Goodbye The Shield, Goodbye Prison Break

So two series that I've watched in their entirety have come to a close.

First, The Shield. My love-hate relationship with Vic Mackay and his gang has been well documented. The very end of the penultimate episode knocked me for six and I began to think that perhaps I'd been too harsh about the show, but then the finale was the rubbish I've come to expect.

I was hoping that there would be some loophole that would allow Vic to be jailed afterall or that some angry gang-banger would blow him away. But no, Vic's punishment for countless murders and single-handedly raising the crime rate of LA, was a desk job. It ended with him in agony because he was not longer out the streets, banging heads. Were we suppose to pity him or feel that this was the worst punishment for him? I struggled to believe it was worse than the fates of the rest of the strike team; murdered by your own colleague (Lem), blowing your own brains out after killing your pregnant wife and child (Shane) or jailed for all eternity for just going along for the ride (Ronnie).

I worry too that without Vic behind bars or in the ground, the makers may reconsider and bring him back.

Then Prison Break ended. A good few series after it should have. I only continued to watch because of my crush on Mahone. The final episode was the usual rush of meaningless excitement with the rather naff ploy of bringing back some old favourites, ignoring little details like the fact that they were supposed to be dead. So it all ends nicely with things cleared up, then Michael's nose starts to bleed again. I thought the Company used advanced technology to fix his brain bug but clearly it didn't work, making me wonder just how powerful they were afterall. The implication being that he doesn't have long to live. I had time for a quick cry (it was largely hormonal although it did seem incredibly mean that he'd gone through all that to be killed off) and then it cut to his gravestone, to help anyone for whom the gushing nose was too subtle a clue.

But there is an epilogue to this ending. Prison Break the Final Break (or something equally silly). A one-off special that filled in the time between that nosebleed and the tombstone. This was dross. Perhaps if we'd had a break of a few months and had time to miss the programme, we might have enjoyed it more, but watched so soon after the "real" ending, it was pointless. But at least I know this one is over for good.