Teh New Prisoner

[norton9478]

How come nobody has said that there was a new Prisoner Starting up?

I just happened to stumble on it on AMC. Not bad... Not great (neither was the original anyways).

Although I have never seen Lost, it appears to be very similar to Lost (from what I know about it)...

But my brother always said that Lost was nothing more than a Ripoff of the Prisoner anyways.


Thoughts?

-Be Seeing you

 

[Lagduf]

We've talked about their being a new prisoner though I don't think we've ever had a thread dedicated to it.

I've yet to see either series (old or new.)

 

[SML]

I just happened to stumble on it on AMC. Not bad... Not great (neither was the original anyways).

I can't think of a better TV series than the original Prisoner. That's with the boring early episodes and weirder later episodes and the terrible mind-switch episode.

Still the best series ever.

 

[LoneSage]

This new one's only six episodes long.

 

[SML]

For once I wish I still had TV.

I guess I'll just torrent the miniseries at the end of this week.

 

[Loopz]

I'm a huge fan of the original, and while I miss Patrick McGoohan's angry Scottish voice proclaiming, "I AM NOT A NUMBER...I AM A FREE MAN!", the new series is a good fresh take on it. Ian McKellen is a really nasty No. 2, with his penchant for playing around with hand grenades and all. I like the new visual take on The Village, with the crazy A-frame houses and all, and the classic old cars/buses sort of evoking the time period of the original series. What I saw from the first two episodes this evening definitely warrants watching the next two nights.

Jim Caviezel is OK, but is a lot more paranoid and fearful than McGoohan's angry-ass No. 6. They have some fun with the concept of everyone having numbers instead of names and that's also kinda cool. We'll see how this sucker ends.

 

[BigTinz]

For once I wish I still had TV.

I guess I'll just torrent the miniseries at the end of this week.

You're not missing anything....especially considering you liked the original. I also really enjoy the original series so the new one has been disappointing so far. Granted, it's just the first episode BUT.....the first episode of the original was fantastic and to this day is one of the most incredible pilots I've ever seen.

I hope it gets better.

 

[SouthtownKid]

How come nobody has said that there was a new Prisoner Starting up?

Believe it or not, lots of people have.

I can't think of a better TV series than the original Prisoner. That's with the boring early episodes

You are crazy, man. The early episodes are the best. The only really boring episodes are the filler episodes towards the end, like the dumb mind-switch episode you mentioned, along with 'Living in Harmony' and 'The Girl Who Was Death'. Those three are fucking horrible.

But as far as thinking of a better TV series, I nominate Twin Peaks. Although, like The Prisoner, it takes a major dip in quality in the middle before being redeemed in the final couple episodes.


Anyway, about the new Prisoner, I'm recording it and am planning to watch it all at once.

 

[Late]

The original prisoner rules

 

[SouthtownKid]

The original prisoner rules

For some reason, looking at a reversed picture is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me.

 

[Late]

For some reason, looking at a reversed picture is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me.

I blame google images or the guy who flipped it.

 

[Professor Denim]

love the old series,in fact just got this from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prisoner-Co...ef=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1258370930&sr=8-2

 

[SouthtownKid]

I blame google images or the guy who flipped it.

Yeah, I'm not blaming you or anything; I just always find it unsettling for some reason. Advertisers do it a lot on dvd packaging or on movie posters, and it always bugs me.

 

[SML]

You are crazy, man. The early episodes are the best. The only really boring episodes are the filler episodes towards the end, like the dumb mind-switch episode you mentioned, along with 'Living in Harmony' and 'The Girl Who Was Death'. Those three are fucking horrible.

But as far as thinking of a better TV series, I nominate Twin Peaks. Although, like The Prisoner, it takes a major dip in quality in the middle before being redeemed in the final couple episodes.

My first time watching the series, I only became hooked when I saw "A. B. and C." (Going by the A&E box set, that's episode #6, following Arrival, Free For All, Dance of the Dead, Checkmate, and The Chimes of Big Ben, in that order.)

Now I'll watch any episode you put in front of me, but those first five episodes, when you first watch the series, tend to have a slow pace and all have a very similar tone.

I quite like "The Girl Who Was Death," though.

For me, the best conventional episode is "Hammer Into Anvil."

But I like"Once Upon a Time" and "Fall Out" best of all. But those episodes are almost of a different order than the rest of the series.




Twin Peaks is great, but it lost its way after episode 17. Windom Earle never really did anything for me.

 

[norton9478]

I can't think of a better TV series than the original Prisoner. That's with the boring early episodes and weirder later episodes and the terrible mind-switch episode.
Still the best series ever.

Ohh yeah, it's great as a whole.... Probably one of the greatest concepts put on TV... It's just a chore to get through some of the latter episodes.

I liked "Election" and ABC

Believe it or not, lots of people have.

Yeah, I've known that there was a project in development hell. I just depend on the forum to let me know when something like this is starting up...

I just HAPPENED to be flipping in that area at 8:00 PM. A rare event... But luck

 

[Average Joe]

The original is up to watch On Demand for those Comcast users here.

I'm in the process of going through them again myself.

Been a few years since I saw the show in its entirety.

 

[thirdkind]

love the old series,in fact just got this from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prisoner-Co...ef=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1258370930&sr=8-2

I have the same set and have watched the first 5 episodes. Shows from the 60s have no right to look this good. Amazing.

 

[Professor Denim]

I have the same set and have watched the first 5 episodes. Shows from the 60s have no right to look this good. Amazing.

to me, old classics remastered is the best reason to own a bluray.
i cant wait to get Wizard of Oz later this month.
Oh and yeah, and the Prisoner is amazing.

 

[genjiglove]

I've always wanted to watch the original but I've had the ending spoiled for me many times over so its kind of hard to get interested.

 

[J. Max]

"The Girl Who Was Death" is bad on purpose. It's McGoohan's commentary on the state of television at the time. The BBC kept pestering him to make the show more action oriented, so they did that episode as a parody of what the network wanted.

This is why he looks straight in to the camera at the end and says "Goodnight children, everywhere.".

The other bit of trivia about that episode is that one of the actors playing a minor role is actually named "John Drake". McGoohan hired him on purpose because he thought it was ironic.


I'm a huge Prisoner nerd...I went as Number 6 for Halloween two years ago...

 

[SouthtownKid]

"The Girl Who Was Death" is bad on purpose. It's McGoohan's commentary on the state of television at the time.

Bad on purpose is still bad. I don't blame the BBC, I blame McGoohan. When the BBC wanted to order extra episodes, McGoohan should have said no and stuck to the original story and length. The simple truth is that he wasn't able to think of enough legitimate ideas to fill the additional episodes, and some of the extra episodes come off as cheap filler.

You could take the best book ever written and add 150 extra pages to it for no reason, and you'd be extremely lucky if you didn't turn the entire thing into a pile of shit. It's a miracle The Prisoner still works as well as it does, with some of those filler episodes dragging it down.

 

[BigTinz]

I have the same set and have watched the first 5 episodes. Shows from the 60s have no right to look this good. Amazing.

I'm a bit confused by the amazon pics.

Does the collection include dvds AND blu-rays?

Is there a dvd version of the box set?

 

[norton9478]

I've always wanted to watch the original but I've had the ending spoiled for me many times over so its kind of hard to get interested.

The least two episodes were kind of far out there.... I almost think that it kinda sucks.... It was only great in it's craziness and avant guard style.

The first 7 episodes were the highlight.

 

[norton9478]

extra pages to it for no reason, and you'd be extremely lucky if you didn't turn the entire thing into a pile of shit. It's a miracle The Prisoner still works as well as it does, with some of those filler episodes dragging it down.

Watch "Heart of Darkness" with John Malkovitch if you want a good example of ruining a classic.

I think that they were trying to distance it from Apocalypse Now. Somehow, Apocalypse Now is more faithful to the book.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Watch "Heart of Darkness" with John Malkovitch if you want a good example of ruining a classic.

But I really don't. I try to avoid seeing examples of that.