It Is, As It Is, As It Should be!

   As you know, well perhaps you don't, but I've been a fan of the Prisoner since 1967, and was a fan of Danger Man before that, with John Drake my childhood hero.
   I have made a study of the Prisoner, like so many of my contemporaries, and have written a large number of letters and articles on the subject. And so it was that I looked forward with ever increasing anticipation for the day to dawn when I would sit and watch the AMCtv and ITV production of THEPRISONER. I had been waiting ever since word was released about the making of this production, and would visit AMCtv's website on a daily basis to gain all and any information about the production. But I, like my fellow fans, had to wait until April of last year to see THEPRISONER. I took to the series like a duck takes to water, but had to concentrate because there was an awful lot going on in the 6 episodes of the series, and at times it was difficult to keep up. But a second screening soon helped sort that slight difficulty out.
   The thing with the original series of the Prisoner is, that it's full in the face, the new series, or should I say reinterpretation and reinvention, for that is what it is, is far more subtle in so many ways than that of it's predecessor. What's more all the questions are answered, the viewer is left in not doubt about what the series is all about. But that is not to say that there are no loose ends still to be tied up. I mean, what of the next village to be created by 313 and Six? Will Six find a better way to make a better village, and who will be his successor?
   How could I take so easily to, and accept a new series of THEPRISONER. Because I was prepared for a series such as this. It didn't matter to me that it was not a direct remake, after all what would be the point of that? But many of my contemporaries did half expect a direct remake of the original series! It never mattered to me that No.6 would be played by a different actor, Patrick McGoohan was too old any way, unless he was to portray No.6 as an old man, 93 perhaps! But of course Patrick McGoohan refused that particular cameo role, because he wanted to play the role of Two {or so it was claimed}. Or was too ill at the time to take up the offer of a cameo role, whichever story you accept. But of course Patrick McGoohan was too ill at the time to accept any such role in THEPRISONER I should have thought. 93 was of course played by actor John Whitley, and to say that there is a resemblance between his 93 and that of the former No.6 is to say, well there is a resemblance betwen the two. Nor did it matter to me, like it did to many fans of the original series, that the THEPRISONER was not filmed in Portmeiron. Portmeirion would have been too small anyway. The right size for a village yes, but not for THEPRISONER.
    It has been said of me, that I live and breath the Prisoner.........."Breath in, breath out. More........village!" As Two once put it. And yes I guess they are right. I'm an obsessive, and perhaps one day I'll be taken to the village by Two to be made better.
   As for many of my contemporaries, well they have failed to see the value in THEPRISONER. Failed to watch more then half-an-hour of the first episode and condemned the whole series by judging it by the half-hour watched. One fellow told me that he actually switched off after a mere ten minutes! Well people like them have missed out, and will, if they never give the series a second chance, never know what THEPRISONER is all about. As for me, I love the new series, and will be screening it all again soon
I'm Johnny Prisoner a dedicated fan and an enthusiast of all thing PRISONER.