LennieJames-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 17th 2009 12:29AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(E03) I'm no closer to figuring out everything that's going on, but I am more appreciative of the fact that the entire story will be done by tomorrow night. Things are so confusing at times, I'm not sure I can keep it all in my brain if I had to wait a full week between each of these episodes.
Tonight's installment focused on espionage and spying. The target of all this spying appears to be everyone, but the primary focus is on the "Dreamers," those people who have dreams and vision of a life outside the Village. You see, they're a dangerous element, particularly if they were to organize.
The leading suspicion is that they have already done so, but where and to what end? Two wants to find them so he can send them all down for "Treatment," while Six wants to find them so he can rally them to his own cause of finding a way out of the Village.
Continue reading Review: The Prisoner - Part Three: Anvil
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 15th 2009 10:00PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, British TV
(
E01) I can't help but feel tempted to compare this to the Patrick McGoohan classic from the '60s, but that wouldn't be fair. Attitudes, technologies and even our expectations of TV programming have changed so much in the intervening time. And yet, as an homage to the original, there are many elements to this new AMC mini-series that nod back to the classic paranoia suspense saga.
While The Village has been updated to be a much larger and more vibrant desert oasis (think kitschy Las Vegas) than the original's sleepy seaside villas, it's still as much an enigma, even in this first hour. And while Jim Caviezel doesn't command the role of Number 6 as powerfully as McGoohan, really who could? So I give him a pass, and enjoy him for what he brings, and try not to hear McGoohan's booming defiance when Caviezel shouts: "I am not a number! I am a free man!"
Continue reading Review: The Prisoner - Part One: Arrival
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 Oct 5th 2009 11:28AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free, Gone Too Soon
The modern poster-child for a show that's "gone too soon" is
Jericho. The impassioned fans buried CBS under a ton of nuts, which got the show renewed for a shortened second season. Your mileage of the quality of that season may vary, but the fact remains that the fans did something none of these internet campaigns today will be able to.
What people don't realize is that when
Jericho came back for the second run, the ratings weren't any better than when the first season ended. So when they cancel your favorite show and you start mailing in bizarre objects and setting up your web petitions because "it worked for
Jericho," remember that the networks remember
Jericho as well. They remember that it failed to find a sizable audience twice.
Continue reading Gone Too Soon: Jericho
Posted Jun 12th 2008 1:05PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Video, Jericho, Reality-Free
Most
Jericho fans already know that two finales were filmed: one series finale and one season finale. When CBS canceled the show, viewers were given a neat, positive end to the series. Video of
Jericho's alternate ending was recently released, and now we know what the season's cliffhanger would have looked like.
If you read Carol Barbee's description of
the original Jericho finale, the clip won't tell you anything you don't already know. It's still cool to watch how everything plays out, though. I don't expect to see Lennie James as Robert Hawkins ever again, so I'll take what I can get. Check out the video after the jump.
Continue reading Jericho alternate ending - VIDEO
Posted Mar 12th 2008 8:44AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Jericho, Episode Reviews
(S02E05) "I think we have a problem." - Goetz, master of understatement
Well, I guess if anyone had doubts about the evilness of Goetz, those doubts should be erased as of this episode. I actually got chills thinking about Mimi recovering and telling the truth about what happened at the farm.
Goetz already lost four men and taking a hospital full of deputies is considerably more difficult than taking out one little girl with a shotgun. Goetz either really wants Mimi dead, has some Hawkins-sized stones or both.
Continue reading Jericho: Termination for Cause
Posted Feb 12th 2008 11:02PM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Jericho, Episode Reviews
(S02E01) As the show began, I couldn't help but feel like I was seeing an old friend. You know, that friend who went away for a semester and you missed because he was always entertaining. I know I wasn't the only one grinning like an idiot as the the new season of Jericho began.
Esai Morales sure has come a long way since he played Ritchie Valens' big brother. Seeing him in another leader role reminds me how good he was on NYPD Blue. Taming Sipowicz is going to look like a piece of cake compared to this job.
Continue reading Jericho: Reconstruction (season premiere)
Posted Dec 29th 2007 12:19PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Video, Jericho
First, let me admit that I did not watch CBS'
Jericho beyond the first episode. I had various reasons not to watch it beyond the premiere, one being that I simply can't make time for all TV series in my schedule, even if said series are gems. That out of the way, I just watched the preview for
Jericho's second season and let me tell you that it piqued my interest enough to put a note on my calendar to watch the show's season premiere on February 12.
Continue reading Jericho: The Return - VIDEO
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