Follow the bouncing ball: 'The Prisoner' returns

AMC's "The Prisoner" isn't exactly a remake of the original.

Oh, there are a lot of similarities. But it might be better to say that the new "Prisoner" was inspired by the original, 1967 version.

The new one tells a different story; it's six episodes long (not 17); and it has a very different message. Except for a few bouncing balls here and there, you'd almost never know one has anything to do with the other.

Well, that's not entirely true. But it really doesn't matter. Unless you went online to amctv.com and watched the original series, chances are you didn't see it, anyway.

"We're all total huge fans of the original, but we realized very early on that what we couldn't do is copy it," said executive producer Trevor Hopkins. "And that's what (writer) Bill Gallagher wanted to do was to reinterpret it."

In the premiere of "The Prisoner" (Sunday, 6 and 8 p.m., AMC), Michael (Jim Caviezel) wakes up in the middle of the desert. He has no idea where he is or how he got there.

He walks to a nearby village, where he expresses a desire to return to his home in New York City. But, he's told, not only is there no way out of the village, but there is no New York City.

Michael has lost his home, his identity and even his name. He's now a number — Six. Ian McKellen stars as Two, the man in charge. The man who, seemingly, has the answers that he is unwilling to share.

Is the village a paradise or an internment camp?

"The Prisoner" is about freedom and capitalism and mind control. As opposed to the original, which was about the Cold War and post-World War II Britain, this re-imagining has a very post-9/11 flavor.

Whereas in the 1960s, Number Six (the late Patrick McGoohan) took great exception to being called Number Six, Caviezel's character barely bothers to complain.

That is, in and of itself, a comment on how our society has changed in the past four decades.

"The Prisoner" has appeal. Filmed in South Africa and Namibia, it's gorgeous to look at. And any chance to watch McKellen is worth it.

But, despite being a third as long as the original, "The Prisoner" also has long periods when the productions drags. Almost to a halt.

And if you're waiting for all of this to make perfect sense, you're going to be disappointed. Oh, the ending isn't as weird as the original — no acid trip and far fewer bouncing balls — but it's not as if everything suddenly pops into perfect focus.

"We wanted to be as unfathomable and enigmatic as the original," Hopkins said.

Part 1 of "The Prisoner" airs Sunday at 6 and 8 p.m. on AMC; Part 2 airs Monday at 6 and 8 p.m.; and Part 3 airs Tuesday at 6 and 8 p.m.

e-mail: pierce@desnews.com