tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post6681592837801734620..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: TV Review: The Prisoner (2009)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-15587856768262565422009-11-18T09:46:45.801-05:002009-11-18T09:46:45.801-05:00Glad I wasn't the only one who was disappointe...Glad I wasn't the only one who was disappointed. Truthfully, I fell asleep midway through the show.<br><br>I thought that the remake opened up with some very good story questions that held my interest initially--what was the old man trying to tell him? How did he wind up in the desert? What was the connection with the girl in his memories. But, the intensity just wasn't there for me to care about halfway through. <br><br>I'm willing to give it a second shot and watch the next installment but unless the characters give me a reason to care, I'll probably trade my time for SEINFELD reruns. Or a book.<br><br>Very thorough review, Andrew! Thanks!Writer Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16505411188186283813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-43958895799589189782009-11-18T09:49:16.764-05:002009-11-18T09:49:16.764-05:00Andrew: I missed the next-to-last episode, and di...Andrew: I missed the next-to-last episode, and didn't feel like it really mattered. Bummer. It had so much promise. I'll stick with the original.LawHawkRFDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-73464998090141250152009-11-18T10:00:13.918-05:002009-11-18T10:00:13.918-05:00Writer X, You're welcome.As you can tell, I w...Writer X, You're welcome.<br><br>As you can tell, I was very disappointed. Like you, I felt that the old man opened the show very well -- they created a real sense of mystery. But that didn't last very long, as they quickly forgot about him. Indeed, after his burial, they never mentioned him again on either the second or third nights. So we have no idea what he was talking about.<br><br>And the rest of the show went the same way. They constantly came up with ideas, but no sooner had they said, let's look at this, then they dropped those ideas and moved on.<br><br>I was very willing to take the show at face value, rather than comparing it to the original, but it just did nothing for me either as a remake or as an original work.<br><br>By the way, I take it you didn't see the second and third parts? If you are interested, the third/final part is on again today -- 6:00 pm EST, but I don't see the middle part on the schedule for today. They will probably repeat all three parts on the weekend.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-85175552797150676772009-11-18T10:01:36.894-05:002009-11-18T10:01:36.894-05:00Lawhawk, I agree. Often, even if I'm not sure...Lawhawk, I agree. Often, even if I'm not sure I like something like this, I try to give it a second chance just to see if there is something I missed. This time, I'm not interested in watching it again. Very disappointing.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-88739812766070016782009-11-18T11:18:07.906-05:002009-11-18T11:18:07.906-05:00This sounds like a story that is played out far to...This sounds like a story that is played out far too often . . . trying to recapture something, and not measuring up. I did not watch the original run of the prisoner since I was in college and watched very little television (I had time only for sudying and women, of course, ha ha!)<br><br>When I did eventually catch up with the show, my reaction was not unlike yours. I liked the edgy, experimental nature of the show, but usually that can also be the downfall creatively. Like Twin Peaks or Lost, these shows become cult hits with the young and hip. They become "prisoners" (if you will) of their own edgy hipness and usually ending up almost being charicatures of themselves; too clever by a half. It is no wonder the new version is a disappointment.Tennessee Jedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-35409097434715456992009-11-18T11:39:25.683-05:002009-11-18T11:39:25.683-05:00Jed, That's a good point. Too often these sho...Jed, That's a good point. Too often these shows end up becoming caricatures of themselves. In that regard, the original Prisoner got lucky that it only ran 17 episodes. If they had tried to add another season, I think it would have crossed that line and lost what made it so interesting.<br><br>The remake suffers from simply poor writing. They never nailed down what they wanted to say before they began. They didn't seem to have a consistent plan on how they wanted to treat their world, and they got distracted by side-issues that meant nothing. <br><br>I'm not saying they had to do only one thing, but what I am saying is that I don't think they really understood what they wanted when they made this. And I think in the end, they relied on "the big reveal" to give it meaning, but that doesn't work if you don't have the interesting story that makes people care about the reveal.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-38679739252120753332009-11-18T14:02:10.702-05:002009-11-18T14:02:10.702-05:00Andrew,At the risk of being another Prisoner bashe...Andrew,<br><br>At the risk of being another Prisoner basher, I was bored. The mysteries of this version were not that interesting. I mean it had elements of the original, but this didn't get me interested in learning more. I saw the first episode, then half of the second. Then ten minutes of the third. <br><br>I always wondered what the great interest of the original, now ...... Hunh? I wish I could be more up about it, but I just can't.Joel Farnhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-90055651229313940192009-11-18T14:13:40.713-05:002009-11-18T14:13:40.713-05:00Joel, I have to agree, I found it hard to remain i...Joel, I have to agree, I found it hard to remain interested. There just wasn't anything that really had me saying, "wow, I wonder what that's about."<br><br>Not to mention, when they did finally reach their explanations phase, each of the explanations turned out to be pretty generic or obvious.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-31210055361099593152009-11-19T10:54:46.887-05:002009-11-19T10:54:46.887-05:00I watched the whole thing and you're right abo...I watched the whole thing and you're right about it. It was dull and predictable. I didn't see the original, but this doesn't make me want to either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-47412103027206536572009-11-19T11:15:17.443-05:002009-11-19T11:15:17.443-05:00Anon, I think it's probably worse if you'v...Anon, I think it's probably worse if you've seen the original. But even if you haven't, you're right, it's just not a very good show.AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com