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'The Prisoner' remake is incomprehensible

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By Walt Belcher

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2009

The original "Prisoner" was an entertaining little action thriller for about 16 episodes.

The 17th episode, however, ranks as the most confounding, nonsensical and controversial finale in TV history.

Yes, it is more disappointing than the finales of "The X-Files" and "Seinfeld."

But even worse is AMC's ambitious and heavily hyped six-part remake. Debuting at 8 p.m. Sunday, "The Prisoner" is an incomprehensible mess from beginning to end.

It's a disjointed, confusing, self-absorbed, allegorical tale about identity, reality, mind manipulation and surveillance.

At least the original was entertaining. You have to work to stay with the new one.

The late British actor Patrick McGoohan created, directed and starred in the short-lived 1967-68 original that has since become a cult classic.

McGoohan tapped into the James Bond-fueled popularity of the Cold War spy genre, as well as growing distrust of the government, paranoia over the John F. Kennedy assassination and the non-conformity of the counterculture movement.

In the opening credits, his character resigns in anger.

He is trying to leave town when he is drugged. He wakes up in The Village, a pleasant-looking island burg where everyone is given a number. He is No. 6

"I am not a number, I am a free man!" is his defiant battle cry as he tries to escape and outwit The Village boss, No. 2.

The remake follows a similar path. The new No. 6, played by Jim Caviezel, resigns from a surveillance firm. The Village where he wakes up is in a desert.

But unlike McGoohan's cool, calculating prisoner, Caviezel's No. 6 is grim whiner who lacks conviction when he says, "I am not a number." And apparently, he can't outwit this No. 2, played by Ian McKellan, who steals the show.

Some things are retained from the original, such as the Village greeting, "Be seeing you," and a menacing big white balloon that chases down those who try to escape.

This Village is populated by thousands of numbered people who don't even acknowledge that there is an outside world. The youngest have been trained from childhood to spy on each other. Everyone is under surveillance.

Over the six hours, "The Prisoner" goes back and forth in time, introduces two love interests for No. 6, begins storylines that go nowhere, and tests the viewer's tolerance for symbolism and nonlinear storytelling.

McGoohan, who died in January at age 80, was offered a small part in this remake. Reportedly he turned it down, wanting only to play No. 2.

Fans of the original wanted to see No. 6 escape. They also wanted him to bring to justice those responsible for The Village and learn the reason why it existed.

These questions were not answered. The decision to cancel the series left McGoohan with only a week to write a finale. He whipped out a ridiculously weird last episode.

He either was thumbing his nose at the network, smoking something stronger than tobacco or had no idea how to end it. For years afterward he was hounded by disgruntled "Prisoner" fans. You can watch original episodes at www.amctv .com.

And those looking for answers to questions raised in this remake may be just as disappointed.

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