Prisoners are persons whom most of us would rather not think about. Banished from everyday sight, they exist in a shadow world that only dimly enters our awareness. They are members of a "total institution" that controls their daily existence in a way that few of us can imagine. "[P]rison is a complex of physical arrangements and of measures, all wholly governmental, all wholly performed by agents of government, which determine the total existence of certain human beings (except perhaps in the realm of the spirit, and inevitably there as well) from sundown to sundown, sleeping, walking, speaking, silent, working, playing, viewing, eating, voiding, reading, alone, with others. . . ." It is thus easy to think of prisoners as members of a separate netherworld, driven by its own demands, ordered by its own customs, ruled by those whose claim to power rests on raw necessity. -- Justice William Brennan, dissenting in O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342, 354-55 (1987).

Monday, March 26, 2007

Can you watch Prison Break in Prison?

In early March, I read that Prison Break (which, along with 24, are my favorite shows) only had 3 episodes left for Season 2. Looking at the calendar, that would have placed the last episode on March 26...tonight. Perfect timing I thought... I get to watch the final episode before leaving for prison.

Wrong!

For some reason, Prison Break skipped March 12. This pushed the final episode back to April 2, three days after I report.

So.... what are the chances I get to watch the final episode in prison?

It is my understanding that each unit has a TV room. However, in a prison camp, there is freedom of movement between units (whereas most prisons only allow movement during the last 10 minutes of each hour). Surely, one of the TV rooms is programmed to Fox. However, to throw an addition wrinkle into the schedule, CBS is televising the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game Monday night also (the semi-finals are on Saturday, the day after I report).

There are only 3 shows I watch consistently this time of year -- Prison Break, 24, and.... American Idol. Prison Break obviously finishes next week; 24 and American Idol finish up the third week of May, but if Sanjaya doesn't get the boot on American Idol this week, I might be begging for solitary confinement because if I have to watch him again (or even worse, watch another 'tween' girl cry for two hours), they may have to send me to the psychiatric ward. Sanjaya must be stopped!

No comments: