Thought For The Day
In January 2016 news hit the
Internet that Riddley Scot wished to produce a feature film based on ‘the
Prisoner.’ If he is to be successful in this, and if fans of the original
series are to find favour with it, the best advice to him would be to follow
the make-up of the original television series. Not to try and be too clever,
and get a screenplay which sets the film in 1967 to 1968. On the other hand, it
might be a good idea to make a prequel to ‘the Prisoner,’ that would be ‘Danger
Man’ wouldn’t it?
Be seeing you
I doubt that. Any continuation or sequel set around the original premise would always be in the shadow of the original and, most likely, in danger of not being able to stand on its own feet, artistically speaking. We have witnessed this fact with the appearance of the P09. Although I know, David, you're a fan of it while I kept being reluctant and reserved. A prequel? In my eyes nobody need it. On the contrary, any going into details of his motivations, his personality, let alone his relationships, would destroy the No. 6 character "as is". It would strip him of his univerality as man which itself constitutes his individuality (somewhat paradoxical isn't it). Which is not to say that perhaps Scott woulnd't be able to provide a good and decent film in the end. - BCNU!
ReplyDeleteHello Arno,
DeleteI take your point. What I meant was, that the Prisoner known as Number 6 had a life before he was abducted to The Village. It would make it easier if Number 6 was John Drake, that was my initial thought. But even if Number 6 isn’t Drake, that he’s David Jones, Peter Smith or whoever, the important thing is he had a life before he was abducted to The Village. Okay not in a prequel, but in a feature film ‘the Prisoner,’ at least one could show ZM73’S motivations, and also those of the people behind The Village. We might realize that it was ZM73’s own people who abducted him to The Village but we don’t fully know what led up to that abduction. Was ZM73’s resignation really the cause, or was he going to be abducted anyway? He must have known that something was going to happen, seeing as he couldn’t get away fast enough. Its that which I find fascinating.
Best regards
David
BCNU
Danger Man/Secret Agent is an enjoyable action adventure spy romp but it's no prequel to The Prisoner - well, not as far as this viewer is concerned.
ReplyDeleteThe sequel to The Prisoner is The Prisoner.
The prequel to The Prisoner is The Prisoner.
It's a loop...and there is NO escape!
Hello Anonymous,
DeleteHow right you are! Indeed I myself have written about ‘the Prisoner’ in such terms, describing it as a vicious circle from which there is no escape. The end of ‘the Prisoner’ is his beginning. Or to put it another way, Prisoner is the word, what is that word Prisoner, its cyclical. And yet the outside world does impinge, because throughout ‘the Prisoner’ there are glimpses into Number 6’s former life. Take ‘Once Upon A Time’ for example. It is slightly biographical regarding Number 6, so it stands to reason that before Number 6 was abducted to The Village he had a life. The question is what kick-started that vicious circle? ZM73’s resignation, or were “they” going to abduct him to The Village anyway?
Kind regards
David
BCNU
David, you know I'm a lover of The Twilight Zone, its vicious, no: twist but perhaps also circular (cyclical) endings. Imagine the character No. 6 (whatever his name or designation) "on leave" for a couple of days, weeks, months. Like the mannequin in "The After Hours". He's abducted, questioned and so on, then he returns into life as a - role, scheme, prop. Whatever he was before he got his leave permission. No psychological and in-depth personal background here, no biography as such. Sounds crazy. It is. - BCNU!
Delete