AMC's "The Prisoner" preview (Ian McKellen, Jim Caviezel)
- Thread starter Aragorn
- Start date
Ian will probably be fabulous, but honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing about twelve different number twos getting flushed back and forth through a revolving door.
Well they did the right thing - made it distinct from the 60's series - it looks a lot more psychological (maybe even theological - Six believing there's more of Planet Earth "out there" has an obvious metaphorical connection to belief in an afterlife) and apparently not only has the spy angle been dropped, but there's no apparent reason why Caveziel's character would be kidnapped (which makes it more plausible that he's simply insane?) Good use of the African locations, and The Village looks both different from the original but still creepy.
But that video is too long. It makes the show look too repetitive. It would be nice to see Ian McKellan do more than just look sinister and say sinister things. Maybe something that makes us wonder whether he may be correct about his interpretation of reality after all? That he's a doctor trying to help this poor, crazy guy? He gets frustrated by Caveziel's pigheadedness? I hope McKellan isn't really going to spend the whole miniseries going bwahaha, what a waste.
I wonder if there's a possibility that in the end, Six will be revealed to be mad, and in fact wherever they are, The Village really is the only place on that particular world. I'm willing to go with that. They better not all be holograms, tho!!!
But that video is too long. It makes the show look too repetitive. It would be nice to see Ian McKellan do more than just look sinister and say sinister things. Maybe something that makes us wonder whether he may be correct about his interpretation of reality after all? That he's a doctor trying to help this poor, crazy guy? He gets frustrated by Caveziel's pigheadedness? I hope McKellan isn't really going to spend the whole miniseries going bwahaha, what a waste.
I wonder if there's a possibility that in the end, Six will be revealed to be mad, and in fact wherever they are, The Village really is the only place on that particular world. I'm willing to go with that. They better not all be holograms, tho!!!
I'm surprised that Ian McKellan is doing television.
Anyway, I've been looking forward to this show for a while and the preview looks good. I do wonder though, how they can turn this into a long-running series.
I'm looking at the comments at the IMDb board and people don't seem too happy about this series and think it'll flop. Some don't think that remakes of British shows do well in the U.S.
Anyway, I've been looking forward to this show for a while and the preview looks good. I do wonder though, how they can turn this into a long-running series.
I'm looking at the comments at the IMDb board and people don't seem too happy about this series and think it'll flop. Some don't think that remakes of British shows do well in the U.S.
A lot of highly talented actors do TV now. The TV stigma has faded away since the writing on TV has become much better on certain cable networks (AMC being one of them) while movies have become increasingly dumb. The biggest movie right now features gun-toting guinea pigs, I rest my case.
After all, Jim Caveziel has a movie career as well, and he's still got those handsome leading man looks. He doesn't "have to do TV," but The Prisoner might very well have been a better script than whatever movies he could be doing instead - dopey rom-coms, dopey action, I can imagine what his options would have been.
Is that the plan? I thought it was just a miniseries and done. Which is the smart approach.
My hunch is that awareness is very low that there was ever a British series of the same name. It was a long time ago, after all. I think it will do well because a) there are a couple big names in it, b) it doesn't look like everything else on TV, and c) if the AMC audience will suffer thru Mad Men (artsy fartsy/boooring in S2), then why wouldn't it go for an artsy thriller?
You're right, it looks like this will be a six-episode mini series. That sounds much better.
Crap... is there way to watch this video outside the US...?
Should've done the original seven episodes like the original series (before it went to 17 episodes).
Should've done the original seven episodes like the original series (before it went to 17 episodes).
I've been looking forward to this ever since Lennie James was announced as being involved. (The actor playing the cab driver, who was also played Hawkins on Jericho, for those needing specifics.) Looks better and better.
Doesn't look like a very substantial role, tho.
Anyone wanna take bets on the ending? I'm 100% certain that this does not take place in "the real world," and that Number Two is telling the truth when he says there is no such place as New York City. I expect the ending will be artistically ambiguous, but I just hope they don't cop out by making it entirely ambiguous. They need to jump one way or the other.
Foot-Through-TV endings are prohibited: Hologram/Virtual Reality and It Was All a Dream. Purgatory may be acceptable, depends on how they handle it.
Ditto for Alien Zoo.
Which is how Patrick McGoohan originally wanted to do The Prisoner, seven not six however, but ITV wanted a much longer series (EDIT: as candlelight mentioned while I was typing and editing my post before posting!)
I'm looking forward to this new version of The Prisoner, and it kinda reminds me of Thomas Disch's novelistic take on the 60s series (The Prisoner, later republished as I'm Not A Number! and then republished again under the original title).
The preview had some interesting callbacks to the original: the "local service" line from the taxi driver, the shop looking like the one in the 60s show, the fan debates over whether or not the Village is controlled by aliens or that it's all in Six's mind, a bigger Rover, and the line, "I'm not a number, I'm a free man."
But it leaves me with one question. In this iteration, who is Number One? And will the Beatles play over the speakers when all is revealed?
Last edited:
Closed hte page down at 2:32 mark. Whole thing looks bad and like they don't get it. Also has that modern feel and look which I'm really sick of. And number 6 has no screen presance -- he's just there. Count me completely out.
S
Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
Looks fantastic. I agree though that it's too long, makes it look repetitive. Still I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm more interested in the Christopher Nolan version.
I totally didn't expect them to change the whole "Why'd you resign?" angle. While I respect doing something new I'm not sure how that sits with me just yet.
I don't want to see them do the original over again--McGoohan owned that version of Number Six, and I see no reason to do it again unless they're radically reinterpreting the material (with plenty of references to the original, like the local destination driver, the bigger map, the "be seeing you" line, amongst many others just in the trailer).
I'll be there, on television or DVD. Just please don't do more than six episodes.
I'll be there, on television or DVD. Just please don't do more than six episodes.
Aren't we supposed to be ranting about sexual abuse of our childhoods here, or something?
Well, they kept Rover. I think the resignation "keystone" to unravelling our man could (and should) have been kept. There are plenty of things going on in the world that keeps the cloak and dagger crowd hard at work, and hopefully that part of the story is kept intact, just not on display in our sneak peek.
Be seeing you!
Be seeing you!
I wouldn't say it's the better writing on cable. I mean, the 24 lead actors AND guest actors have people who are primarily known as movie actors. Life on Mars, CSI as well (Gary Sinise and Lawrence Fishbourne for crying out loud!). And sitcoms! 2 and a Half Men, According to Jim, there's a bunch to be sure.
It's ALL of TV.
How else is a modern production supposed to be other than modern??
What silly observations. Jim Caveziel, who can support movies on his shoulders having no screen presence...
I think this looks fantastic! Different from the original (it would be stupid to copy it) but just enough to keep us hooked (or crooked). Be seeing you indeed!
On one hand, if Laurence Fishburne, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Harvey Keitel and Kiefer Sutherland were still getting the kind of movie offers they received in their prime, they would not be on TV. At least not as series regulars. Bruce Willis may do three episodes of Friends, but he'd never sign up full-time as the star of a sitcom.
On the other hand, Noah Wyle and David Schwimmer could make over $20 million a season on TV since they received $1 million dollars-per-episode paychecks.
The Prisoner is just a mini-series.
