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Manhunt (Prison Break episode)
Encyclopedia
"Manhunt" is the twenty-third episode of the American television series Prison Break
and the season premiere
of season two
. The episode was first aired on August 21, 2006 in the United States. It is written by series creator Paul Scheuring
and directed by Kevin Hooks
, who directed the season finale of season one, "Flight". William Fichtner
is introduced as a new regular cast member, whose character is assigned to track down the eight escapees from Fox River State Penitentiary
. This is also the only episode where he is credited as Bill Fichtner. The role of Terrence Steadman was recast to Jeff Perry, who replaces John Billingsley
as the brother of Caroline Reynolds (based on how little time the character was seen clearly, series creator Paul Scheuring
jokingly questioned in interviews whether Billingsley had ever even been on the show to begin with).
The episode's title refers to the subject of both the episode and the season as a whole; the state-wide (which quickly becomes nation-wide) manhunt for the Fox River 8. The series regular cast members who did not appear are Paul Adelstein
(who plays Paul Kellerman
) and Marshall Allman
(who plays L. J. Burrows). Despite their roles as two of the eight prison escapees, the two recurring cast members Lane Garrison
(who plays David "Tweener" Apolskis) and Silas Weir Mitchell
(who plays Charles "Haywire" Patoshik) did not appear in this episode, though they did appear in brief flashbacks at the beginning of the episode.
, Lincoln
, Abruzzi, C-Note
and Sucre
eventually manage to elude Captain Bellick
and his team with the help of a freight train. Meanwhile, FBI Special Agent Alexander Mahone
is assigned to lead a nationwide search for the escapees, this makes their escape even more difficult, as Mahone calls a press conference, and urges everybody watching the television broadcast to find the "Fox River 8." He also has a keen interest on Scofield, and wants to know everything about him. The escapees are found by a hunter, who attempts to turn them in. However, Abruzzi holds the hunter's young daughter hostage, and is able to get the hunter to drop his weapon, and gives Michael the keys to his Jeep Grand Cherokee
. The five escapees board the SUV, en route to a storage room where Michael has some items ready.
Meanwhile, Mahone and Bellick use Michael's credit card invoices to find a storage room in Oswego
, and each separately rush to the storage facility. It turns out to be a ruse of Michael's, as he is seen in a cemetery
storage room, gathering shovels to unearth the ground at the grave of (R.I.P.) E. Chance Woods. Agent Mahone deciphers the message on Michael's tattoo
("Ripe Chance Woods") and arrives at the scene right after the escaped gang of five unearthed Michael's package and put on a fresh set of clothing. Lincoln takes the backpack
Michael hid and found the brothers' fake passports. The five are able to escape to Oswego and blend in, despite being tailed by Agent Mahone.
Elsewhere, T-Bag finds a veterinary clinic of Dr. Marvin Gudat, and coerces him to reattach his left hand without the use of anesthesia
. Dr. Sara Tancredi
recovers from her drug overdose, and is interrogated by the FBI, who tells her that 8 prisoners escaped. After Nurse Katie's visit, Sara finds an origami
swan inside her purse. Inside is a message "There's a plan to make all of this right", and a dotted code. The dot code on the origami swan that Sara found can be grouped into lines of numbers. The numbers are 3221243324 for the first line, 4221312231 for the second, and 23133121 for the third. Veronica discovers yet another secret from Terrence Steadman. He is being held captive, although somewhat willingly, inside the estate; the doors can be opened only from the outside, and the windows are bulletproof. Veronica receives a phone call from Lincoln after calling 911
, and informs him of what she has learned. While she is on the phone with Lincoln
, Company
agents arrive and kill Veronica, where Lincoln could only listen and slips into grief. Mahone continues to study images of Michael's tattoos and other elements of his escape plan, saying it will tell him everything about where Michael and the others are going, so he can be there waiting for them when they get there.
after the cast and crew relocated due to the more suitable locations for the impending storyline. The cemetery scene and the following town scene are supposedly set in Oswego, Illinois in the episode. These scenes were actually filmed in McKinney, Texas
. While the cemetery scene was filmed at Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney, the scene which followed as the fugitives escape into a neighbouring town, was filmed in downtown McKinney. Starting with this episode, the blue-tinted graphic used in the first season's commercial bumper
which were shots of prison crawlways, is replaced by a sepia-tinted graphic of racing through fields and streets, reflecting the fact that the convicts have become fugitives.
reports seemingly less than stellar ratings for the Australian premiere of the second season of Prison Break, "The second season opening of Prison Break attracted 1.2 million viewers, but that was hardly impressive for one of the network's most significant imports."
In the United Kingdom
, the episode was given a rating of 2.29 million viewers, and was the fourth most viewed television broadcast for Five on that week. In France this episode was shown on November 6, 2006, not long after the finale of season one. It attracted 7.5 million viewers, and M6
, the network that broadcasts Prison Break in France, received its fourth highest audience ever - 30.7% of the market share.
Prison Break
Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
and the season premiere
Season premiere
In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:...
of season two
Prison Break (season 2)
The second season of Prison Break, an American serial drama television series, commenced airing in the United States on August 21, 2006 on Mondays at 9:00 pm on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Prison Break is produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions, in association with Rat Television, Original...
. The episode was first aired on August 21, 2006 in the United States. It is written by series creator Paul Scheuring
Paul Scheuring
Paul T. Scheuring is an American screenwriter and director for films and television shows. His work includes the 2003 film A Man Apart and, more notably, the creation of the television drama Prison Break, for which he is also credited as an executive producer and Head Writer.-Biography:Scheuring...
and directed by Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable from his roles in Aaron Loves Angela and Sounder, but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's The White Shadow....
, who directed the season finale of season one, "Flight". William Fichtner
William Fichtner
William Edward Fichtner is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on Invasion, as Alexander Mahone on Prison Break, as William Sharp in Armageddon, and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.- Early life...
is introduced as a new regular cast member, whose character is assigned to track down the eight escapees from Fox River State Penitentiary
Fox River State Penitentiary
Fox River State Penitentiary is a fictional level five maximum-security prison featured prominently in the first season of the television series, Prison Break. The real-life representation of the prison is Joliet Prison, which is located in Joliet, Illinois...
. This is also the only episode where he is credited as Bill Fichtner. The role of Terrence Steadman was recast to Jeff Perry, who replaces John Billingsley
John Billingsley
John Billingsley is an American actor, known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.-Career:...
as the brother of Caroline Reynolds (based on how little time the character was seen clearly, series creator Paul Scheuring
Paul Scheuring
Paul T. Scheuring is an American screenwriter and director for films and television shows. His work includes the 2003 film A Man Apart and, more notably, the creation of the television drama Prison Break, for which he is also credited as an executive producer and Head Writer.-Biography:Scheuring...
jokingly questioned in interviews whether Billingsley had ever even been on the show to begin with).
The episode's title refers to the subject of both the episode and the season as a whole; the state-wide (which quickly becomes nation-wide) manhunt for the Fox River 8. The series regular cast members who did not appear are Paul Adelstein
Paul Adelstein
Paul Adelstein is an American television and film actor, best known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the television series, Prison Break, and his current role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the series Private Practice....
(who plays Paul Kellerman
Paul Kellerman
Paul Kellerman, played by Paul Adelstein, is a fictional character from the American television series, Prison Break. The character was introduced to the series as a Secret Service special agent in the series pilot but the actor was not listed as a regular cast member until the third episode...
) and Marshall Allman
Marshall Allman
Marshall Scot Allman is an American actor. He is known to television audiences for his role as L. J. Burrows on Fox's successful television series, Prison Break...
(who plays L. J. Burrows). Despite their roles as two of the eight prison escapees, the two recurring cast members Lane Garrison
Lane Garrison
Lane Edward Garrison is an American actor best known for the role of David "Tweener" Apolskis on the television series Prison Break.-Early life:Garrison was born in Dallas, Texas on May 23, 1980 and raised in Richardson, Texas...
(who plays David "Tweener" Apolskis) and Silas Weir Mitchell
Silas Weir Mitchell (actor)
Silas Weir Mitchell is an American character actor known for playing disturbing or unstable characters.-Career:He has had recurring guest roles in the first season of 24 , My Name Is Earl , and Prison Break...
(who plays Charles "Haywire" Patoshik) did not appear in this episode, though they did appear in brief flashbacks at the beginning of the episode.
Plot
Eight hours after the escape, MichaelMichael Scofield
Michael J. Scofield is the main protagonist in the American television series Prison Break. He is portrayed by Wentworth Miller. The character first appeared in the series pilot as a man who stages a bank robbery in order to get sent into the prison where his older brother, Lincoln Burrows , is...
, Lincoln
Lincoln Burrows
Lincoln Burrows, played by Dominic Purcell, is one of the main protagonists of the American television series, Prison Break. The plot of Prison Break revolves around Lincoln Burrows' setup for the murder of the vice president's brother and his brother's plan to help him escape his death sentence....
, Abruzzi, C-Note
Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin
Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin, played by Rockmond Dunbar, is a fictional character from the American television series, Prison Break. The character was introduced as a prisoner in the pilot episode. The actor was promoted from a recurring guest star to a regular cast member midway through the...
and Sucre
Fernando Sucre
Fernando Sucre, played by Amaury Nolasco, is a fictional character from the American television series, Prison Break. He is introduced to the series in the pilot episode as the prison cellmate of the series protagonist, Michael Scofield .-Background:Of Puerto Rican descent, Sucre grew up in Chicago...
eventually manage to elude Captain Bellick
Brad Bellick
Bradley "Brad" Bellick is a fictional character from the American television series, Prison Break. He is portrayed by Wade Williams. As one of the principal characters of Prison Break, he has been featured in all four seasons of the series...
and his team with the help of a freight train. Meanwhile, FBI Special Agent Alexander Mahone
Alexander Mahone
Alexander "Alex" Mahone is a fictional character portrayed by William Fichtner in the American television series Prison Break. The series 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...
is assigned to lead a nationwide search for the escapees, this makes their escape even more difficult, as Mahone calls a press conference, and urges everybody watching the television broadcast to find the "Fox River 8." He also has a keen interest on Scofield, and wants to know everything about him. The escapees are found by a hunter, who attempts to turn them in. However, Abruzzi holds the hunter's young daughter hostage, and is able to get the hunter to drop his weapon, and gives Michael the keys to his Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a Mid-size SUV produced by the Jeep division of Chrysler. While some other SUVs were manufactured with body on frame construction, the Jeep Grand Cherokee has always used a unibody chassis.- Development :...
. The five escapees board the SUV, en route to a storage room where Michael has some items ready.
Meanwhile, Mahone and Bellick use Michael's credit card invoices to find a storage room in Oswego
Oswego, Illinois
Oswego is a village in Kendall County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 30,355. Its population has more than doubled since the 2000 census count of 13,326...
, and each separately rush to the storage facility. It turns out to be a ruse of Michael's, as he is seen in a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
storage room, gathering shovels to unearth the ground at the grave of (R.I.P.) E. Chance Woods. Agent Mahone deciphers the message on Michael's tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
("Ripe Chance Woods") and arrives at the scene right after the escaped gang of five unearthed Michael's package and put on a fresh set of clothing. Lincoln takes the backpack
Backpack
A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...
Michael hid and found the brothers' fake passports. The five are able to escape to Oswego and blend in, despite being tailed by Agent Mahone.
Elsewhere, T-Bag finds a veterinary clinic of Dr. Marvin Gudat, and coerces him to reattach his left hand without the use of anesthesia
Anesthesia
Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away...
. Dr. Sara Tancredi
Sara Tancredi
Dr. Sara Tancredi is a fictional character from the American television series, Prison Break. She is played by Sarah Wayne Callies. Her role in the first season of the series is a prison doctor.- Background :...
recovers from her drug overdose, and is interrogated by the FBI, who tells her that 8 prisoners escaped. After Nurse Katie's visit, Sara finds an origami
Origami
is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...
swan inside her purse. Inside is a message "There's a plan to make all of this right", and a dotted code. The dot code on the origami swan that Sara found can be grouped into lines of numbers. The numbers are 3221243324 for the first line, 4221312231 for the second, and 23133121 for the third. Veronica discovers yet another secret from Terrence Steadman. He is being held captive, although somewhat willingly, inside the estate; the doors can be opened only from the outside, and the windows are bulletproof. Veronica receives a phone call from Lincoln after calling 911
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
, and informs him of what she has learned. While she is on the phone with Lincoln
Lincoln Burrows
Lincoln Burrows, played by Dominic Purcell, is one of the main protagonists of the American television series, Prison Break. The plot of Prison Break revolves around Lincoln Burrows' setup for the murder of the vice president's brother and his brother's plan to help him escape his death sentence....
, Company
The Company (Prison Break)
The Company is a fictional covert organization featured in the American television drama/thriller series Prison Break. It is a secret group of multinationals known almost exclusively by those who work for them . Its influence and power over individuals stretches to the White House, influencing...
agents arrive and kill Veronica, where Lincoln could only listen and slips into grief. Mahone continues to study images of Michael's tattoos and other elements of his escape plan, saying it will tell him everything about where Michael and the others are going, so he can be there waiting for them when they get there.
Production
"Manhunt" was the first episode of the series to be filmed in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
after the cast and crew relocated due to the more suitable locations for the impending storyline. The cemetery scene and the following town scene are supposedly set in Oswego, Illinois in the episode. These scenes were actually filmed in McKinney, Texas
McKinney, Texas
McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States, and the second in population to Plano. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 131,117 The Census Bureau listed McKinney as the nation's fastest growing city from 2000 to 2003 and again in...
. While the cemetery scene was filmed at Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney, the scene which followed as the fugitives escape into a neighbouring town, was filmed in downtown McKinney. Starting with this episode, the blue-tinted graphic used in the first season's commercial bumper
Commercial bumper
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper or break-bumper is a brief announcement, usually two to 15 seconds that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa...
which were shots of prison crawlways, is replaced by a sepia-tinted graphic of racing through fields and streets, reflecting the fact that the convicts have become fugitives.
Reception
The premiere of the second season of Prison Break obtained an average of 9.4 million viewers in the United States, down from 10.5 million for the series premiere in August 2005. There was also a decrease of 20 percent in the 18-49 demographic compared to its series premiere, but its household rating grew from a 3.6 to a 3.9 during the last half hour. Australia's NinemsnNineMSN
ninemsn is an Australian 50/50 joint venture between Microsoft and Nine Entertainment Co.. It effectively acts as the website for both the Nine Network and MSN, and is one of Australia's most popular websites...
reports seemingly less than stellar ratings for the Australian premiere of the second season of Prison Break, "The second season opening of Prison Break attracted 1.2 million viewers, but that was hardly impressive for one of the network's most significant imports."
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the episode was given a rating of 2.29 million viewers, and was the fourth most viewed television broadcast for Five on that week. In France this episode was shown on November 6, 2006, not long after the finale of season one. It attracted 7.5 million viewers, and M6
Métropole 6
M6, also known as Metropole television, is the most profitable private national French TV channel and the third most watched television network in the French-speaking world...
, the network that broadcasts Prison Break in France, received its fourth highest audience ever - 30.7% of the market share.