Fri Jul 24, 2009 — by Amy Goldschlager

#SDCC: 'The Prisoner': Do You Want ... Information?

Jim Cavalziel (The Passion of the Christ) suffers a whole new kind of persecution when he stars as Number Six in the six-episode remake of Patrick McGoohan’s classic 1960s show The Prisoner, which is set to air on AMC in November.

Today’s SDCC panel on The Prisoner reboot featured Jim Cavalziel as well as Prisoner co-star Lennie James (Jericho), AMC VP Vlad Wolynetz, and miniseries writer Bill Gallagher. Alas, Sir Ian McKellan, who takes on the role of Six’s nemesis, Number Two, was not present.

Gallagher characterized the remake as a “response,” and not a duplication of McGoohan’s concept. (We don’t have to worry about Cavalziel being overly influenced by McGoohan’s take on the role of Number Six; according to a Wired interview, he’s never even seen the show. Maybe that’s worrying in a whole different way.)

The panel premiered nine minutes of footage from the new Prisoner, embedded below for your viewing pleasure, and of course, your judging. According to official AMC tweeter, ThePrisoner_AMC, “The crowd ... [went] wild after rover is revealed in #ThePrisoner panel at Comic-Con.” Presumably, that was out of appreciative nostalgia, not fear, because the Village’s security device is still a decidedly unintimidating, giant white balloon. Watching the footage, it’s clear that the premise has shifted quite a bit, although several scenes and bits of dialogue have carried over and sound a bit odd voiced in American accents. The setting has also moved thousands of miles from the cool, green precincts of Wales to a considerably hotter, more arid enclave in Namibia.

Marvel Comics and AMC have also collaborated on a Prisoner comic, which is being given away at San Diego. Download a PDF of the comic from the AMC website.

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