AMC to remake The Prisoner for TV (1 Viewer)

I'm sorry but looking around I didn't see a thread dedicated to the announcement by AMC for a New production of "The Prisoner"

http://www.netreach.net/~sixofone/am...e_prisoner.htm

There has been some discussion of this in the TV & HDTV Programming area.

Also, this would appear to be separate from the Chris Nolan-directed feature that is also said to be coming.

I would avoid this, even if Comcast hadn't moved AMC to its digital tier here (which I don't subscribe to.) Any remake is a desecration of Patrick McGoohan's brilliant work.

Remakes almost never succeed. Remember the early 1990s version of ROUTE 66? Or PONDEROSA (a prequel to BONANZA)? How about this century's DR. WHO? (Well, all versions of Dr. Who are crap). It's a fluke that the new Battlestar Galactica is successful.

At least FOX's GET SMART was a sequel with Don Adams & Barbara Feldon as co-stars, so in spite of low ratings it had some dignity.

I don't like the idea of The Prisoner being remade for television either. Please say this is just an early April Fool's joke and isn't actually happening.

The feature film remake that has yet to get made might be worth the price of admission if Patrick McGoohan comes out of retirement to produce (and quite possibly direct).

We been getting movie remakes for a very long time.. looks like we will be seeing quite a bit of TV remakes now too. It may be old news.. I don't know... but I just read info that they are remaking the TV Series Bionic Woman... here is what I found on Sci-Fi Wire...


I always liked the Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman... so I am a little hopeful on this one. I never seen The Prisoner to be able to compare it. I know there isn't much love for remakes in general... but I do like some remakes so I am open-minded... after all... I am one of the very few that liked the Night Stalker remake series.

I'm much more interested in Christopher Nolan's update than a cable TV American/British co-production. A film remake of a classic British series needs a Briton at the helm. I've accepted that remakes are now the norm in Hollywood, but I'm glad that previous attempts to remake the Prisoner with a hack like Simon West never came to fruition.


Speaking of Night Stalker, I must actually crack open the DVD set soon--I bought it unseen, as I never got a chance to see Night Stalker during its broadcast (and it was even more short-lived than the original!).

And as for a remake of the Bionic Woman, perhaps the rights issues will become a little clearer so that DVDs can be finally released of Six Million Dollar Man and the original Bionic Woman!

Hopefully... I would love to see both series come to DVD!

The new Dr. Who is a not a remake. It often references the original series, (but without confusing new viewers) and two old companions beloved by fans have popped up. And I can't see how anyone could percieve the new series as unsuccessful?
There is an "authorized sequel" to the Prisoner. It's a graphic novel DC comics published in the late 80's about another secret agent type who wakes up in a now desloate ruined Village, deserted except for a familiar face who's gone up a few numbers, that would be a better idea than a remake!

Well, if her character is also named Jamie Sommers. then that ruins any possibility of mattress pitchwoman Lindsay Wagner playing her mother. :rolleyes

The original The Prisoner was shot on film, not video, IIRC. The quality is actually quite high. So why spend the money on a remake?


Let's see what a "Hollywood" version of the Prisoner would entail....probably number 6 would take over the place and perform violent acts of retribution with chainsaws and machine guns.

I seem to recall a rather violent but effective scene in the series finale when Number 6, Number 2, and Number 48 make their great escape from The Village, in which they overcome the men seated on their rotating surveillence camera dollies....which turn out to double as machine guns.

I'm still concerned that The Prisoner becomes "Hollywoodized": look at what happened to film versions of The Saint and The Avengers. The Prisoner was a highly cerebral and unique series and its distinctive mod look (much of which is fashionable again) might be watered down in a remake.

Having said that, I have faith that Nolan respects the series and would make a fascinating remake. He understood the Batman mythos (moreso than Tim Burton) and respected Erik Skjoldberg's vision when remaking Insomnia, so I'm not worried.

I Know a few Dr. Who fans that would disagree

This is rather unfortunate news. I dislike the idea of remakes even for TV shows and also movies for which I have only a mild interest in. For one of my all time favorites such as The Prisoner however I especially hate the thought of it. Even if the remake was of comparable quality, I would still greatly prefer that they didn't do it out of principle alone. Also, if the new version doesn't do absolute justice to the original classic series then I hope the people involved in it take a huge financial loss in the project.

Not only is the very existence of remakes annoying, but also the resources directed into producing them could be better spent creating themes and concepts for entirely original TV shows and movies. Therefore, for a program such as The Prisoner, not only is the public given what usually is an inferior version of something done perfectly fine already, but the potential is reduced to have something entirely new introduced that could garner widespread appeal on its own merits.

Some of the Star Trek sequels successfully pulled off reinventing aspects of and expanding on the Trek format (Deep Space Nine did it best).

So to be fair about it, maybe a new version of The Prisoner could work if it's done right. Higher modern technology and better production values aside, it all comes down to the writing, acting, and direction. Since Number Six's name was never revealed in the original series (in "Many Happy Returns" he told Mrs. Butterworth that his name was "Peter Smith", but there's no reason to believe that), the individualistic prisoner focused on in the new show can be any person -- male or female. That former government operative wouldn't even have to have to be British. And if his / her number happens to be 6 , that's OK too because when prisoners die or escape from The Village they're replaced with other people assuming the same numbers. The stories have to be different though, and the experiments performed to get our hero to reveal why he resigned, his attempts to help other prisoners / change the system, as well as the plots in which he attempts to escape should also not remake original stories.

I never understood the disdain for remakes. It's not like they are burning all copies of the original Prisoner, but people almost react as if that's what was happening. It will be easy to continue watching that and ignore any remake if you want.

I'd like to see what they do with it, since I tried to watch the original & was pretty bored.

Isn't there already a US remake of 'The Prisoner' called 'Lost'?

Actually the Rod Serling series The New People during the 1969-1970 season, was the blueprint for the unwatchable "Lost".

We could just as easily say that SeaQuest DSV was a high-tech, co-ed reworking of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Oh, you mean the Doctor Who that's been walking away with armloads of BAFTAs and a Hugo or two? The one that critics have been loving? Or that's been dominating the ratings and audiance appreciation index for two years now, smashing nearly every other show in it's path? The one that's currently in syndication around the globe?

The Prisioner remake wishes that it'll has a tenth of the sucess that Who enjoys.