AMC Reinterprets Sci-Fi Series The Prisoner

With new seasons of Mad Men and Breaking Bad comes AMC's second original miniseries, The Prisoner, a reinterpretation the 1967 tale of utopia-induced paranoia.

In the 17 episodes that made up the original series, creator Patrick McGoohan also starred as No. 6, a British secret agent imprisoned in a Wales town known simply as The Village. Cult leader No. 2 soon becomes his adversary, as No. 6 attempts and fails over and over again to find a way out and, later, to find No. 1.

In AMC's six-part version, Jim Caviezel (Passion of the Christ) tackles McGoohan's title role and faces a sinister Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, X-Men) as No. 2. The Wales town becomes an amorphous world commune, though otherwise the miniseries seems to stay visually loyal to the 1967 version, based on evidence that fan forum The Prisoner Online provides.

But, as fans of the original series will see, the biggest differences between the original and modern series will lie within the story itself. "McGoohan's was about the assertation of the individual. Mine was more about, 'What if the arrogance of the individual becomes our undoing?'" producer Bill Gallagher told Entertainment Weekly, as he aimed to introduce modern ideas of security and surveillance.

McKellen hoped that McGoohan would approve of the AMC version, even though the creator refused to take part in any sort of remake. "I hope he takes this new version of The Prisoner as a compliment rather than a challenge to his great achievement," he told AMC.

Watch the trailer for The Prisoner:



Related links:
The Prisoner on AMC