The second season of a drama series tends to be make-or-break time for writers and producers. The challenge of coming up with new and interesting plotlines, delving deeper into the characters' lives and maintaining the standards set in the first season without the edge afforded by the novelty of the original premise is a tough one.
For Prison Break that transition is particularly demanding, given that the narrative drive of the first season - the attempt to escape from Fox River State Penitentiary - has been rendered redundant, with the setting and several of the characters also no longer necessary. It is to the show's credit, then, that the second season (starting on Tuesday, TVB Pearl, at 10.30pm) is every bit as watchable as its firecracker predecessor.
Picking up the story just a few hours after season one's climactic break-out, the first instalment follows brothers Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and their fellow escapees as they attempt to stay one step ahead of the intense manhunt that has been initiated to recapture them. Fortunately for the jailbirds, Scofield's meticulous planning stretches further than the confines of the prison walls and his cryptic tattoos throw up a few more surprises to help them on their way. Their flight proves to be anything but easy, however, thanks to the efforts of Special Agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner; Invasion), an astute FBI specialist charged with returning the errant brothers to the clink, and who quickly becomes Scofield's grudgingly admiring nemesis. The plot is thickened further by the continued interference from 'The Company', the sinister organisation that framed Burrows for murder and brought about his incarceration.
Inevitably, the dynamics of the show have altered a great deal from season one, but this doesn't affect the pace or purpose of the plot, and it remains tense, compulsive viewing. Admittedly, the fact the characters are on the run rather than engineering a break-out results in the show losing some of what made it unique, but there are more than enough twists and turns to keep viewers glued, while the narrative opportunities freed up by Burrows and Scofield being out in the big, bad world gives the show a wider scope of possibility - which is essential given that its executive producer, Paul Scheuring, says he sees the first two seasons as 'chapter one of the trilogy'.
Anyone who wants to catch up on season one should tune in to Star World, where it will screen on Tuesdays at 9pm from March 20.
Another new show to watch out for this week on TVB Pearl is Shark (Mondays at 10.30pm). This entertaining legal drama stars the inimitable James Woods (above, third from left) as ruthless LA defence lawyer Sebastian 'Shark' Stark, who becomes disillusioned with his profession after a rich wife-beater he gets acquitted later commits murder. Stark is given a shot at redemption when the district attorney's office asks him to lead a young team of legal eagles and prosecute some of the city's most high-profile cases. Away from the courtroom, Stark's precocious teenage daughter gives him the chance to make up for his hitherto less-than-attentive parenting.