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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, May 15, 2009

Tube Notes: 'Prison Break,' 'Numb3rs'


By Mike Hughes
mikehughes.tv

TONIGHT'S MUST-SEE: "PRISON BREAK" SERIES FINALE, 7 P.M., FOX

Once a terrific series, "Prison Break" no longer has a prison and can't catch a break. For its final two hours, it wanders through aimless repetition of the same, dead-end story.
Still, this is worth seeing because it well-drawn characters get their farewell. Fox gave producers enough warning to do this right; the closing montage is actually quite involving.
What precedes that is a silly scramble. Michael has the deadly Scylla device and two evil forces demand it. One, led by Gen. Krantz, hold his brother Linc hostage; the other, led by their evil mother, holds Michael's true love Sarah hostage.
The show has created an unwinnable situation -- then resorts to wild illogic to solve it. In the tradition of fictional bad guys, only one person watches a hostage, while countless perimeter guards forget to look around.
None of this is either believable or satisfying; any final victory seems flat. Still, viewers want to root for these characters one more time; the last moments lets "Prison Break" end with waves of honest emotion.

TONIGHT'S MIGHT-SEE: "NUMB3RS" SEASON FINALE, 9 P.M., CBS

James Callis is your go-to guy for playing demented sociopaths. "Battlestar Galactica" fans knew that from his years as Gaius Baltar; now he plays the prime suspect.
Amita (Navi Rawat) has been taken hostage. Her lover Charlie (David Krumholtz) tries to determine what the kidnapper is planning, while Charlie's brother Don tries to find her.