20 Things You Didn't Know About Prison Break

Whilst on the set in Morocco, Dominic Purcell was the victim of a bloody accident. The resulting injury was so bad that the season's regular co-star thought he was "going to die."

During a scene in a which Lincoln enters a prison, searching for his brother, an iron bar fell on top of the Australian actor's head. He said the impact felt like "an explosion" and caused blood to pour out "like a shower".

Unaware of the extent of the blow, he turned to his stunt double and said "Dude, what the f**k's going on? What happened?' And he said, 'Your head's split right open, I can see your skull, your nose is on the other side of your face."

Purcell had to be airlifted from Ouarzazate to Casablanca, as the former's hospital/clinic was closed. The accident also left him with a broken nose and he required 150 stitches. Filming was obviously delayed but kudos to the writing staff, who promptly wrote 'Lincoln's' injuries into the plot of the season's final episodes.

In Season Five, it is revealed that Scofield is very much alive, locked away in a Yemen prison and working undercover after being framed for a murder he didn't commit (sound familiar?). Burrows and the like attempt to break him out and bring down Poseidon, the mastermind agent who betrayed Scofield.

It is interesting to note that this season shares similar plot points to the Greek poem, Odyssey, written by Homer (not Simpson). For a start, Scofield had been missing for seven years and was presumed dead only to be found locked away in a prison called Ogygia, which is the title of the season's first episode and the name of the island which the poem's protagonist, Odysseus, had been detained, also for seven years.

Both the poem and the show have antagonists who share the same names. Poseidon is an agent and god of the sea, arch rival to both Scofield and Odysseus, respectively. Odysseus also battles a Cyclops, one of the names of the ISIS members in the show.

Finally, Odyssus and Scofield have the common quest to return home. The former wanting to reunite with his family in Ithaca, a Greek island. As for Scofield, he seeks to return to Sara and his child back in the state of New York. Which city? You guessed it...Ithaca.

One of the show's signature features and plot devices was Michael Scofield's intricate tattoo, covering his arms and torso. The artwork contained Fox River Penitentiary's blueprints as well as various codes and coordinates of locations on the outside. This was all to aid in the brother's escape throughout the first two seasons.

However, behind the scenes, the tattoo would be problematic for the make-up team and Miller himself. It took four to five hours to apply, had 20 to 25 pieces to fit together and the actor would have to sit in uncomfortable positions with his arms over his head or stay twisted around, not being allowed to sleep during its application.

Miller, describing the ordeal said "The tattoo became for me kind of burdensome after awhile. Even when we didn’t have to apply it we had to pretend as though it was there. Which meant wearing long sleeve shirts in Dallas where it’s 120 degrees and you’re squatting on your knees in the Sona Prison Yard."

Thankfully for Miller, the tattoo was written out by being surgically removed in Season Four.

The Penitenciaría Federal de Sona was one of the primary locations during Season Three. It would be the second prison in which a number of the Fox River Eight would have to escape from.

The fictional Sona was shot at an old swift-armor meat packing plant in Texas, as opposed to an actual, previously used prison like Fox River in Season One (formerly Joliet Prison). Despite this, Sona, and the way it was managed, was inspired by a real life, and now, demolished Brazilian prison.

Carandiru Penitentiary was constructed in the 1920s and was in operation from 1956 to 2002. In 1992, the guards lost control, as groups of inmates began kicking off after a football match (pun intended) and riotting ensued for over three hours. The military police were called in, unleashing the hounds and rains of bullets, leaving 111 prisoners dead and 37 injured, including witnesses.

After prolonged investigations and trials from 2013 to 2014, 63 policemen involved were sentenced to a combined total of over 19,000 years. 25 of them were handed sentences of 624 years, each.

Some die hard fans of the show may know that Wentworth Miller was cast around a week before filming of Season One took place. Dominic Purcell, Miller's onscreen brother, was also cast at the eleventh hour.

Johnny Messner of Hostage and Grey's Anatomy's, Eric Dane, were the two originally shortlisted for the role of Lincoln Burrows. However, FOX would not be charmed by Dane's portrayal, nor could they visualise Messner running scared as part of the Fox River Eight.

Purcell got the role on the spot and began filming merely 72 hours after being cast.

It's not surprising that a show following a group of inmates escaping prison has been banned in a number of real life penitentiaries around the world.

Prison Break has been vetoed as it's content has been classed as 'educational programming'. Not the rehabilitation kind either, as the series features riots, murders, suicides and, of course, jail breaks within prison walls.

What is surprising is that that aforementioned number is quite low, with the show only being prohibited in 13 prisons. Unlucky for them but lucky for us. Who would want an actual T-Bag roaming free?

Prison Break enthralled audiences around the world. The story and action had us gripped to the edge of our seats and was praised for it's authenticity in regards to presentation. So engaged were we that we sometimes wanted to jump through our television screen to help Michael and co.

Well, instead of banging our heads into our television sets, the Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company banged their heads together to bring us Prison Break LIVE! to give the fans an atmospheric, interactive experience of a real life prison (without giving us a concussion).

The attraction ran globally from 2006 to 2008, including in the United States, China, Germany and the United Kingdom.

FOX expanded the Prison Break franchise, due to it's popularity, by releasing various tie-in novels, an official magazine and even a video game. The show even launched it's own exclusive for mobile spin-off, Proof of Innocence, which had a stint for 26 episodes, all around two minutes in duration.

The series would run alongside the main story but wouldn't feature any of the actors and was written by Eric Neal Young. The mobisode add-on followed the attempted exoneration of L.J, Lincoln's son, and also looked at unravelling the Vice President's brother murder conspiracy.

Launching in 2006, Proof of Innocence was sponsored by Toyota, particularly to promote their latest Yaris model. Ten second advertisements would feature before each installment and the car itself would somehow make an appearance at some point in every episode.

'Proof of Innocence' was a micro-budget, for mobile only spin-off of the franchise. Not long after, FOX looked at introducing new characters and an official, fully produced spin-off entitled Prison Break: Cherry Hill.

In this proposed spin-off, genders would be reversed. We would follow Molly, an upper-middle-class housewife, escaping from a women's detention centre to exact revenge after a family tragedy at the hands of The Company. Molly would later be introduced into the main story during Season Three, meeting Michael in Sona.

Unfortunately the series was cancelled due to the writer's strike throughout 2007 and 2008 and, as Executive Producer Matt Olmstead quoted "We had trouble casting for it" beforehand.

Who do you think would have made for a good Molly?

During a Q&A for FOX, alongside Wentworth Miller to promote the launch of Season 5, Dominic Purcell was asked about his craziest Prison Break fan experience.

He recounted an event in Chicago involving an elderly woman that happened in 2005.

"This old lady was looking at me very strangely and, before I knew it, cops had arrived and they were talking to me and one of the cops realised that the lady was mistaken. I was actually an actor playing an escaped convict. She thought that I was a real escaped convict and they took her away not me."

A lot of plans changed throughout the production of FOX's serial drama. Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) was meant to die in the first season and David 'Tweener' Apolskis (Lane Garrison) had to killed off in the second to complete the filming of Shooter.

But did you know that Benjamin Miles 'C-Note' Franklin was only supposed to appear in two episodes before becoming a season regular and fan favourite?

Rockmond Dunbar's character first appeared in the show's pilot. He was given a recurring role after series was commission for a full season as one of the escaping Fox River Eight. The former truck driver and US Army sergeant would later be promoted to a even more regular role after Abruzzi's (Peter Stormare) on-screen death.

Her Majesty The Queen has two birthdays. The King of escaping prison has three? Well, not quite. The show had it's fair share of plot and continuity issues. This one (or three) is a classic example.

In the pilot, Scofield noted down 9th August 1978 as his date of birth. However, his brother, Lincoln, would contradict this later, revealing that Michael was in fact two years older than stated. Thus, making Michael's birth date 9th August 1976.

However, in the Season Four finale, Michael's gravestone (pictured) reads 10th August 1974. Four years older and a day younger than originally written.

Did Scofield have concerns about his age? Was he trying to mess with the system somehow? Did he just make a mistake? Chances are it was the fault of the writer's more than anything.

We've touched on the Proof of Innocence and the potential Cherry Hill spin-offs already, but what's more fascinating is that the show has had a full on two season remake...in Russia.

Pobeg (Russian for 'escape') first aired in 2010, running until 2012 for a total of 38 episodes. The Russian remake would introduce its own twist, bringing in new characters and adapting to fit the Russian culture.

That being said, Pobeg wouldn't be shy of copying the FOX series as some of dialogue and scenes remained unchanged. Some of the costumes are identical too. The actor playing Alexei Chernov or 'Michael' even has some minor resemblance to Miller and shares similar character traits and mannerisms.

A third season was in the works, as the equivalents of Michael and Sara character's were arrested in the second season finale, but was ultimately not picked up.

Imagine this scenario if you will. I come up to you and say "Hey, I've got a great idea for a TV show. A guy deliberating gets himself arrested and sent to prison and he tries to escape from it". You'd question why or tell me to expand, only for me to respond "That's it. No reason why."

This is what happened to the show's creator and writer, Paul Scheuring. He was pitched this very idea by his colleague, Dawn Parouse but, rightly, found no logic in the protagonist's plan. Unless of course he had a clear motive.

Thus the idea of a man breaking out his brother to save him from the electric chair and the big government conspiracy surrounding the latter's murder charge was devised.

The television and film industry isn't all that big. Therefore, it is not unusual for actors and actresses to appear on other shows with their fellow co-stars.

Wentworth and Dominic appeared as guest stars in the medical drama, House, in separate episodes Charity Case and Infidelity respectively. Prison Break's female leads have done so too. Sarah Wayne Callies featured as Julia in the episode Open and Shut, and Robin Tunney appeared in the pilot episode as Rebecca Adler.

House's theme song, Teardrop by Massive Attack, can be heard in episode 20 on Season One, as the Fox River Eight reflect on the stakes and get ready for their impending escape.

For authenticity, the first season was predominantly shot in the defunct Joliet Correctional Center in Illinois, which closed down in 2002.

But how did the name of Fox River State Penitentiary come about? Since the show referenced that the lead characters were in fact detained in Joilet, Illnois, the writing team took influence from the surrounding areas.

The penitentiary is in fact named after the 202 mile long Fox River, which flows between Wisconsin and Ottawa, and is a tributary of the Illinois River. Fox River is located approximately 30 miles west of the old prison.

Each member of the Fox River Eight had their reasons for making a run for it. Fernando Sucre, played by Amaury Nolasco, intended to reunite with his girlfriend, after learning she was pregnant with his child, and to stop her from marrying his cousin. Yet Sucre wouldn't just have to worry about Maricruz changing her mind, but also changing as a person (literally).

In the pilot, Maricruz was played by Nadine Velazquez. However, she was unable to commit to the prison drama as she was cast as Catalina, in the Golden Globe nominated comedy series, My Name Is Earl. Velaquez appeared in 96 episodes from 2005 to 2009.

Camille Guaty was signed on soon after and played the role of Maricruz for the remainder of the show.

In the state of Illinois, capital punishment has been prohibited since 2011. However, before then, lethal injection had been the default method of execution, replacing the electric chair in 1983 as it was deemed more humane.

Season One was set during 2005, so with that information in mind, one would of expected Lincoln Burrows to be put to death by lethal injection. Instead, Purcell's character was due to meet his maker at the hands of the electric chair.

Pun fully intended, the creative team opted to use the chair for shock value. It certainly paid off, as the device played a key factor in one of the most gripping and tense moments in the entire show.

If the execution had been successful, the fictional Burrows would have been the first person to be put to death in Illinois since Chicago's real life Ripper Crew member, Andrew Kokoraleis in 1999.

Much like my own, the T-Bag actor's surname has been subject to some ridicule, particular from those who reside in Denmark. (Mine is Plummer, by the way).

That is because the Danish word knepper translated into English simply means 'to f***'.

Fans still enquire about Robert's name to this day and fellow and actors and Danes, Mads Mikkelsen and Ulrich Thomsen have often ridiculed him about it. Nothing malicious of course, as the season regular has described their quips and jokes as "fun as hell".

When Purcell and Miller suggested reviving the series for a fifth installment, it would mean to serve a way of tying up loose ends and give all our heroes a happy ending and satisfying send offs. With Michael alive and both brothers now free, reunited with their families, you would think just that.

But, according to creator, Paul Scheuring, they were torn on how the show should conclude. An alternative ending was filmed with Scofield, instead of looking at his family and smiling, looking over his shoulder, literally and symbolically. Therefore giving the franchise a more chilling, paranoid climax. Is Season Six on the cards?

If so, could a familiar face be making his return? As T-Bag is beating down Poseidon in Fox River, you can see a clip of John Abruzzi in his cell. Perhaps this was a mistake, the editors using an old take as an establishing shot without realising the continuity error. Was it his ghost? Did he survive after being gunned down? Are we the ones being paranoid?

Best keep on our toes... sorry, Michael.