#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.
Sadly, as was often the case, I couldn't get into the panel. I did watch the trailer looped at the AMC booth several times, got a copy of the promotional comic (presenting only a few pages of the adaptation with possible spoilers) and naturally, posed for one of THE VILLAGE I.D. cards. (I'm 117-2)I'm not saying that Jim Cavalziel is lying, but when somebody says they are unfamiliar with a previous version of some film or TV show I don't know that I completely trust them at their word. If you are offered a part in something which has a cult-like following, wouldn't you be interested enough to at least take a peek? I mean, especially the lead?I am looking forward to the show, nonetheless.
When i made myself a penny-farthing number badge, many years ago, i put the square root of pi on it – an irrational radical.