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AMC Releasing a New "The Prisoner" In November

Posted by kdawson on from the that's-number-six-to-you dept.

DynaSoar writes "The Prisoner is one of the most influential and enduring TV shows to have appeared during the 1960s. This single-season (1967-68), 17-episode series, starring its co-writing, co-directing executive producer Patrick McGoohan, maintains a steady fan base and gains more with each syndication re-release. For over 40 years there have been announced intentions and projects to resurrect this surreal psychodrama combining science fiction, allegory, and spy thriller in a new series or movie (but always without McGoohan, who adamantly refused, saying 'he'd done it'). Finally, since December 2008 a remake has been in the can. In November 2009, AMC will begin airing an original six-part mini-series of The Prisoner starring James Caviezal as the spy who resigns only to find himself abducted and transported to 'The Village,' where he is renamed (or rather renumbered) Number Six, and where the minds behind his incarceration attempt to pry and/or trick secrets from his brain. Chief among those minds is the visible face of the administration, Number Two, played by Ian McKellen. Unlike the original, with a new Number Two in each episode, McKellen appears throughout. To promote the upcoming release, AMC is presenting (along with a ton of 'additional material') the entire original 17 episodes, free for the streaming."

22 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Soo.... by Sasayaki · · Score: 3, Funny

    So this The Prisoner... ... is the new number two?

    --
    Check out my sci-fi book "Lacuna" at http://goo.gl/MVxX8
    1. Re:Soo.... by commodore64_love · · Score: 3, Interesting

      >>>it'll be a miracle if it's anywhere near as good as the original series.

      That's what people said in 1987, 1988, and 1989 about Star Trek TNG, but it did eventually prove itself to be just as good as the original (and often times better like season 4). TNG eventually scored 12% of the American audience, equal to how many had watched the original in the 60s.

      As for "The Prisoner" after years of hype by fans I finally watched it last year, and I was unimpressed. Yes it is an intelligently-written series, but there were a lot of moments where I wanted to reach for the fast-forward button because many of the middle episodes were excruciatingly dull.

      Okay you can now mod -1 for me, since you disagree. ;-)

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  2. Inside of Me by Philip+K+Dickhead · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Something small and quiet just died...

    --
    "Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
  3. Where's the "new" in this "news"? by PhxBlue · · Score: 3, Informative

    This was announced at Comic-Con more than a month ago.

    --
    !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
  4. Link to the series by Tensor · · Score: 5, Informative

    Was putting the link to the actual place you can stream the videos too much work ?

    http://www.amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner-1960s-series/

  5. Apple 2 video game by fdicostanzo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I remember the old Prisoner 2 video game for the Apple II. They gave you a secret number and all you had to do was not give it to them when they asked. Sounds easy. Just don't type the number.

    Well, they got me! Applesoft programs would sometimes crash into prompt with an error and line. One would almost instinctually list out the line to see what the error was. So when the video game seemed to crash I listed out the line..... You lose!

    I have never enjoyed losing a game so much.

    --
    Synergies are basically awesome, and they're even better when you leverage them. -PA
  6. Anyone bet that they don't totally ruin it? by khasim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    From the comic pdf, it looks like they've completely missed the original point.

    He had resigned because ... that is never stated ... and then he is kidnapped but he doesn't know which side kidnapped him.

    The guards didn't use guns. Aside from Rover, it was purely psychological. Even the times he escaped, he was betrayed by people he thought he could trust who turned out to be working for The Village.

    Psychological. That's the key.

    1. Re:Anyone bet that they don't totally ruin it? by shawnap · · Score: 5, Insightful

      We don't have attention spans long enough for story ideas that cannot be swiftly resolved with guns. Let's try an jive thing up a bit, eh? You know, like 24, with brainwashing!

      I know this is a joke, but the thought of tv moving so smoothly from a show about a villainous agency who kidnaps and tortures the hero, to a show about a heroic agency who kidnaps and tortures the villain has left me too wistful to laugh.

    2. Re:Anyone bet that they don't totally ruin it? by Atrox666 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.
      -- H. L. Mencken

    3. Re:Anyone bet that they don't totally ruin it? by Doctor_Jest · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sometimes he resigned, sometimes Number 2 was "reassigned." (Remember the uber-sexy 60's phone?) The Number 2's in the original Prisoner were tasked to get information from No. 6. Through varying methods, No. 6 was subjected to all sorts of tricks and outright violence (remember the ladies from the Committee?), and it was No. 6 who foiled their plans by not revealing squat. They even gave No. 6 a chance to become No. 2 in an "election" (one of my favorite, because of its scathing commentary on current "choices" in politics). The reasons for No. 2's departure(s) throughout the series was each of their failures to extract the "information" required of No. 6 by whoever ran The Village. What that information was, or who was running the Village, is never stated. No. 6 alternates from foiling the plans of No. 2 to orchestrating escapes and/or convoluted acts to throw off No. 2.

      One of the biggest "aha!" moments actually occurred at the end of the final episode. When No. 6 returns to his apartment in London (after a wild ride altogether), the door opens automatically... JUST like in the Village. How's that for a mind-blowing twist? :)

      --
      It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
  7. If the link worked... by jackb_guppy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    AMCtv.com is using the latest version of Flash to bring you the best quality video. Please update your current flash player by clicking here

    Does not update a x64 based linux OS nor can I find one on download sites.

    Suggestions?

    1. Re:If the link worked... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://www.mininova.com/tor/1322108 - The.Prisoner.Series.1967 (8.45 gigabytes).

    2. Re:If the link worked... by jhol13 · · Score: 3, Funny

      1. Boycott AMCtv because it is not using "open" alternatives like, uh, Vorbis?
      2. Change distribution to X?
      3. Try under Wine?
      4. Change community attitude towards non-free software?
      5. Bitch to everyone who does not 100% agree with "FOSS is the only one" and "all information must be free"?
      6. Convert to "iPhone for everyhting"?

      Is that enough or you need more trolling? :-)

  8. Re:Why ruin a god thing? by NewbieProgrammerMan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why ruin a god thing?

    Oh come on now, just because Jesus is starring in it doesn't mean we need to bring God into it too.

    --
    [b.belong('us') for b in bases if b.owner() == 'you']
  9. I pity them by PCM2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can't imagine what it must be like to work on a production like this. The actors, the writers, the directors... everybody. Imagine knowing, every day you go in to work, that you're working on inane, pointless crap that's nothing more than the result of an endless negotiation between lawyers for the sake of earning a few bucks. Imagine knowing that out there, somewhere, is a truly classic work of art that you had absolutely nothing to do with. Knowing that somewhere inside you there might be a person who's just as intelligent and creative as Patrick McGoohan, but instead you're stuck making some senseless drivel that borrows the name of his vision. What a horrible, sad, soulless existence that must be. Truly, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

    --
    Breakfast served all day!
    1. Re:I pity them by Hurricane78 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sadly that form of existence, called "living your life in a walking daze", is the state of nearly all people in this society.

      They work for someone who is no bit better than them, has some crappy ideas, but has the money to make others with much better ideas, work for him to make them real.
      They fall into a passive state of not thinking for yourself. Not leading. And when they come home, they do the same, by watching TV.

      I don't think it's actually life anymore. You are just a material that gets used up. A human resource.

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    2. Re:I pity them by dbIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Some episodes were brilliant. Others were pointless crap. Some had incredibly bad and stupid dialogue which were saved by Leo McKearn and Patrick McGoohan looking and sounding very intense about it. Some actors and cinematographers can take rubbish and turn it into gold.

  10. Alternative running order by TastelessGarbage · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The PBS station in San Jose reran the series about 20 or so years ago. Scott Apel hosted bumpers before and after the series, which greatly enhanced the viewing. The biggest move was his re-ordering of the episodes into a sequence that made more sense than the CBS original run, in particular. The re-ordering went as follows:

    Arrival

    Dance of the Dead

    Checkmate

    Free for All

    The Chimes of Big Ben

    Many Happy Returns

    The Schizoid Man

    The General

    A, B and C

    It's Your Funeral

    Living in Harmony

    Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

    A Change of Mind

    Hammer Into Anvil (my favorite ep)

    The Girl Who Was Death

    Once Upon a Time

    Fall Out

    In this order, the series consists of three cycles. Cycle one (ending with Many Happy Returns) focuses on #6 trying to escape. Cycle two (ending with Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling) focuses on 'intrigue in The Village' as #6 adjusts to his captivity. The final cycle consists of #6 taking charge and subverting The Village from within. Continuity is also improved in this sequencing.

    And yes, #6 does have a name: Carl (his fiancee would know his name, after all).

    --
    That ain't liver; that's beef kidney!
    1. Re:Alternative running order by ZM73 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Where do you get that his "real" name is Carl? If The Prisoner (#6) has a "real" name, it's John Drake, (ie, Secret Agent, aka Danger Man, from which Patrick McGoohan first starred.) In fact, the photo used of #6 in The Village is a stock photo of "John Drake" from Secret Agent. However, I have never heard of #6 being referred to as "Carl", even by his fiance. I just re-watched "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" (the episode with Janet, #6's fiance) and she never once utters "Carl."

      .

      Please, if you can, point to your reference where #6's name is Carl.

      .

      Also, if you wish to speak of running order, you should check out the Wiki of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Prisoner_episodes There are 5 different running orders listed, all of which seem to have their own validity.

      .

      In the end, Patrick McGoohan (RIP) should have the last say in all of this... and over the years he never once admitted that #6 was John Drake, (or any other "real" name). Plus, he always said that the running order should have been much shorter than it was: only 7 episodes:

      Arrival

      Dance of the Dead

      Free For All

      Checkmate

      Chimes of Big Ben

      Once Upon a Time

      Fallout

      .

      The reason the series lasted 17 was due to network requests, not Patrick's. Although British TV series have always been "odd" in the number of episodes making a whole "season," they didn't want to do just 7 episodes, but Patrick didn't want to do 24... so, there are 17.

      .

      As for the running order debates... frankly I don't care where AB&C, and The General belong in the greater running order, but they certainly belong in That order, (and back to back). Colin Gordon is one of the few actors who plays #2 twice, and in the opening sequence of the episode of The General he says "I AM Number 2" NOT "I am the New Number 2." Thus bridging his appearance from AB&C into The General. If we are to take The General as coming before AB&C, then it's rather out of place to then hear him say he is the New #2 at the start of AB&C.

      .

      Another running order debate is with placing Checkmate before Free For All. Frankly, Free For All MUST come before Checkmate. In Free For All, as he is campaigning for #2's "office" he announces that he intends to find out who are the prisoners and who are the warders. Then, in Checkmate he formulates a theory on which to test this separation. It would seem illogical to reverse these two in the running order.

      .

      And... no matter where you place Dance of the Dead, it must be within the first 2 or 3 episodes as one of #6's opening lines in that episode is "I"m new here!" If this episode starts creeping into a running order later that the 3rd episode, that line becomes less logical.

      .

      As for the second-half (or last third) of the running order... there really aren't as many line specific instances, or continuity points to really say one way or the other. Maybe because these later episodes were merely filler... until we get to the conclusion with Once Upon A Time and Fallout, which (frankly) should be watched as one episode.

      .

      If it were me, this would be the definitive running order: (A slightly modified Six of 1 Appreciation Society running order):

      Arrival

      Dance of the Dead

      Free For All

      Checkmate

      Chimes of Big Ben

      AB&C

      The General

      The Schizoid Man

      Many Happy Returns

      It's Your Funeral

      Change of Mind

      Hammer Into Anvil

      Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

      Living In Harmony

      The Girl Who Was Death

      Once Upon A Time

      Fallout

      .

      Still.... I'd really like to know where "Carl" came from. In my 16 years of fandom with this show, I've Never heard "Carl" being used as #6's real name... in any circles of fans or critics.

  11. I guess that means I'll... by Darinbob · · Score: 5, Funny

    Be seeing it.

  12. What's the point ? by CharlyFoxtrot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yet another regurg of something that was once original and worthwhile. Am i really supposed to believe they're doing this for some other reason than to milk some of their 'property' until it's dry ? Give me back my culture already.

    --
    If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
  13. So while the media industry complains about... by Gordonjcp · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... "Knock-off Nigel" buying knock-off DVDs, they're busily pumping out knock-offs and "remakes" and "sequels" of stuff from the 1960s?

    Dear film producers,

    I will start buying DVDs again when you start producing original content. No, adding an Audi R8 and some explosions doesn't count as original.