An A, really?  I thought the first hour I saw was boring and most of the reviews I've seen haven't been all that good.  I'll wait for the whole thing to finish before I see it.

I plan on cozying up with my favorite brand of psychoactive tobacco, a couple of tubs of chocolate ice cream, some cold pork chops and pulling a Prisoner marathon, so I haven't watched any of it yet. I didn't even bother to read the review, because I didn't want to get spoiled.

I love the original, but I think I enjoy more ironically than simply enjoying. I do appreciate the chances they took, and there are flashes of brilliance, but there are parts, especially Patrick McGoohan's wildly intense style of acting.

BTW, good to see you Hanso. Looking forward to The Prisoner's American ancestor - LOST.

I don't know about an A either but I would give it about a B.  Joe I loved the original too.  Saw it a while back in full and it was pretty trippy.  First episode was really good, second not so much to me.  gotta catch the 2 from last night tho.

And i'm trying not to think about LOST till christmas but I can't wait.

I've been watching the original series On Demand, and it's amazing!  All 17 episodes are free on cable right now, so I decided why the hell not.  Patrick McGoohan is quite incredible, and it's really made me want to find some of his other work.  But, I do have to say, this new reworking of The Prisoner shares less and less with it's parent.  The most glaring offset is #2.  I love Ian McKellen, but one of the major plot points of the original is the constant changing of the #2 character.  There were only 3 episodes where it was the same actor.  Every episode #2 was someone different, which emphasized the point; if they couldn't get #2 to talk, then they were replaced.

 I also am not a fan of the differences of #6.  In the original he knew what happened.  No amnesia, which is used too often for my taste, he was just kidnapped, and rallied against it the whole time.  He was also extremely confident, he knew he was a badass spy, boxer, athlete, genius... and the confident hero type was a huge draw. 

 I know there are always differences in remakes, but the things they changed are what makes the original so amazing.  Yes, I do like the new series, but Patrick McGoohan made the old series, and hopefully the new #6 can make this his new series.

 I still hold hope that Nolan will make this his next film series after he deals with Batman. I love the original and got into it becuase I read the premise and bought the box set to piss my Dad off who hated the show. The remake/revamp/revision (whatever you want to call it) is good on it's own though I was hoping for more of a political thriller/Sci-Fi angle and it seems they may be veering into more common Sci-Fi. 

I think (and have posted this in the Blu Ray article about the original series) there is nothing wrong with dialogue to move the concept of the story or the story arcs along. I find it more of a relief than just constant action which is a crutch for the mindless masses that populate the audience nowdays (don't get me wrong I like action but I really like the signs of intellgence in my entertainment more).

I do hope the 6 in this series gets a bit more radical because Divo is right some of the best things in the source material are with 6 rebelling so extremely. I do like the whole keeping 2 the same for now but yes, a new number 2 would always be welcomed. It is pretty apparent that since they got McKellen in there they were going to keep 2 the same. If it was another actor of less skill I would want a new 2 each time.

I am holding off with the whole 6 not knowing what happened. I think tonight's final chapters will show that 6 may know more than he is saying or leading on to. If not, I still kind of dig the fragmented memory angle. 

All in all I think an A is a solid rating.

The prisoner was the first television show that I have any memory of. Was 6 years old at the time. I own the box set and watch it often. so I was so looking forward to it. It is different. One of the biggest things the original had going for it was the cold war. One of the underlying questions you had was who was running the village? Was it them or was it us?  And the main goal of the village was the answer to one question. Why did Six resign? For all of its psychological trickery and torture, almost everything was possible, Rover being a clear exception.

This series is being played in the unbelievable. They are constantly playing with realities and perceptions that can only point in one or two directions. Some sort of mass hypnosis or a virtual world. To base a story on this is a cop out. I hope that I am mistaken and I will watch the full series but I wish they would have just made their story and called it something else. IMO when you go down the reboot path, you invite, no you demand comparisions, and its hard to beat a classic.

Sir Ian is truly chewing up every scene he is in, you can tell he loves to play the baddy, but the new six has not endeared me to him.  Again, not my cup of tea so far, but if you enjoy it,more power to you.

Be seeing you!

The thing I liked about the original was that Patrick McGoohan's character as as much of a master manipulator as the number 2s he took apart, and that he took his own mischievous delight in doping so. That and the quirky other characters that Made up the Village. It was Really James Bond meets George Orwell,with the Number 2s as Wannabe Big Brothers, playing their own Orwellian plots to break number 6. The problem I have with the new version is that Jim Caviesiel's character is much more the standard man in a mouse trap that has no idea how he got there. The other problem I have is that the writers seem too afraid to reveal anything so nothing ever seems to happen, and if it does we don't know what it means or might mean or why we should care. The other villagers mostly stay in the scared and confused range and we don't really get a cast of quirks or fun or funny scenes to break up the scary and mysterious tone. Then scenes with Ian McKellan are by far the best in the series and the part where he dressed down the two Psychologists was the most fun moment in the first two hours. And the stuff between Ian and his son or rather 2's son is interesting. His son is in fact one of the most interesting characters n the show and I entertained the idea that they might depart from the series and make him number 1. but it doesn't seem from the previews that they'll be going in that direction. I love Ian McKLellan and I like his son a lot, but they reall need to make something happen here.  

They're obviously reinventing the alegory for our times--The Towers, the bombings, terrorism, etc--so I wish they wouldn't have had so many nods to the original show. Number 93 wearing a blazer like from the original show, the shot for shot recreation of the buying of the map. I did like the way they incorporated the prison door at the end of each episode--I've only watched the first two so far, but assume this will continue--and perhaps that should have been the only nod. The other items--and there were others--serve as distractions to fans of the origonal series.

I am very intrigued by number 2 and his wife, and how the terrorism alegory is going to play out.

Oh and as to the original series: BEST SHOW EVER!