Review by Neil Davey
Stars Jim Cavaziel, Sir Ian McKellen, Hayley Atwell, Ruth Wilson,
Lennie James, Jamie Campbell Bower, Rachael Blake | Written by Bill Gallagher
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £24.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 400 minutes | Directed by Nick Hurran
You can imagine the reaction to the classic 1960s series The Prisoner getting a modern makeover. Forums were awash with panicked devotees and the sort of indignant outrage more normally associated with the readers of Tory-loving tabloids. In short, the expectations were low: a geek tragedy, if you will.
The reality? It’s not bad. It's not The Prisoner as you know it, but it's not bad. The update, from Cold War to more technology-based, Truman Show-style reality, is a little obvious but efficient enough and, at six episodes, it skips along compared to the 17 or so of the original incarnation. On the downside, 17 episodes clearly allows for more nuance and character development than you’ll achieve in six hours, however talented your leads. However, 17 episodes also allows for some serious over-indulgence and freaky 60s stylings. This new version takes the “less is more” theme – something I fear Lost will imminently prove for all the wrong reasons – and does some interesting things within its confines.
This time round, Jim Cavaziel is Number Six. Unlike McGoohan’s original super spy, the modern Number Six is more middle management, a data collection officer who, when the job gets too much, resigns. And that’s when he finds himself in The Village where all details of his past life have been eradicated.
The Village is run by Number Two (McKellen), a softly persuasive gent keen to assimilate Number Six into a new life in this odd desert town. But how did he get here? Why is he here? Why is he now known as Number Six rather than the name he’s sure he used to have? Why can he never leave?
Whether six episodes is enough to give the obvious analogies (conform or resist?) the thorough workout they deserve is debatable but, taken in isolation, this is actually pretty decent TV. Cavaziel and McKellen are, of course, excellent, it looks gorgeous – lots of white linen and desert backdrops – and the modern spin works. The only question that remains really is why bother remaking The Prisoner at all? Why not a little extra thought and distance yourself entirely from the reputation of the original?
EXTRAS ???? A thorough, and interesting, collection. Deleted Scenes and Making of docs for each episode, Inside The Prisoner documentary for each episiode, Comic Con 2009: Prisoner Panel, Jamie Campbell Bower interviews Sir Ian McKellen, Character Profiles for Two, Six, 313, 4-15, M2 and 11-12, The Prisoner Read Through.