Television: The Prisoner

Ken — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:22:58 +0000

Today was part 2 of 3 of AMC's remake of "The Prisoner". Thus far, it is as I feared: it doesn't live up to the original.

Perhaps they're deliberately not trying to recapture the same feel as the original show, and I can appreciate the desire to make something novel. But I greatly prefer Patrick McGoohan's clever subversiveness to Jim Caviezel's outright rebellion. And you know, a disjointed plot is not the same as a mysterious plot.

In this version, there's just no subtlety. Instead of mind games, there are psychotropic drugs and coercion. I keep waiting for the shocking plot twist that doesn't come. Maybe they're just setting up for one big surprise? There's one episode left tomorrow... we'll see.

And OH! I almost forgot... how could you have The Prisoner without the Village font, the beautiful Albertus derivative that was ubiquitous in the original show? In this version, we get... Avant Garde Gothic Bold and Optima Bold Italic? Really?