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By John Kubicek
BuddyTV.com

Prison Break shouldn't have lasted more than a single season. After Michael Scofield, his brother Lincoln and a few fellow prisoners broke out, the entire premise of the show was exhausted. It survived in its second season by keeping the stars on the run, but by season three, the show had run out of ideas -- and they went back to prison.

By some miracle, Prison Break found its footing once again this season, and anyone not watching is missing out on one of TV's great comeback stories. Season four of Prison Break is more exciting than ever, with twists and turns that keep fans guessing what will happen next.

The story of this season demonstrates a lesson many shows can learn. After running and trying to escape for three seasons, Michael and his gang went on the offensive, targeting the evil Company to take it down once and for all. Last week they accomplished their goal, but in a beautiful twist of fate, their government handler turned on them and started the chase all over again.

Prison Break is proof that a show can start off strong, flounder in the middle, and come back better than ever. It's a lot like Lost, which dipped in quality during season two and the first half of season three. This is a lesson that Heroes needs to take to heart.

The parallels between Heroes and Prison Break are quite obvious in terms of quality. The first season was great and critically acclaimed, but then it suffered. This season on Heroes, the writers are doing exactly what Prison Break did: trying to recapture their past glory.

While Prison Break put its characters back in prison, Heroes, in its latest episodes, is turning back the clock as well, pairing up Nathan and Tracy and turning Sylar back into the monster from season one. On the surface, this seems like a good idea - fans loved it the first time; maybe they'll like seeing it again.

The problem is that fans don't want to see it again, because it will never be as good as the first time. Fans want something new. Prison Break changed direction 180 degrees, and that's what Heroes needs to do. When everyone thinks the show should zig, it needs to zag.

After dropping in quality, Prison Break is back and better than ever in its fourth season. It's proof that it's never too late to turn a show around, and that if a show wants to reinvent itself, it can't do so by repeating the past.

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