The Prisoner Mini-Series – Ep. 1 and 2 (2009) TV Review

Ever since it was announced that “Lost” was going to the great DVR in the sky, viewers have been seeking a successor to the science fiction/mystery/drama/paranormal series. So far, “V”, “Flash Forward”, and thanks to the bizarre antics of judge Bruno Tonioli, “Dancing With The Stars”, have all arrived to try to give viewers their weekly fix of the strange and unexplainable. Now AMC throws their hat in the ring, with a brooding re-imagining of “The Prisoner”, and it just may be one of the season’s best yet.

“The Prisoner” opens with a man waking up in a mountainous desert area. He can’t remember who he is, where he is, or how he got there. In his disorientation, he sees an elderly man running from guards. Before dying, the old man gasps a message, to tell 554 he found a way out. Out of where? Who is 554? The man soon finds out, when he awakes in a hospital and finds himself being addressed as Six. In the place he’s in, there are no names, only numbers. That place called “The Village”, a bucolic place where it’s always sunny and pleasant and everyone knows each other in a harmonious life. Why shouldn’t it be, since everyone there believes it’s the only place left on Earth.

Eerily, everyone seems to know Six, as if he’s always lived there. The brother he thought died as a child is alive, with a loving family of his own. Six apparently has a job as a tour bus operator, and his friends say he’s the best there ever was. Despite finding himself in an idylic life, Six realizes something is very wrong. He can’t shake the memory of his brother drowning when he was a child. Even more troubling, is the fragmented memory of his encounter with a women in New York, that somehow landed him in The Village. Six quickly realizes that The Village and everything about it is a lie. His family, his job, his home–everything is a complete fabrication. He’s not alone. Others are having dreams of a past life, one they know they had, and they’re willing to escape with Six. But Six’s quest for his identity and freedom is far from easy. The Village is run by a man named Two, a kindly faced dictator who views Six’s refusal to fall into the status quo an increasing threat to his imposed order.

What really sells the “The Prisoner” are the performances of Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellan as Six and Two. McKellan strikes the right balance of malevolence and dignity in his portrayal of Two. He’s played similair roles in “X-Men” and “The DaVinci Code”, but his character’s position in holding a community under his sway adds a darkly frightening touch to his performance. As Six, Jim Caviezel is amazingly effective as a man who has truly lost everything and fighting everyone who tries to convince him otherwise. Caviezels’ Six is walking determination and willpower, who faith in his memories is overriding what his senses are telling him. Director Nick Hurran gives the production a cinematic feel, never missing a chance to savor the environment while nicely moving the action along. The production design by Michael Pickwoad is also admirable, by conveying a sense of unease in the brightly colored, ever cheerful Village. The only flaw is the script by Bill Gallagher; he does an excellent job of conveying the metaphorical fight between Six’s individualism and Two’s conformity, and his script does capture the mind game aspect of the pair’s conflict. But a mind game can be a bit slow to watch, and all the intellectual gamesmanship slows the pace down.

All in all, “The Prisoner” is a smart, intriguing show. With terrific leads and intelligent writing, this is a show that will keep you coming back. Although only a six episode series, it doesn’t have to remain that way. With “The Prisoner”, nothing it what it appears to be.

Nick Hurran (director) / Bill Gallagher (screenplay)
CAST: Ian McKellen … Number Two
Jamie Campbell Bower … Number 11-12
James Caviezel … Number Six
Ruth Wilson … Number 313
Jeffrey R. Smith … Number 16
James Cunningham … 70 / Shrink