When a TV mini-series stars both Jesus Christ and Gandalf you have to have sit up and take notice.
When it’s also based on an iconic television series it becomes “must see TV.”
Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen will star in a “re-imagining” of the late Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisioner for AMC.
The new production would appear to have a slick modern sheen, but it seems to lack the odd twisted sixties drug trip vibe of the original British series.
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The Prisoner followed “Number 6″ (McGoohan), a retired secret service agent who was kidnapped and left in “The Village,” a strange paradise ruled by “Number 2″ and a mysterious giant balloon-like ball. The exteriors to the show were originally shot in idyllic Portmeirion village, Wales. The new Caviezel (Number 6) version with Ian McKellen (Number 2) was shot in the more exotic and less iconic Cape Town, South Africa – which appears to swap the small town location for vast desert landscapes.
You can check out a behind the scenes video below where cast and crew discuss bringing McGoohan’s baby into the 21st Century.
While the new six part version of The Prisoner has a fantastic cast and good locations (as well as $1 million per episode) it just seems a bit generic. I’m sure it’ll be good TV, but I don’t think that it will hold a candle to the original.
I hope McGoohan’s legacy isn’t tarnished – the star/producer of the original declined a cameo in the series, while Christopher Nolan is circling a film version of the show – as did Mel Gibson before him.
The Prisoner airs on AMC in November 2009.
Source: AMC TV (hat tip to Ain’t It Cool)
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7 Comments
As much as I KNOW that nothing will ever compare to the original show … I’m not against a remake.
And YES, it’s a remake.
I am just hoping for a kick-ass new version of the opening tune.
Like they did it with Doctor Who.
Or how about like they did with “The Fugitive” with Harrison Ford a few years back…Now that was a great way to reinvent something and introduce it to newer generations that were not familiar with the original series with David Janssen…
just seen outlander. Jim Caviezel is a solid intelligent choice, and the whole production is british. i think it would be grand! cant wait.
Count me in. Caviezel is great.
This is high on my must see list.
Caviezel was my choice for Superman
and he still is if that series is rebooted.
Although Ian McKellen’s a fine choice for a Leo McKern-style Number Two, in a way the location’s even more important than the casting. I’m not averse to a “reimagining”, and who knows, they could be doing something interesting and surreal with the desert exteriors and Cape Town masquerading as New York (eh?), but without Portmeirion what exactly is this now? Not seeing any piped blazers either…
I’ll just be a knee jerk reactionary hater but I have no interest in seeing Jim Caviezel in the desert wearing a Member’s Only jacket defile the greatest television show in history.
Who doesn’t love Ian McKellen but only one No. 2? That’s half the subversion gone before it starts. Not to mention that I don’t think there is anyone alive that could give us an ending that is as brilliant and disturbing as the original. I’m out!
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