A remake of "The Prisoner," starring Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen, a one-season, Kafkaesque British tv series from 1967-68, with a significant cult following for over 40 years, airs tonight as a mini-series at 8PM EST, and again at 10PM EST, on AMC.
I'm a huge fan of this series--it brought us that famous line: "I'm a man not a number!"--and I'd venture to guess that Caviezel and McKellen do it justice.
The original series starred Patrick McGoohan (he also produced it as well as wrote and directed a few episodes), who passed away in January, and whom you may remember for his outstanding, Oscar-deserving role as Edward Longshanks in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart."
Here's some backgroud from McGoohan's obit, since it helps explain part of the reason as to why I'm posting this here...
Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan dies at 80
Farewell, number six
By John Leyden
Posted in Entertainment, 15th January 2009 11:22 GMT
...The Irish American actor's work in the 60s foreshadowed concerns about freedom and personal privacy that remain key political issues today, thanks to the erosion of liberties pushed forward by governments as necessary in the fight against terrorism. What's less remembered is that the depiction of technology in the The Prisoner in particular was decades ahead of its time. The series was among the first to depict cordless telephones and miniature surveillance cameras, among other innovations that only became commercially available years later...
--SNIP--
The series influenced future productions such as Lost and films such as The Truman Show. Its iconic Rover weather balloon guardians were parodied in The Simpsons. The exteriors for the series were shot in Portmeirion, Wales, making the model village something of a tourist destination in its own right.
McGoohan went on to enjoy a successful film career but will always be best remembered as The Prisoner. In a nice piece of casting he played the Warden opposite Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He also played Edward Longshanks opposite Mel Gibson's William Wallace in Braveheart...
As the article above also tells us, McGoohan turned down the original (Sean Connery) James Bond role in "Dr. No," as well as the role of the Saint (Roger Moore).
I'm pretty sure we're in for a real treat tonight. I read a blogger reference over at Salon, and I can't find it now; but they called McGoohan's character in The Prisoner, "...the love child of James Bond and Hannibal Lecter." (Heh...That might be a little over-the-top, IMHO.)
I can definitely relate to the obituary reference to the influence The Prisoner had on the TV series, "Lost," however. I'm pretty sure the remake will remind viewers of it, as well.
As the ad trailer on AMC tells us: "You only think you're free." (Kafka would be proud!)