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'The Prisoner' Debriefed and Numbered on AMC
by Reg Seeton
 When
I first heard that AMC was resurrecting the 1967
British TV series, The Prisoner, which begins
its six-hour, three night run on Sunday, November
15, I thought writer Bill Gallagher, the creative
folks at AMC and co-producing partner ITV from
the U.K. had their work cut out for them. As a
property, The Prisoner languished in development
hell for ages, with many starts and stops over
the years to get The Prisoner on the big screen
and back to the small screen. For any talented
writer or director, The Prisoner is one tough
nut to crack given its significant and powerful
statements on society. So the most intriguing
question surrounding the AMC version of The Prisoner
became: How can The Prisoner be remade so modern
audiences won't be confused and get what the series
is about without diluting the magic of The Prisoner?
Simply put, it was a near impossibility. Especially
at a time when people today are more hypnotized
by celebrity than the "stand up and take action"
activism of the late '60s.
The underlying framework of The Prisoner mini-series is largely the same. Actor Jim Caviezel steps into the shoes of Michael, a corporate expatriate who finds himself in the bizarre unknown location, The Village, after expelled by an obscure corporation only to learn he's now known as Number Six in a population of numbers within the only place in the world that seemingly exists. Number Six (Caviezel) soon discovers The Village is led by the powerful Number Two, played by Ian McKellen, whose job it is to contain and control the numbers within The Village despite being pursued by his former corporate employers after discovering a sensitive secret.
 So
how does the The Prisoner redo fair in this
generation? First is the riveting and powerful
performance of Ian McKellen as Number Two. By
far McKellen carries The Prisoner on his shoulders
from start to finish. Given the inclusion of
British actors Ian McKellen and young New Moon
actor Jamie Campbell Bower in the troubled teen
role of Number 11-12 alongside American Jim
Caviezel, it's the Brit presence that gives
The Prisoner legitimacy. After all, the original
Prisoner hit the airwaves during the British
'60s secret agent TV landscape.
The unfortunate part about The Prisoner is how Jim Caviezel had the impossible task of following behind the legacy of actor Patrick McGoohan. Although we all know Jim Caviezel can rise to power after his amazing performance in The Passion of the Christ, there's a lack of presence next to McKellen who takes command of The Prisoner in a way that Caviezel can't. Given the legacy of the late McGoohan and his dominant and potent presence as Number Six, The Prisoner would have been better served to keep the lead British with someone as commanding as Ian McShane. If you find The Prisoner falls flat in the lead territory, this may be the very reason. However, given the lead character shift from secret government agent in the ‘60s to corporate deportee to The Village, The Prisoner lacks the powerful call to action of immediacy of the ‘60s. Despite any perceived plot holes in the new version, it was simply a different time with a different will of the people than today.
 One
thing that does work for The Prisoner, and recreated
stunningly effective, is The Village. Although
the mysterious Village has now been transplanted
to Africa from Wales in the original (although
The Village was said to be somewhere near Morocco
or Spain but hinted closer to England), the
numerical A-frame order and vibrant colors of
the ultra modern location remains intact much
in the same way as the original. Like the original,
The Village is a character as much as the cast,
which also includes the weird white containment/death
bubbles from the original that we see Caviezel
trapped inside. Fans of the original Prisoner
won't be let down by The Village yet may get
entangled in its plot obscurities.
On deeper levels with The Prisoner remake on AMC, another interesting aspect is how the mini-series is in direct conflict with our current era since (although nowhere near as powerful as the original) it challenges the minds of viewers at a time when people don't want to be challenged. The two most memorable quotes I can think of from the original 1967 series starring Patrick McGoohan are "I am not a number. I am a person," and "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own." The original Prisoner wasn't straightforward. It wasn't supposed to be mindless, predictable, and paint by "numbers". The Prisoner of 1967 was so far ahead of its time that when you watch it today it's still hard to piece together. I mean, The Prisoner dealt with such issues as information as a commodity and the epidemic of identity theft. That was 40 years ago.
 However,
it’s not difficult to understand the symbolic
undertones that spoke directly to the many counterculture
clashes of the late 1960s. But The Prisoner
is more relevant and needed today than its original
era. Orwellian in nature, The Prisoner is more
about government intervention and control over
a population of numbers and the stark reality
of how quickly your rights can be taken away.
Unfortunately, with the AMC resurrection of
The Prisoner, most people won't get it. We live
in an era where people want things spelled out
upfront on a path of least resistance. Most
viewers will think it's strange, weird, or bizarre
when they should be reading between the lines.
Is The Prisoner worth watching? Well, how do I know you're going to get any of what the series or new mini-series is about? What people hail as great today is a far cry from what was great in years past. Are you someone who doesn't mind being challenged or do you like your TV straightforward? The Prisoner requires an investment in both time and the mind, which, on that level, falls short of the mark in keeping today’s viewers stimulated and riveted for six hours across three nights. If you're a fan of the original series, The Prisoner is worth watching just for sentimental reasons alone along with Ian McKellen and The Village. Does The Prisoner live up to its 1967 predecessor? Of course not, there’s no way it could.
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