JimCaviezel-related stories
Posted Nov 18th 2009 1:30AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(E06) Well, that's that. All wrapped up nice and neat with a bow. Glad it's all cleared up and everything makes perfect sense... Did you read the sarcasm in that statement?
At this point, I can't tell if fans of the original
The Prisoner will embrace this new iteration of the concept, or feel betrayed by it. Don't get me wrong, once all the secrets lie revealed, they've developed a pretty neat concept, and on that could quite possibly have sustained more than six episodes even. But was it
The Prisoner?
I will give credit to all of the actors for their conviction in these roles. Ruth Wilson and Jamie Campbell Bower were particularly impressive as 313 and 1112. The layers of emotion that 313 displayed in her closing scenes with Two, and later with Six were just tragically beautiful. And 1112... well, tragedy appears to be the name of the game in the new
Prisoner.
Continue reading Review: The Prisoner - Part Six: Checkmate
Posted Nov 17th 2009 1:32AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(E04) If you cannot break a man with family, or mistrust, then you must try love. For love is the greatest of things after all, is it not?
it seems we've fallen into a familiar pattern with
The Prisoner. Two tries various schemes and techniques to break Six and Six resists them all, either through his own ingenuity or through the help of other Villagers who are sympathetic to his situation. But we still don't know why Two is trying to break Six. This week's tactic was love, but love was explored in many ways throughout the episode.
Six's love of the woman from New York is so strong that it cross boundaries from that world into the Village world. But in neither case is it clear if the love is real, or something manufactured.
Continue reading Review: The Prisoner - Part Four: Darling
Posted Nov 15th 2009 11:02PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(E02) The whole strategy behind the Village has been turned on its head and it's certainly interesting to watch. Two is bound and determined to have everyone who lives there believe that the Village is all there is, there is no world outside of the Village and the Village is all they've ever known. He's even got tangible proof to back that up.
It's an interesting change from the original, and again makes you wonder just who would be willing to invest this kind of money into a bizarre prison like this. Is the citizenry drugged, or just brainwashed? Why is Six so adamant that he is not a number, he is a free man, if no one else in the village is so sure? Or are they just being more quiet about it?
We've even reached the point in the series where as a viewer I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is real, much less what Six is seeing and experiencing. But it was nice to meet his brother and see that he has a family in the Village. "Uncle Six" indeed.
Continue reading Review: The Prisoner - Part Two: Harmony
Posted Nov 14th 2009 7:05PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
The first thing I noticed about AMC's reboot of the classic Patrick McGoohan series
The Prisoner was its style. The original is a very stylized piece of work, but as someone who didn't see it back in 1967-1968 when it first aired -- I'm not
that old! -- I'm not sure if its visual presentation was wholly unique in itself, or more a reflection of the '60s style in general. Certainly the '60s have become infamous for some weird fashion and design choices.
Some of that '60s nostalgia creeped into the architecture and dress of the Villagers this time around without overwhelming the tone, and I think it's a wonderful homage to the original. But I'm more impressed that this re-imagining manages to capture the same sense of paranoia and confusion that the first did, without simply retelling the same story in the same way. And it's those differences that are truly modernizing the story in a great way.
Continue reading The Prisoner -- An early look
Posted Nov 11th 2009 5:01PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free, Press Kits Unwrapped
AMC is certainly pulling out all the stops to promote their re-imagining of
The Prisoner. The new mini-series airs for three nights straight, starting Sunday November 15 at 8/7 Central. The network was kind enough to send out a press kit in anticipation of the new series, and right off I have to give them credit for sticking to their theme.
Some press kits seem to have random objects thrown in that have little or nothing to do with the show they're promoting. Everything that I found within this little box worked toward establishing the feeling of paranoia that pervades the world of
The Prisoner. Even better, aside from the DVDs themselves, I could imagine this being the propaganda kit I would receive were I to ever wake up in the village.
Continue reading Press Kits Unwrapped: The Prisoner
Posted Nov 11th 2009 3:04PM by Isabelle Carreau
The "
Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in
TV Squad's APB Podcast.
To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them to asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about
Eureka, The Prisoner and how to leave comments on TVSquad.com.
Continue reading Ask TV Squad: Eureka, The Prisoner and more!
Posted Aug 19th 2009 3:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Reality-Free, British TV
While we're anxiously -- and optimistically -- awaiting the AMC remake of the classic Patrick McGoohan spy series
The Prisoner, filmmaker
Christopher Nolan has abandoned a big screen version of The Prisoner. Nolan reportedly will concentrate instead on a third
Batman movie.
Continue reading Nolan chooses another Batman over The Prisoner
Posted Jul 25th 2009 5:22AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Reality-Free, British TV, Comic-Con
It's always daunting to remake a classic. In TV circles, it doesn't get much more "classic" than
The Prisoner.
In a press conference at
Comic-Con International Friday, the cast and creative team from AMC's six-episode remake discussed the rigors of re-envisioning Patrick McGoohan's landmark show.
Series stars Jim Caviezel and Jamie Campbell-Bower joined writer Bill Gallagher to greet the press after presenting a nine-minute trailer for the show to a packed Comic-Con panel.
Continue reading The Prisoner looks to escape the odds - Comic-Con Report
Posted Jan 7th 2009 7:04PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
As a promotion for its upcoming broadcast of the remake of
The Prisoner starring Jim Caviezel and Sir Ian McKellan, AMC is allowing people to
view the entire original series on its website for free. Patrick McGoohan stars in the series he co-created.
I cannot recommend watching this series enough, especially if you haven't already. I picked up the 40th anniversary DVD set with no regrets. It was quite revolutionary for its time and used a lot of story devices that were unheard of on television back then (such as having an entire episode be a story told by Number Six to a bunch of children). And let us not forget the signature attack-balloon, Rover.
I doubt the remake mini-series will hold up to the original as it was really a product of its time, but Ian McKellan is an excellent actor and his involvement is enough to pique my interest. I suspect that, much like many of the remakes nowadays, this will bear only a superficial resemblence to the original.
Posted Jun 10th 2008 12:01PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Some details have been released regarding the new mini-series series
remake of The Prisoner, the cult 1960s series starring Patrick McGoohan. For now, these should be treated as rumors.
Supposedly, Jim Caviezel will play the Prisoner known only as Number Six, and Sir Ian McKellan is set to play the jailer known as Number Two. Six episodes will be produced and John Jones will direct.
This report sounds too good to be true. It's doubtful that either Caviezel or McKellan would slum it to a television mini-series from the movies they've been making. On the other hand, McKellan has put in television appearances before (such as
Extras).
While I'm a fan of McKellan's work, wouldn't it be more loyal to the source material if multiple actors played Number Two? I'm just saying.
Shooting begins at the end of August (and scheduled to air next year). At that point, we'll see if the report is accurate.
UPDATE 6/30/2008: AMC Television
has officially announced this series.
[via
AICN]
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