Actually, it is addressed explicitly in the new series.
I've just finished watching it. I'd say that at most you could argue that the new series was loosely inspired by the original because it ends up in a very, very different space by the end.
To be honest, I'm not sure I found the last two episodes that satisfying. Certainly not as wildly off-piste as the last episode of the US's Life on Mars but they take it in a direction that has nothing to do with the original series in their efforts to answer the questions and close it all off.
Having watched the first few moments of it, I feel absolutely justified in saying that the remake is totally in the spirit of the original, and is very much honouring the original tale whilst bringing modern issues into the story.
Lets face it, the original, whilst a classic and its overarching tale was excellent, could at times be a steaming pile of excrement, suitable only for those in the mid 60s that were taking hallucinogenic drugs. At times it was a disjointed, contradictory and out of shape mess of a show that didn't make sense. That didn't make it great, it destroyed the show.
You don't have to keep living on nostalgia, and reimagining the show for a new audience in a different time of war, is an excellent idea.
I very much enjoyed it.
I have to agree with you, stateofgameplay.
I was probably as sceptical as Chris Fluffy when I read about the Prisoner remake, but I was quite impressed by what I've seen.
In some ways, I think the new setting of the Village is more effective than the original. Portmeirion is just a completely bonkers location on whatever level you look at it. The new Village design, based on a sort of dust-bowl retro suburban theme is a lot more unsettling, in my opinion; because it's closer to reality, but not quite..
I think the lead role could have been better cast with a more quirky older actor - Nicholas Campbell from DaVinci Inquest, for example, but this is only a minor quibble, really.
Living TV used to air it in the UK in the middle of the night, but I came across it after reading about it somewhere & downloading..
I gather you liked the show if you went to the trouble of downloading, but do you have any other impressions, comments about the series? I am curious because not too many Brits seem to watch any Canadian TV. Did you see all seven seasons of Da Vinci's Inquest? That would have been a lot of downloading.:)
Question for anyone that has watched both version...
Is the original as confused in its storytelling? Or did have more of a traditional structure?
At the moment, while I am interested to see "what happens", it's not necessarily for the sake of the protagonist but more to know why. I think the editing and pacing is at times quite hard to follow... perhaps because I'm so used to traditional storytelling! Ah, well.
Quite interesting to see people have quite strong views on the remake.
This version explains everything. It is a total different concept. They didn't even need to call the place 'the village'. It could have been the 'nexus', 'simland' or even 'the matrix' . It wasn't a case of updating the original, it's a total different story but with the same 'characters' as the original.
What annoyed me most is the lead man did not have enough of a persona for me to even care about him. After you watch it you'll agree that Ian Mckellen made the series about number two. Instead of caring what happened to six, I found two the character I wanted to see
I notice there is a 'Jim Caviezel acting coach' listed in the end credits. Heh.
I've now watched the whole thing, and it reminded me of the Matrix sequels, it is completely impenetrable. It's almost unwatchable. Hiring Ian McKellen creates a problem because number 2 is the main character a lot of the time, which takes the focus away from the prisoner.
And could I just add the final scene of the last episode was just laughably bad.
ITV really have a problem with this; I remember reading a comment in Private Eye about The Second Coming that said ITV were stupid for 'making Guardian programming for Sun readers'. Well The Prisoner remake is that on a massive scale. Wouldn't surprise me if it ended up on ITV2. It's just nonsense.
I gather you liked the show if you went to the trouble of downloading, but do you have any other impressions, comments about the series? I am curious because not too many Brits seem to watch any Canadian TV. Did you see all seven seasons of Da Vinci's Inquest? That would have been a lot of downloading.:)
I'm not normally a fan of cop shows, but I thought DVI had an intriguing mix of grittiness and humour, and the casting and acting was great, too.
I've seen most of season 1, and look forward to (gradually!) seeing the rest as I understand that the plot arc goes off in interesting directions.
I've also enjoyed Robson Arms, The Line and of course, Corner Gas - still can't believe that CG hasn't been picked up by a UK broadcaster - it's one of the funniest shows ever.
I'm not normally a fan of cop shows, but I thought DVI had an intriguing mix of grittiness and humour, and the casting and acting was great, too.
I've seen most of season 1, and look forward to (gradually!) seeing the rest as I understand that the plot arc goes off in interesting directions.
I've also enjoyed Robson Arms, The Line and of course, Corner Gas - still can't believe that CG hasn't been picked up by a UK broadcaster - it's one of the funniest shows ever.
There was also a short-lived sequel series to Da Vinci's Inquest, called Da Vinci's City Hall. Also very good is Intelligence, a series by the producer of the two DV series.
I also recommend checking out Durham County and ZOS: Zone Of Separation, in my mind the two best Canadian drama series ever.
ITV really have a problem with this; I remember reading a comment in Private Eye about The Second Coming that said ITV were stupid for 'making Guardian programming for Sun readers'. Well The Prisoner remake is that on a massive scale. Wouldn't surprise me if it ended up on ITV2. It's just nonsense.
This series is a sensational problem for ITV. It doesn't fit on any of their channels. Certainly, it's as far away from ITV1 and ITV2 as you are likely to get. It would bomb horribly. Maybe, just maybe, they could dump it on ITV3. But it's just not an ITV programme.
It reminded me slightly in tone of Wild Palms if anyone remembers that.
Here, it should go out on BBC4 or More4. At a stretch BBC2 at 10.30pm. But that's too mainstream.
ITV would provoke a riot if it puts it in its traditional drama slot of 9pm on ITV1.
[Can we keep this thread to The Prisoner remake. If Da Vinci is so good then someone start up another thread.]
Apologies for dragging up an old thread especially on this topic but just strudggled to the end of episode 6 of this total nonsense (actually skipped episode 5 as didnt want to commit another hour or so of my life to watching it but wanted to see if the last episode made any sense - fat chance).
Have no intention of comparing it to the original series as I could see no comparison other than characters names but what did I miss? Total unwatchable drivel from start to finish.
Somebody enlighten me please as to what it was all about as I would like to think that there was some point to it but for the life of me I cannot think what it was. Did I miss something crucial in skipping episode 5? I cant face going back to watch it unless someone convinces me otherwise.
The village is in your head. It's the 'flashbacks' that are really happening. You carry on in normal life while your 'damaged' personality gets fixed by the ideal society of the Village. It's like a shared group dream and it's created by Number Two's wife who dreams it. It's all done by some giant multi-national company. Prozac analogy?
Comments
Actually, it is addressed explicitly in the new series.
I've just finished watching it. I'd say that at most you could argue that the new series was loosely inspired by the original because it ends up in a very, very different space by the end.
To be honest, I'm not sure I found the last two episodes that satisfying. Certainly not as wildly off-piste as the last episode of the US's Life on Mars but they take it in a direction that has nothing to do with the original series in their efforts to answer the questions and close it all off.
Can we discuss this on this thread?
I have to agree with you, stateofgameplay.
I was probably as sceptical as Chris Fluffy when I read about the Prisoner remake, but I was quite impressed by what I've seen.
In some ways, I think the new setting of the Village is more effective than the original. Portmeirion is just a completely bonkers location on whatever level you look at it. The new Village design, based on a sort of dust-bowl retro suburban theme is a lot more unsettling, in my opinion; because it's closer to reality, but not quite..
I think the lead role could have been better cast with a more quirky older actor - Nicholas Campbell from DaVinci Inquest, for example, but this is only a minor quibble, really.
Has DaVinci's Inquest aired in the UK? If so, what channel?
I gather you liked the show if you went to the trouble of downloading, but do you have any other impressions, comments about the series? I am curious because not too many Brits seem to watch any Canadian TV. Did you see all seven seasons of Da Vinci's Inquest? That would have been a lot of downloading.:)
Is the original as confused in its storytelling? Or did have more of a traditional structure?
At the moment, while I am interested to see "what happens", it's not necessarily for the sake of the protagonist but more to know why. I think the editing and pacing is at times quite hard to follow... perhaps because I'm so used to traditional storytelling! Ah, well.
Quite interesting to see people have quite strong views on the remake.
The original is even more "experimental," with more stuff happening that makes a viewer scratch his head.:)
What annoyed me most is the lead man did not have enough of a persona for me to even care about him. After you watch it you'll agree that Ian Mckellen made the series about number two. Instead of caring what happened to six, I found two the character I wanted to see
Ah, I see.
Well, maybe I'll just stick to this one for the time being then...
Damn American TV. It's dumbed me right down.
I've now watched the whole thing, and it reminded me of the Matrix sequels, it is completely impenetrable. It's almost unwatchable. Hiring Ian McKellen creates a problem because number 2 is the main character a lot of the time, which takes the focus away from the prisoner.
And could I just add the final scene of the last episode was just laughably bad.
ITV really have a problem with this; I remember reading a comment in Private Eye about The Second Coming that said ITV were stupid for 'making Guardian programming for Sun readers'. Well The Prisoner remake is that on a massive scale. Wouldn't surprise me if it ended up on ITV2. It's just nonsense.
I'm not normally a fan of cop shows, but I thought DVI had an intriguing mix of grittiness and humour, and the casting and acting was great, too.
I've seen most of season 1, and look forward to (gradually!) seeing the rest as I understand that the plot arc goes off in interesting directions.
I've also enjoyed Robson Arms, The Line and of course, Corner Gas - still can't believe that CG hasn't been picked up by a UK broadcaster - it's one of the funniest shows ever.
There was also a short-lived sequel series to Da Vinci's Inquest, called Da Vinci's City Hall. Also very good is Intelligence, a series by the producer of the two DV series.
I also recommend checking out Durham County and ZOS: Zone Of Separation, in my mind the two best Canadian drama series ever.
This series is a sensational problem for ITV. It doesn't fit on any of their channels. Certainly, it's as far away from ITV1 and ITV2 as you are likely to get. It would bomb horribly. Maybe, just maybe, they could dump it on ITV3. But it's just not an ITV programme.
It reminded me slightly in tone of Wild Palms if anyone remembers that.
Here, it should go out on BBC4 or More4. At a stretch BBC2 at 10.30pm. But that's too mainstream.
ITV would provoke a riot if it puts it in its traditional drama slot of 9pm on ITV1.
[Can we keep this thread to The Prisoner remake. If Da Vinci is so good then someone start up another thread.]
Presumably they were perfecting his squint.
I've seen the first two episodes and I really don't know if I'm going to watch the rest...
Maybe after the season slows down round Christmas and I'm desperate for something to watch.
Have no intention of comparing it to the original series as I could see no comparison other than characters names but what did I miss? Total unwatchable drivel from start to finish.
Somebody enlighten me please as to what it was all about as I would like to think that there was some point to it but for the life of me I cannot think what it was. Did I miss something crucial in skipping episode 5? I cant face going back to watch it unless someone convinces me otherwise.
When? At midnight?
Can you imagine the confusion in the ITV1 audience if they tune in at primetime and are confronted with this bizarre, confusing rubbish?
It's going to hang on to the Emmerdale audience? The Coronation Street audience?
This may well be one of the most interesting car crashes on TV this year. Roll on the air date.
Saturday 17 April, 9:30pm - 10:30pm, ITV1 and ITV HD.
The ITV press release is here.