The Prisoner dramatized the struggle of the individual to set himself apart from the conformity of collectivism as personified by The Village.

Shortly after the death of actor Patrick McGoohan last January, his widow was asked about the remake of her departed husband's best known work The Prisoner. Joan Drummond revealed that he had been approached to participate in the new series but declined to have any involvement.

McGoohan could hardly be blamed for his reticence. He starred, wrote, produced and even directed several episodes of The Prisoner under such aliases as Paddy Fitz and Joseph Serf. When it first aired in Britain in 1967 (and in North America the following year) it not only became television's first mini-series (17 episodes in all), it was unlike anything ever seen on the small screen. Nothing this ambitious had ever been undertaken before in the medium of television.

For those unfamiliar with The Prisoner, it was about a British spy who inexplicably resigns. Many believed the spy was John Drake, the character McGoohan portrayed in his previous TV series Danger Man (known as Secret Agent Man in North America). However, McGoohan always denied the connection. Whoever McGoohan was, his resignation does not please his masters who gas him inside his home as he is preparing to leave for some more serene destination. When he awakes he finds himself in his home only to look out the window and see The Village (which was set in a resort in Portmerion, Wales) and find out that he was Number Six. The day to day operations of The Village were overseen by a revolving door of Number Twos who were bent on trying to find out by hook or by crook why Number Six resigned. Meanwhile, Number Six was bent on escape and figuring out who was Number One.

The Prisoner dramatized the struggle of the individual to set himself apart from the conformity of collectivism as personified by The Village. I am not a number. I am a free man. The Prisoner exuded grandness from its opening sequence which was accompanied by a memorable theme composed by the late Ron Grainer (who had also composed the theme to Doctor Who). 

More than four decades after The Prisoner aired on CBS, a long-awaited new version debuted on AMC on Sunday night starring Jim Caviezel (best known for playing Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's infamous The Passion of the Christ) as Number Six and Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings movies) as Number Two. The six-episode mini-series will air through Tuesday night.

Shot in South Africa and in Namibia, The Prisoner begins with Number Six awakening in the desert not knowing where he is. (Number Six seems to spend half of the first two episodes waking up not knowing where he is.) He then comes upon an old man running away from armed gunmen only to be mortally wounded. After taking him to a cave, the old man reveals himself as Number 93 (John Whitely), who informs him he has a found a way to escape The Village and then dies. (One cannot help but think this part was originally offered to McGoohan.) Shortly thereafter, Number Six comes upon a collection of pointed houses and soon discovers he is in The Village.

Unlike the original series, inhabitants of The Village are unaware of the outside world.  This Village also doesn't have penny farthing bicycles, semi-weekly kosho matches or even a Number One. But it does have plenty of wraps, soap operas and a large fleet of buses.

Number Six's memories are blurred but not enough that he doesn't remember New York City or resigning from his high tech job with SimCorp (an actual info tech company). He also remembers meeting an attractive woman named Lucy (Hayley Atwell) who seems awfully curious as to why he resigned. Once inside The Village, Number Six is befriended by a cab driver known as Number 147 (Lennie James). He also arouses the curiosity of a beautiful female doctor known as Number 313 (Ruth Wilson) who tries to convince Number Six that he is delusional but soon begins to have her own doubts.

Another significant difference is McKellen is the only Number Two featured in the series.  He also has a family that includes a wife who appears terminally ill and is fed a steady stream of pills supplied by Number Two. There is also a teenaged son, Number 1112 (Jamie Campbell Bower), who seems drawn to Number Six's belief there is life beyond The Village.

Whatever mysteries lie in the recesses of The Village revolve around a mirage-like set of Towers that bear a striking resemblance to the World Trade Center. It is worth noting that what appears to be a suicide bomb explodes in a cafe killing Number 554 (Jessica Haines), a waitress who had befriended Number 93 and had dreams of life outside The Village. She even drew a likeness of The Statue of Liberty although her memory of what it actually is had been erased.

If one has never viewed the original series one might find it entertaining viewing for three nights. But if you have seen the original, the 2009 rendition is adequately serviceable television with McKellen delivering the tastiest dialogue with cherries on top. But it is not a groundbreaking piece of art that will warrant discussion decades after its concluding episode. I suspect many fans of The Prisoner will be content to say, "Be seeing you."

Unfortunately, the weak link in The Prisoner is Caviezel himself, who exudes none of McGoohan's charismatic physical presence, his authoritative voice or sheer wit in the face of danger. Cavaziel's Number Six seems no match for McKellen's Number Two. When Cavaziel shouts, "I am not a number. I'm a free man," he sounds like a petulant teenager whose father has just told him he can't have the car for the evening. The success of The Prisoner might take The Village but the understated disposition of Cavaziel is simply not well suited for this role.