Hello! It has come to my attention as well as my elation that I have a reading audience. That’s right, this means you. I would really like to thank you for taking time out of your busy day working or studying or whatever that you might do to read my sparse musings on the world around me. I know this smells like fan service and it most certainly is. I don’t know how premature this might be, thanking my fans and all, but before this becomes a pompous mess of drool, dribble and self-righteousness I’ll end it here with a well said “it means a lot.”
I have just finished seeing the premier episode of amc’s newest television drama The Prisoner. After watching two of the most refreshing hours of TV I can say what a thundering anvil of a thriller this show is set to be. The Prisoner opens with classic city life intertwined with a man playing hoops with wadded up pieces of paper. This all is snatched away quickly when he suddenly finds himself face down in the middle of a mountainous desert. The man hears gun shots and dog barks while seeing soldiers chasing after an older man in the distance. He is able to catch up with the old man only to learn that he has escaped; from where we soon find out is The Village. The Village is a strange desert town populated by triangular houses, strange people and lots of secrets. The man stumbles upon it and is immediately sent into a race against paranoia and unseen agents of an unknown world.
We learn that this man’s name is 6 and has lived in The Village for some time; in fact he has always lived in The Village despite what he remembers. The Prisoner chronicles 6’s fight between the reality that is before him and the memories he has of a completely different world. 2, the most prominent figure in The Village, becomes very ominous in trying to convince 6 that these thoughts are delusional. 6 encounters various individuals that confess memories very similar to his; memories of iconic buildings or the ocean. Suspense builds as imagination is blended with reality until 6’s sanity begins to fray.
It’s is there that The Prisoner succeeds extraordinarily. Throughout the show we are given brief glimpses of the “other world” provides a parallel story line. Flashbacks from the past occupy 6’s mind as well. That is combined with a world that seems to be in flux with 6’s perception. The effect generated is that you yourself begin to question what is real and what is not. You then feel as paranoid as 6 feels.
That is not the only asset that this show brings to the table. The cinematography is spectacular in framing the desert as a character of its own, taking on the first real role of villainy despite 2’s suspicious actions. There are many other instances of the real photographic quality of some of the shots that The Prisoner chooses to expose. The acting by show leads Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen are also very polished. Caviezel is able to go from staunch indignation to crippling insanity very easily. McKellen on the other hand is less emotive choosing to keep his character’s motives very secret.
This show is very gripping, one of the best I have seen in years. I’ve learned that it is only a mini-series which is quite a shame. I would love to see what they could do with a whole season to work with. Though the aphorism “less is more” comes to mind when thinking of a few great shows of recent date, most notably Lost and 24. One wonders if the producers should have quit when they were ahead.
The phrase “I’ll be seeing you” is repeated throughout The Prisoner. At one time it was delivered as a subversive salute at another, a sincere and warm (not to mention disturbing) farewell. Whatever the meaning of the slogan it doesn’t matter because, Prisoner, I will be seeing you.
