TVSquad

The genius that was Amy Ryan's Holly beatboxing on The Office last week got me thinking about other cast additions that have made shows better.

The first that came to mind was actually another Amy Ryan role -- Beadie on season two of The Wire. It took awhile for me to get into the whole dockworkers storyline, but it was Beadie that helped me through.

If a show plans to stay on air for awhile, it needs fresh blood -- but the process of introducing new characters isn't easy (witness how reviled Maya was on Heroes). The best new additions combine great actors with well-written characters.

Here are seven other (fairly recent) new characters that succeeded.

(S04E04) "I was thinking about maybe getting me a career in pictures." - T-Bag

Here we go - get ready for it. The hunt for the remaining Scylla cards continues! Boooooring. I don't feel like there's any challenge to obtaining these cards at this point when Roland's device makes it so simple. Stand next to someone holding the card for two minutes and you're done. Don Self could do this...himself. He doesn't need Scofield and Burrows. As was the case last week, the Scylla plot paled in comparison to what T-Bag is up to. It's the only solid mystery Prison Break has right now.

(S04E03) "Not every geek with a Commodore 64 can hack into NASA." - Roland

I think we're already starting to see how much of this season of Prison Break is going to play out. A constant struggle for Scofield and his team to deliver while pressure from Don and his Homeland Security buddies continues to weigh them down. I doubt very much that this is the last time the threat of being shut down will be used. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a mention of it every week - we are talking about their freedom after all. With that in mind, get ready to hear something that I imagine I'll probably be typing a lot as I review this season: the hunt for the remaining Scylla cards continues!

Don't get me wrong. I like Michael Rappaport. I've seen him in dramatic and comedic roles and he's equally impressive in both, but something just didn't work at all every moment he was on screen in Monday night's season premiere of Prison Break. Maybe it's because everyone from Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell to William Fichtner and even Robert Knepper talks in this sort of subdued menacing whisper. And then here comes Rappaport all filled with bluster and his thick New York accent and that quarter smile that's always on his face.

I don't know what it was, but every time he spoke it pulled me right out of the fiction. I know Prison Break isn't anywhere close to Shakespearean in quality or writing, but one thing it's always had going for it is the quality of the cast and their performances, making you believe all the ridiculous things that happen.

(S04E01/S04E02) "Yeah well, a lot of people that believed in me in the last few months Agent Self... not all of them are alive today." - Scofield

I've always loved Prison Break. I still do. We're four seasons deep now and I've fully accepted the fact that this show is constantly reinventing itself and as a result, the level of ridiculousness that you as a viewer need to be willing to eat is absurd. I'm not sure if I laughed louder when T-Bag adopted a cannibalistic lifestyle or Linc called the new guy Roland a douche. Oh right... and Sara is alive. So don't act surprised by the picture. But we knew that anyway. FOX didn't even try to keep that one a secret for us.

It's kind of nice when the networks spread out their premieres, ensuring me a fighting chance at sampling most of the new shows. Call me crazy, and you definitely wouldn't be the first, but I have this weird obsession with trying to catch at least one episode of virtually every new major show that premieres and, if at all possible making that the pilot episode. It's allowed me to see a lot of great shows, and a lot of stinkers. But it makes this time of year a busy blast, too!

I also try to keep up with returning shows to see what they've done in their off-season. If it's one I watch, then I want to see if they've tweaked the formula in any way; and if it's one I don't, then I'm always interested to see if they've come up with something to pull me in. With tonight the unofficial start of the fall season, we see the newest networks, FOX and The CW getting an early start by returning three prominent shows. We also say goodbye, maybe forever, to one of the most enjoyable new shows of the summer while TNT takes the chance to bow a new series.

If you've watched FOX over the summer or read the upcoming season and episodes' official descriptions, you surely know of the big bombshell that will be revealed in the season premiere of Prison Break. It's clear that FOX wants its audience to know of that reveal before hand in order to lure some viewers back to the show and create a buzz around the show.

If you don't know what I'm talking about and don't want to know about it, don't read beyond the spoilers warning. I suggest you also stop watching FOX until September 1 at 8 p.m. and that you stay clear from anything Prison Break related. Because, as I've said before, it's clear the network wants you to know and they are not hiding that reveal at all.

Beware: spoilers ahead!

If you haven't entered our latest giveaway yet, here's a reminder that it's ending today.

You've got until 5PM Eastern today to enter to win Prison Break - Season Three on DVD. If you're anything like me, you may have never caught up with all of last season, and these DVDs would be a good (and, if you win, free!) way to see what you missed.

Just head on over to the post link above, read through the rules, and make the applicable comment there (not here!). We'll notify the winners next week.

Good luck!

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

Hey everyone! This time we've got five copies of Prison Break - Season Three on DVD for five lucky, random commenters. The DVD is available in stores starting tomorrow.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, August 8 simply telling why you'd like to own this set. As always, we'll randomly choose five winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Okay, show of hands. How many of you are going to the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con to see all of the panels being held by the many television studios and shows? Uh-huh, a good amount. Now, how many of you are going to be perusing the booths and dealers down at the exhibit hall? Ahhh, not so fast!

If you're a fan of all things television and you think you'll have some time to see what else is going on during this, the world's largest science fiction and comic book convention, you may want to re-think your plans. This isn't your grandfather's, father's, or even older brother's comic book convention.

Starting last year this convention has become the biggest television event between the TCA's the week before (which we are covering, by the way) and the Emmy's at the end of the summer. This year is no exception as the days are packed with shows varying from Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica to Big Bang Theory and Bones.

FOX announced its plans for the 2008-2009 season today. Here are the highlights:

Returning: The Moment of Truth, So You Think You Can Dance, The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, American Idol, America's Most Wanted, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Bones, Cops, Don't Forget the Lyrics!, Hell's Kitchen, House, King of the Hill, Kitchen Nightmares, MADtv, The Moment of Truth, Prison Break, Talkshow with Spike Feresten, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 'Til Death

Out: Back To You, Canterbury's Law, K-Ville, Nashville, New Amsterdam, Next Great American Band, Return of Jezebel James, Unhitched

New: Sit Down, Shut Up; The Cleveland Show; Dollhouse (Midseason); Fringe; Do Not Disturb (formerly The Inn); Secret Millionaire (Midseason)

Schedule and detailed descriptions of the new shows after the jump.

Michael Rapaport is heading back to Fox. The former star of The War At Home has been cast as a regular on Prison Break. Rapaport will play a government agent on the drama's fourth season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the character has "an interesting offer" for Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows.

Rapaport just finished a guest stint on My Name Is Earl playing, ironically, a prison inmate who helps Earl escape. Season four of Prison Break premieres in September, with production starting in L.A. this month.

Prison Break fans, you better sit down for this, especially if you were a Sara/Michael 'shipper. According to E!'s gossip columnist Kristin Dos Santos and TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, actress Sarah Wayne Callies will be back as a series regular for season 4 of FOX's Prison Break! No need to check your computer monitor, you read right: Dr. Sara Tancredi could very well be alive!

After much speculation and "on the bubble" murmurs, Variety is confirming that FOX has gone ahead and renewed Prison Break, one of the more popular guilty pleasures currently on network television. Prison Break has been picked up for a possible 23 episode fourth season, set to return in the fall.

Is the show that good? Sort of. Do the plots always make sense? Sometimes. Do I love it anyway? Absolutely. After a mediocre second season, the show roared back with a pretty enjoyable third season that got cut short to thirteen episodes by the WGA strike.