I miss the butler. And the guys on that see-saw cam rig. I blame J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof for it.This is the trio who created Lost, which now is the standard for “cerebral” drama. You take a bunch of disparate character, put them in the middle of a strange situation, drop all sorts of things that are more red herrings than clues and the viewers are hooked.In theory.AMC’s “reworking” of The Prisoner (back-to-back episodes Sunday, Monday and Tuesday on AMC) “updates” the classic 1967 series, first by reducing the number of episodes by two-thirds (TV for the Twitter-age?) and making it “relevant.” Instead of Six (they dropped the Number!) being a resigned spy, he’s a resigned data miner for a shadowy company. Instead of knowing who he really is, he’s an amnesiac. They still want to know why he quit.There are shout-outs to the original series sprinkled here and there; each episode ends with bars clanging shut on Six, some of the clothing hearkens back to the original series. And we still have Rover.
But Two has a family now, the numbers run into the thousands, the Village looks like eco-housing tipis, and we’re not sure if Six is having flashbacks to his previous life (à la Lost) or if this is information intended strictly for the viewer. There are also Lost-like non sequiturs, like an anchor in the middle of the desert, an ocean where it shouldn’t be, and there are the twin towers, mirage-like, shimmering in the distance…There are still rumors about a feature-film adaptation of The Prisoner (it’s said Christopher Nolan wants to direct one). This current version may still surprise, but it’s beginning to look about as contrived as the soap opera that endlessly plays on the (2009) Village’s televisions.
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