Prison Breaking - Watch Party - Episode 2 ===

[00:00:00] Ready, Sarah? Yes, Paul. I am ready. Oh, wait. Sorry. Hello, everybody. This is Paul and Sarah. We're going to rewatch episode 101, Alan, which is the second episode of season one of Prison Break. We'll talk about the awkward numbering later in the podcast. Um, we want you to watch along with us, so please know that there probably will be some mistakes.

Bye. Long ish pauses where we're so entranced by what's going on on screen that we're not babbling away idiotically But most of the time we'll try to babble away idiotically. So are you ready Sarah? Yes, we will uh Audience we will count you in so that we can all press play at the [00:01:00] same time and have ourselves a little rewatch party Good luck everyone and note that this includes this includes the previously on that's attached to each episode Oh, yes, it does Um, so hopefully you have that, otherwise we'll let you know when the show is starting.

Yes. Yeah. Okay, so three, two, one, play, right? Ah, yes. Okay. Three, two, one. One, play. All

right. Previously on.

I was so impressed that you noticed that, uh, helicopter in the background. I remember when they did it. It was so incredible.

How far do you have to get down on this call sheet before someone does not have blue eyes? How far down on the call sheet do you go before, like, after 50 episodes they ask you to do a previously [00:02:00] on? Because I feel like it was like really only you.

You, Wentworth and Dominick that did them? I think I did one. I had them on me. Robin must have, hey? Oh yeah, Robin must have, sure. Okay, so here we are guys, we're starting. Flying over Fox River. But it's not the credit sequence, this is the teaser. In beautiful downtown Joliet. Checkers.

I love you, Muse Watson.

Sixty.

That cat must have been a whole thing, hey, production wise. Right, yeah, sure. Animals and children. It's looking at the trainer off cam right off camera. When do I [00:03:00] get my fish? Yes.

Uh oh.

Episode two and we're going into race riot territory. Yeah. Also, can we just address the why it's episode one on one thing? It was so con it's probably more confusing for us than it was for the audience, but. Yeah, I don't think they noticed. Usually pilots are called episode one, but on our show for some reason, It was called Pilot and then Episode 101.

Oh, here we go. I love this stuff. This is some of my favorite stuff. Alan Schweitzer. Alan, Alan, is that what it is? Alan Schweitzer? Alan Schweitzer. Mm hmm. I don't remember what, I don't remember what it means. I remember the three names, uh, Oh, [00:04:00] English Fitz and Percy. English Fitz and Percy. It's so good. We gotta take one out.

Yeah. Alan Schweitzer, I could tell you, or we could just see. No, don't see it together. Don't, don't. Okay. It's so good. I also love that you have to see it in the reflected in a mirror. Yes. Right. 'cause it's right. I mean, I, because he's a genius. I would love to ask Paul Schering, the creator, how much of this he had before the pilot.

Like, you know, like if you had all of these. Wow, we're already in Scofield. Oh, shank.

Again, with Wentworth having to play, or choosing, maybe, to play a white dude. It's gotta be so complicated for him.[00:05:00]

Really nice editing here.

Really nice editing. And well done on the not overwriting it. There's a bad version of this scene. I said move along.

I wonder if that's being intended. Here you go, here's our, here's our iconic opening.

Oh, that's right! [00:06:00] Dom had first billing. Sure. Because he'd been in a show before. A couple of them. It was just, I remember that being crazy. And it's Carowind Palace, you gotta love it. Yeah, listen to our first episode if you want to know the story of that. That's pretty great. But it was weird. I remember I didn't know until the show aired that Dom had first billing because Wentworth was number one on our call sheet.

Right. Interesting that everybody's listed as a guest star. I guess it's because it was partials, what we call partials in the biz, 10 13th or whatever. But I was 10 13th too. You know, I never even noticed that part. Yeah, because you were the good doctor. I was. Thank you for calling me the good doctor. I now direct on The Good Doctor for ABC.

You [00:07:00] do. It's amazing. Nice plug. I'll have to get that cord.

I will also say, uh, oh, Idina Porter. I love her. I just saw her the other day at a play. She's such a good actor. Who does she play? I can't remember the character's name. But, uh, she's the first person I've ever killed on screen. Oh, that's beautiful.

Gary Brown. I will say that, um, we talked about, uh, Dante Spinoza, the, um, the DP. And that they did a really nice job of keeping the look of the show even after he was gone. It's not easy to do. I mean, they spent a lot of money on a pilot making it look like a movie, and then they have of time, a third of the budget to episode one and [00:08:00] sometimes make, you can really see the drop off.

But I think they did a great job of, of making it look great. I wonder, was it Bob Lab Bonge who did this first episode? Because he was, it, I don't remember. We're about, I think we're about to find out, right? It should be, yeah, it should be here soon in the credits. Because we had two DPs season one. Right.

Um,

Brett Ratner gets paid for every episode because he directed the pilot. Yes he does. That was the gig.

Do you remember who directed this episode? I do not. Was it Michael Watkins? Uh, it might have been. It might have been. Yes, I think it was. More on him later. He was such a character. Yes. I heard he's a poet now or a painter or something. I think he published a book of poetry. Yeah. Oh yeah, so cool. Right? [00:09:00] Just clever, very clever for This is also like pre Sherlock Holmes.

It's like pure, pre all that kind of Directed by Michael Watkins. Oh, did we miss director of photography? We can go back and look later. That might be the end credits actually. By the way, in that, uh, little flashback, there was a fountain pen, which is amazing because, of course, Michael Oh, right. Schofield writes for Southern Penn.

Yes, of course. It's a classy thing right there.

Oh, wow.

I didn't realize he was in this early.

Here we go. Oh, and that's Cherry. [00:10:00] Who's Cherry? The one holding his pocket. Is that the character's name or the guy's name? I think it's the character. I think. I only know that because I was reading recaps. Uh huh.

Uh oh. Uh oh.

That [00:11:00] face.

Oh my goodness.

Wow.

Chicago has all these great, yeah, go ahead. I wonder if I can show that episode of me right now. No, go ahead. I'm just saying Chicago had these, these, still has these, this wonderful architecture, these great buildings to shoot in. I mean, look at that. [00:12:00] That's pretty great. It's also a really beautiful contrast to the prison.

Yeah. All the shiny floors and high ceilings and all the money.

Oh yeah, Craig Simmons, Crabb Simmons. I don't remember Crabb Simmons. I remember Crabby and Goyle from, uh, Harry Potter. Crabb Simmons. Uh, Dina Porter plays Crabb's girlfriend, I think. Oh, this is such a beautiful sequence. So that, that's from the, that's from the credit sequence, right? I think so. Reminds me of Birdie.

Do you remember the movie Birdie? No. Nicolas Cage and Matthew [00:13:00] Mody. Is it Nicolas Cage? Matthew Mody, that's somebody. I played Nicolas Cage's wife. What? In what? Something called Pay the Ghost. I think there's, I don't, I can't remember how much older he is than me, but it's something that only happens in movies.

Again, very beautifully lit.

With my loving. With my

what? Jesus, Paul.

Oh, sorry. Oh, it's a selfie. I thought I paused it. Oh, a selfie. Sorry. Sorry [00:14:00] for the That's alright. Sorry. Um, yeah, that lighting is gorgeous. I think this might be Bob Labonge. Bob Labonge was kind of a legend. Yeah. He's a legend in Los Angeles. Also, just a gentleman. I adored working with him. He was so lovely.

Still looking for that pug neck. Which sounds like a Sounds like a small, compact dog, doesn't it? 100%. That drinks cognac.

I think we should come up with a line of pugnac. Of pugnac. Or a cocktail. We're gonna have to spitball the pugnac.

This was not a part of the plan. Or was it? That's always, I mean I feel like T Bag is not[00:15:00]

He was soft in that shot.

I'm trying to remember his name. I saw him in a play. Phil Van Leer? Yes! Phil Van Leer! I saw him in a play and he was so good. He teaches in Chicago too. He certainly did for years. Beloved actor and teacher as well. Yeah.

We got to see a lot of theater in Chicago. Scofield. Scofield.[00:16:00]

Wade. What a lovely human being. Books. Cassette tapes. Those are cassette tapes.

Oh. Look at Super Sleuth. Seriously.

Now that is not Wentworth's handwriting. No. Schweitzer Allen.

That's a nice shot.

End of Act One. End of Act One. I wonder what the commercials were. And these two episodes aired back to back. Oh, right. Oh, so all of these flyover shots. I don't know about all of them. Nice bus in the background. Uh, that was [00:17:00] Michael Watkins. Who directed this episode. Flying around in a helicopter? Was, yeah, because he is a marine.

And I say is a marine. Because I once said he was a marine. And I was correct. You're always a marine. He was our producing director season one. So he did a lot.

Um, but yeah, he would go up in a helicopter a couple times a season and didn't carry Brown ended up doing that in Dallas to the, one of the other producers, the Dallas very possibly, very possibly, by the way, something that's worth mentioning. We'll talk about this a little bit more, I'm sure, but, um, no, one's in a coat because I was going to, I was going to bring that up before, later.

Yeah. I mean, look at all this beautiful greenery and the grass and, [00:18:00] But it was actually, this is what, June or July, did we go back to shoot the season in some, somewhere in there? I want to say June or July. So we did the pilot in December.

That guy is amazing. That face is straight out of the Sopranos. Not that one. That one.[00:19:00]

Green eyes, blue eyes. So good. So good. And you know, the prison world is so. sort of monochromatic and not monochromatic, but there's a very specific palette. There's a limited number of clothing colors, et cetera. As soon as you see something from outside, it creates such an amazing,

such an amazing contrast.

This is when they[00:20:00]

Alex on the hunt. We got to go back to the weather thing. Once we're outside. Yeah.

Oof.

Did we have any non white writers?

Not to my mind. Not to my recollection. Not that I can think of, season one. It's crazy to think about that. Yeah, I mean, to have an episode like this come out of an all white Oh, what's this guy's name? He's so good. Oh, he's so good.[00:21:00]

Maytag. Maytag. That's Maytag. Cherry comes later. Cherry comes later.

What was that? That was a cut to something. That was a picture of Maytag. Hard

to keep secrets. Yeah. In prison.[00:22:00]

I think what's really cool about the writing of this is that he has this goal. And he has to, this takes a really high and he has to do this thing of violence to like prove himself so he can get that thing. And we don't even know what it's for. Yeah.

Yeah. The, why does he care so much about this piece of hardware? [00:23:00] And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a VHS tape. That's a VHS tape. VHS tape. I'm told inferior to Betamax and yet still took over the market share. I sure did. Bang, bang.

And it's interesting because the whole concept of a deepfake was Correct. Like a generation away. Yeah. Whereas now I think someone would see something like that and go, this doesn't really Who knows, yeah. Who knows, that could mean anything. So we were talking yesterday about how the show, or on the last episode, which we recorded yesterday, um, about how many aspects of this show are evergreen, but that's one that definitely ages.

You know, the idea of, well, I saw it on a VHS. Ergo, [00:24:00] you could, yeah, it's relatively used that people still use the device all the time in writing though. It's like, Oh, I have video of this thing, but there is, it is immediately called into question. You're right. Because we don't believe anything you're here ever exactly

pug neck, pug neck. It's two parts per nod and one part cognac. Ooh,

you know, Rockman was probably one of the best known actors on [00:25:00] this show. Yeah. I mean. In terms of people who had, like, he was coming off as soul food. I remember he had, like, calendars with him on it and stuff. Yeah, he had, like, merch and stuff. I would like a Rockman calendar. Any, any day of the week. Any day of the week.

So, wait, what deal did he just make with him? He just said I think he said he made no deal. Uh huh. Although, I don't know. I'm sorry, I was running my big fat mouth. That's, well, that's what we do. I'm sure that, I'm sure our viewers can tell, I'm sure our listeners can tell us.

Beautiful shooting through all that, not chain link, but whatever that is, that fencing. Those are just really nice shots. I wonder when he decided to shave his head.

Like as a, [00:26:00] as a human? Well, for the show, because in the pilot, his hair is longer.

Nice reflection.

I got really hungry and I went to Cinnabon. I ate all the Cheetos at the Circle K, you guys. All of them. Oh, [00:27:00] dear.

I love all these reflections. I know why. I'm not going to say until I think like episode 12 of season 2. Paul Edelstein slash Paul Kellerman. You know why.

Now see, look, she has Freckles again.

This is really, really nice work.[00:28:00]

By the way, there are a lot of really, really trap laden lines of hers in this scene that she dances around beautifully. She does. She does. Like, a lesser actor is brittle and hard and angry, and her vulnerability is spectacular.

I love. Aww. Mary Cruz? I love Mary Cruz. Sweet.

Badge.[00:29:00]

The shoe. I'm sure we'll have this conversation a few times, but it is awfully brutal to think that there are real people really living in circumstances like that. I understand they're criminals. Unconscionable. But just. Guys, it doesn't, it's certainly not there for rehabilitation. No. No, it would make you crazy.

Uh oh. The foil.

Aww. He couldn't! He loves you! He's in the shoe! He's in the shoe!

He loves you so much![00:30:00]

Hey, I know that voice. Oh, they use that shot a lot. Okay. You know, I shot, I directed that shot, not directed, but that was shot. Like

you're so innocuous.

Your hair was really short. Hey,

because there's probably quite a few. Um, so the shot of me, the shot of me holding that badge was used way later.[00:31:00]

Is this the actor you were talking about? No, uh, it's the girlfriend. This is the mom. Oh. That is. That's Idina. Oh. Is that Letitia Barris? Is that the character's name? Is that right? Oh shit. That's a nice push in. That's a very overused shot in network television. That was used very judiciously. I have personally overused that shot.

You have not. I have. I, I, I, I'll tell the bad story later. I, I, I made a note. Okay, I'm making, I'm making a note.[00:32:00]

Marilyn. Also, Muse is ripped. Do you see that? No. Yeah. He's at a tank top. Which we used to call. We're not. Nope. I'm going to tell you the story of the tank top. Look at, look how ripped he is. I'm going to tell you the tank top story when we do the episode. Oof. Oof.

Wow. They threw him over the edge. And the guards just back off. He's an old cowboy, that guy. I was afraid of riding horses. so crazy. Without ever. This stuff was so crazy to shoot. Oh. Oh, yeah. They, I mean, they fully went with it. Very violent. Because back then on Fox, you could, in a way that you couldn't on networks.

And so he's just trying to get the screw,[00:33:00]

and they see that, oh, the plot is thick. Thick, thick, thick, thick, thick, thick, thick, thick, thick. Oh!

And just like that, Michael Schofield. Murderer. Is a different man. I don't know if he's a murderer. No, I mean, right. Oh. That's very pieta. And this is a really interesting moment of emotion from Teabag, right? That like, that he like, you killed the man, you killed the man I love, right? Or you killed the man I had coerced into loving me.

You killed the man who held my pocket. It's very complicated, but still again, beautiful work from D. P. in here.[00:34:00]

Oh, I remember this.

I mean, it's episode two. There's no like, we're going to slow burn this for four episodes. Yeah. Yeah, he's already lost his, he's already going to lose his mind. Yeah. We picked up the pilot. Fantastic. We're going to go race riot. We're going to go murder. We're going to send our lead all the way down a rabbit hole.

Yeah. Like, none of the plan is going right, and we don't even know what the plan is. That's the thing I can't get over, like, writing wise, is that, like We still don't know who Alan Schweitzer is. We still don't know what he's up to. We just know it's not going right. We still don't know what he's up to. So that's part of the fun for the audience, right?

And [00:35:00] these shots are so great.

Oof. Does that

mean no food? Antony said no mess.

Well, I gotta bring him food, right? Oh, maybe you're right. I'm glad Marilyn survived. I have an insane investment in Maryland. In the, who's Maryland, the cat? The cat. Come on. I'm hugely invested in the cat. You can judge me, that's okay. Oh. Oh, he's playing with his own pocket. Which sounds [00:36:00] really dirty when you say it like that.

Well, I mean the whole thing, the whole suggestion of the whole thing is pretty brutal. Yeah.

That's a Big engagement, right? Big rock.

Um, this had just been built. Yeah! Just been built. I had never seen it before. Before I shot there. And I grew up there. Also, a little, um,[00:37:00]

Must have been tough editorially to shoot around that big, uh, the eyes.

That was so well done. Yeah. Hold on, this is, I think, yeah, here you go. Boom. Oh, this is when my, this is when my job really started getting fun. The bad guys. Where you got to eat? Hot dog, yeah. Hot dog hot dog. Oh, that was wrong. Upside down. That was a mistake. Oh really? What's it supposed to be? What's the significance of the pin?

It's, it's special forces. But it was upside down. Yeah. I [00:38:00] can't believe, uh, Mike Watkins let that slip. I can't believe I did. Embarrassing. There's a lot of really nice, uh, engagement rings in this episode.

That this is when we went to the extreme close up. I mean, yes, I mean, garlic, Bobby Labonge called it close, closer, and oh my God.

This is very well edited together, though the hands on the table, the telephones, by the way, telephones. So great. She's not cordless. Oh, here's another, uh,

you still have that ring I do with, yes, that was not on the, that was just off. That was, I thought it was over. Um, I thought it was funny. Nepper does that too. Yeah, [00:39:00] I do that all the time. Do you? Uh huh. Makes my head hurt.

I also don't have any pug neck.

This is the moment where Michael Schofield goes, Maybe this was not the best plan. Maybe I should have just gone to law school real quick.

See? He's filed it down. Uh huh.

And now, it makes[00:40:00]

an Allen Bolt. I mean! That's crazy. The amount of pre planning.

Aurora, Illinois.

So, this is Oh My God, close, closer, and Oh My God? Yeah. Gotcha. We joked that we could, like, shoot a season just in our trailers, just like, like nobody knows where you are, it's so close to your face. Wait, so what's the Schweitzer? Oh, Schweitzer is the manufacturer of the, um, toilet. There she is. So the Schweitzer toilet.

Finally.[00:41:00]

You must have worked half a day on this episode. I

want to make a note of, I want to hear the story about your eye. Why I have a black eye? Uh huh. And like, but also like, how they, [00:42:00] you know, how annoying that must have been for you.

According to fanfic, I do. Easy. But, not yet. Easy.

I can't believe that actress passed away. [00:43:00] She was so lovely.

Oh boy. Uh oh.

John Abruzzi, John Abruzzi? Oh my god, I could not. This blew me away. I forgot about this. This absolutely blew me away because I was like Oh. Every TV show in history goes right up to the moment and then pulls it, right? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I can't. I thought this was like episode eight.

By the way, we need to talk about a Fibonacci sequence, because that's a thing. Yeah.

Oh, I can't believe. [00:44:00] Yeah. I mean, by the way, I don't think I worked a day. I don't think I worked three hours on this episode. Um. Oh my actual god.

Oh,

this has been a bad day for Michael Schofield.

Oh, oh, my Yankee goodness. It's so brutal. I cannot believe it's network television. Cannot believe it's network television. I was nine o'clock. That's why they didn't air this at 8. Uh huh! And I thought, when I read it, I was like, for sure you come back and Oh! It's the [00:45:00] end! Oh yeah, dude! That's the, that's the episode out, act out.

Dushawn Brown, infirmary nurse. Robbie Greenberg. It said Robbie Greenberg. Good God in heaven. It said Robbie Greenberg. So for the rest, for what it's worth, for the rest, Well, we don't, we don't want to spoil anything for people who might not know what happens in the next episode. But um, Well, I mean, is it a, That was, Is it a, is it a, is it a spoiler alert?

It's a spoiler alert. To say that he cuts his toe off? To say that he spends the next whatever it is, 88 episodes with eight toes. I'm there was one nine, nine, no eight. No. And I remember this. Yeah, because there's a line where Michael says to Sarah, uh, I can't, you know what? I honestly don't remember what leads up to it, but she says something like, yeah, coming from an eight code, eight toed guy in a prison.

And I remember when I looked at each [00:46:00] other and I was like, how much limping would there be? He was like, I think a lot. All right, y'all, you can hear us talk about it in the actual episode itself. Thank you for joining our watch party. This has been Prison Breaking with Paul and Sarah, or Sarah and Paul, depending on who you ask.

Want to say goodbye, Paul? Bye, Paul.

Prison Breaking with Sarah and Paul is a Calibre Studio production. Your hosts have been friends, but not besties, Sarah Wayne Callies and Paul Edelstein. Our prison warden has been producer Ben Haber. Our head of Jailhouse Rock is Paul Edelstein, who made the music for this podcast. Keeping us slim and trim, The Prison Yard has been sound designer and [00:47:00] editor, the great Jeff Schmidt.

Keeping us up to date on the outside world is Production assistant Drew Austin letting the world know what's been happening to us in prison is Social Media Manager Emma Tolkien. Our prison artist logo and brand designer is John Zito and Little Big Brands. Check them out at www.littlebigbrands.com.

Follow us on Instagram at Prison Break Podcast. Email us at prison breaking@caliberstudio.com and call us at four oh one. Three, P B R E A K. Prison Breaking with Sarah and Paul has been a Calibre Studio production. Thank you for listening.