'Prison Break': Tube Talk Gold

© Sky

Like many great shows, the path of Prison Break to television glory was a difficult one. Series creator Paul Scheuring originally found his project rejected by Fox, who doubted the project's long-term viability. Another network also turned the show down, convinced that the central concept - a man deliberately trapping himself in a prison in order to help his brother escape - was better suited to a movie than a television series.

Steven Spielberg briefly showed interest in realizing Scheuring's pitch as a 14-part miniseries, but in the intervening time, Fox had noted the new-found popularity of serial dramas such as ABC's Lost and their own 24. The network gave Scheuring a second chance, and so Prison Break was born...

Prison Break: Originally broadcast from August 29, 2005 to May 15, 2009

Fox was ultimately right to take a chance on Scheuring - the unique format is part of what makes this show's first season so great. Before entering the imposing Fox River prison facility, Michael Scofield - played by the impossibly handsome Wentworth Miller - has the finer details of his escape plan tattooed onto his body.

Handily, Scofield helped to design Fox River himself and each week another piece of the puzzle slotted into place as the dashing engineer-turned-criminal came ever close to breaking out. It's a testament to how addictive the show's storytelling became that this writer - armed with a DVD boxset - watched most of the first season in a single day...

Another strength of the show's early days was its ensemble cast. Sarah Wayne Callies - currently caught up in a zombie invasion on The Walking Dead - was perfectly cast as Scofield's love interest, the beautiful prison doctor Sara Tancredi, while Amaury Nolasco was terrific as the loveable Sucre.

Michael's foes/uneasy allies were also personified by a range of talented actors - Wade Williams excels as antagonistic correctional officer Brad Bellick, while Peter Stormare made for a terrific John Abruzzi and Paul Adelstein brought a chilling stillness to the role of 'Company' assassin Kellerman.