Does Prison Break equal chess? Well, no, since chess is a turn-based game played by two players on a 64-square board, while Prison Break is a weekly drama about prison escapees on the Fox network.

But there are some similarities:

1. Lincoln Burrows is the King. If he dies, it’s game over.
2. Michael Schofield is the Queen. He has all the power, and the show is about him, but it could conceivably continue without him.
3. Then there are all the helper characters (rooks, knights and bishops), like Sucre, C-note, and Sara Tancredi.
4. And let’s not forget all the pawns. The many, many pawns.

Well that’s all I got.

Hmmm, now that I have it written down, maybe they’re not that similar.

Next week’s article: how Australia is like a Bunsen Burner.