Prison Episode: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|Here's the thing, sweet potato; you ain't leavin' Sunnyside.|'''{{spoiler|Lotso}}''', ''[[Toy Story (Animationfranchise)|Toy Story 3]]''}}

Despite this being only a segment of the series, [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore|it might end up having permanent effects on the tone of the series from that point on]]. For example, it may [[Had to Come Toto Prison Toto Be Aa Crook|portray major characters as becoming more inclined to crime as a result of said imprisonment]]. More generally, a prison episode is often used to show and/or begin a [[Darker and Edgier]] [[Tone Shift]].

* Subverted when Chip gets thrown in the brig in ''[[Rats, Bats, and Vats (Literature)|The Rats, The Bats, and The Ugly]]'': He wants to stay in the brig where he gets a mattress and three meals a day. At the front, he doesn't get that.

* The ''[[MacGyver (TV)|MacGyver]]'' episodes "The Escape" and "Jack in the Box".

* ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'''s Rashomon episode "The Ugly Truth" features most of the crew on a disc like prison-thing.

* In ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', the first season has George, Sr. in prison. However, as part of an "[[Insistent Terminology|Illusion]]", his son GOB goes to prison for an episode to prove he can escape in 24 hours time. {{spoiler|He escapes when an inmate shivs him and he's taken to a hospital.}}

** Later, Tobias spends some time in prison to research the role of Frightened Inmate #2.

* ''[[NCIS (TV)|NCIS]]'': McGee gets tangled up in a women's prison riot in "Caged." The plot revolves on him trying to resolve the conflict and the other characters trying to get him out alive. Notably, he is [[Character Development|significantly more badass afterwards.]]

* In the ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel -Air]]'' episode "Mistaken Identity" both Will and Carton are arrested due to racial profiling. In "There's the Rub" Will and Phil are mistakenly jailed for solicitation.

* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', "Folsom Prison Blues"

* On ''[[Leverage (TV)|Leverage]]'', the season 3 pilot features this after {{spoiler|Nate is voluntarily sent to prison to protect the rest of the team }}. Notable in that it avoids a dark feel due to the team staging an escape in typical Leverage fashion.

* In ''[[House (TV series)|House]], the titular character {{spoiler|is sent to prison after his actions during the season 7 finale. The first episode of season 8 sees him on the verge of being granted parole. The following episodes go on to inconsistently reference his status as a conditionally released prisoner (he is forced to wear an ankle-mounted GPS, which viewers are sometimes reminded of).}}

* ''[[Victorious (TV)|Victorious]]'' had a one hour special where the gang visits a country named Yerba, and eventually, one [[Eye Scream|missing eye]] and dead octopus later, everyone gets sent to prison. Andre and Beck have rocks thrown at them, Jade is nearly beat up by another prisoner, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|Robbie is put on the girl's side]]. They manage to escape thanks to their teacher, though.

* ''[[Seinfeld (TV)|Seinfeld]]'' the rare example where the Prison Episode is the ''series finale.''

** In the ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time]]'' the Gerudo throw Link into some sort of cell, leaving him all of his equipment, and no matter how many times he escapes and gets caught again, they just throw him back in the same cell. With all of his equipment.

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: aA Link Toto T Hethe Past (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past]]'' had a prison sequence, but made you ''break in'' to save the princess.

** The prison in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'' made sense, but the one in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: theThe Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'' was truly laughable. Absolutely a [[Cardboard Prison]]. The way out of the cell is hidden behind a pot (though it would still work wonders at imprisoning moblins...or [[Top-Heavy Guy|any adult male]], for that matter).

* ''[[Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|Chrono Trigger]]'' had one sequence in a prison cell. It followed a very humorous scene and preceded a challenging boss though and thus was better than most. It is especially interesting because the prison lets you keep your sword.

** There are two prison sequences in Chrono Trigger. The second one strips the party of equipment, inventory, and cash after the party is distracted by a [[Look Behind You!]]. Ensues a [[Stealth -Based Mission]] unless [[Bare-Fisted Monk|Ayla]] is in the current party.

* ''[[Metal Gear]] 1'': Snake is thrown in a jail cell which the player can escape from within seconds simply by punching the wall. The prison escape sequences of Metal Gear Solid 1 and 3, however, were fun and memorable.

* The 1982 ''Escape From Rungistan'' game starts with "escape from a jail cell". You had to (a) ask a guard to bring you dinner (b) give a piece of cheese to a mouse (c) move your bed under a window (d) give a piece of candy to a child and (e) dig a hole in a wall to get out.

* ''[[Command and& Conquer]]: Renegade'' has you captured and stripped of your weapons.

* Kaim and company in ''[[Lost Odyssey]]'' are at one point obliged to escape from the brig of a [[Cool Ship|royal yacht]], dodging security drones and pussy-footing across pressure-sensitive floor tiles. Hilariously, they begin their escape by [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|wiping the memory]] of their guard and convincing him that they were jailed by accident, so even if the player makes a mistake and the party gets caught again, the guard will apologize and let them back out.

* ''[[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Tales of Symphonia]]'' had Lloyd, the main character, tossed into a Desian prison in the middle of the desert. He busts out on his own, just before the party shows up... too late.

* [[War CraftWarcraft|The Frozen Throne]] had a campaign mission where Lady Vashj and Kael'thas free the Blood Elves from the Dalaran dungeons, which were full of [[Ultra Horrifying Monster|UltraHorrifyingMonsters]]. It wasn't a bad level, but at of the day it wasn't as challenging as the normal base-building campaign missions.

* In ''[[Max Payne (Video Gameseries)|Max Payne]]'', Max is drugged, tied up, whacked with a baseball bat, and still manages to get out and continue his [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]].

* ''Grand Theft Auto II'' had a level where you specifically had to get arrested and then spent time in prison before escaping again.

* ''[[Discworld Noir (Video Game)|Discworld Noir]]'' has a brief prison-escape scene at the Patrician's Palace, which takes Lewton into {{spoiler|Leonard of Quirm's secret workshop}}. A subversion because, once he's broken out of his cell, Lewton has to repeatedly break back ''into'' the secret location he'd escaped through to close the case.

* ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'' has several of them, mostly involving the villains, but occasionally major characters (especially Homer, sometimes Marge) end up in jail as well.

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' had two prison episodes (Technically three, since one was a two-parter):

** Season one has "[[Avatar: The Last Airbender/Recap/Book (Animation)1/06 Imprisoned/Recap|Imprisoned]]", where Katara deliberately gets herself imprisoned by the Fire Nation in an attempt to free a friend from said prison.

** Season three has "[[Avatar: The Last Airbender/Recap/Book (Animation)3/14 The Boiling Rock/Recap/ Part 1|The Boiling]] [[Avatar: The Last Airbender/Recap/Book (Animation)3/15 The Boiling Rock/Recap/ Part 2|Rock]]", where Zuko and Sokka infiltrate a Fire Nation prison in the hopes of locating Sokka's father, who had been captured in the war a few weeks earlier.

* ''[[American Dad (Animation)|American Dad]]'' has episodes like these. Noticeable when Stan was sent to prison where he enjoys staying and doesn't want to leave.

* ''[[Family Guy]]'' has ''Dial Meg For Murder'', in which Meg goes to jail for harboring an escaped convict. Only a few seconds' worth of Meg's jailtime is shown on-screen, (though there's half a minute's worth of her visit to said convict before his escape shown) but the key theme of the episode is that [[Had to Come Toto Prison Toto Be Aa Crook|Meg emerged from prison as a hardened criminal]]. ({{spoiler|It was not permanent, though; Brian talked her into going back to being her old self.}})

* In the season two premiere of ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'', "Leader of the Pack" Coyote, at the behest of Xanatos, breaks out the rest of the Pack.

* In "Opening Night" of ''[[The Spectacular Spider -Man]]'', Spidey volunteers to test the security system of [[The Alcatraz|The Vault]], a prison designed to house super villains. Unfortunately the prison's computers are hacked by {{spoiler|the Green Goblin}}, locking all the guards up as the prisoners are let out of their cells.

* In "Terrors" of ''[[Young Justice (Animationanimation)|Young Justice]]'', Superboy and Miss Martian go undercover into Belle Reve to ascertain and foil a break out attempt.

[[Category:EpisodesUnusual Location Episode]]

[[Category:Prison Episode{{PAGENAME}}]]