A Return to The Village...

T U E S D A Y,  N O V E M B E R  1 7,   2 0 0 9

If Ian McKellen starred in a television series where he did nothing

but read the phone book each week, I'd never miss an episode.

Richard III, Apt Pupil, Gods & Monsters, X Men (and a little film series called The Lord of The Rings), if Mr McKellen is involved with a project, you can always expect an exceptional performance within a superior production.

What could be more scrumptious than having one of my favorite thespians come to the small screen in the re-imagining of a favorite series from my youth.

That show was Patrick McGoohan's television cult masterpiece "The Prisoner". (click this link and watch the entire series free online - Canada and US only)

Having a 17 episode run in 1967 and 1968, The Prisoner was the story of a British spy who quits Her Majesty's Secret Service, only to soon find himself held captive in a strange town-sized prison called "The Village" populated by unusually content people, all of whom are identified only as numbers.

With quirky characters and set design, The Prisoner was a marriage of the over-the-top-camp style of the 1960's Batman series, tempered by the dark foreboding of a David Lynch film. In fact, until Mr Lynch brought Twin Peaks to television in the 90's, no other series came close to the high-concept art-house quality of The Prisoner.

How fitting then, that the network that brought us the series famous for it's art-direction (Mad Men) would commission a 6 episode re-imagining.

So how did the 2 episode premiere fare?

I tuned in with trepidation (in film or TV, remakes can be more than slightly disappointing (The Day The Earth Stood Still and Three's Company for example). After all, Director Nick Hurran dropped out of the project at the last minute (hadn't heard of anything he had done, but it's never good to lose your director at the 11th hour)

Braced for a let-down, the premiere episode was a mixed bag, but any misgivings that it left me with were dealt with in episode two (playing them both in one night was a good move on the part of AMC).

The star of the show has always been The Village itself. Get that wrong, and the fans will turn away in droves. Unlike the resort feel of the seaside town of Portmeirion of North Wales from the original, the new series takes place in a bizarre town of A-frame 'cottages' in the middle of a tropical desert. Quite a different look, but happily no less surreal than expected.

Another major change is Number 2. Ian McKellen will be appearing throughout the series (the original number two changed with each episode keeping "6", and the viewer, off kilter). Once again, having Mr McKellen at the helm is a saving grace here, because his ability to convey charming menace will be required if he is to duplicate the tension of having constantly changing 2's who are ever more desperate to break #6.

But what struck me the most is that, this time around, the other residents of The Village seem far more terrorized. In 1968, they all seemed content in their plight (an indication that the mind-control that Number 6 was battling to resist, was often successful), but this series has the 'happiness' painted as a thin-veneer over an openly terrified set of inmates. We'll have to see how this plays out. Additionally the Number 6 character seems far less sure of himself that Patrick McGoohan's "6". There is a feeling that Jim Caviezel's "6" is having a much harder time resiting the mind manipulation he undergoes, and  the viewer is left with the impression that his captors may very well succeed in breaking him.

What I loved though was the art direction. The interiors of "The Clinic", a rightly ominous interrogation centre, were from the pages The Cabinet Dr Caligari with exaggerated off-angle shadows and desaturated colours.  The effect is marvelous, and pumps up the perceived production value astoundingly.

The golf cart transportation is gone, replaced with vintage buses and what seem to be Russian based cars and trucks (one would guess these are vehicles native to the village where the series was filmed (located in Namibia). Even the guards (yes, the "Rovers" are back) seemed more frightening and high concept than the original.

The overriding theme of the '68 version, was that the Prisoner (#6) had information about his resignation that his captors required. This doesn't seem to have changed (except that "6" is no longer a spy). Although the original 17 episodes never revealed these secrets, it looks like this series might (episode two went well on it's way to outlining a major chunk - certainly more than was ever divulged in '68). There's also a new subplot  pertaining to Ian McKellans family - a 20-something son (a brilliantly understated performance from Rock 'n Rolla's Jamie Campbell Bower), and a heavily sedated wife. It is implied that the son grew up in The Village and is just now awakening to the possibility that it is not the only place in the world, as his father claims. The wife, it would seem, is not a willing resident, and is kept sedated to ease her captivity, but this is conjecture on my part. Regardless, they are two of the many new characters who have been created for this remake.

Along with new characters there is another new addition to this series in the way of twin-tower-esque computer generated buildings on the horizon that we have been told hold an as yet to be revealed significance. We also visit an area of the Village called "The Ruins" from which #6 has (implanted?) childhood memories.

All in all, I think I'm going to enjoy this series. Six episodes over three nights is not a major commitment (unlike the 13 weeks I dedicated to the unjustly axed "Defying Gravity", only to have the plug pulled in season one of a 6 season story arc! Bastards). Also AMC has said that most plot lines will be resolved by the end of episode 6 (with enough of a window to let a sequel through, methinks!).

In summary, the new Prisoner has a stellar cast, wonderfully nuanced performances, a very different, but equally ominous Village, and art direction that surpasses small screen (can we still call TV's that?) expectations. As long as fans are willing to accept a re-imagining rather than a remake, I think that, like me, they won't be disappointed.

It all comes down to the end though. Will we again discover the shocking reality of the elusive #1's identity (who has not been mentioned so far) or will this version take us down another path?

I'll post my final thoughts at series' end  but, as it stands,
I give The Prisoner remake a...

7 out of 10

Not Bad actually... the new "V" only got a 4!

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Well I finally got around to watching the final episode last night, and I dunno...

I really enjoyed the series, and it was a true homage to the original, but somehow it just missed the mark by a bit too much for me to increase the score. Unlike the mini-series Generation Kill, where I was biting at the bit to watch each continuing episode, The Prisoner just didn't make me feel that. Then again, neither did the original, or when it did, I was also at an age where I was riveted by Lost in Space!

So I'll leave my original score unchanged and simply say, if you like a little high-concept Lynch-esque film-art mixed in with the crap that your television usually spews-out, then The Prisoners re-imagining will not disappoint....it's better than most of the stuff on the box.

But, if you prefer Reality TV or  Warehouse 13, then you may want to look elsewhere. This is television that expects the audience to have a brain. 

Bravo again, AMC. It's not perfect, but at least you had the bravery to do it justice!