The Prisoner remake

[hummingbird]

How the hell did I miss this?

http://io9.com/5039223/first-look-behind-the-scenes-of-the-prisoner-remake

Thoughts …?

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Topic

[Pete Part Three]

What did you miss; the article or the fact that it was happening?

I think I’ll reserve judgement on this until I see it. While I’d usually be a bit more “precious” about this type of remake, I think the original series was incredibly inconsistent. It seemed to verged from incredible to awful throughout the 17 episodes. A remake is, therefore, an interesting idea.

That said, the original is not particularly dated at all. It was so “out there” that it wasn’t grounded in the 60’s.

Much as I like Ian McKellan, I’m hoping that he’s not the sole occupier of the Number 2 position. Having a weekly change was a great mindfuck in the original version.

[hummingbird]

I knew it was happening, it’s just that article I missed.

I love the idea, simply because the whole concept of the show was fabulous, even if some episodes were decidedly dodgy.
It’s just that I can’t help remembering what they did with The Avengers. *shudders*

And how can they make it without Portmeirion?

[Andrew]

> And how can they make it without Portmeirion?

Common sense?

[mick]

BIG fan of the original, very unsure about this, but I will of course give it a go and reserve judgment.

[Pete Part Three]

>> And how can they make it without Portmeirion?

>Common sense?

Quite. Think it’s a good idea to try and create some original imagery for the show.

[Andrew]

I’ve said it a million times and I’ll make it a millions and one – The Fly is one of the best remakes ever. And its greatness, its place in cinema history and the iconography of horror, is partly down to its sensible decision to remake the concept, not the old movie in full.

You’ll never be your own show/movie/whatever without that evolution. You’ll just be ‘that remake a few years ago that nobody remembers’. Nostalgia only gets you so far.

[ChrisM]

Another good example of a remake surpassing the original and reinventing the ‘monster’: The Thing.

Apparently they are doing another film… but the blurb I’ve heard is it won’t be another remake (a good thing in this case I think, as John Carpenter’s version is fine I think.) Apparently it’ll be a prequel.

Assuming it’s not just a rumor obviously. And it still could be bad, but I’m interested.

[Somebody]

> Much as I like Ian McKellan, I?m hoping that he?s not the sole occupier of the Number 2 position.

Apparently, he’s meant to be the permanent No. 2.

[Phil]

Let me guess…6 is going to have a regular love interest as well.

[Dave]

>Let me guess?6 is going to have a regular love interest as well

Six appeal?

[locusceruleus]

The Prisoner established its own identity as a series, in so many terms. Not all positive, to be sure, but characteristic and all part of the fabric of a show that became iconic and influential. Even the shittiest episodes of the Prisoner blow the medicore, repetitive crap that constitutes drama on TV these days away.

When a show’s entire appeal rests on the originality of it’s concept, a remake is a blatantly redundant idea.

[Andrew]

> When a show?s entire appeal rests on the originality of it?s concept,

I don’t think that was it’s entire appeal – the concept. What about the social commentary, the subtext? The humour, the peculiar characterisation?

The Fly was a concept movie too…

> Even the shittiest episodes of the Prisoner blow the medicore, repetitive crap that constitutes drama on TV these days away.

Even Boy A? The West Wing? Bodies? The Second Coming?

[locusceruleus]

>> Even the shittiest episodes of the Prisoner blow the medicore, repetitive crap that constitutes drama on TV these days away.

>Even Boy A? The West Wing? Bodies? The Second Coming?

Let me revise that to ‘the majority of British drama on TV these days’.

[Author]

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