shaken, not stirred' by shooting of Bond flick". Screen. February 9, 2008. http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=18890. Retrieved 10 December 2008. 
6. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. September 25, 2007. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=092507_06. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
7. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 2, 2007. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=100207_05. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
8. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 9, 2007. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=100907_06. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
9. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 16, 2007. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=101607_06. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
10. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. October 30, 2007. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=103007_06. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. November 13, 2007. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=111307_06. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
12. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. November 20, 2007. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=112007_06. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
13. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. January 23, 2008. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=012308_04. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
14. ^ Seidman, Robert (22 January, 2008). "Overnight Results for Monday, January 21". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2008/01/22/overnight-results-for-monday-january-21/2433. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
15. ^ Seidman, Robert (6 February, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Mon, Feb 4: NBC Press Release". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2008/02/06/nielsen-ratings-mon-feb-4-nbc-press-release/2588. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
16. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. February 20, 2008. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=022008_06. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
17. ^ Seidman, Robert (19 February, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Mon Feb 18: More Monday Domination for NBC". TV by the Numbers. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2008/02/19/nielsen-ratings-for-mon-feb-18-more-monday-domination-for-nbc/2692. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 

External links

• List of Prison Break episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• List of Prison Break season 3 episodes at TV.com