AMC's The Prisoner: Arrival/Harmony

Well, there we have it! The premiere of the Prisoner miniseries on AMC. What did I think? Well, let me tell you...

Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, SPOILERS ABOUND!

I thought it was fantastic. Not only did it pay plenty of tribute to the old series with regards to imagery, dialogue, and actions, but it successfully separated itself from the 1960s version in significant and interesting ways.

First off... I just finished watching the old series on Saturday, and after coming off of "Fall Out", the final episode, I realized why some people are going to straight up hate this new version. The original series was steeped in sixtiesness. What series creator Patrick McGoohan produced was part allegory, part satire, and part commentary.

One of the biggest things that McGoohan criticized with The Prisoner was ego/identity. His Number Six was unrelenting, completely egotistical, and undeniably right. While this was a character that I feel worked well in the 60s timeframe, I don't think that this type of character works in today's world. I think purists won't like the change that Caviezel has brought to the AMC series.

That's fine. People don't have to like everything I do. I guess some people just like being wrong...

Here are a few of the stylistic/referential elements that I absolutely loved about AMC's The Prisoner

The Opening Loved the 'Resign' painted on his window. It's a totally contemporary version of how someone might resign in fury now, as opposed to the 1960s Englishman hand-delivering a letter and then pounding on a desk, spilling a man's tea.

The Coat That's right, within the first four minutes of the show we get to see the classic black coat with white piping!

Rover Both hour-long episodes featured an appearance by "Rover", the evil hovering ball of mysterious doom. Not only did Rover show up, but in one instance they paid homage to the old series by having reversed film (which is how they depicted the eerie rover in the sixties) and the classic roaring sound effect. This is the sort of stuff that is directed squarely at fans, and I think it worked well.

Throwing A Rock/Zoom The opening of the original series has a scene of a frustrated number six throwing a rock into the ocean. As this happens, the camera zoom in on and then away from Six. The new version is devoid of ocean, but the scene struck home regardless.

The Map Scene In the first half of the premiere "Arrival", Six goes to a shop to purchase a map... the biggest one they have. The shopkeeper gives him a tiny folded map that then expands to a ridiculous size... but still only depicts The Village and nothing surrounding it. Six then leaves with a copy of the map without paying, for no apparent reason. I feel like this exact scene was played out in the original series (whose premiere was also named "Arrival", by the way).

I Am Not A Number Of course we knew this classic line would appear in the new series. There was no doubt. Along with this, the classic "Be Seeing You" greeting was there, and a few other subtle nods to dialogue in the original.

The Bars On Six's Face In the classic series, almost every episode ended with a cut out of Patrick McGoohan's face flying at the camera, an arial view of The Village behind it. Just as it is about to cover the screen, cartoon bars appear, locking the face behind his prison bars. This was incredibly cheesy, but endearing. I love how AMC has replicated this effect in extremely subtle ways. No cartoon bars, no floating head... but the signature closing is definitely there.

Okay, so all of that geeky stuff aside, the thing I was most worried about in seeing the new series was the story... how much would it change, and would it be done the right way?

The original series has had a great effect on media over the past forty years. The Truman Show is probably the most obvious. You have to think... after a movie has so effectively put a twist on the nature of being constantly surveilled, being imprisoned in a pacific world where only the protagonist seems to be at odds with his environment... how do you take The Prisoner and flip it on its side and make it interesting again?

From the first two episodes, it seems that AMC's version is focusing on something that the original series failed to effectively flesh out: The Villagers. It was never clear in the classic version what the true nature of the numbered inhabitants of The Village was. Were they in on the scheme? Were they just sheep being lead by their faux-democratic government? Why were they so comfortable with a raving lunatic going on and on about how he was a prisoner in their town? Because these people were not really the point of the original series, it was never very clear what their relationship was to their government.

The new series has already done a great job of showing that residents of The Village are just as confused as Number Six. Some of them are very placid. They are confused and amused by Six's insistence that something outside The Village exists. Others have been plagued by dreams of elsewhere but have no memories or belief in these outside places. Others are in league, whether by choice or otherwise, with Number Two, who has a sinister hold on the population.

This is a good move, in my opinion. It really fleshes out The Village as a true character. And what a gorgeous character it is! The sets are simply astounding. The cinematography is crisp and vibrant. The costuming, the vehicles, the signage... all of it is spot on and brilliant.

And let me just say, despite the fact that I was looking forward to the series being updated for the current timeframe, I was worried that, as with most new television, the weirdness of the original might get completely lost. This fear was unfounded, because there is some downright weird stuff going on on this show. For instance:

• Ian McKellen eating cherry cake alone at a table... with his hands.
• People in clean suits with pig masks.
• Number Six, tied to a log, next to an anchor, with a grenade in his mouth.
• The only thing to eat seems to be various type of tortilla wraps. Seriously!

There are many mysteries, some of which will be explained, some of which will likely not be. That is in keeping with the series as a whole, and I'm fine with that.

My only gripe is that we learned too much about Six's job (the one he resigned from) in the first two shows. But hey, no big deal, ultimately.

All in all, these first two episodes were excellent, and I'm eager for more. I'm glad this is a miniseries, unconstrained by the fickle folly of executives and ratings-whores. There are only six episodes of The Prisoner, so we know we're getting a complete tale. No cancellation four episodes in... no cliffhanger ending that is merely an attempt to blackmail the network for a series renewal. There's so much more to talk about, but it's going to have to wait until I've seen more!