Premiering tonight on AMC is the re-make of the classic Patrick McGoohan series. Now we have Jim Caviezel as Number Six and Ian McKellen as Number Two. For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, Caviezel plays a former spy who decides to “retire.” He’s captured, drugged, and wakes up in a bizarre place known as The Village. If this remake series follows the original series, Caviezel will spend most of his time plotting an escape and trying to figure out who’s running the Village: his former employers or some enemy state. A few weeks ago, I started watching the original The Prisoner (also available for viewing FREE on AMC’s web site). The sixteen episodes vary in entertainment. Some of them are startlingly compelling, others are tedious. I’ll let you judge the final, surreal episode for yourself. I’ll be watching the new series tonight.
We’re going to record it. Actually, we record everything we watch now (other than news and live sporting events) to cut the commercials, turning it on at twenty past the hour.
I’m not a big Caviezel fan but will give this a try.
I suspect Caviezel could be the “weak link” in this new remake, Jeff. Of course, Ian McKellen will steal the show. Great actor!
From the NYT review it looks good although different in its focus: making it a battle between two men rather than two ideas of society. Yes, we record, too. Can’t take 22 minutes of commercials in each hour anymore.
I still watch some programs in Real Time, Patti. I just have a book ready when the tsunami of commercials begin.
Thanks for the reminder, George. I’d likely have missed it otherwise.
You might not thank me after you watch THE PRISONER remake, Evan. The early reviews have been brutal.
The NY Times was by far the kindest, as Patti said. The Daily News called it a snoozefest and said it was a chore to get through the six hours.
Incidentally, it is running for two hours on three consecutive nights, so don’t forget to record it tonight!
How was it, George?
So far, I’d grade it a “C,” Jeff. As I predicted Ian McKellen steals every scene he’s in. They should have made him “the prisoner’! The most compelling parts of the program are the flashbacks.