The Prisoner

[jhelgesen]

Anyone else watch the Prisoner last night?

I thought it was okay, big brother like, with a few flashbacks thrown in....

Have to see what tonight brings.

[varmint]

loved the original.


this one has potential. but will have to get better before it becomes regular viewing.

[Heel n Toe]

I watched it... I'm intrigued and enjoyed it... just along for the ride in a casual way... not gonna get "LOST-style obsessed" with it and try to figure it out. Never saw the original. Love the odd cars and other vehicles and the desert vistas. That red Renault Dauphine flying out through the desert was a hoot.

Anybody know what that red convertible was that was being driven by the redhead?

From what I can gather, it's only a six-parter.

I'm probably not gonna be able to catch tonight's show, though... getting together with a bud who's wife went off the reservation crazy and filed for divorce... Monday Night Football is in the cards. Might record it.

[Z-man]

I DVR'd it - looking forward to checking it out. Sound more promising than "V" ...

-Z-man.

[Heel n Toe]

My bud caught a gig so he couldn't come over... that game wasn't any fun to watch when it became evident Cleveland wasn't even gonna try to win, so I switched over to AMC and watched the 11:00 airing of The Prisoner.

I'm still intrigued... looking forward to tonight.

Also, during the previews for tonight, they said it would be the final part... so, it's a three parter, not a six.

[lm6y]

Does the paste-y girl on the Palm Pre commercials freak anyone else out?

It seems they leave out a BUNCH on the encore episode.

[techweenie]

I gave it a few minutes; found it annoying. The original still holds up, so not sure what the motivation was to remake.

[varmint]

disappointing so far. they seem to have understood the plot of the original series. but just don't get the underlying themes that made it great.



and the pale doot doot girl is getting on my nerves.

[competentone]

Horrible ending. What an insult.

I thought the metaphor through out the remake (at least in the first two episodes) was initially good -- though it wasn't as strong as the original series' theme focused around the subject of individualism vs. collectivism -- but the ending "spat in the face" of individualism.

In the original, the prisoner, "Number Six," resisted both the "masters" (portrayed by the ever-changing "Number Two") and "subjects" (those who had surrendered their minds to the authority of "The Village"). In the original final episode, Number Six, and a few others who resist authority, escape the prison of The Village and leave as free men.

In this "re-make," Number Six "resists" both the masters and subjects initially, but in the end accepts a "master" role and becomes the "new ruler" of the "Village" (which in this series is more of a condition of "mind rape" than any "physical place.")

The re-make's ending reinforces a common theme from modern collectivists: That one only has two choices of action in this world, that of being a "master" or a "slave" -- any option of "free men" interacting with each other on a voluntary basis simply doesn't exist.

In the ending of this remake, "Number Six" becomes one of the "chief mind-rapists" controlling the village. "Number Two" -- with his biochemist wife who had been "dreaming the village into existence" retire peacefully, without opposition from Number Six, despite the fact that they engaged in repeated "mind rape" of individuals they had targeted for "treatment" and had even murdered Number Six's chief love interest (one he had just met in his real life before he was "mind-raped" into the village).

We are left with the vision of Number Six planning on building a "new and better" village with the help of the drug-induced "dreams" of his new girlfriend -- who takes the place of Number Two's maniacal biochemist wife -- who was the previous "chief dreamer" and started the whole village to create a "virtual child" for herself since she couldn't have a real child -- her "virtual child" murdered her and commits suicide in her "village" (which I thought was quite appropriate).

It is a sick, twisted, anti-individualist ending supporting the idea that people (the villagers) really CANNOT take care of themselves, they NEED a "master" to control their lives.

[competentone]

It looks like "they" are controlling this thread. It didn't auto-advance showing new posts.