Prison, Earthquakes and Hell...

The life of a Prison Break writer is a constant whirlwind but it's not always high glamour.

Prison Break writer Nick Santora went to check out the set of season three recently, which is being filmed in Dallas. Whilst there, as detailed on his blog, he claimed Dallas was the hottest place on Earth. Whilst we're not sure that's true, it does have to look like the actors are sweating it out in the Panamanian prison of Sona! Santora was really excited about seeing the set saying, "The actors are bringing all they've got - which is a lot!"

After a few days on set, Santora flew back to LA where Prison Breakis written, just in time for an earthquake. He was too jet-lagged to mind, though! You can check out all the latest Nick Santora goings-on, plus get loads of Prison Break tidbits by logging on to Santora's blog.

Learn the Lingo!

With most of Prison Break Season Three set to take place in Panama, and a lot of the dialogue now being Spanish, we thought we'd put together some handy Spanish phrases for you to learn. Handy, that is, if you're stuck in Sona Prison...

"Welcome to Sona!" = "Bienvenido a sona!"

"I am going to kill you" = "Voy a matarte"

"I'm James Whistler's girlfriend" = "Yo soy la novia de James Whistler"

"My girlfriend is pregnant" = "Mi novia está embarazada"

"Who's got a knife?" = "Quien tiene un cuchillo?"

"I'll give you a chicken foot" = "Yo le daré un pie de pollo"

Kellerman on Camera

Paul Adelstein, better known to Prison Break fans as Agent Paul Kellerman, has landed a role in a new film Little Fish, Strange Pond.

The film, out early 2008, is about a strange character that is mischievous and magical. He wonders around the streets of L.A. philosophizing on life's biggest questions whilst beautiful women are left dead and dismembered in his wake...! Adelstein plays a character called Philly.

SARA FACT

Interestingly, Dr. Sara was allegedly supposed to have died earlier on - at the end of season one, after her drug overdose. However, the character had proved popular with the viewers, so Sara lived for one more season!

Season Three so far...

Episode One: Orientacio´n
Michael, T-Bag, Bellick, and Mahone are now stuck in the hellhole known as Sona. Linc's trying to get Michael out but has to deal with the added complication that his son and Sara have been kidnapped...

Episode Two: Fire/Water
There's a crisis in Sona and Michael steps up to sort it out. As a reward, Michael gets hold of the one thing vital to his escape (and Sara and L.J.'s survival): Whistler. Meanwhile, Sucre makes a heartbreaking decision.

Episode Three: Call Waiting
T-Bag gets busy making nice with the prison overlord, Lechero, and Mahone is struggling with drugs withdrawal. Linc gets a little present from the kidnappers - something that's set to turn the Prison Break universe on its head...

Episode Four: Good Fences
Michael is formulating a plan to overcome the impossible and escape Sona. As Linc reels from his grisly discovery, Sucre gets in on the plan to help Michael escape.

Episode Five: Interference
Michael's plans progress, but disaster strikes as the military storm the prison and create serious problems for him. T-Bag, on the other hand, is steadily growing in rank amongst Lechero's henchmen.

Episode Six: Photo Finish
Things get more dangerous for L.J., while Linc finally lets Michael know some vital information. And Michael doesn't react well...

Episode Seven: Vamonos
As Michael and Whistler prepare to fight to the death, Lincoln and Sucre get ready to face off against Susan B. and try and rescue L.J.

T-Bag Confesses

Actor Robert Knepper, who plays T-Bag, has spoken about his admiration for his character, "The great thing about T-Bag now is that he's not just nasty. Not just crazy - he's not even that crazy. Everything he does is kind of thought out. I mean, I suppose he's psychotic."

The Darker Knight

Actor William Fichtner who played pill-popping FBI Agent Mahone has signed up to star in the sequel to the smash hit Batman Begins, The Dark Knight. The film, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, is expected for release in summer 2008.

What's In the Box??

Prison Break viewers have become accustomed to nasty shocks and surprises over many episodes - remember the deaths of Veronica and Tweener? - but nothing could have prepared fans for the grisly departure of a major character in season three... Yes, it's official - actress Sarah Wayne Callies has left the show - and so has Dr. Sara Tancredi... Not a dream, not a hoax - that really was Sara's head in that box... Ouch.

All summer, rumours have been spreading about Sarah Wayne Callies' involvement in the show, especially after she gave birth to her new baby. Some rumours insisted that the role was being-recast; some said that a body double would stand in for Sara's scenes; other rumours indicated that Dr. Sara would become a recurring character, rather than a regular. Indeed, Prison Break creator/ executive producer Paul Scheuring told us last issue that, "Sara is not being recast. We didn't have her in the first few episodes because she had a baby last week. She is on maternity leave right now."

But no, it's official thing's have changed and, both the actress and the character are gone. Seemingly for good. We went straight to the horse's mouth - a.k.a., Prison Break writer and executive producer Nick Santora - to find out what's been going on.

PRISON BREAK MAGAZINE: How long have you known that Sarah Wayne Callies was not returning to the show? Is that something that has been planned since last season?

NICK SANTORA: We didn't know it was definite until sometime in the summer, so we just had to change our storylines and come up with something that was jarring, emotional, and would still drive our characters and make it clear that even though Dr. Sara Tancredi is gone from this world, she is not gone from the heart, mind, and soul of Michael Scofield. I know some people were saying she can't be gone because the network and studio released statements that she plays an integral part in season three. Well, she does. She is a motivation for Michael who is thinking of her constantly. So Sara is still kind of alive.

PB Magazine: Sara is ultimately beheaded as a warning to Michael and Linc. What kind of conversations did you have about her fate?

Nick: Once we realized we didn't have the actress, and hence didn't have the character, we just bandied around a bunch of ideas which we thought were creatively satisfying. The one thing that was never an option was recasting her with a completely different actress so that there would be someone who looked nothing like Sarah Wayne Callies, running through Panama pretending to be Dr. Tancredi. We couldn't do that or insult our audience so we knew we had to figure out a way to explain why she wasn't on camera.

PB Magazine: Michael has dealt with a lot of loss lately. Will Sara's murder finally push him over the edge?

Nick: You are going to see a side of Michael you've never seen before, but it is not going to be "Here's the straw that broke my back. I can't take it anymore." It is going to be Michael turning around and saying, "Enough is enough! I am going to go out there and get my pound of flesh now!" And Michael Scofield is going to do things you never imagined he could do. It is going to flip a switch. He is still going to be the same character, people are still going to love him, but we are going to sympathize with him and know where he is coming from.

Interview taken from the Official Prison Break Magazine Issue 7 on sale November 2007.

The End of C-Note

Rockmond Dunbar who played C-Note will not be returning to Prison Break, at least for the time being. Writer Matt Olmstead says that the PB creative team were pleased with the way C-Note's story closed: "That last image was really great when he walked away with his family. It was so compelling that even us, as storytellers, were like, 'you can't really top that right now.'"

Beautiful Wentworth

Wentworth Miller has unsurprisingly made it onto People Magazine's "World's Most Beautiful People" poll. Everybody's favourite escapee joins the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Patrick Dempsey

• "In Season Three, we have a lot of new characters. The logic of the world is going to be a lot different. We are going to feel like the rules have been turned upside-down."

• "Michael Scofield is going to realize that his cerebral qualities are not enough in the new prison. In order to survive, he's going to have to get in touch with the primal side of his nature."

• "We have a new antagonist that goes by the name of Susan B. Anthony. She will do things in the first couple of episodes that will absolutely shock us."

• "There will be some deaths, some early shockers."