Prisoner remake airs in the UK from April 17

[23skidoo]

I don't recall seeing this mentioned earlier, but for those folks in the UK who are waiting to see the remake of The Prisoner (which I feel is a much better show than the critics do), ITV has announced it'll air starting April 17 (fortunately at a later time than Doctor Who so there won't be direct competition).

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/theprisoner/ep01wk16/default.html

This might be a first - a UK-produced (or co-produced) series that airs in the UK months after not only the US broadcast, but even after the US DVD release.

It'll be interesting to see if the UK audience response (i.e. that A.I. rating) differs from the US where it landed with a thud last fall. Recasting #6 as an American probably won't go over well (even though McGoohan was himself an American, or at least American-born). But the show does feature Ian McKellen, who's always popular, and both Ruth Wilson and Hayley Atwell are in the Carey Mulligan "up-and-coming" category over there. On the other hand, it's actually one of the few TV attempts at "hard" SF (if you don't know the story I won't spoil, but it goes pretty deeply into hard territory), and that's always a hard sell in a TV environment.

The good news for those (few?) of us who enjoyed it is that since it was just a mini-series anyway, even if it scores a zero rating it's not going to get cancelled!

Alex

 

[John Clark]

The trailer for it hasn't done that much for me. That said, I'll probably tape it to have a look

Having it recast doesn't bother me, but then I haven't seen the original either.

 

[Aeon]

I am a fan of the original, but I was pretty excited when I heard about the remake. It turned out to be just plain and simple awful, dull and boring. But hey, that's just me! Glad someone enjoyed it.

 

[diankra]

The original wasn't a hit in the UK, though it did pull in a lot of people who'd watched Dangerman (aka Secret Agent). It was the uncertainty about it that kept it remembered, through to the Channell 4 repeat 15 years on (when I first saw it and was fascinated - actually, I'd seen The Girl Who Was Death in an ITV annversary season a few years before, loved it, and then foudn the rest of the series was very different).
But... I doubt the new version (yes, I have read a lot of spoilers) will attract as much interest. The tx slot isn't a good one, and there doesn't seem to be anything to keep the cult conversation going afterwards (which is a pity: the writer's talented, and I don't just say that because I knew him slightly at university, where his scripts where proper Prisoner weird).
If it wasn't called The Prisoner, I suspect I'd appreciate its good points. As it is, I suspect I'll be disappointed because it explains too much. But... wait and watch! I might be bowled over!