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Did you see 'The Prisoner'? What a mess
Mon, 11/23/2009 - 09:20 — Dr. Zaius
I believe that Joel, for one, said he was looking forward to watching AMC's mini-series "The Prisoner." My colleague, Sam Karnick, over at The American Culture was not impressed. And a smart observer — a veritable scholar of the original series — notes in the comments just how awful this reboot was, and is well worth reading.
I also left a comment there, which contains spoilers so I won't repeat it here. But I'm curious about the reactions of other Monkeys and Monkey Readers.
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Comments
Bleh
Really bad. The only possible good thing is that it might get people to watch the original (which was also seriously flawed, but in more interesting ways).
Gonna have to wait...
...until it's available online somewhere. From what you're saying, though, I'm dubious about using my holiday weekend to set aside time.
Anybody still watching "V?" Man, I want to give that show a chance, but it's really, seriously boring.
Re: Gonna have to wait...
Sam Karnick's piece was enough to scare me off from Jesus vs. Gandalf, but the guy in the comments absolutely sealed the deal. I don't know the original series very well, though, so maybe -- per David -- I should get around to checking it out.
We finally watched the first three episodes of "V." I agree that the pacing is weird -- they reveal that the Visitors are the villains at the end of hour one, and then spend the next two episodes with the FBI agent going round and round with the priest. We'll stick with it, though. I have high hopes for the relaunch in the Spring, since the new executive producer had a big hand in The Shield.
Meh.
I was REALLY looking forward to this, and was very much inclined to enjoy it. But it was a huge disappointment. The last episode is still sitting on my TiVo, unwatched. As a big fan of the original series (despite, as David mentioned, its own flaws) I'm stunned that AMC thought anyone, including Prisoner cultists, would enjoy this. The "Schizoid" episode was the only one that rose above Painfully Boring.
The WikiPedia article indicates that Christopher Nolan had been interested in doing a film version. I'm really sad to think that someone who created such a skilled reboot of the "Batman" franchise might not get to (or even want to) give a similar treatment to The Prisoner due to the abysmal execution of this miniseries.
Final episode of The Prisoner
I watched the final four hours last night ... it infected my dreams!!!
Not to give away any spoilers, but I came away thinking that the whole surveillance society in The Village is all-but pointless — and that was a big theme to the original series, I'm told. Indeed, there seems to be no reason to have called this miniseries "The Prisoner" at all, when it comes down to it — other than to sucker people in. I'd never heard of the "iconic" 1960s series until Joel (i think) tweeted his excitement about the trailer AMC put out several weeks ago.
I fired off about 20 questions about holes in the story to Karnick and the commenter at The American Culture, Steven Titch ... but then I just gave up.
They certainly could have told the story they end up telling in at least half the time, if not a simple 2-hour movie.
Pop culture holes
I know that pop culture is filth, and my mind is cluttered with a lot of ephemera, trivia and downright crap, God knows. But I'm surprised at this: "I'd never heard of the 'iconic' 1960s series until Joel (i think) tweeted his excitement about the trailer AMC put out several weeks ago."
Really? Really? Wow. Are you sure? I'm sure you've at least heard or seen some mention of it somewhere. I've never seen the original series, either, but the line, "I'm not a number! I'm a free man!" has been used, cited, repeated, and parodied, all over the place. Answer carefully. Your geek cred -- such as it is -- is on the line.
Dr. Zaius
His missing the entire existence of The Prisoner would make perfect sense if he really is an intelligent orangutan from our distant future. I mean, did he not listen to Iron Maiden growing up? If not, why not?
I've never seen the original series, either, although I know a fair bit about it. Comes from being a Doctor Who nerd -- you pick up a lot of science fiction TV just by osmosis. I downloaded the whole series a little while back -- not because of the remake, which I only found out about recently -- and have now seen the first episode. It's really a weird show. It's a comedy in some ways, and deadly serious in others, and in between it's just off-kilter. It doesn't hurt that the parts of the show which were contemporary when it was made -- the clothes, the cars, the furniture -- all look, these days, like they're from Mars.
Cut up my geek card
It's true. I never heard of The Prisoner. I may have heard it mentioned here and there, but it registered a complete flat-line to me. Maybe that's because I was not a metal fan (let alone Iron Maiden, specifically) nor am I a Doctor Who nerd.
I get quite the chuckle out of the fact that I'm being (joshingly) ripped for not being an aficionado of a television series from a foreign country produced a few years before I was born and probably never (or very rarely) aired on "regular" television in America. It's not like I'm completely ignorant. I have heard of, and seen some episodes of, The Avengers because ... well ... that was on some UHF stations in the afternoon when I was a kid. And it had Diana Rigg. Who could forget her.
You all are the nerds. I was more into sports ... and girls. So, with pride, I hand over my nerd credentials to be melted down and made into a nerderiffic action figure.
Sports
Sports and Girls? What is that, some kind of programme from the CBC?
Sports and Girls
Actually, it's the worst comic ever to get space in a daily newspaper.
My 'Prisoner' comments
Sam has posted them on the blog. I don't reproduce them here because they are spoiler-heavy.
Go here to read them, if you're interested. And, perhaps, comment below it at The American Culture. I'd like some answers to those questions from those who have seen the whole miniseries.
Original Prisoner That Red Balloon Thing
... the only part I remember, from the credits, and it gave me the nightmare willies. Haven't ever worked out why.
That is all.
PS I suppose I'd rather watch The Truman Show, which was flawed, but in more interesting ways.
I'm off to read the spoilers!
.
"Don't confuse political savvy with competence or principles." -- RobbL, 2009
Rover
Actually, the balloon was white, and it's present in the new series as well. It's yet another icon from the original series (which, let's be honest, was probably a choice they made due to their limited budget) that is woefully mishandled in the new.
Combining
Combing the red balloon from that French movie and the white bubble from the Prisoner would make an awesome movie, though. This red balloon follows a young boy around Paris...and then eats him!
"I know I'm going to miss her/A tomato ate my sister"
Balloooon
I was probably watching in glorious black-and-white, hence the confusion.
But now, with crywalt's inspired follow-up, I am now humming "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" in my head, and have hence gone completely off the thread-rails.
.
"Don't confuse political savvy with competence or principles." -- RobbL, 2009
Where the Heck Are We?
"It is BALLOOOON!"
I gave up after two hours
The original was subtle and layered, the remake is a freight train. The original was open to many interpretations, the remake devoid of any complexity.
Horrible. I'm so glad Patrick Macgoohan wasn't around to see it.
Never watched it.
Not the old. Not the new. Does that make me aloof, or simply lame?
ditto
Perhaps a poll is in order.
This is a most entertaining thread though.
One poll, coming up
Pre-emptive disclaimer: All in good fun, right? No hard feelings?