the prisoner-related stories
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 Nov 9th 2009 11:02AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Programming, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Cartoon Network is getting deeper into the live action series game.
Yes, I know that's like Fox Sports getting into the daytime soap opera business, but you can't get too upset about the network inappropriate name game. Remember when Bravo was the fine arts network? I rest my case.
As for
Cartoon Network's new non-animated shows, a release from the network says
Tower Prep and
Unnatural History are headed our way in January, 2010.
According to the network, Tower Prep is "an action thriller telling the story of rebellious teen, Ian (Drew Van Acker), who wakes up one morning to find himself trapped at a mysterious prep school." In other words, it's a teenage remake of
The Prisoner -- the original 1960s version -- or "Jim Henson's
The Prisoner Babies."
Continue reading Ironically-named Cartoon Network picks up live action shows
Posted Oct 26th 2009 6:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on DVD, Reality-Free
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
Why didn't somebody tell me that they were going to release
The Guardian on DVD? I really liked that show. I don't know if the show is being released because Simon Baker and
The Mentalist are a hit or if it has been in the works long before that, but it's a nice surprise.
- The Barbara Stanwyck Show - Vol. 1
- Battlestar Galactica - The Plan
- CBS News Sunday Morning - On The Road with Charles Kuralt: Set 1
- The Diary of Anne Frank - Miniseries
Continue reading New TV on DVD releases this week
Posted Sep 25th 2009 12:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
IFC has a marathon of The Prisoner all night.- At 8, CBS has the season premiere of Ghost Whisperer, followed by the season premieres of Medium and Numb3rs.
- NBC has the season premiere of Law and Order at 8, then new episodes of Dateline and The Jay Leno Show.
- FOX has the series premiere of Brothers at 8, the the season premiere of Dollhouse.
- There's a new Smallville on The CW at 8.
- PBS has new episodes of Washington Week, NOW, and Bill Moyers Journal.
- MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
- Nickelodeon has a new episode of The Troop at 8.
- Also at 8: Disney has a new Phineas and Ferb, followed by a new Suite Life on Deck.
- At 8:30, Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force.
- At 9, USA has a new Monk, then a new Psych.
- BBC America has a new Friday Night with Jonathan Ross at 9.
- At 10, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.
- History Channel has a new Lock 'N Load with R. Lee Ermey at 10.
- E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Brothers, Law and Order, Medium, Smallville
Posted Aug 26th 2009 6:04PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Reality-Free
Back in the Old Days, before cable ruled the air, Americans only got to see Brit television (most notably,
Doctor Who, but also
The Prisoner and
Monty Python's Flying Circus) via their local PBS station.
Now, thanks to the magic of YouTube, we can revisit those days when the only on-air Comic Cons or Cosplays were the folks at PBS (or whatever public access station was available) dressing up and embarrassing themselves in front of a camera in an effort to get donations. The most interesting aspect is that the low-cost special effects they used to get donations were the same as those used on
Doctor Who at the time.
I sincerely hope the folks behind these videos are watching them right now and cringing, praying for the ground to swallow them up. More likely, the people behind them are the ones who put them on YouTube in the first place.
Continue reading Doctor Who and PBS - Flashback!
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 Jul 23rd 2009 8:03AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Reality-Free, British TV, Comic-Con
In every episode of
The Prisoner, the heroic Number SIx would shout, "I am not a number. I am a free man!" Thanks to AMC's booth promoting the new updated
Prisoner, everyone at Comic-Con can be a number.
Convention visitors can visit AMC's costumed staffers to obtain their own fictional identity and join the world of
The Prisoner.
Fans become official residents of The Village (the show's mysterious city) and receive a photo ID badge identifying them by number only.
Continue reading AMC turns all Prisoner fans into numbers - Comic-Con Report
Posted Jul 7th 2009 10:03AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Reality-Free, British TV, Comic-Con
He is not a number. He is a free man -- and he's coming to Comic-Con.
The stars of AMC's mini-series remake of
The Prisoner are headed to San Diego's mega-convention. The new Number Six, Jim Caviezel, will join Jamie Campbell-Bower (
The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and Lennie James (
Jericho) for a panel and preview of the six-part series.
The Prisoner tells the story of a retired spy who finds himself abducted and spirited away to a mysterious Village where nameless authority figures struggle to break his mind and spirit while he battles to escape. The show is known for its moral and existential themes as much as its sharp writing and distinctive art design.
Continue reading The Prisoner will be free to appear at Comic-Con
Posted Feb 2nd 2009 7:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Video, Reality-Free
It's going to be hard to remake a series as famous and specific as
The Prisoner. It was so weird and of its time that they're going to have to do something really different with it. Purists will probably immediately hate it, while people who have never seen the original will wonder what all of the fuss is about.
After the jump is some behind the scenes footage from the six-part miniseries. It features interviews with stars Jim Caviezel, Ian McKellan, Jamie Campbell-Bower, as well as several behind-the-camera people. I didn't realize that the show was filmed in Namibia and in Cape Town, South Africa, which is going to stand-in for New York City (gah).
Continue reading Behind the scenes of AMC's Prisoner miniseries - VIDEO
Posted Jan 14th 2009 1:11PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, Obituaries, Reality-Free
Just the other night I was watching the
Simpsons episode "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes." It featured a spoof of
The Prisoner, and Patrick McGoohan even reprised his role as Number 6 in the episode. McGoohan didn't do a ton of television, so it was really cool that he decided to lend his voice to the episode. I wonder how many fans of the Simpsons had no idea what the references in the show even meant and were just confused by it all.
McGoohan died in Los Angeles yesterday at age 80.
Continue reading Patrick McGoohan dead at 80 - VIDEO
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 Sep 12th 2008 2:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, Reality-Free
One of the greatest TV mini-series of all time was
I, Claudius. It was riveting TV and every time it's been repeated since it premiered in 1976, I've watched it religiously. The Robert Graves novel about the Roman empire, including the mad Caligula, is now set for a remake.
Director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) will be helming an adaptation of I, Claudius with Nye Heron and Sheridan penning the script.
At this point, the project seems headed to the big screen. That would be a plus insofar as the set design and lush look. However, one of the benefits of the 1976 version was the length. It was 13 episodes, a hour each (sans commercials). That meant the complexities of Graves' novel -- and there were dozens of them -- not to mention the enormous cast of characters, could be played out.
Continue reading I, Claudius set for remake
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The Prisoner -- An early look
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