More on the new version of The Prisoner announced last November.
Instead of eight parts, it’s now a “pacy, high concept six-part drama akin to 24 and Spooks.” Christopher (Dr Who) Ecclestone is said to be “tipped” to star.
“If Doctor Who set the standard, The Prisoner raises the bar,” said Sky’s new director of programmes, Richard Woolfe.
It’ll all just have to remain to be seen. We obviously have seen some superb updatings of programmes including Dr Who and the new Battlestar Galactica (incidentally, wouldn’t it be worth Sky selling that on to a terrestrial broadcaster a couple of years down the line?). Sky has evidently been heavily influenced by the success of Lost, although as I said previously, it’ll be interesting to see if this is simply a one-off six parter, or whether it’s going to return annually.
I was talking to by brother about Lost the other day, and because he didn’t know too well how the US TV industry worked, he was immediately disappointed when I explained that, yes, there would be a third series and quite likely a fourth and fifth. Indeed they were unlikely to stop making it until the audience dried up. That’s not the best course of action to take with a story that has need of an ending.
The Prisoner has, or at least “had”, a definitive ending. Call me old-fashioned, but like a good novel, I like to get proper endings to series. And that doesn’t mean an alternative ten minute sequence shot, so that should the series not get renewed, everything quickly gets wrapped up.