Wow, it’s been so long since I did an As Seen By! I’ve missed them… Up today I’ve got my thoughts on last night’s return of Prison Break and One Tree Hill.

It’s funny, even though the shows actually helped ratchet up my excitement about the return of primetime, I’d say I was disappointed in the night overall. I’m not surprised that OTH didn’t do much for me though I am surprised just how horrible it was. It’s PB I was hoping to enjoy more. Maybe I’m just being overly harsh because it’s been so long?? I dunno, you tell me.

Prison Break
Huh. So I guess not giving the audience time to argue with Gretchen’s explanation of it not being Sara’s head in that box was certainly one way to go. Actually, the explanation was pretty much what I’d figure it’d be. She was bluffing and of course Linc didn’t really take time to examine the head to be sure it really was Sara. I would have, however, liked a little more “I found someone who looked like her” in there but I’m willing to buy what we got. Plus, either you are willing to accept she’s alive or you’re not… no need to make it more complicated than that, right?

I have to admit, my heart caught a little when Michael walked into that room and saw her standing there. Awww. I kinda forgot how much I liked the two of them.

Overall, though, I only thought the two-hour season opener was so-so. The set up for the new season doesn’t do much for me even though I’m happy that we’re not just getting yet another prison. That would have been tedious. However, I don’t think their mission here is nearly as compelling as having to break out of prison and dealing with the impossibility and complications you run into that situation. Now we’ve basically just got another show about thieves. Plus, quite frankly, nothing I saw in last night’s episode was particularly fresh, for lack of a better word. Watch enough shows about breaking into places and you’re going to see the solutions Michael came up with and, in fact, I was a little annoyed it was taking him so long to come up with them. I guess I’m just used to Michael coming up with crazy ideas that have probably been done a thousand times but seem new and interesting.

Oh and under the category of Annoying Plot Points. They made a big deal about all the cameras around the guy’s house… are you telling me not one of those cameras caught them on the back patio or in the house? Riiiiiiiight.

And, unlike everyone else, I didn’t care for the “eat some bad Mexican” joke. I don’t know why. You’d think it’d be the kind of pun I’d enjoy but I just rolled my eyes instead. I suppose it could be because it involved fucking T-Bag and we all know how much I love anything to do with that character. Apparently I don’t find anything about him funny.

Speaking, I’ve got an entry for Annoying Plot Points. It was two against two and T-Bag has killed more than his fair share of people AND survived SONA and yet he gets taken down by a tire iron to the stomach?! Whatever! I call bullshit!

It sounds like I hated the episode but I didn’t. I just thought there were lot of weak points. I may have liked it more split into two separate hours as it would only have given me a few things to dislike per hour. And it’s rare when everything in an hour of Prison Break clicks for me. So, it seems like we’re par for the course at the moment.

I will say that I liked how they pulled all of the guys back together again and, for the most part, I’m happy with the group as a whole. I still don’t care for Bellick but they’re working hard to make him likable these days. I don’t quite buy the anguish Sara is suffering but I’m willing to go with it for now. I haven’t made up my mind about the new FBI guy yet. I usually like Rapaport but there was something about his performance here that wasn’t working for me. I’m not sure if it’s just because he’s the new guy on the cast and that’s showing or if I really don’t think he fits the character. Either way, it’ll be a few more episodes before I can be sure.

And not to end on a complaining note but I’ve got one more Annoying Plot Points for ya. I get why they had to “remove” Michael’s tattoos. No, really, I do. It’s just annoying that they couldn’t have made that whole thing a little more believable. It’s not like having to admit they decided not to kill someone and asking us to just buy that she’s alive. This was a plot point we needed to believe and I don’t think they sold it. Michael spends however long getting his tats lasered off and the next time we see him he’s got long sleeves on?! Look, sure it’d be a pain to fake his healing skin but cover the man with lotion and suck it up because I’d buy that more than him being able to stand having any material touching his skin after that procedure!! Ugh. And he wasn’t even showing any kind of pain. What’s up with that? Wentworth is all about conveying the silent pain. We couldn’t have gotten a little moment in there to help us believe Michael’s skin was on fire? I’m just saying… every time I see his tat-free skin now I’m going to be rolling my eyes about the whole thing and that wouldn’t be the case if they’d spent a little more time making the whole thing a smidge more believable.

Hmmm, ok, rant over. I’m going to stop picking on a show I like and move on to one I think sucks…

One Tree Hill
What the hell was that? Look, I know I’m as disenchanted with this show as one can get and am therefore not inclined to cut them any slack but I can’t be the only one scratching my head and wondering what the heck happened to the OTH writers. Can I? First of all, what the hell was the purpose of the faux-flash forward at the beginning? And if really was Lucas trying to imagine his future with each of them, thank goodness he didn’t call Brooke! He clearly knows nothing about her if after her effort over the past year to get back to all her friends hasn’t proven that she isn’t likely to let that split happen again. Of course, if she had married him it would have truly shattered her friendship with Peyton FOREVER.

Anyway, I caught up in the details of the stupid fakeout because I can’t really believe the rest of the episode. Honestly? The best thing about the entire freaking episode was Jamie dancing. No wonder they gave it so much camera time. (Well that I’m pretty sure the rights to that song had to have blown their music budget so it makes sense that they’d play it for as long as they could.)

It’s funny, if the episode had ended with Lucas and Peyton in that hotel room kissing? It really would have kinda been the perfect series finale for me. Because if I tune in again, it’s only because I can not seem to shake my love for Brooke Davis and I need to make sure that she’s ok and that she kicks the ass of the person who broke into her shop… who you know is somehow connected to the anvilicious shoplifter. Brooke is the only redeeming part of this train wreck of a show but, as much as I love her, I can’t wait until all of my other shows are back and there’s no room in my schedule to be tempted to tune in and see what she’s doing. And if not for her getting beat up ending it thus would have been perfect in my eyes: Lucas/Peyton together – not my preferred coupling but clearly the show’s true love pairing, Brooke fighting for her company and not spouting off about wanting a baby, Mouth on his way up, Nathan/Haley/Jamie a happy family and working towards the futures they want, Skills getting some, AND Dan being tortured!

So, is Lee Norris really leaving the show? Because that felt like a farewell for Mouth even if only Skills and Brooke actually said goodbye. Not that I’m arguing. They haven’t had a storyline for Mouth for two years now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Speaking of no storylines, was the only way to keep Skills and Deb busy to have them getting busy? Weirdly, I don’t have nearly the problem with it that others do and think they actually have some fun chemistry. It’s still a little icky and it’s scary how much Deb has become a shell of her former self but, honestly, that’s pretty much been the case with every character who hasn’t actually exited stage left by now.

I suppose I should talk about Nanny Carrie and Dan but, after that initial scene between them, I forwarded through that part of the episode. This show has done some stupid stuff before but this Miseryesque storyline is beyond ridiculous. First of all, who the hell would bring back Nanny Carrie after she was so reviled last season?! Again, what the hell is going on in that writers room?? And pairing Nanny Carrie with Dan? Oy. All I can think is that they’re desperately trying to redeem Dan after the four seasons they spent making him the Most Evil Character Ever. But I’m here to tell you, while I might have been willing to put up with OTH’s over the top storylines in the past because they revolved around characters I actually liked, I could give a shit what Nanny Carrie does to Dan. The best part of this storyline is that it’s so bad that it just cemented my resolve to cut ties with this show for good this season.

Sorry, One Tree Hill, it’s time for us to go our separate ways but thanks for making the break up so easy!

What shows did you watch last night? What’d you think of them?