While famous for shopping and its vibrant nightlife, Manchester is also home to a number of iconic figures. Many internationally-renowned celebrities from all walks of life come from Manchester, but three of the most famous are brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, and controversial comedian Bernard Manning.

Liam Gallagher, born in 1972, is the lead singer of popular 90s band Oasis. Formed in Manchester in 1991, the band originally consisted of Liam and Noel Gallagher as well as Paul Arthurs, Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll.

Liam and Noel are famous for their sibling disputes as well as wild, excessive partying that made them heroes within the tabloid world. Although Liam did write a number of songs for the band, most of the song writing has always been performed by his brother, Noel.

Like Liam, Noel grew up in Bunage in Manchester. After a brief period of working in construction when he was younger, Noel joined local Manchester band, the Inspiral Carpets as a roadie. After a few years on the road, he joined his brother in the band known as the Rain, which later changed its name to Oasis. Having sold more than 50 million records worldwide and with eight number ones in the British charts, Oasis are one of the most successful bands of the 1990s.

Although perhaps not as famous as the Gallagher brothers, Bernard Manning is another well known name to come from Manchester. Manning was born and raised in Ancoats in Manchester and is famous for his controversial approach to comedy, which often centred on taboo subjects.

Manning entered the career of show business while posted in Germany just after the Second World War. At the time he was a prison guard at Spandau Prison in Berlin, but Manning soon realised he had a talent for show business, particularly as a singer and was soon charging fellow soldiers to see his performances in the evenings.

On return to the United Kingdom, Manning continued the singing career but soon began to take a stronger interest in comedy. By the 1970s he was appearing on national television as a comedian and soon became one of the most famous in Britain.

During his career Manning was often criticised for his unorthodox stage approach. Such was the criticism that he appeared in a list of the most hated Britons and was taken to court by those offended by his jokes. Bernard Manning died in 2007 at the age of 76.

A growing number of flights to Manchester continue to attract those keen to explore its pubs and shopping districts. While these amenities may be what initially draws you to Manchester, a holiday here also provides the opportunity to see the city that gave the world such names as the Gallagher brothers and Bernard Manning.

The information contained within this article is the opinion of the author and is intended purely for information and interest purposes only. It should not be used to make any decisions or take any actions. Any links are included for information purposes only.





By: Victoria Cochrane

Prison Break ­continues with its heart-stopping scenes.

With all the heavy rain outside and the tunnel leaking, Michael decides to wait no longer. He announces that they will escape tonight. Lincoln is unhappy about T-Bag, Mahone, Bellick and Lechero being part of the group, but he looks forward to reuniting with Michael anyway.

While Sucre and Susan are talking, Lincoln calls to inform Susan of the escape. McGrady again requests that he be allowed to join the group, but Michael refuses. Michael tells the kid that it would be best for him to stay, but McGrady doesn’t understand. A truck almost drove over the spot where the group is digging. Luckily, it got stuck in the mud. Bellick is trying to convince Mahone to help him with his plans on capturing Michael & T-bag.

Michael asks Sucre to research on the power generator of Sona. Susan takes Sofia in her meeting with Lincoln . Lincoln calls Michael and asks him to give the phone to Whistler. Susan burns Sofia so that Whistler can hear her screams. She instructed him to follow her instructions lest Sofia will face the consequences. Lincoln asks Susan what is it with Whistler but she wouldn’t tell.

Susan also goes to Sona, tagging along Sofia and Lincoln. Whistler handed over only half of the coordinates. He tells her that he will only surrender the other half once he is certain that Michael, Lincoln, LJ and Sofia are safe. Susan gives him 24 hours to accomplish his task.

Sucre is about to leave Sona when a prison guard suddenly stopped him. He is told that there’s something wrong with his identification and that a warrant is already issued for his arrest.

Lincoln hijacks a bus for the escape. Lechero and T-Bag pull knives on Michael. They tell him that they are the ones on control. Michael lets them. The power is knocked out as planned, and everyone runs for the escape. Catch the next episode of Prison Break to discover who made the escape and who did not.

For more resources about Prison Break or for the full story of Prison Break: Episode 3.11, “Under and Out” Recap please review http://www.buddytv.com





By: Groshan Fabiola

On the heels of Doogie Howser, M.D. and How I Met Your Mother star, Neil Patrick Harris’ confident declaration of his sexual orientation, Prison Break’s hottest hunk has been besieged by persistent rumors regarding his own sexual preference. Reports have cropped up furiously that Wentworth Miller, who plays the brilliant Michael Scofield on the hit series, has been secretly dating Luke McFarlane from Brothers & Sisters. McFarlane, who was a recurring character on Brothers & Sisters, as the boyfriend of Matthew Rhys’ character, Kevin Walker, had previously briefly dated Grey’s Anatomy’s T.R. Knight, who has been embroiled in a long-running media circus with recently dismissed co-star, Isaiah Washington.

Prison Break’s Miller has been hounded by the nasty gay speculations since he shot to fame as a result of the phenomenal success of his show. He is now a favorite target of the gay question in much the same fashion as former American Idol runner up, Clay Aiken.

Sources for the celebrity gossip website, TMZ.com, say that Miller has been going out with McFarlane secretly for six months now and that they have been very discreet and guarded about their relationship because Miller is not out of the closet. Some reports even claim that the two actors are already planning on moving in together. “They spend a lot of time at each other’s houses. Wentworth has been pretty reclusive since he’s become famous and he’s been even more of a shut-in since he started dating Luke,” the TMZ mole said.

Miller is currently tied up with production for the third season of Prison Break but reports claim that Fox, which is the show’s home network, is struggling with Miller’s increased media shyness and elusiveness. A Fox insider told PerezHilton.com that “Wentworth’s become very difficult to work with. He’s been cutting back immensely on the amount of press he’s doing for Prison Break. He’s very nervous about reporters asking him if he’s gay.”

For more resources about Prison Break or for the full version of the story Prison Break: More Wentworth Miller Gay Rumors please review http://www.buddytv.com





By: Groshan Fabiola

Surprise! Surprise! T-Bag easily took off with round two in our Prison Break’s Biggest Badass competition. During the first round, Mahone won with 38% of the votes, leaving Michael and Susan far behind. However, round two was a time of glory for T-Bag, who won through a whopping 73% of votes. Just recently, T-Bag sentenced Bellick to death and just truly challenged anyone who would get in his way. Thing is, he’s still in Sona, but when he does get out, he’ll make sure to wreak some havoc.

Next week, the Badass finals will take place and fans are gearing up for a challenge. However, we need one more candidate to face off with our ultimate baddies, Mahone and T-Bag. Here are the newbies:

Round 3 nominee James Whistler has a lot of mysteries up his sleeve, and he does not hesitate to harm anyone who tries to get near them. Not much is known about this fellow, except probably the deduced fact that he is not who he think he is. In season 3, The Company asked for Michael’s help to break Whistler out of Sona, as Whistler was a valuable person to the organization. He was previously imprisoned for killing the son of a Panamanian mayor in a bar fight. He recently got more violent after he did not hesitate to attack Michael in a fight to the death in the prison yard. Moreover, he fought Michael after Michael was trying to stop Whistler from escaping Sona. Whistler recently admitted that he works with The Company, thus casting a shadow of doubt on how innocent, or guilty he really is.

Up next is Sucre , our sweet lover turned badass after landing in Fox River . A man with a huge heart, Sucre is the kind of guy you’d want to bring home to your mother, who will only warn you of him. But then again, he’s too cute to let slip away. Aggravated robbery was his case, and he was sentenced for five years in jail. Of course, he couldn’t wait, because the love of his life was waiting in the wings to be his wife. So he gets on the escapees bandwagon with Michael and the rest is history. Despite not being capable of extreme violence, he would do anything to protect those he cares about. Don’t you just love that river scene with Michael? That was really touching.

Lastly, there’s Bellick, who was once a filthy Fox River prison guard who’d take a chance for money and power. Now that he’s stripped off both (and clothes, too), he’s sitting as one of the inmates in Sona with Michael, Mahone and T-Bag, for a murder he did not commit. Talk about bad luck. Using his dirty schemes to get ahead, he manipulates lies and cheats, just to get ahead. What a true badass.

For more resources about Prison Break or for the full story of Prison Break’s Biggest Badass: Round 3 please review http://www.buddytv.com





By: Groshan Fabiola

Nominated for 2 Emmys, including Best Casting for a Series, Oz is widely regarded as one of the best prison dramas ever created. The brainchild of creator Tom Fontana (former writer for such hit TV shows as Homicide: Life On The Streets and St. Elsewhere), Oz was one of a number of a highly successful HBO original series to premiere in the 1990s, keeping good company among such shows as Sex And The City and The Sopranos. Premiering in mid-summer 1997, Oz quickly built a large and loyal following of voyeuristic viewers hypnotized by the series’ vivid depiction of no-holds-barred prison life. Following six critically acclaimed seasons, Oz was cancelled in early 2003, but lives on via DVD…

Oz is the street name for the Oswald State Penitentary, a rough and hardened prison where survival of the fittest is the prevailing law. But the focus of Oz is Level 5, an experimental cell block deemed “Emerald City” that’s managed by Unit Administrator Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) and thick-skinned Warden Leo Glynn (Ernie Hudson). One of the prisoners, wheelchair-bound convicted murderer Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr. of Lost) narrates for the viewer, tying together the various storylines that play out within the prison. In an atmosphere of well-governed anarchy, prisoners come and go (some paroled; some murdered), prison guards uphold their duty (while some are corrupt), and various groups (such as Muslims, Aryans, Latinos, Italians, gangstas, gays, etc.) compete for power over each other and over the prevalent drug trade rampant within the walls of Oz. Tobias “Toby” Beecher (Lee Tergesen) plays the “everyday man,” having been convicted for manslaughter while driving drunk, and his character’s experiences force the viewer to place himself in the shoes of the inmate. Other notable characters include Prisoner Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo), Prisoner Bob Rebadow (George Morfogen), Prisoner Vernon Schillinger (J.K. Simmons), Prisoner Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), Prisoner Tony Masters (Steven Wishnoff), Officer Diane Whittlesey (Edie Falco of The Sopranos), and Father Ray Mukada (B.D. Wong of Law





By: Britt Gillette

Like other antagonists on television, Wade Williams has greatly established himself as a convincingly wicked villain as Captain Brad Bellick. Recently, he gave BuddyTV a taste of his penitentiary experience with his inclusion on the popular show Prison Break.

Williams, a 45-year old actor, was initially set to study medicine at the University of Tulsa. Eventually, his interest in drama and music prompted him to make a career switch. As an actor, he began his career in theater at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in The Taming of the Shrew. Later, he landed television and movie roles. His credits included Jarhead, Erin Brockovich, 24, CSI, The Bernie Mac Show, Over There and Six Feet Under to name a few.

Initially, Williams was a little hesitant to audition for Captain Brad Bellick, fearing his daughter might perceive him as such a bad character.

But with a lot of encouragement from his manager, he went through with it and luckily got the part.

Although he persuasively plays the part, his depiction of the nasty correctional officer entailed a lot of preparation. He went through a lot of research; spoke with prison guards at Stateville Prison, as well as other high-ranking officers on the penitentiary.

And as much as he loves being a regular on television show due to the stable pay, not to mention the solid interaction of the characters over a period of time and the camaraderie of the male dominated cast, the actor admits that he still takes pleasure in the thrill of performing in front of an audience.

As for the upcoming third season on Prison Break, he enthusiastically hopes to be a part of the heart-pounding series. To catch a glimpse of Wade Williams’ wicked antics, watch Prison Break, which airs Mondays at 8:00 PM on Fox.

For more info about Prison Break and especially about Exclusive Interview with Wade Williams of Prison Break please review http://www.buddytv.com





By: Groshan Fabiola

A gray drizzle fell as Victor Baldwin stood on the exact spot where rioting inmates took him hostage in 1959. It was 40 years later, yet he remembered everything: what they said, how they threatened him, how scared he felt.

Baldwin was one of 26 hostages held at Montana State Prison during a violent takeover led by inmate Jerry Myles, who had served a long stretch at Alcatraz Island before he came to Deer Lodge.

On the day that I went into Old Montana Prison with Baldwin, fog shrouded the guard towers. The exercise yard, once the hub of prison life, was silent. Our footsteps echoed in the one remaining cell house, cold as a deep freezer.

I was researching a book I had wanted to write since I was a boy. Baldwin was a key source for Jerry’s Riot: The True Story of Montana’s 1959 Prison Disturbance, as were several other guards and inmates who had first-hand knowledge of the riot. Baldwin recalled how Myles walked around the prison like he owned the place. Guards called him “Little Hitler” among other names.

The worst fear among guards, Baldwin told me, was that they would lose control in a riot. Guards in 1959 had little training. They had no special armor to protect themselves. Cell houses had no telephones, and guards had no means of communicating with one another except in face-to-face conversations. It was especially dangerous, too, because until late 1958 the prison had no classification system. Rapists mingled with the fish. Murderers walked with check forgers. Violent men controlled the meek. The “con boss” system, a state-sanctioned arrangement that permitted convict leaders to run the inside industries, gave some inmates more power than the guards.

When new Warden Floyd Powell fired the con bosses, replacing them in some cases with civilian supervisors, he upset the balance of power in the prison. Jerry Myles was one of those con bosses, and he vowed revenge.

On the day the riot began, April 16, 1959, Baldwin was a second-shift floor officer in Cell House 2, also known as “the old cell house” or the 1896 cell house, when Myles and his accomplices took him. He had just returned from eating dinner in the guards’ dining room outside the walls when he felt a knife poking his ribs.

Decades later, as we walked in the old prison, I asked Victor to show me where it happened. The older cell house no longer stands; the state tore it down four months after the riot because of structural damage after an earthquake. We stood on an open concrete pad where his desk sat, close to the wall in the northeast corner. He showed me how Myles and the others came from behind, cornering him with weapons.

It’s haunting to hear a guard take you back in time. Baldwin, like many other guards and inmates I interviewed, remembered everything that happened to him that day. He thought he was going to die, and dying makes a man pay attention.

For me, Jerry’s Riot was a personal adventure. My dad, Murry, worked with Baldwin inside the prison the day the riot began but wasn’t taken hostage. Dad later became a lieutenant of custody, and until I left home and went to college, the prison was part of my life. I had heard Dad’s stories about the riot for many years, and at dinner (when he wasn’t at work) he often told us stories of various incidents inside the walls.

When I decided to write Jerry’s Riot, I had two main objectives in mind: to compile a clear and accurate account of the riot, and to tell an interesting story about prison life in the 1950s. I used language commonly spoken then (which is why I say “guards” instead of “correctional officers,” for example) and tried to portray the risk that guards and other employees took each time they entered those gray walls.

It’s a shame that Victor Baldwin, and my dad, and other old guards died before they could read Jerry’s Riot. In many ways the book is all about them. Some people say the dynamics inside prisons never change. If that’s the case, my book is all about guards of today and tomorrow too.

(Kevin S. Giles is a native of Deer Lodge. More details about Jerry’s Riot are available at www.skybluewaterspress.com)





By: Kevin S. Giles

On the previous episode of Prison Break, Lechero and T-Bag pulled knives on Michael and took control, Susan gave Whistler a 24-hour deadline to give her the other half of the coordinates, Sucre was held by the guards for some questioning, the power is knocked out as planned and the group made a run for it. Here’s what happened on the “Hell or High Water” episode.

Michael lets the first group go but holds back the others. The lights came back on and the guards saw the first group of escapees. The siren wails and all the guards are suddenly in motion. Lechero gets shot while T-Bag and Bellick gets caught. Michael watches the incident from the hole, and says this is all part of the plan.

In the jungle, Lincoln makes a call to Sucre but Sucre is still stuck in SONA. He then calls Papa Sparky and gives him some directions.

Back in the yard, Bellick is choked until he is forced to reveal the escape plan. He guides the guards towards the key-coded door. As they head for the tunnel, Michael’s group heads out. The guards found no one when they reached the hole and Bellick gets punched again. He then discloses the names of everyone on the plan. He tells them to check the Yard but when they do, all they got was a hole in the fence. The escapees have fled. Bellick is again tortured, with the guards demanding him to reveal where the group is headed.

Roads are blocked off and the passengers of the bus which Lincoln hijacked are now being interviewed by the police. Michael’s group meets with Lincoln on the beach and they head into the water. They swim until they reach the place where Sucre ’s boat is supposed to pick them up. Sucre is nowhere to be found but the boat arrives anyway, with Papa Sparky maneuvering it.

The group returns to land and transfers to a van. Susan gets anxious and calls Lincoln . He tries to lie to her but Susan can’t be fooled. Suddenly, men in black cars are after them. Michael discovers that the stopwatch Susan gave Whistler has a tracker, he throw it out of the window.

Back in Sona, T-Bag is about to be tortured with electricity. Sucre , who was held because his alias is wanted for intoxication and misdemeanor, is released after the guards decided to focus on the prison break. But before he could go, T-Bag sees him and points him as part of the escape group.

Mahone tells the brothers that he wants to go his own direction but Lincoln gets suspicious and points a gun at him. But the moment is distracted when the sound of glass breaking suddenly overwhelms the place. Mahone takes advantage and runs.

See what happens next and how everything will end up on the final episode of Prison Break.

For more resources about Prison Break or for the full story of Prison Break: Episode 3.12, “Hell or High Water” Recap please review http://www.buddytv.com





By: Groshan Fabiola

Women in Prison Cinema

by Robert Meeks

Firehoses, handcuffs, chains; the ingredients needed by an emergency response team?

No; just a few of the ingredients possible in any good Women In Prison ( WIP ) Flick. To that, we can add shower scenes, lashings, baton beatings, sweat, nudity…oh, and let’s not forget the all important lesbian scenes.

WIP flicks have a certain charm to them; they are frankly our fantasies of the taboo molestation and imprisonment of women brought to the screen for our enjoyment. Let’s face it, we enjoy the fantasy of being able to imprison a woman ( too many men practice this today in what we call bad marriages ), tie her up, strip her nude, wash her down, watch her squirm in mud, and see her and another woman fulfill each other’s sexual desires.

In many parts of the world, supposedly, this type of treatment is against the law ( apparently abusive marriages are not, though ). Enter the third world nation.

Oppressive regimes and banana republics have been fodder ( and well deserved ) for the plots of many WIP flicks. This has a multifold reason: 1) tropical, if not hot and sweaty, locales are ideal for working women in the nude; 2) as the republics often represented are small, not on any map, nations, the filmmakers can take complete liberty with the story, even having a dictatorship overthrown; 3) being that it is an oppressive regime, the heroine of the film could very well be in prison on false charges, which would, supposedly, make her fight more sympathetic; 4) as it is a third world country, being participants of a relatively cushy lifestyle in comparison, who gives a damn about them? ( that part is sad )

Despite the popularity of plots involving third world countries in WIP flicks, they have not completely cornered the market, as many WIP flicks have been based in the United States, or other prominent countries as well. Regardless of the setting for the WIP flick, there are elements which most, if not all have in common among their diversity of plots ( okay, I damn near laughed myself to death too when I said diversity ).

If we look at the plots of several different WIP flicks, though we may well see different paddings to the plots, we can discover almost generic plot elements shared among many of them.

The Heroine: The main character in the WIP flick is the primary focus of the story. Though she may or may not be imprisoned under false pretenses, regarless of the reason for her incarceration, her’s is a righteous cause. We are brought to sympathize with her character for one of several possible reasons:

1) She is an innocent (whether she is guilty of a crime or not) being initiated into a cruel system.

2) She is a veteran of the system, yet, it has not gotten to her as it has the others and she uses her experience to either fight the system or to protect others in the system.

3) She is a plant either by the government, revolutionaries, or independent contractors looking for corruption in the system or overthrow a government.

The System: The most universal plot element among WIP flicks is that the system is always corrupt. Regardless of any political message or not (and, frankly, try real hard to find one), the system is always worse than any of the inmates which builds sympathy for the characters despite how bad they may be.

The Antagonists: I think that we can safely and universally use the word BITCH here. Although the antagonists in a WIP flick may primarily be a warden or guards, there is almost always a female character who is either out to get the heroine, or is in cahoots with an authority figure. There is a degree of poetic justice which comes in a WIP flick as, regardless how much of a bitch the antagonist is, she will always get what’s coming to her in the end (uh…not literally).

The Mentor: Important to any prison film, whether it is women in prison or not, is the inmate who has been around, often a lifer, yet has not been corrupted by the system. Often they have a desire to see someone give it to the system, or perhaps have a score to settle with a warden. Regardless what drives them, they are willing to makes sacrifices to help the heroine in her cause; and they will have the satisfaction of knowing what they did, or even dying with the knowledge of having given the system the finger.

The Innocent: Despite the characters which are portrayed to inhabit a women’s prison, a universal plot device is to have one prisoner who is almost childlike and needs the protection of someone else. This element serves not only to impact a certain degree of sympathy for the cause of the uh…good side, but it also further defines just how bad the baddies can be as they will almost assuredly violate the innocent.

The Sympathizer: Regardless of how bad everybody else in an authority position is, there has to be one who understands the plight of the prisoners. The sympathizer is a character who either works at the prison or has a reason to be at the prison and is in a position to help the heroine. Frequently, the sympathizer is a doctor. For some reason, the scriptwriters for WIP flicks think that doctors are good people; they obviously have not spent much time around a hospital.

The Cause: Central to all movies, and WIP flicks are no exception, is a reason as to why the plot has to be. Perhaps WIP flicks make blatant use of this element more unashamedly than other genres of film. In a WIP flick, there is an underlying cause as to why the heroine, and her supporters, must do what they have to do; whether it be punishing an unjust warden and guards or overthrowing a corrupt third world dictator.

The Final Conflict: WIP flicks, like any movie, must have a climax (now kindly remove your mind from the gutter). There must be some kind of showdown, prison escape, or overthrowing of an authority figure. This satifies the viewer’s desire that there was a purpose to the cause at hand. The more antagonists that are killed, or imprisoned themselves, the more gratifying the conclusion.

Yes, WIP flicks do share several elements among themselves, but they are really no different in basic plot than any other movie. In any film, we have protagonists, antagonists, ancillary support characters, a cause, and a climax. Where WIP flicks up the ante is in the addition of wanton nudity and lesbianism which, even without the afforementioned ingredients, is more than enough to satisfy many viewers alone.

Bob

This article is copyrighted 2006 by Robert Meeks. All rights reserved. Webmasters are allowed to use this article on their site so long as the content and copyright information stays intact and a link is provided, on the same page as the article, to Zhorkow’s CargoShip.





By: Robert Meeks

With the highly anticipated return of the phenomenally successful, Prison Break, on FOX next month, fans and critics alike are wondering just how well the third season of the series can possibly stack up to the monumental triumph of the first two installments. According to Dominic Purcell, who plays the lead character Lincoln Burrows, the upcoming offering promises to be even better.

“I’ve seen some cut-together stuff and it’s really impressive,” Purcell revealed in an interview with TV Guide. “When you see it, you’ll understand what I’m saying.”

E! Online provides several major details to watch out for, when Prison Break resumes in September.

First off, the series will revisit its original winning formula revolving around key characters struggling with their incarceration. When the series left off at the close of season 2, Michael Scofield, Alex Mahone, Brad Bellick and Theodore Bagwell were locked up in the South American prison called Sona.

In season 3, Scofield, Lincoln’s brother and mastermind of their daring escape from Fox River prison, commences planning their Sona jailbreak by episode five. Meanwhile, former FBI agent Mahone is doomed to a year of waiting for the start of his trial. His imprisonment becomes doubly difficult as he battles withdrawal from the pills he’d been addicted to. Former Fox River head guard Bellick is reduced to the bottom of the food chain at Sona.

Outside the confines of a correctional facility, Lincoln devotes his time and energy in locating Sara Tancredi, who finds herself with Lincoln’s son, LJ, at the hands of a mysterious stranger.

Finally, Dominic Purcell hinted at increased attention to his character in season 3. “It’s kind of been described as Lincoln in his own private little spy story,” Purcell intimated.

He also mentioned that Burrows will find himself in far more pleasant company as his alter ego is finally given a long overdue love interest.

“And it’s about time. Lincoln needs to get laid,” the actor admitted.

For more resources about Prison Break or for the full story about Prison Break Season 3 Said To Be “Best Yet” please review this page http://www.buddytv.com





By: Groshan Fabiola