The Prisoner!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7483053.stm

It's on!

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44794000/jpg/_44794633_theprisoner_226b.jpg

Sir Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel will battle against each other

Sir Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel are set to star in the ITV remake of the 1960s TV cult show The Prisoner.

Sir Ian will play the sinister Number Two who controls a mysterious place known as The Village.

While Passion of the Christ star Caviezel takes the role of Number Six who finds himself trapped inside it.

During the six-part series, set to premiere in 2009, the pair will be locked in a battle of wits in a modern day version of the thriller.

Number Six arrives in The Village with no memory of how he arrived and no recollection of a prior existence or an outside world.

During each episode he attempts to discover the truth behind his new environment and battles against his captors.

Disturbing

While the original series was a riff on Cold War politics, this remake will reflect 21st century concerns and anxieties such as liberty, security and surveillance.

Sir Ian has called this version of The Prisoner "an enthralling commentary on modern culture."

"It is witty, intelligent and disturbing. I am very excited to be involved," he added.

Writer Bill Gallagher, who watched the original series when he was a boy, said: "Here was something that was more than television, something I couldn't quite grasp but couldn't let go of.

"It's a unique opportunity for a writer to be able to go back to The Village and tell some new stories about that strange place and its surreal menace.

"We hope to serve up something as beguiling and disturbing as the original was."

Producer Trevor Hopkins reckons fans of the old series will not be disappointed.

He said: "Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen bring an incredible level of talent to the project, and we're honoured they are taking on these important roles."

ITV have not yet revealed the location. The original drama was filmed in the surroundings of the Italianate village of Portmeirion on the Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd.

ITV have not yet revealed the location.

weatherfield

1950/60s North Yorkshire complete with naieve young policeman and bumbling local peasant getting into comic scrapes.

can't wait for richard arnold to pimp this on GMTV

Ok, so what do we know about the people working on this? Have they done anything else worthwhile?

ian mckellen's been in a couple of films i think

Oh thanks, thanks for that. It's the writin' and producin' bit what I'm wondering about.

Seems Bill Gallagher wrote for Clocking Off, which was excellent, and Lark Rise to Candleford, which was garbage.

caviezel is weird. this will suck.

only imdbpro knows and they want our money :(

The Prisoner is a co-production of AMC and ITV Productions; the deal brokered by ITV Worldwide, which holds all international rights, as well as sales and remake right to the original series. ITV DVD holds Home Entertainment rights. The series is written and Executive Produced by Bill Gallagher (Conviction, Clocking Off, Lark Rise To Candleford), Executive Produced by Michele Buck, Damien Timmer and Rebecca Keane for ITV and AMC’s Charlie Collier, Christina Wayne and Vlad Wolynetz, Produced by Trevor Hopkins (Dracula, Poirot) and Directed by Jon Jones (Northanger Abbey, Cold Feet, Archangel, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Alan Clark Diaries). Jim Caviezel’s deal was coordinated by ICM. Creative Artists Agency orchestrated the deal on behalf of Sir Ian McKellen.

http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/Pressreleases/Programmepressreleases/IanMcKellenandJimCaviezeltostarinITVreinventionofclassicthrillerThePrisoner/default.html

I loved this show as a kid when they'd play it on PBS over here. They used to play old Doctor Whos all the time, too. Get on that PBS.

ITV now need to bring back Sapphire & Steel.

Producer Trevor Hopkins reckons fans of the old series will not be disappointed.

oh does he reckon, does he.

what a stupid, pointless idea, something inevitable about it happening though.

curious. last time a remake was being mooted, it was with christopher ecclestone on sky. horrible either way, but would have opted for ecclestone over caviezel.

i would opt for thinking of a new programme and making that, instead of trying pointlessly to remake something no-one thinks can be improved.

but yeah ecclestone would have been better, even then.

it could actually be OK

I mean I loved the original but what I liked was the storyline & the vibe which I don't think were necessarily bound to that time & place

surprised that I think this because usually I hate the shit outta some remakes

this could be great actually, the story is easily transplantable. certainly this is going to be better than the Mel Gibson film that was going to happen a while back. McGoohan must be involved in this somehow, right? Doesn't he own the show outright?

Dunno.

I used to be a 6 of 1 member back in 1990 or so, continued my membership justto see if there was news of the 'film' version, but there never was...

Decent enough casting but it will all depend on the script and direction. Interesting that there's just one Number 2 this time around but McKellen's a good choice.

Oh man, I don't care cos some shitty remake in no way diminishes the original but this is gonna be complete bollocks and this Jim Caviezel bloke is the rongest looking rongo I can possibly imagine for the title role.

o shi, another thread topic maybe, but mel gibson is remaking 'edge of darkness' as a film.

and i hear bruce willis is in talks about a 'very british coup' update.

British acting is suffering from a lack of Brylcreemed rep reliables.

Robson Green's been quiet lately.

Well, if Lee McQueen is too poorly to go work for Siralan, he could always go home, have a strong flu remedy, pass out on his couch, wake up groggy, look out of his window, and find.....

Well I thought they should have got Siralan in as Number 2 for Leo McKern-esque beardy authenticity.

SirAlan: "You are (,) number six!"
LeeMcQ : "Whatever you say, number two, thank you for the opportunity"

6: "I suppose you want to know why I resigned?"
2: "Bollocks to that - you is gonna go out and buy the best of British produce etc."

(Featuring Nick and Margaret as "Rover")

Prisoner details

Sir Ian also revealed details about the ITV remake of the 1960s TV cult show The Prisoner which he is starring in.

"I was talking to the producer yesterday about the details and I've seen the full cast list which is extremely impressive," he said.

"I haven't read the final script yet, it's due next week - but it's very grown-up television.

"It engages your mind and people will have to be very alert to follow the story but all is revealed in the end."

but all is revealed in the end

It's obviously not going to stick too closely to the original, then...

Pity they're not doing a film of Shattered Visage.

Fun fact: the novelisation of The Prisoner was by Thomas M. Disch, who blew his brains out last Friday.

The cat in "Many Happy Returns" looks kinda like my cat.

Pages from Jack Kirby's unpublished (still!) and uncompleted Prisoner adaptation for Marvel Comics:

http://www.theredcircle.com/blog/2009/11/15/jkirby-tprsnr/

I-I've never seen this place before! I don't know where it's located-- or, how I got here! Or why my arms are so unfeasibly long!

Realism is boring

Ok WOW that ending was insane. So good. Crowd pleasing and a good emotional/narrative send-off and yet also crazy. The bit w the tearing off multiple masks made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

This really seems to be a foundational work for a lot of things to come in the following decades. I bet Kubrick was thinking of the loony top-hat guy dancing and singing "Dem Bones" when he made "A Clockwork Orange". All the generic worker outfits look like inspiration for Devo. Something brought to mind Gilliam's "Brazil" as well but I don't remember what it was.

I enjoyed the lead-up to the finale, tho the 2nd to last episode was a bit hard to get through. It was cool that they did a Western themed episode ("Living in Harmony") and then immediately followed it with a very British spy episode ("The Girl Who Was Death") with him playing cricket and drinking at the pub. I think that may be my favorite in the entire series, I loved the fast pace, the constant twists, and the ingenuity he had to use to get himself out of all those traps and tricks.

Damn good show, should be required viewing.

Oh yeah after the tearing multiple masks off it cuts to several quick extreme close ups of distorted faces screaming at the camera, gave me a flashback to the anti-Laura Palmer shrieking in the Black Lodge in the finale of "Twin Peaks".

"The Girl Who Was Death" is a comic episode of the English television series "The Prisoner" which originally aired in the UK on ITV 18 January 1968. According to several sources, including The Prisoner by Robert Fairclough, this episode was adapted from an unused, two-part script originally commissioned for Danger Man.

Ah, makes sense! I may have to watch "Danger Man" next.

Also they were shooting 2001 in the same studio which makes it extra cool that No. 1 speaks through a HAL-like computer eye.

if I remember from my high school obsession days, part of the idea behind The Girl Who Was Death was that ratings weren't great and the brass was getting on him to do something more crowd-pleasing and less pretentious so he found the unused Danger Man script and presented it as a story being told within the story, with the send-off at the end of the reader saying "goodnight to children, everywhere" or something like that, a bit on the nose commentary on the desires of the executives.

not sure if this documentary has been seen by many of you; i am unfamiliar with it.

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/six_into_one_seldom_seen_doc_on_patrick_mcgoohans_cult_tv_classic_the_priso

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUysgDRYYqo

very cool, thanks for posting this!

Oh, I remember that dude that ran the Prisoner shop in Portmeirion.

Whoa, check this out:

http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2Fauctions%2Fpreview.asp%3Fcode%3D2016aug%26itemtype%3D1%26Artist%3DJACK%2520KIRBY%23Item_1133913&id=1133913

An unpublished Jack Kirby Prisoner story from 1976!

v cool!

yeah, that's been around here and there. pretty cool stuff.

Weirdly, there's also a complete unpublished Prisoner strip pencilled by Gil Kane and written by Steve Englehart that was never published either:

http://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/complete-story/gil-kane-original-art-for-the-prisoner-complete-18-page-story-marvel-unpublished-an-instant-hit-upon-its-debut-in/a/803-5955.s

Englehart apparently first suggested Gene Colan for the job, but Colan turned it down because it was "just a guy on an island"

Did the Ian McKellen series ever make it to DVD?

I saw maybe two, don't remember much about either of them..

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/portmeirion-pokmon-go-treasure-trove-11651694

I'm up to ep 13 of 17 -- not sure whether I like this or hate it. I do admire it.

Come back when you've seen episode 17...

Ive had the box set of this for years and never got past more than a few eps, not out of dislike just never got round to finishing it!

McGoohan's unwavering commitment to delivering every single line, no matter how innocuous or minor, in that clenched teeth mode of barely suppressed rage and/or sarcasm is just incredible. It makes every exchange feel fraught with conflict.

would love to hear him read things in the style of the Prisoner - the Bible, Dr. Seuss, the phonebook

He’s great doing passive-aggressive faux-friendly as the baddie in Silver Streak. Much better than Braveheart when he’s plain old evil

I don't recall seeing him anything else except Scanners tbh, in which mostly he just comes across as drunkenly angry

He's in at least 4 Columbos and brilliant in every one.

Danger Man is on Amazon Prime, surprisingly entertaining for a b&w series that debuted in 1960 (McGoohan secret-agenting well before the Bond movies)

in the last week or two The Prisoner also showed up as included on Amazon Prime -- I'm looking forward to seeing it in order for the first time

he's the warden in escape from alcatraz!!

yeah I noticed this on Amazon Prime and just watched a couple eps (Free for All and Checkmate)

imagining the Prisoner at a diner

Waitress: What would you like this morning?
Number 6: To mind my own business.

xp McGoohan adds some much-needed tension to Ice Station Zebra, basically reprising his Danger Man role

is there a more menacing orb in television or cinema than Rover

Danger Man is way more "sophisticated" than I had expected when I first watched it about a decade ago ... there are a few episodes that prefigure the Prisoner.

Rover reinforces my antipathy to balloons ... best menacing orb

imo he's great in almost everything he's done. Dunno if this was posted already - All Night Long is a good film with McGoohan stealing the show as a treacherous jazz drummer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl5p80BMHYk

very sinister drum solo

that tune sounds kind of like the Danger Man theme

don't forget Baby, Secret of the Lost Legend

He's also on Hell Drivers, the cast of which is o_O - a doctor who, a James bond, Sid James, a Professional, a man from uncle, a ladykiller, Alfie bass...

He's in at least 4 Columbos and brilliant in every one.

yep, 4 - he directed three of those and co-wrote one, and directed another two that he's not in


(just recently watched the first two regular TV Columbos with the aim of skipping ahead to the McGoohans & occasional other ones of interest, eg two directed by Nicholas Colsanto, the Coach from Cheers, one of those starring Johnny Cash)

wow, Johnny Cash with Ida Lupino as his wife. will have to track down.

It's on every other week in the UK.

Columbo is on top form in it.

just went through this series again since first watching it about fifteen years ago. it's so good, but how did i forget how much full bore insanity makes up the last episode???? my goodness, it goes on for about twenty straight minutes of nonsense for a while there.

by the way, you can find the whole series on youtube (in sometimes *ahem* "vintage" quality, but alas it's there). also, this is a cool interview. he seemed like a really intense person:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95DrM4tfyD0

Watched it front to back properly for the first time this year. Amazing period piece on several levels, and the sheer brilliance of turning a weather balloon into a horrific threat solely through sound and editing is next level.

I did similar, the blu ray box has a few documentaries, the best one with Patrick McGoohans um involvement. It’s brilliant.

Yeah, it’s called “in my mind” it’s available separately and well worth seeing.

anybody tried rewatching it in one of the "alternate" episode orders?

Never tried it but some of the episodes are obviously (and annoyingly) in the wrong place

in my preparation to rewatch in one of the alternate orders, i found that the entire thing is on shout factory in hd: https://www.shoutfactorytv.com/series/the-prisoner

This is a fun early lockdown-era interview with Steven Moffat about The Prisoner

https://www.tvcream.co.uk/podcasts/tv-cream-stays-indoors/tv-cream-stays-indoors-with-steven-moffat/

It’s particularly enjoyable for his valiant (although I think completely wrong!) takedown of the finale

oh man, this show. my Dad ordered the VHS tapes when I was 12 and we watched them together. we never really bonded over a TV show before. tbh I was still in that phase where I took entertainment a bit too seriously and was a bit miffed at all the "this doesn't really make sense to us either" moments.

fun story the company I work for won a big "Best Place to Work" award and there was some local TV station doing a feature on us. at one point during the day they were interviewing random employees and I got the "why do you think this company has such a low turnover rate?" question. I answered "well if anyone quits they find themselves followed by a giant white balloon on their drive home and as soon as they get out of the car they blackout and wake up under their desk". they wound up not airing that response :(

The 'Free For All' podcast is worth checking out, and yes, it is two guys theorizing and repurposing what they've researched but they're interesting and speak like normal humans.

There is an interview with Derrin Nesbitt coming up which could be good and the format suggests that they're going to stop after having done all 17 episodes.