Any remake of The Prisoner was going to run into resistance from fans of the original. It was inevitable and this six-part mini-series certainly has faced some opposition. However, while it pays homage to the Patrick McGoohan starring original, it also wants to be its own beast. On this score it succeeds, but that doesnt mean its perfect.
Jesus himself, aka Jim Caviezel, stars as Number 6, who in a rather abrupt and confusing opening wakes in the desert, completely unaware of where he is or how he got there. He meets a man who seems to have escaped from somewhere, but promptly dies before he can explain whats going on. Number 6 then stumbles into The Village, a place thats a bit like the 1950s but seems to exist outside reality. The inhabitants dont seem to believe there is anywhere else and that outside the village theres only the desert. Number 6 is convinced hes a prisoner, especially when he hears about the dreamers, people who also have vague notions of an other place, but who are monitored and silenced by Number 2 (Ian McKellen).
While Number 2 does everything in his power to get Number 6 to settle into village life and forget about New York, Number 6 refuses and starts to cause trouble with his efforts to escape, especially as he remembers more about what went on in his other existence. Meanwhile Number 2 has problems of his own, mainly concerning his son (Jamie Campbell Bower), whos now old enough to start questioning The Village and wonder whether the tales of an other place are true.
The main problem with the six-part mini-series comes in trying to balance too many competing demands and taking too long to get to the point. The first few episodes are largely about deepening the mystery of what the village is and whats going on there. However its surreal flourishes and seemingly disjointed nature make it a rather frustrating experience. Initially it almost feels like theyre making it up as they go along. Eventually it turns out theyre not and that it does make sense, but wading through those first episodes is somewhat annoying. You keep watching because you want to know whats going on behind the mystery rather than because its actually entertaining.
The series episodic nature is also somewhat tedious. The producers obviously wanted the series to work as a six-part whole, but also for each episode to somewhat exist as a stand-alone instalment. As a result Number 6 keeps getting different jobs, finding himself split in two, or getting a family, none of which last more than an episode. Its the sort of thing that would inevitably happen if this was an ongoing series, but with only six episodes to set up a complex mystery and then answer the questions raised, these extra plots feel rather forced and slightly get in the way.
All that said, if you can get past the first three episodes, where the central mystery could have been set up better and in a less obtusely confusing manner, everything improves immensely. The last three episodes which are now showing on ITV1 are very good (although about half of episode five is pretty annoying and dumb). Its actually the relationship between Number 2 and him son, 11-12, that provides the most interesting aspect of the mini-series, with their different outlooks and familial problems revealing the true issues at the heart of The Village. In fact, they may have been a better central focus for the show (but if theyd done that, it wouldnt be The Prisoner).
The ending raises a lot of interesting questions, with everything revealed to be rather allegorical and more morally complex than you might expect. Some of the ideas are still rather confused, but theyre undoubtedly intriguing, although the ending is perhaps too abrupt and could have been handled a bit better.
It is undoubtedly a frustrating show, largely because its close to being brilliant, while having too many flaws to make it genuinely good entertainment. There are a lot of smart ideas, but the script and visual style assume you wont mind it initially coming across disjointed and confused (seeming to lack even its own internal logic), because youll just be happy to hang around until the end when its explained to you. It also assumes you wont find the episodic nature rather contrived. However behind that theres some good acting, a lot of intriguing ideas and some interesting parallels to the modern world (in the same way the original tried to respond to 60s society).
The three-disc DVD edition also comes with some okay special features. Each episode gets both a Making Of… and an Inside The Prisoner featurette, which take a perfunctory but interesting at each instalment. Theres also some of the 2009 Comic Con Panel for the show, where the cast and crew answer questions, a three part interview where Jamie Campbell-Bower talks to Ian McKellen (which is somewhat lightweight but offers a few worthwhile insights), and a Read Through featurette, where the cast talk about their nerves before the first table read of the scripts in London.
I really wish I could recommend this, as some aspects of it are wonderful, thought provoking and exciting. It also looks great, taking full advantage of its South African desert locations and features some very good acting. However its too frustrating to be a fully satisfactory experience. Its worth pushing through the first few episodes to get to the meat, drama and ideas of the conclusion, but it does feel like a bit of a confused slog to get there.
Overall Verdict: Despite the feel that there are ideas in the new Prisoner that could have made it a masterpiece, its flaws and pacing mean it’s a long time to get to the worthwhile conclusion.
Special Features:
Making Of Featurette For Each Episode
Inside The Prisoner Featurette For Each Episode
Jamie Interviews Ian McKellen Three-part interview
Comic-Con 2009: Prisoner Panel Featurette
The Prisoner: Read Through Featurette
Character Profiles
Reviewer: Tim Isaac