There are two ways to look at this question: From a business perspective, and from a creative perspective.

From a business perspective, you have to start by looking at the recent history of the franchise and the current marketplace. Star Trek on TV was losing more and more viewers as time went by, until the final series Enterprise was canceled. Was this an indication of declining interest, quality, or both? I won't debate the quality question, but will say that viewership for almost ALL shows was declining in the last years of Enterprise, and has continued to decline since (even hit shows have less "eyeballs" than even five years ago).

So, you have declining viewership to deal with. Home video sales of TV seasons, once a fat profit center for studios, has become far less so as well (with the advent of streaming and a weak economy, many fans skip buying the series of DVD or bluray). Star Trek as a licensed property (for books, games, toys, T-shirts, etc.) is still pulling in a nice "annuity" for Paramount… would a new series provide for additional licensing opportunities? Sure, but licensing fees won't cover the production cost of a show (unless it's incredibly popular or the show is very cheap to produce).

That last point is key: Even if you take advantage of standing sets, costumes, and props, a Star Trek show is very expensive show to make, and requires a big investment… and because of the many reasons cited above, Hollywood is in a very "risk averse" phase right now. If a TV producer has to choose between an expensive SF show or a three-camera sitcom, a cop show, or a reality show… they'll pick the cheap show. One can make an argument that Star Trek has a built-in audience, one that will show up week after week… but the counter arguement is a very blunt one: when Enterprise was on the air, the ratings weren't there… and the ratings have not been there for other SF shows such as Fringe or Terra Nova.

And not just ratings, but demographics: Are Star Trek fans in that desirable 18 to 35 demographic? Based on my research, the JJ Abrams 2009 Trek movie brought a LOT of new fans to the franchise… and many of them are in that coveted group. Will they tune in to a TV show every week, though? That's a big question.

So, is there a business reason for Star Trek to be on TV again? Maybe, if the numbers work out. How can they? The obvious solution is an animated series, a la Star Wars The Clone Wars. It would be cheaper to produce, it would allow the producers the opportunity to do scenes and aliens that would be difficult to do in live action, and if it strikes the right tone it could appeal to adults and kids alike. And the upside to an animated series is it would helps grow the fanbase in a different way than a new film does.  It wouldn't be prime time Star Trek like we've had before, but it would still be Trek on TV again.

Now, the creative question: Are there any more stories to be told? Can a new Star Trek series again take us to where no one has gone before? It depends on the talent involved. A good example when it comes to this is the other famous SF TV franchise, Doctor Who. The show has had various showrunners over the years, and many episodes were really bad… But even some of the best creative people can have a bad day. The deeper problem occurs when you have bad SEASONS, not just the occassional episode. This happened on Doctor Who, and this decline in quality led to declining viewers and the halt in production for several years.

I bring this up as a case study of what to avoid. If you get the wrong showrunner and writing staff behind a new Star Trek show, then you will sabotage the notion before it even begins. There's always possibilities, Spock said… possibilities to tell good stories with interesting characters in the Star Trek universe. Go forward thousands of years past Kirk and Spock, do an anthology show with different ships and crews on different misisons, do a Starfleet Academy show, do a Starfleet Black Ops show… There's lots of "space" to play in.

If you don't have the talent to tell such stories, though… then you shouldn't even try.

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The main difference between the original Battlestar Galactica series and the remake is in tone. The remake was much darker than the original, and much more "realistic" about how characters would react to the destruction of the 12 Colonies and the loss of billions of lives. In the original series the characters were kinda sad for about fourteen minutes and then, Wow! Look! A space casino! Not to say that the original series didn't have its darker moments (the Count Iblis storyline was pretty dark, in a fairy-tale way) but there was just no gravitas. It was a different type of show, a space opera adventure instead of a SF drama.

The other major differences are the religious and political was much more important in the new series – religion was a huge subtext, and the jockeying for power resulted in elections and an attempted coup. Religion obviously also had a big part in the controversial ending, involving Angels and a frequently criticized "God did it" aspect.

When you start to look at other variations: the different sexes for some characters, the "replicant" Cylons, the Final Five, the introduction of several new characters such as Laura Roslyn and Chief , the loss of original series characters such as Daggitt, Serina and the Imperous Leader… It's simpler to document what was DIDN'T change than what was different.

What was the same (between the two series):

• The 12 Colonies (and destruction of same)
• The original Cylon designs
• The original Viper designs
• The Battlestar Galactica and Pegasus surviving the attack
• The Adama family
• A hotshot pilot named Starbuck
• A ragtag fleet searching for Earth
• A character who betrays humanity named Gaius Baltar
• A fight for survival
• Supply rationing as a plot point
• A kid named Boxey (only in the miniseries)

In my opinion, the remake was the textbook example of  EXACTLY what you want to do when you remake anything – you keep the core of the original, and add depth and your own take on the material. Of course, where the debate occurs is what you define as "core," which is why many people don't like JJ Abrams' Star Trek film (because it changed too many things that were "core" to those fans/critics).

See question on Quora

On February 23rd, 1989, Laura Palmer died.

And we all heard about it.

That’s the date, in the fictional world of Twin Peaks, that the high school homecoming queen met her end… The pivotal event that was the moment that triggered the core narrative of the classic TV series. It was a series that I was, and am, an obsessive fan of. I love the show, warts and all, and it has been my pleasure to let some of the people involved in the series know that in person. I’ve written about it before, and if things work out, I’ll be writing about it again… A lot.

The series lasted two years, and then… They made a movie.

It’s been almost two decades since the world’s first prequel/sequel, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, was released in theatres. Realizing this fact made me feel really old, and it also made me wonder if the movie still “holds up.” Thankfully, it does, as I was recently able to purchase and watch the film on blu-ray.

“Blu-ray?!”, you may be thinking, “I didnt know was out on blu-ray?!” Yes, Fire Walk With me is finally available in high definition… if you live in Australia of the United Kingdom, that is.

Here’s some thoughts on the film, this video release, and some screenshots. There be SPOILERS here, so if you haven’t watched it before, please STOP reading right now and watch it. And if you have never seen Twin Peaks before, then I am even more adamant that you stop reading and watch the show THEN the movie. It’s a great series and you don’t want it to be spoiled by the likes of me.

(Though my friend George insists that the proper way to watch it is to stop the film the instant the Welcome to Twin Peaks road sign appears, then to watch the series all the way through when Laura’s killer is revealed and dies, and THEN watch the rest of the movie. Haven’t tried it, but may someday.)

The Movie

I have long contended that Twin Peaks is the spiritual sequel to Lynch’s earlier film Blue Velvet, and I think that you could show both fils to someone with no previous exposure to the TV series and they would not have any problem considering them as thematically aligned and linked. Both films feature a beautiful woman tormented by a demon. Both feature the woods as a character, and both films tear off the thin veneer of civilization off to expose the darkness that dwells beneath it.

Is Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me as good as Blue Velvet? Nope, but neither is Wild at Heart, or anything else that Lynch has done as a filmmaker. But, after rewatching it, I can say that it is definitely better than many people claim it is. It is an unflinching and powerful movie, a series of scenes that are disturbing and amazing at the same time. One scene, involving an uncomfortable dinner table conversation between Laura and her father (the amazing Ray Wise), reminds me of similar uncomfortable conversations I myself have had with my own father in the same context… and that familiarity makes it even more uncomfortable to watch.

The movie, focused on the last seven days of Laura Palmer, starts without showing Laura at all… Instead showing what happens after the body of Teresa Banks is discovered, in a small town that is the dark doppelgänger of Twin Peaks, Deer Meadow. A real treat is to see Special Agent Chet Desmond (played by Chris Isaak) deal with the people of this community, knowing that it is far removed from the friendly quirkiness of the locals we saw in the series. After we learn more about Teresa and her life, and Desmond mysteriously disappears, we are suddenly removed from that story and brought back to Twin Peaks, and we see that last week in all its uncomfortable detail. Many of the events in the film were referred to in the series, and as a fan it’s fun to “connect the dots” to these previous moments.

I won’t discuss the various surreal aspects of the film, nor will I provide or attempt any anaylsis or theorizing on my own. Suffice it to say, if you know what David Lynch likes to do in his movies, you will see plenty of it on display here. It’s quite a ride.

While it’s a powerful piece of work, it’s definitiely not perfect… So let’s cover what I consider its two main flaws.

I have to say that the biggest problem with the movie is with its lead. Sheryl Lee does her best to make us care for Laura Palmer, but the dramatic contrivances of the plot (the aforementioned references in the TV series) forces her to come off in many scenes as… Well, kind of a bitch. It’s not that she doesn’t play all her scenes with passion and give her all… but I have to say she probably would have been better if she had more experience as an actor. With a couple of more acting jobs under her belt she could have had the wisdom to underplay some scenes, to better affect. Ironically, watching her work reminded me of another actor, in another favorite film: George Lazenby, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Like Lee here, Lazenby gave a heartfelt performance that was… Good, just not quite great enough for a lead performance.

There is another deep flaw in the film – there is no whimsy, and very little of the quirky humor we saw on the show. This was a core part of the TV series’ “tone”, and I think the lack of this turned off many of the series’ fans when it was released. What we got on TV was a dark, quirky mystery with interesting characters… What we got in the movie was a David Lynch film, one that started out with a dramatic shot of an ax destroying a TV series, an obvious message to the viewer that this wasn’t a TV show anymore. The thing is, as the old saying goes, “ya dance with the one who brought you,” and by being so divergent, and so dark… Well, the movie didn’t live up to some viewers expectations.

(Some “inside baseball” stuff, here: over 17 scenes were shot with the many series regulars we did not see in the film, and these scenes were cut over, reportedly, “running time concerns.” I’d wager that these scenes just didn’t align with the darker tone of the film as well, so they were cut for thematic reasons.)

So, final thoughts: Fire Walk With Me is solid film that fits well in Lynch’s filmography, one that doesn’t get the critical atention it deserves. I’m very happy that this new blu-ray release will have people (at least in some countries) revisiting it and the town of Twin Peaks once more.

The blu-ray disc

It’s a beautiful anamorphic transfer, and looks as good as it did when I saw it in theatres years ago. It has no extras except for the electronic press kit (EPK) that was made and released at the time the film came out, Transferred from 3/4″ video tape, these series of interviews and scenes look good considering the source material. The previously mentioned 17 scenes that were cut from the theatrical release, alas, are not included. Additionally, while David Lynch films traditionalliy does not have DVD or bluray chapters, this release does. Finally, the trailer is only available in the EPK and is not in HD or anamorphic.

Pictures

Here’s screenshots of the movie, the EPK and the packaging.

When is the last time you got legitimately excited about a new movie or TV show? When you had a moment where the idea of seeing the premiere genuinely got your energy level up? If you’re like me, it probably happens a lot less than it used to. My reaction, more often than not, is ‘Meh.” And a lot of people are having the same reaction. TV audience levels have been declining for years, and the number of movie tickets sold are down considerably over just three years ago. Not many people seem to be excited about what Hollywood is putting out.

So, why is this happening? Is Hollywood in some sort of creative dry spell? Far from it: I think we are in a feast of riches. Most summer blockbusters aside, the movie studios have released some great movies over the past few years (in all genres), and television is in the middle of a golden age with dozens of great and highly entertaining shows. A core reason for declining sales and viewers, I think, is that we as a culture have lost something: scarcity.

We used to have four TV channels. One newspaper. Hardcover books, paperbacks, and magazines. No computer, no Internet, no home video, no video games. So when a new movie came out, or it was the new “fall season,” it MATTERED. It was a real event for people, and when it was truly new and different, when it was a movie like Star Wars, or a TV show like Twin Peaks… it captured our imagination and made us excited. Not just because it was so new and different, but because there was NOTHING ELSE to compare it to. It was unique. There was only ONE Star Wars, though rival studios quickly tried to copy its success. There was only one Twin Peaks, because it was lightning in a bottle – the mix of the right talent, bonth on and behind the camera, to make an exceptional experience (and the copycats came out for that as well).

Now… Well, we are basically DROWNING in ways to spend our time. On my desk in front of me now is a laptop, an iPad, and an iPhone. Using just these three devices, with a combined weight less than a recent hardback book I bought, I can access thousands of videos, web pages, books… not to mention the 6500 songs and dozens of movies already on them that I can listen to or watch at any time. And with the advancememt in mobile devices We now carry the equivilent of a thousand Libraries of Alexandia around with us, in the palm of our hands.

There is no more scarcity of content, there’s an abundance, and… well, such abundance has changed us. We no longer HAVE to see a movie the opening day… we can always watch it later, cheaper, on our cheap high-definition TVs. And when you have two hundred channels on TV, and the ability to record any program and watch the entire season in one sitting… You don’t have to catch the newest “hot” show when it debuts. And many marketing companies still don’t get that things have changed, and the old ways of promotion don’t work when content is constant and the percieved value of that content is low.

(Though some savvy marketing types have been paying attention to how social media can be used as part of their campaigns – chatting “real time” about a show as it happens is one of the few compelling reasons to watch something live.)

Supply and demand has hit content, hard. Movies, TV shows, magazines, books… the value of all these things is the value that we “assign” it with our interest and our dollars. And prices are dropping, a lot.

The smart creative types know this, and approach the situation in different ways I personally think James Cameron as a writer and director is WAY overhyped and overrated, but the fact that he only does one movie every 8 years or so makes whatever he creates an EVENT. George Lucas, on the other hand… well, he’s more merchandiser than man, now. He’s contributing to the abundance by selling Star Wars in any way he can… and while doing so, he makes the original film he made much less “special.” Now, it’s just another product to sell. That’s his perogotive, of course, but he’s diminshed something that was very valuable to a lot of people by doing so.

When I went back to the US during Christmas (on a break from the project I’m working on overseas) I was greeted with a score of problems. My mail was piled high and deep on my desk. My computer needed multiple upgrades, as did the iPad I left. Music I bought needed to be transferred to the music library drive I kept in the states. Neglected backups needed to be done. Photo libraries needed to be synced. And so on.

I rolled up my sleeves to get started, and as I was working I realized the ludicrousness of the “problems” I had to solve. Oh no! I thought to myself, all of my files weren’t synced across my many computing devices! How could I work under such conditions?!

That I had closely followed the many stories of disaster and strife that had happened over the past year gave me much-needed context and perspective. What I was dealing with was the very definition of “first world problems”… problems that were in no way comparable to those that happened around the world. These problems were ongoing and, even as I type this now, these second- and third-world problems are causing misery and suffering to hundreds of thousands of people. Compared to the lives those people live, our “baseline” is extremely high. In fact, a great website has been created that catalog some of out first world problems, and you can visit it here.

I, and many of us, are extremely lucky to have the lives we enjoy. We have advantages, like running water and plumbing, that a significant percentage of the world don’t. I’ve often read conservative pundits talking about how the poor should not be called the “less fortunate” because with a strong work ethic anyone can succeed. To that I reply… umm, Horatio Alger is dead. And, yes, while the poorest of us in America have better lives than the poorest in scores of other countries do, it’s not all “choice” or a lack of a work ethic. Luck, location, timing, education, parents… all are factors that play a part. To think otherwise is to be dogmatic and wrong.

As I look at my job, and where I am at in my career, I have very little to complain about. I am well-regarding in my domain, am making a very good wage, and get to do what I love – design solutions that help people accomplish tasks and solve problems. Since solving problems is what I do, it definitely helps to have perspective about the severity of these problems. In most instances, they are problems we have created for ourselves, problems that our technological tools have made for us. Problems that should most often be answered simply with the pragmatic response: don’t worry about it.

Just found my file of clippings from when Twin Peaks was on, and so I decided to share with the class:

I have written a book of essays on The Prisoner, the classic TV series created by and starring Patrick McGoohan, and it is now available for purchase through Amazon’s Kindle store. A “dead tree” printed edition is coming out by January, for a little more than the kindle edition ($6.99 vs. $3.99). If you like the show, I think you’ll like the book. Here’s a link.

My opinion: He's older than 35, and he's never "carried" a movie before. Add to that the fact that Hollywood is getting more and more "risk averse" and you can see why brilliant actors like Cranston aren't given the big parts.

I think he can absolutely carry a movie and could play anything… but I'd rather have 16 more hours of Walter White on TV than 2 hours of him as the lead in a movie. I'm selfish that way.

See question on Quora

Upper management is far far away…

As in, several million light years away. Networking opportunities are rare. The only “face time” that you get is the occassional chat with an admiral, and then it’s usually the typical “there’s a situation on Deneb IV” and “you’re the only ship in the quadrant” stuff. Murder on career advancement.

Communication is often one way.

“Incoming message from Starfleet Command” is frequently the only information you get from management, and then it’s usually in response to a crisis. It’s pretty much the same way management at large organizations here on Earth communicates with their workers – a blanket (e-mail) message.

Middle management usually sucks.

Every time we meet a “middle manager” in the original Star Trek or on the Next Generation (a Commodore or Ambassador – not quite an Admiral, but superior to Captains), they were usually incomptent, evil, or both. Most notable example: Commodore Decker from Doomsday Machine and Ambassador Fox from A Taste of Armageddon. A rare exception was Spock’s dad Ambassador Sarek, though he eventually became non compos mentus….

Certain people aren’t cut out for a desk job.

Captaining a starship was James T. Kirk’s first, best destiny… and by accepting promotion he wasted his potential. He should have been out there hoppin’ galaxies rather than shuffling paperwork.

Even good managers can make mistakes.

Kirk got obsessed with a space cloud and pursued inappropriate sexual relations with WAY too many women. Picard let children on the bridge. The key is that good managers, flaws and all, learn from their mistakes and get better.

Good managers are responsible and concerned about their team.

“I’m responsible for the lives of 430 crewmen!” Good managers care and are “where the buck stops” when it comes to the performance and well being of their “crew.”

See question on Quora

Living in Harmony

The most unique episode of The Prisoner, ever, and for a show like this, that’s saying something.

It’s actually an episode that is absolutely simple and also incredibly complex. You have McGoohan in the role of a lone gunman in a wild west setting, a man who has given up his badge and then… He’s ambushed. Knocked out, and taken to Harmony… Where he’s asked by The Judge to become the new sheriff. He refuses and resists… Of course.

It is, of course, a mind game, a hallucination that is provided using Village technology, but this is found out late in the episode. For most of this episode you have to just accept what is happening with no explanation whatsoever. It’s a risky prospect for any television series… It uproots and potentially alienates the viewer. They did it anyway.

The most intriguing aspect of the episode is that McGoohan wins in the end… The technology that was used to make him think he was in the old west ends up destroying the mind and lives of the two Villagers who were in the same hallucination. Number 8, who in the hallucination was the mute Kid, ends up losing his identity and his mind, killing the woman he had also killed in the fantasy (Number 22). A bittersweet victory, but still a victory.

This is a provocative episode, in that it is absolutely focused on the sense of self. McGoohan is still McGoohan, whether he is wearing chaps or the modern clothes that was imposed on him by the Village. The others? They lost themselves, and by doing so, died. A lesson on the importance of individuality? From this show? Well, duh.

Other aspects of this episode that is noteworthy: Alexis Kanner, who plays Number 8/The Kid, returns in the finale as a new character, Number 48. Or does he? Does Number 22 really die at the end of this episode, or is it part of a Long Con that the Village warders are playing out? Additionally, this episode was not shown in the US because the network said that it “encouraged drug use.” Really? Or was the point of McGoohan not wanting to take up/use a gun in the western segment of the story too close to the anti-war sentiment that was brewing in the country at the time? We’ll never know.

One of the essential must-watch episodes, and one of the best.

He was crestfallen.

The actor John DeLancie was standing in front of an auditorium filled with hundreds of people. It was August 2011, at the official Star Trek convention. Best known for his role of Q in Star Trek: the Next Generation, he had just name-dropped the TV series Breaking Bad. DeLancie had just appeared on that show in it’s second year, playing the father of a recovering drug addict. He was nominated for an Emmy for this work. It was an amazing performance, on an amazing show.

None of the people in the audience had seen it. Except, apparently, me.

Because it wasn’t science fiction. It wasn’t Star Trek.

“Any of you watch a show called Breaking Bad?” he had asked, and when only one person – me – clapped… he shrugged, and then said, sadly, “You should watch it… It’s a good show.” He then moved on to another topic.

That moment… And the idea that all these people were so obsessed with one thing – Star Trek – make me sad, too.

We are living in a golden age, and available to us in an instant is any number of amazing works. Some of the best television ever is being produced, not to mention the huge library that has come before. We have some fantastic films that are being made… They just aren’t always in your local megatheatre. Writing, art, design… We have a gets of riches available to us, sometimes at the click of a mouse.

So, to come to my core point: don’t limit yourself. Explore, try new things. Open yourself up to things that are outside your comfort zone.

Learn. Live. And love more than just one genre or show. Yes, Virginia, there is more to the world than just Star Trek.

John was sweating.

He sat in a stiff plastic chair, waiting to be called in. John shifted in his seat, and tightened his tie. He needed to look his best.

Don Draper always looked his best.

Just two hours before, John was working on a new design for an ad campaign, and Draper’s secretary had come in to the artists area and walked towards him.

“Mr. Draper would like to see you this afternoon. Please come by at five minutes before 3,” she said, before coolly turning around and leaving. The other designers looked up and then quickly mocked him.

“OOH, somebody’s in trouble!”

“Been nice working with you.”

John ignored them as much as he could, but a sense of dread began to weigh down on him. Draper never had one-on-ones with the designers. Unless he was going to fire one of them.

“Mr. Draper will see you now.”

John stood, and entered the just-opened door. The secretary closed it behind him, and John barely noticed. Draper sat behind a huge wooden desk, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he read a piece of paper that was on his desk. He didn’t look up.

“Sit down.”

John sat down.

“You’ve been here, what…”

“Three months, sir.”

Draper looked up. His gaze focused on John’s eyeline, and John felt the intensity of the gaze at his very core.

“You any good?”

“Wha… Yes, I think so.”

“You think so. Well, let me tell you what I think.” Draper put his cigarette in his ashtray, shifted the papers on his desk and pulled out an artboard. It was one of John’s designs, an ad that he spent two whole days working on.

“You did this, right?”

Now John’s hands started getting clammy. “Yes, Mr. Draper.”

“It’s garbage.” Draper tore the thick sheet in half and tossed it on the floor. “What do you think about that?”

John’s mouth was agape. He didn’t know what to say. Words came out anyway.

“I think you’re wrong. I think it’s good.”

Draper, who had been sitting at a slight angle behind his desk, pivoted to face John fully. And John felt it.

“Really? Explain.”

“It… It was a balanced design, and the copy was well positioned along with the image. It followed the brief, and it was clean.”

“It was unfocused and juvenile. It didn’t work.” Draper snapped back.

John was stunned. This is it, he thought. I’m fired.

“So… What do you have to say for yourself?” Draper let the question linger in the air for several seconds.

John felt three feet tall.

“Let me give you some advice, something that I think you need to know,” Draper said as he rose to fix himself a drink. As he poured the scotch into an expensive crystal glass he turned his head to John.

“I need you to accept what I did just now in a professional manner. Your work represents this agency and I will not tolerate inferior work. At the same time I want you to understand something. Listen carefully.”

John listened.

“You are not the work. You will sweat blood sometimes to create something good but that does not mean that what you make will always work.”

John was confused. Was he being fired or not?

“We hired you because of your potential. You’re young, and we gave you a chance. We expect you to get better. The only way you are going to get better is to try, fail, and try again. What I need you to do is not take it personal when say your work is crap.”

No, he wasn’t getting fired. He was being given his first design lesson from Don Draper.

“I expect greatness, but I also expect you to fail. If you want to go anywhere in your job you need to pay attention and learn from these failures. If you want to get anywhere as a designer I need you to focus and care about what you are doing. Design is tough. Sure it’s not tough like digging trenches, but it’s tough.”

“Get tough. Do your best, and then separate yourself from the end product. Become your own worse critic, before someone like me has to be. Kill your darlings.”

John didn’t know what to say. “Yes, sir.” was all he could muster.

“Good.” Draper picked up the torn art board and, walking over to John, handed it to him. “Now fix this. I expect a lot… But I also expect you can bring a lot to the table.”

Draper pulled his glass to his mouth and swallowed a mouthful. Walking back to behind his desk he continued, “Get together with Peggy if you need someone to bounce designs off of. We’re a team here, and no man is an island.”

John realized the meeting was over and got up. “Thank you,” he said, and he meant it.

“Remember what I said. Do better. Learn.”

“I will, Mr. Draper.”

And he did.

Episode 12, A Change of Mind

Patrick McGoohan himself directed this one. Using a pseudonym, one that I really really like.

“Joseph Serf.”

Give you a couple of guesses why.

This is the most Orwellian episode of the series, with scenes where Villagers are expected to confess their sins by repeating the words of an unseen announcer. McGoohan is also aggressively antisocial in this episode, mocking all that sees before him. He’s part revolutionary, part Grouch Marx.

God, I love that man.

Such behavior makes him “Public Enemy Number Six” as his behavior against The Committee (yet another reflection of the power structure of the Village) is “disharmonious” and “unmutual.”

So, this is just fiction, right? A weird SF/spy show from the sixties?

Tell ya what. Go to any social group. A bar, a business meeting, a group of friends. Start being contradictory. Speak openly and without trying to respond to the expectations of those around you. Don’t conform. Be free.

And then see what happens.

McGoohan ends up being declared, formally, “unmutual”, in this episode. He is then completely ostracized from the society he is reveling against… And his life is now truly his own. He is alone.

“The lone wolf belongs in the wilderness!” McGoohan was told in an earlier episode by a New Number 2, and in this episode he sees what that means. He is cast out, like Lucifer from Heaven… And he resists. Always, he resists.

But the system is what it is. He is beaten down by the citizens of The Village and delivered to (another) brainwashing… And, once that “medical recovery” is complete, well, the citizenry are welcoming and friendly to him once more. They have been conditioned to welcome him, and he has been conditioned to act welcoming.

Yeah, just a TV show. Pay it no mind.

-

While brainwashed and drugged McGoohan is interrogated by the Newest Number 2 around the “trivialities” of his resignation… Which was an overreach. The resignation is a core aspect of him, and drugs cannot bury away that core decision that was an absolute reflection of his Self.

It’s a reflection of his Core Beliefs, which you cannot defeat or tame. His life is his own.

As he fights the brainwashing, he returns… To his wilderness training area, one we see he has setup in an earlier scene in the episode. The Lone Wolf. There, he (again) fights Village thugs and this time it is a quick snap to reality… He is who he was, again.

Then, using his own brainwashing techniques, McGoohan connives to have Number 2 declared unmutual… And a small victory is achieved. One of the few that will be won against the power of society… Err, I mean, the Village.

Recently I’ve become quite reflective and introspective about many things, about who I am as a person, about what drives me. About who I am.

I think I’m a good person. I care, sometimes too much. I speak too much as well, sometimes to fill the empty spaces, more often than not to draw attention to myself. I’m still insecure, still trying to prove myself… I still struggle, at 42 years of age, to feel like I belong.

I’m less insecure than I was, though. I’m good at what I do, and I’m decisive. I’m witty, and when I write I play with words to make my point. I’m occasionally charming. One of my favorite sayings is from the Dalai Lama, a saying that rings true for me, in that “my religion is kindness”. I try to be a good loving husband, and I’m not nearly as good as a father as I want to be.

I’m, above all else, human… And I try to be humane.

I also obsessively love the classic TV show The Prisoner. I speak of it often, recommending it to friends and family. I have written hundreds and hundreds of words about it over the years.

Why?

What is it that draws me to the series? Of all the many hundred of hours of content that I have seen in my lifetime, The Prisoner is the show that I’m always brought back to. It strikes at some core part of me… hitting the right note, if I was the instrument. So, why?

What’s it all about?

Escape.

That to me is the essence of The Prisoner. Escape from the trappings of the establishment, resigning from a job that goes too far… running away. The Prisoner resigns because he is no longer comfortable playing the game that he was a vital part of… A game he may have had an active hand in creating.

Is that why I like the show so much?

Again, my life is my own. I have much to be grateful for, but then… I’m not free. I have responsibilities, obligations to me and mine. And sometimes it’s really hard. So the idea of escaping the status quo, it has some appeal.

The Prisoner, as McGoohan played him, never looked comfortable. He fidgeted as if he was wearing an Ill-fitting suit. Obviously, he was a prisoner, not the most relaxed situation to be in. But he never belonged in The Village. And I never feel I belong, either. Hmm.

I’m currently working away from my family, in another country. It has a different culture, and I can’t help but feel like an outsider. Again, that I don’t belong. Yet…

While I miss my family… I am free. Free from that familial routine. Sometimes, it feels good. And that scares me.

So, are these reasons that I love The Prisoner? Maybe. At the very least, it’s part of it. But maybe I shouldn’t ask any more questions.

Because questions are a burden to others, and answers a prison for oneself.

I’ve always been a big fan of Saturday Night Live. And yes, I know that there is a lot of “uncool”-ness reflected in that statement. The show has gone through many peaks and valleys through the years, but I’m still a fan… primarily because the idea there is still a regularly scheduled live entertainment series, every week, harkens back to the classic days of TV where that’s how everything was. I can’t help it, I’m anachronistic. And that “without a net” aspect of comedy is always there, with the ability to surprise and make us laugh in unexpected ways.

My favorite SNL era was the 1990s, with the cast that featured Dennis Miller, Jan Hooks, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, and above all… the late great Phil Hartman. Hartman was the heart of the show week after week, but it wasn’t obvious to the casual viewer. He would be in almost every sketch, ever-present in different ways. Sometimes he wold only have one line, or no line at all, and many times the character he played was the absolute focus and the premise succeeded or fell based on what he did.

He was, as his coworkers called him, “The Glue.”

“He kind of held the show together. He gave to everybody and demanded very little. He was very low-maintenance.” That quote, from his fellow SNL performer Jon Lovitz, described how he got the nickname. He provided help whenever he could and approached his job in a way that was selfless. He made good work great, and knew when tomstep out of the wayband let others have their moment in the sun.

Which brings me to the point of this missive. I used to be rather full of myself. I had successes, and some of them went to my head. I got rather self-important.

And then I started screwing up, making bad decisions. I thought I could do it all, and I couldn’t. Thankfully, I also have a great degree of self-awareness, and so I started figuring out that there was a lot of stuff I wasn’t good at, and that others were. The wisdom that Phil Hartman learned 20 years ago happened to me.

Be the Glue.

Work with your team, identify how you an support them, and then do that. If that means that you have to step up and grab the mike and sell a premise (which in my job means a design direction or approach) then you do that. But otherwise be there for your coworkers.

Help them. Listen to them. Be there.

Care.

The lesson learned, then, is one that many of us should take heed: it’s not about you, it’s about us. Working together, being a team. Knowing your role and your place. So when you watch an old rerun of Saturday Night Live that Phil worked on, enjoy… But appreciate the way he did his best to help everyone go from good to great.

And try and do that in your own job as much as you can.

Spoilers, Sweetie…

The obvious answer is “Yes, the suit contained young River, and so young River killed the Doctor in the suit.” And River “missed” because she could not kill her younger self (and her “of course” quote is because she realizes/remembers her killing the Doctor as a child).

But…

That’s an “on the nose”, TOO obvious answer. Stephen Moffat tends to not only avoid the obvious, but to subvert it for dramatic purposes. My opinion?

The person in the Astronaut suit? Well, it’s The Doctor, of course.

Who with the what now? The Doctor killed himself? Why???

Because he had to. The Doctor knows that he has to make sure that River’s timeline “works” because like his her life is a “fixed” moment in time. He can’t “break” that timeline and in that timeline he is killed by River. So…

He frames her.

Yup, he kills himself, by using… himself. Now, of course, The Doctor being… well, The Doctor, he of course has a way out of all this.

Maybe the magic moment when someone asks the Ultimate Question:

“Doctor Who?”

See question on Quora

Well, you have to look at “The Plan” to see how that was possible. But first, to discuss manufacturing capability…

The Cylons being could manufacture themselves continuously, and just because we didn’t see massive construction shipyards in the series didn’t mean they weren’t there. Look at the typical WWII movie – unless the story focused on characters who’s job it is to deliver the equipment to war, the focus is usually on the soldiers themselves. The equipment is secondary and supports the story. Trying to “explain too much” is the death of drama: set up the premise, explain it, and detail just enough to inform the viewer as to what’s going on. Otherwise you’ll do stuff like, oh, explain how “Midiclorians” work…

Now, back to the “The Plan,” which was to infiltrate the defense grid and remotely disable all networked ships. Except for Galactica (and Pegasus) that plan worked. The Plan was also to catch the Colonies by surprise, and they did, so a lot of the ships probably were destroyed in shipyards or on the ground (as we heard of in the Razor story).

And finally, nuking the Colonies didn’t even require a lot of ships – just one Base Star per planet can sit in low orbit and lob nukes at will, as the planet revolved below it (and nukes are fairly “cheap” to make compared to ships). They could adjust their orbit to deliver a full spread to all major population centers within hours. And foot solders? You don’t need that many, and you can always “wait out” a population dying of radiation poisoning…

(A better question is how the Galactica could continue to get Vipers in the air. They didn’t have an unlimited supply, and they kept getting blown up. I think the show’s creative staff tried to explain that with the addition of the Pegasus and their fleet of Vipers that supplemented the ones Galactica had on board…)

See question on Quora

Here's some of the factors that come into play.

A key one: Shatner has lived through lean times in the past (post Trek he ended up doing TV commercials for margarine)… And so when the work comes, he grabs it and does it. Those lean times makes you appreciate the work when it comes. And makes you hungry for more.

Second, he's a driven personality. I've known people who works with the Shat and when he works he works really really hard. He gives it "all he's got, Captain." He and I share that – the idea of "relaxing"… well, other people do that. He can't stop working. He'll stop when he's dead.

Third, he's a pro. He shows up, hits his marks, does his lines, and will draw an audience just because of his history and what he has done. The industry knows that and they respect professionalism (as well as the "draw an audience" part).

Finally, he has changed over time. Once a leading man, he has transitioned into a character actor as well as (as needed and when appropriate) a semi-characture of himself… he does what he thinks is necessary to keep working, to keep moving forward. He's a smart talented man.

See question on Quora

Actor Peter Falk passed away today at the age of 83.

I’ve had the chance to meet many actors and “famous” people in my time, but never had the chance to meet Mr. Falk. If I had I would have thanked him for the many hours of entertainment he provided me, both in his seminal role of Lt. Colombo as well as his featured performances in movies like It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, The Princess Bride, The In-Laws, and much much more.

I would also have thanked him for his long-time friendship with one of my favorite actors, the late Patrick McGoohan, who Falk featured on many episodes of Colombo (McGoohan the last “guest villain” on the last Colombo ever). If there’s an afterlife, hopefully those two are now together, as we saw them in the last scene they filmed together: sitting together, having a drink, and reflecting on the life they have lived.

Rest in peace.

Homicide: Life on the Streets is a fantastic series, with three great seasons and exceptional episodes throughout the run. It is also based in the writing of David Simon, who also created The Wire.

Arrested Development is a fantastic surreal comedy that was critically acclaimed but ignored by the general public, so I consider that show under appreciated.

Finally, The Odd Couple, though I would say it’s still appreciated by a great many people, just less appreciated than it deserves to be. It’s a witty and charming series that is still funny 40 years later.

See question on Quora

I’m an unabashed fanboy of the classic 1960s spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. which starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. It was a huge sensation for a while, with teenage girls swooning over McCallum’s character Ilya Kuryakin. Along with that success came merchandising, and lots of it. It never had as many tie-ins as the more popular James Bond spy series but it did pretty well for the studio and the merchandisers.

With the recent news that George Clooney will be starring in an upcoming big-screen U.N.C.L.E. feature, the collector/hoarder side of me salivates at the chance to buy more and new U.N.C.L.E. stuff. But that’s a year away, what am I to do in the meantime? Cafe Press to the rescue. This store has memo books, T-shirts, messenger bags, and more. It’s not authorized, but it looks like the quality of the products are top notch. I especially like the coffee mug.

And, if you’re a true die-hard fan, you can also get a replica of the famous U.N.C.L.E. Gun from this dealer on eBay. My order is on the way…

Now, when I say “open Channel D” I will have the equipment to say it with authority…

Let’s go to the clues in the show, shall we?

In the first episode Arrival, the Prisoner (I will call him the Prisoner because that is what his character is named in the scripts) is told by the New Number Two that “I believe you, that it was a matter of conscience.”

So what does that mean? I refer you to this link and suggest you consider the implications of the content there (and think of the many religious subtexts throughout the series): http://acharlie.tripod.com/consc…

Did the Prisoner realize that he was living a life that contradicted his beliefs? If so, then that is a reason to change – to resign, as it were.

Then we have the penultimate episode “Once Upon a Time” where the Prisoner answers the question directly: “Because too many people know too much.” Enigmatic, of course, but think about it. Governments use spies to spy on people, to know things about them. The Prisoner was a human camera, spying on other people just like the hidden cameras spy on people that are in The Village.

People knew too much. He saw the Village in the making, and he saw he as a spy was having an active hand in it’s creation.

Prisoner: “The whole world, as the Village?”
Number Two “That is my hope.”
-The Chimes of Big Ben

So he resigned, and was, ironically, trapped in a world of surveillance, wiretapping, interrogation, and control – The Village. Where too many people know too much.

A world he wanted to destroy because he, directly or indirectly, had helped create it – and this (guilt?) caused him to resign.

The ending of the show is the beginning – it shows Prisoner in the same car, the same shot as the beginning of the first episode, the shot of him in his car driving towards… Where? Why, to resign, of course.

Again. Forever.

See question on Quora

Not knowing the current ownership/rights around Fire Walk With Me, I'm pretty sure that if one man wants it released it will be. That one man is David Lynch, who has been historically opposed to the idea of a "directors" or "extended" cut to any of his films.
Peaks is near and dear to his heart and my sense from reading interviews with the man is that FWWM – and Peaks – is done.

The next best thing isn't that bad though – we have the film, and if you are really curious you can find the final shooting script (which of course has all the cut scenes) online. It helps fill in the gaps from series to film, and it's filled with some of the Peaksian eccentric characters that are sorely missed in the film.

I made the mistake of reading the script before watching the movie way back when it was released so I was very disappointed at some of the omissions – don't make the same mistake I did, watch the movie first (after you watch the series, of course) and then read the script.

See question on Quora

In case you didn’t know, the producers of Doctor Who made a 9 minute long “episode” for this past week’s Comic Relief special, and here it is:

Part 1

Part 2

Lots of wibbly wommy timey wimey-ness here, with Pond flirting with Pond… Mmm. I’ll be in my bunk…

Sitcoms can be shot two ways: live, in front of a studio audience, or filmed and edited together. In the later case laugh tracks are added in post production where desired. Desi Arnez, with I Love Lucy, created the former, filming the sitcom live like a stage play and editing the film together after the episode was shot. Advanced in television production later allowed for "real-time" editing by switching cameras and recording shows live… on video tape.

The laugh track was first used with the sitcoms that were filmed and edited together, but later was used to "plus" or "juice" the laughs for shows filmed in front of a live audience. Some sitcoms use their own custom recorded tracks (like, i believe, Chuck Lorre's sitcoms) while most rely on library tracks – hence you can hear the same people laughing on Happy Days in the 1970s are laughing at Everyone Loves Raymond in the 2000s.

As others noted, the "documentary sitcom" as originated by The Office is now the norm, with no laugh tracks, but this trend actually started in the 1970s with MASH. In the show there is no laugh track while the characters are in the operating room (the producers thought that would, rightfully, be in bad taste) and after the first few seasons the laugh track was removed all together. You could say that was around the same time the show stopped being funny and became maudlin, but that's another question…

See question on Quora

I just rewatched the fantastic Twin Peaks episode of Psych USA Network broadcast last month with my friend George. George and I are obsessive Twin Peaks fans so we made sure to note all the references we could find. We got over 80 – did we miss any?

• Silent window shades conversation (Nadine was working on that in Peaks)
• “UndertheNail”.com
• “The Great Northern” newspaper
• Dual spires sign
• Music is obviously Peaksian
• “Sawmill” diner
• Diner layout is pretty darn close to being the same as the Double R on Peaks
• “BOB” Barker
• A nickname for BOB’s wife Michelle is “Shelly” – so “Bobby: and “Shelly” own the diner.
• The old sawmill burned down
• Pie!
• Sheriff Andrew Jackson (instead of “Harry Truman”)
• Old mayor
• Owl made of cinnamon
• Owl’s name is Leo
• “Lodge” Blackman
• Under the nail discussion with the Barkers
• Indian deputy
• Wrapped in plastic
• Paula Merrill = anagram of Laura Palmer
• Gus crying at the discovery of the body (like Andy on Peaks)
• Bob has white hair
• The title credits editing and shots are very “Peaksian”
• Julee Cruise sings the title song
• White horse during the opening credits
• Indian deputy talking about the earth being soft and moist – very “Peaksian”
• Donuts lined up exactly like on Peaks
• “Donna” Gooden
• Coconuts in Doc Gooden’s office (like in Doc Jacoby’s Hawaiian obsession)
• “Waldo” in the doctors office held by a Jacque Renault lookalike
• Body bag in the open door – almost same shot as in Peaks pilot
• Paula was seeing a psychiatrist just like Laura
• Log lady!
• Chris Isaak song is a Wild at Heart reference (it was on the soundtrack I believe)
• Covered bridge
• Doc Gooden is a baseball reference – not a TP reference but notable
• Picture in Andrew Jacksons mantel looks to be the same as in Ben Horne’s office in Peaks
• Furniture in Andrew Jackson living room looks real familiar
• Threatening ceiling fans!
• Randy acts a lot like Bobby and James re: Paula
• Sherilyn Fenn is drinking a “cherry” coke
• “Peak” around the library (more a pun but I think it counts)
• “Earl Wyndam”
• Book on reincarnation – Dale Cooper Tibetan reference?
• Old man with thumbs up sign like the old man from Great Northern
• Carlton is dressed and made up just like Dale Cooper
• Homecoming Queen photo
• Moose head lying on the table
• Record player in BOB’s house
• “Magic white rocks” – there were white rocks around the puddle in Glastonbury Grove
• Paula’s room is on the top of the stairs on the right – same as Laura’s
• Secret diary!
• Something hidden in a Teddy bear
• Letters in the diary instead of names
• Sherilyn Fenn closeup on her legs when she enters
• She has “new shoes”?
• Roadhouse!
• Since Jack is blind in one eye he is “One-eyed Jack” (I love this one)
• Bump on the head!
• Circular saw cutting wood
• Comparison of the town to a soap opera (similar to 1st season “Invitation to Love” references on Peaks)
• Randy has the same hairstyle as Bobby Briggs
• “And 4 more pieces of pie” – reference to Cooper dialogue in Peaks
• Hanging!
• “Who killed Paula Merrill”?
• Arson!
• Ray Wise character’s hair turned white
• A cabin in the woods with red drapes
• Jack in the “Man from Another Place” red suit dancing
• Jack’s eyepatch (same as Nadine’s)
• Jukebox in the diner (obvious, but notable)
• David Lynch/Dale Cooper reference when Carlton drinks the coffee “damn fine cup of coffee” (his hand is up like Lynch often does and how Cooper did in the scene in the series)
• Shot homage when Carlton says the above (same angle, props, etc.)
• The Giant – who is also holding up three fingers
• Man in the football helmet beating his head against the counter
• BOB walking backwards (a Fire Walk with Me reference to when Bobby did the same thing)
• Randy barking
• Blonde waitress like Shelly (and they wear the same waitress outfits as the ones on Peaks)
• BOB is dancing with a photo of Paula at the end
• Same layout in the diner behind the counter as in the Double R
• Heavyset guy on the counter is the same “generic extra” you see in almost every scene in the Double R – and in almost the exact same seat…
• Julee Cruise song at the end of the episode
• Pine trees blowing in the wind

Here’s some great photos that were taken during the production of one of my favorite shows, Twin Peaks: hope you like it…

LOST has been appointment TV for me and many many others for the past six years. From that first episode on September 22, 2004 (also my birthday), LOST has been an amazing gift to me, small packages of joy that I opened and enjoyed frequently.

Well, if LOST’s finale was another gift, then it was a nice pair of argyle socks. With holes in them.

I really appreciate what the producers were trying to do – I get some of the obvious subtexts (live together, die alone indeed). But that last 20 minutes… Yes, I was moved throughout, and the ending made the room a little dusty.

But… It didn’t ring true.

It’s hard for me to explain, but I’ll try. Yes, everybody dies. I get it. But we don’t need to see what happens next. If everyone lives happily ever after in the afterlife then it diffused the drama that took place in… Well, life. Adding insult to injury, when you spend half of your final season showing viewers events that just really didn’t matter cause they were “dead already”… Well, it’s not cheating your viewers, but it comes close.

Remember the shower season of Dallas? The one where the producers basically said “Oops, we screwed up, we are just gonna make last year a dream and pretend it didn’t happen!” Well I did, and I remember how that angered the core fans of the show, and viewers abandoned the show. I remember, but apparently the producers of LOST didn’t.

My biggest frustration with the ending is that “everyone lives happily ever after”. We don’t need a happy ending. In fact, LOST having a happy ending is the equivilent of Citizen Kane becoming a romantic comedy in the final act. It was a tonal shift that was not consistent with what came before it. It felt out of place, like another show.

It was contrived and, as I noted above, somewhat meaningless.

And just now I read that additional answers will be revealed on the DVD release of the final season. I’m sorry, but that is a cash-grab, pure and simple. The answers shouldn’t be a supplemental feature on the damn DVD it should be in the SHOW. And if they introduced to many coy questions to be revealed in that context then… Well, maybe they shouldn’t have introduced so many coy questions and mysteries.

Did I appreciate “the journey?” Of course I did. My frustrations may be based on my expectations being too high. But when you have a show that has had so many peaks you come to expect exceptional craftsmanship… And when that expected plateau becomes a valley… Well, disappointment happens.

They didn’t stick the landing, and I so wanted them too.

So, LOST, it’s been fun but we have to part ways less than amicably. I wish it was otherwise.

Be seeing you.

I’ll take “News that makes me feel really old for $200,” Alex…

Today, April 8th, 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of one of my favorite shows, Twin Peaks. How much of a fan am I? I’ve made a trip to the original shooting locations in North Bend and Snoqualmie Falls, Washington… twice.

When Peaks came out I was already a “lynchian” – David Lynch had suitably impressed and/or freaked me out with his work in Eraserhead, and The Elephant Man, just to name two – and so I was excited to see what type of odd perspective he could bring to television.

And boy, was it odd.

But what worked – and what still makes me a fan of the show to this very day, is that the oddness made sense. The internal rules were consistent – it wasn’t strange JUST to be strange, it was strange because… well, Twin Peaks was a genuinely strange town, filled with real characters. It wasn’t eccentric just because it could be (I’m looking in you metaphorical direction, Wild Palms).

I consider Twin Peaks to be the spiritual sequel to Lynch’s earlier and brilliant Blue Velvet, a show that delved beneath the surface and showed the “evil that men do” behind closed doors. It was a soap opera that was a parody of soap operas that was also a very GOOD soap opera… and also (again) weird and wonderful.

And while many focus on David Lynch, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also give equal credit to co-creator Mark Frost, who helped produce some of the best ideas and quotes form the series that are still enjoyable two decades later.

You look at Twin Peaks and see that it changed television – David Simon had the courage to do dream sequences in The Sopranos, because Peaks set the precedent. Homicide was able to be dark and gritty because Peaks went there first (one of the most brutal scenes on TV ever was the murder of Madeline Ferguson by BOB). You see it’s most direct descendant in Desperate Housewives… a show that even shares the same night and network that Peaks aired… and also features Kyle Maclachlan.

It also was the first of many innovative shows that was canceled too soon (Dammit, I want to see the good Cooper get out of the Black Lodge!) – shows that the networks never gave a fighting chance to gain a respectable audience. Thank God for cable channels, otherwise shows like Battlestar Galactica, Damages, Nip/Tuck and more would never have more than six episodes.

So… two decades later, does it still hold up? Mostly. The first season, and a good half of the second, is some compelling and timeless television. It had peaks (pun unintended), and it had valleys, but all in all it’s eminently re-watchable. And part of me still wishes (as was the original plan) that they had NEVER solved the murder of Laura Palmer, that they just used that to spin Agent Cooper into more and more weirdness… the show could have kept going for a long long time.

After reading about this on Ain’t it Cool News, I took a leap of faith and ordered it. And boy, am I glad I did.

Knight Rider was one of my favorite shows when I was 12 and it still entertains me whenever I catch a rare rerun. It was just fun, entertaining and cool, with no pretenses or aspirations beyond being a good show the family could enjoy. Not to say that I don’t like today’s dark dramas like The Wire or Breaking Bad – I love those shows too. But Knight Rider, like A-Team, Airwolf, and MacGyver, were simpler shows for a simpler time.

Nick Nugent has done what I daresay is the definitive book about the show, interviewing everyone who was ever involved with the working of the show (save for Edward Mulhare, who passed away before an interview could take place). He’s included promotional material, head-shots, blueprints, an episode guide, a look at the Knight Rider 2000 movie, and more. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) he doesn’t detail anything about the follow-up shows Team Knight Rider or the short-lived 2008 remake/sequel series.

Nick’s focus is on the original and when it comes to that he has created an exhaustive tome, a book that is probably not for the casual fan – there is SO MUCH information that such a reader may quickly lose interest. But for the true fan it’s a goldmine and a must-have, with 680 pages of information about the show, many in full color. Let me repeat that: 680 pages. If THAT doesn’t represent a true labor of love I don’t know what does.

Limited to only 2000 copies, you can order your very own from http://www.knightridercompanion.com.

Because one man CAN make a difference.

OK, I’m just a fanboy with no connection to the show LOST but I have been there since the beginning, when it first debuted on September 22, 2004 (which is also my birthday, BTW) and after last weeks episode I have a good idea where we are heading.

Think The Wizard of Oz meets “Paradise Lost.”

What I think we have been seeing in the flash-sideways is actually what happens AFTER the Man in Black AKA the smoke monster AKA “Fake Locke” gets off the Island, which IS Hell… the Hell as written in John Milton’s famous poem Paradise LOST… the Hell which is a prison to Lucifer. To get off the island the devil offered everyone a bargain… they got to get their heart’s dreams fulfilled. Just like at the end of The Wizard of Oz.

(Earlier hints: The balloonist who Ben pretended to be in his first appearance? Henry Gale – also the name of Dorothy’s uncle. And the Wizard left Oz in a balloon. And a nickname for Australia, where Oceanic 815 was coming from? Oz.)

So the “Wizard” gives them what they want: Kate didn’t kill her father, Hurley is the luckiest man on Earth, Sayid’s love Nadia is still alive, Sawyer is a good guy, Jack has a son… Except… Not everyone remembers the Island. And they end up living in a world that is NOT the perfect scenario they had hoped for (Kate is still on the run, Sawyer still hasn’t found the conman who destroyed his family, etc.). Kinda like “The Monkey’s Paw.”

Very soon I’d wager that someone (Desmond?) in the “flash-sideways” will let them know that the balance must be restored, and so when the Man in Black is recaptured… Flashpoint.

They are back at square one. The beginning. They crash on the island, again. The cycle continues.

I may be wrong… heck, I HOPE I’m wrong, cause I love to be surprised… but I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m onto something.

UPDATE: OK, so the series is now over and I was wrong… But ya know, I like my ending better.

I’ve been very right in some of my predictions about LOST (Locke being in the coffin) and very wrong (too embarrassed to link) but I’ve got an interesting theory that, if I’m right, will mean LOST ends the same way that another one of my favorite shows did, over 40 years ago.

One of the shows that JJ Abrams and producer/writer Damon Lindleoff has cited as an influence to LOST was The Prisoner, the groundbreaking 1960s spy show from the late great Patrick McGoohan that confounded viewers as much as entertained them. That series ended with the Village being destroyed (or at least abandoned) and The Prisoner (also known as Number 6) “free.” Until…

You saw the last scene. The last scene of The Prisoner saw the lead character driving his car towards the camera – the exact same scene that began the series. What did this mean? That it was all going to happen again, with the same result? Was he in a loop?

Yes. And No. It was all in the eye of the beholder.

“The Prisoner is ultimately what the show aspires to be,” Damon Lindelof said in 2006. Was this an off-the-cuff comment, or a very big clue? I think the later.

We have seen flash-backs, flash-forwards, and now, with this last season a concept called “flash-sideways” which is supposed to show what happens if they don’t get on the island.
Except they get to the island. They ALWAYS get to the island. They are meant to be. Or, to quote another recently-ended favorite program: “All this has happened before, and will happen again.”

They are in a moebius strip, and we will see both timelines merge by the end of the year, in a stalemate, and almost all will be explained. How does that end? No idea. And only a few people know the final shot we will see of LOST, and one of them is actor Matthew Fox (who plays Jack) – he said on Jimmy Kimmel he knows what it is.

Of course he does, ’cause he’s the only actor in the shot.

The last shot of the series – Jack’s opening his eyes as he lies in the jungle after the crash – will be the same as the first shot of the first episode. The perfect bookend. The end is the beginning is the end. Just like on The Prisoner.

The symbolism of the show has been clear – the record, the donkey-wheel – all are circular, not linear… Heck, they even had the “Oceanic (Number) Six” – They ALL are The Prisoner. And I’m not the only one to see similarities in both shows.

“They have to go back!”

Of course. They have no choice. That is the wheel, and that is their fate – to be forever LOST.

UPDATE: OK, we are now more than half-way done with the last season and I am pretty much convinced we are seeing seeing LOST season six AND “season seven” – the flash-sideways are THE FUTURE, after they get off the island… and only some of the people (members of the Oceanic Six – DEFINITELY Sawyer) “remember” the Island. Basically, The Man in Black AKA Fake Locke granted people their “wishes” and that is the “flash sideways” we are seeing.

BUT… I still think that my ending is gonna happen, because Something Bad will happen if the timeline is not “corrected” (basically, the flash-sideways is a version of the last Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “All Good Things…’, writ large – and Damon Lindeloff LOVES that episode). So, again, “They have to go back!”

And the cycle repeats.

“They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.”

UPDATE 2: Found this youtube video that traces some references to recursion/loops that has been used throughout the show – the author of this apparently shares my theory. Oh, and I just found out what the original title of the show was, before it was changed. That title? “The Circle.” Hmm.

FINAL UPDATE: OK, the show has ended, and I was half-right. The notion that the show would end how it began was correct… in a way. SPOILERS!

Jack’s in the final shot, as he dies, and we see him closing his eyes, a perfect bookend to the beginning shot of the show – I got that part. And, just as I noted, much like Patrick McGoohan’s enigmatic subject-to-interpretation ending to the seminal The Prisoner, the LOST ending brings some clarity as well as some ambiguity… and the reaction to the last episode has been very very varied. Some loved it, some hated it.

My reaction… well, I may save that for another post. But it was passionate. And the show, like all Art, provokes. And that, more than anything else, matters. Was it worth the time, no matter our reaction to the finale? Absolutely.

“Everyone dies, Jack.”

This is some of the best DVD or bluray packaging I have ever seen, the vintage 1977 Dharma Orientation Kit version of LOST season 5. Here are some pics:

I grew impatient over this past week and decided to cut right to the chase – rewatching the last two episodes. Here’s my thoughts on the series finale, and if I have time I will post additional thoughts on the remaining episodes.

“Fall Out”

This episode is not intended for All Audiences – any viewer who needs things Spelled Out For Them need not apply.

One thing I love about The Prisoner is how it resets viewers expectations at almost every turn. Think that the hero will win? Nope. Think that the show will follow conventional narratives? Uh… no. Think that the bad guy will be revealed in typical James Bond spy fashion, like finally seeing Blofeld in You Only Live Twice? Well…

As many reading this may know, the reaction of viewers when this episode was first aired in the UK was… let’s just use the word “unhappy” as a catch-all. People were pissed off. McGoohan was assaulted on the street by viewers the month following the episode’s airing. I can only imagine what was screamed at him during the incident.

“What was all that? You call that an ending? What the hell did it MEAN?”

Quite a lot, actually, and McGoohan famously never tried to explain it to anyone for the rest of his days on earth… though he did use one phrase in describing Number I that is descriptive in its simplicity:

“Number Six’ alter-ego”

That in the end is what I think is the point of all of it – that the rebels ultimately become the leaders, and that individuals are drawn, ultimately, to become members of the collective – often, to lead them. “Lead us, show us the way” the judge says in the finale, playing to the ego we see on display in so many episodes before. McGoohan accepts… and then rejects, violently, which in turn brings us back to square one – the last shot of the series is the same as one of the first shots of the series – McGoohan driving his car through a desert, defiant and about to resign, again… and so it goes, forever.

“You accepted”
“I rejected!”
You accepted before you rejected!”

- dialogue from “Once Upon a Time”

The independent man rebels, conforms…. and then rebels again… Because he needs society as much as society needs him. As much as he resists, he eventually conforms… but sometimes it is not without a fight.

“The lone wolf belongs in the wilderness!” – Number Two, Once Upon a Time

Who is Number I? well, it’s McGoohan – the free man, who became the leader of the very thing he rebelled against – the establishment. The power of control was too tempting, so he accepted.. then he rejected… Like a moebius strip, the show folds into its own self… he was rebelling against his own ego, his own prison, all the time. The ego of self.

I.

The being we observed through all 17 of these episodes was a leader – and we all crave leadership. That is the secret of the Village – that to some extent all of us want someone to take charge and be in control – it’s EASIER than being responsible to your own self. Being free comes with its own burdens… if you fail, no one helps you. You are all alone. Wouldn’t it be easier if someone took care of things for you? That is what the Village represented. That is what many people wants our world’s government to provide.

That is what I am afraid we have become: Children who want someone else to to take Control for us. So we can enjoy our bread and circuses – read our cheesy novels like Twilight, watch American Idol… A world where we can have all of our needs attended to.

Like healthcare, for example.

“So, what’s it all about?!” - McGoohan, “Arrival”

What does it mean? Well, it means what it is, as McGoohan stated in the episode “Chimes of Big Ben”. It is an epic of imagination and a singular vision, a series that spoke to the need of individuals to be individual, no matter what the consequences. It is a series that in alternating episodes rejects violence and then embraces it, as a necessary part of revolution. It is a show that will be remembered and referenced decades from now (unlike the recent AMC remake).

It is. Like all art, it needs to be interpreted and understood on its own merit. Is the Mona Lisa smiling? And why? We bring our own answer – and my answer to what The Prisoner means is as legitimate as anyone who approaches the series with any degree of seriousness.

So, did he escape? Yes and no… but as Patrick McGoohan is no longer with us, we can at least say with some degree of confidence that he’s on parole.

Be seeing you.

In celebration of AMC’s re-imagined The Prisoner and of the recent blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“Hammer Into Anvil”

Another great episode, with (not surprisingly) a New Number Two, who starts the episode by forcing a female prisoner into suicide (he was going to read her sections from the Twilight novels to make to conform, apparently). McGoohan does not take kindly to this and decides he is going to take his revenge upon this new harsh Number Two.

The way he does it is brilliant – he decides to play on Number Two’s paranoia, by pretending to be a double-agent who is investigating the management of the Village. Knowing he is being watched, he listens to multiple copies of the same record to get a “secret message”, he leaves messages and calls other Villagers… he even buys a coo-coo clock which Number Two thinks is a bomb.

In the end, McGoohan confronts Number Two and makes him resign his post – a “failure of command.” It is an absolute victory by McGoohan against his warders, and a very entertaining episode. It is also one of the few victories we see him have in The Village…

Here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute:

In celebration of AMC’s re-imagined The Prisoner and of the recent blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“Checkmate”

Now this is another great episode, with McGoohan leading a mini-rebellion against The Village… one that is thwarted when his own leadership abilities and charisma makes one of his co-conspirators think he was not a prisoner but a warder… Hmm, like in “Free For All”, McGoohan leading members of The Village… Another theme that will have a big pay-off in the final episode.

Two major highlights of this episode – first is the chess game that starts the episode, that uses Villagers as living pieces. When one pawn decides to move himself, there are severe repercussions, and of course the game itself is an obvious metaphor for The Village itself… obvious, but perfect. The second highlight is Peter Wyngarde as the New Number Two – his performance is one of the better ones in the series, and many think of him as the “best” Number Two. He, like McGoohan, had a great run as a TV spy in the shows Department S and his character’s spinoff show Jason King (some say Austin Powers is his direct descendant). He is also well known as Klytus in the cult classic Flash Gordon.

Not a “must-watch” episode of the show, but this, like the previous episode, is one of the seven episodes that “count” according to Patrick McGoohan – so there is that. Up next is one of my favorite episodes, but before then. here is Prisoner-in-a-minute:

In celebration of AMC’s re-imagined The Prisoner and the recent blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

Yes, I’m running behind.

The original intent of this series of posts was to re-watch all the original episodes of The Prisoner before I sat down to watch the AMC production, which debuted in the US last week. Well, unfortunately for my loyal readers (but fortunately for me) I had a business matter to attend to which ended up with me go to Australia for two weeks this past month. So, I’m late, but still plan on finishing the original before watching the new version (though, unfortunately, the reviews I read are not encouraging).

So, onward…

“Dance of the Dead”

Well, this episode is messed up.

McGoohan is drugged, ostracized and generally has a really bad day. An example of how bizarre this episode is: In the end The New Number 2 is dressed like Peter Pan as a Halloweenesque carnival (where McGoohan is the only one not in a costume) that devolves into a mock trial. McGoohan is sentenced to death and… well, it’s not death as we know it. It is the sentence of isolation, as the inhabitants in The Village turn on him. Where before McGoohan had worked to help him, now he is shut off from them… and this, along with the loss of an old colleague Dutton is a heavy weight as the pars close on him at the end of the episode.

You may note there is not much of a plot synopsis here. That’s correct, because the plot is not important here – the themes and visuals presented are. It’s a good episode, though not a favorite, and is more of a piece of art than an episode of a TV show. It is provocative and the not-so-subtle subtext of death is not one that appeals to everyone.

It ends, as with many episodes before and after, rather hopelessly. It gets a little better in the next episode.. but not much.

Here it is, in one minute – and yes, you probably need to watch the full episode to figure it out.

In anticipation of the re-imagined The Prisoner, coming to AMC November 15th, and in celebration of the new blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“Many Happy Returns”

McGoohan wakes up in a Village that is completely deserted, and so he quickly makes plans to escape, constructing a raft and setting off for sea. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, it’s not, of course… McGoohan’s escape boat is captured and looted by another boat’s captain and crewmate while he sleeps, and the obligatory fight scene between the three men soon follows.

When McGoohan finally makes it back to civilization, he ends up within walking distance of his old home, which he finds is now under new ownership… by a woman who also now owns his old car (which he built “with his own hands”). Her name is Mrs. Butterworth, and she is not who she seems to be – she also makes a GREAT syrup.

I won’t detail any more of the plot, cause I particularly like how this one ends up… but, needless to say, our hero does not truly escape in the end. Duh, there’s still ten more episodes to go…

One of my favorite parts of this episode is that the first act (and most of the second) is without any dialogue and the tale is all told visually, with fantastic acting work by McGoohan and some great cinematography and editing. On the new bluray set that was just released this episode is especially beautiful – a real feast for the eyes.

A great episode, start to finish. And the next one is one of the “7 episodes that matter” – that is, according to a Mr. Patrick McGoohan…

Here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute:

In anticipation of the re-imagined The Prisoner, coming to AMC November 15th, and in celebration of the new blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“The General”

“You’re never too old to learn.”

A university level degree in three minutes? Sign me up! Well, after this episode, actually… let me think about it.

This is a lesser episode, one in which McGoohan tries to destroy a giant instructional (and potential mind-controlling) computer called The General. It has a couple of good moments, especially when one of the core lessons of the episode – that information without context and understanding is useless – is revealed. But at the end its just kind of “meh” with a “reveal” of The General at the end that is rather dates (it’s very similar to every third episode of the original Star Trek).

And, like in Star Trek, McGoohan does his best Captain Kirk impression (not literally, of course – boy would I have paid good money to see that) and makes the super computer blow up, because he asks it the one question that cannot be answered… “Why?”

Like I said, meh. So far this is the shortest episode recap I’ve posted because, well, it just didn’t do much for me. The episode after this one, thankfully, is a different story. And I’ve begun to sense a trend on these shows – every other episode tends to be better than the one that proceeded it. I think, since the epsiodes were filmed out of sequence that this was a decision of the producers to make sure they had some degree of consistent quality throughout… but it’s still peaks and valleys.

Now here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute:

In anticipation of the re-imagined The Prisoner, coming to AMC November 15th, and in celebration of the new blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“The Schizoid Man”

Ah, the inevitable “Evil Twin” episode. I think that all producers of television in the 1960s and 70s had to sign a contractual agreement to write and air at least one of these before any production work would be allowed to commence. Fortunately for us, the one that Patrick McGoohan produced is not your run-of-the-mill take on the idea.

The way they do it is pretty ingenious: In order to mess with McGoohan’s mind, they try and convince him that HE is the impostor trying to disrupt Number 6’ mental state. They reprogram him to change his behavior and his preferences by using shock treatment, drugs, hypnosis, and repeated exposure to episodes of Jon and Kate plus 8. After a casual afternoon of ESP practice with a beautiful lady Villager (more on her later), McGoohan is taken, conditioned for several days, and then put in the home of Number 12 – where he is then told of the scheme. They refer to his other life, and even give him hints on how to be…. well, himself, to upset “the real” Number 6.

The fake Number 6 arrives, and McGoohan plays him as well – a little louder and more broad that he normally plays the lead character, and that’s saying something. They duel, with electric pistols and rapiers (which would make a great band name, if anyone is looking) but McGoohan is off his game because he can’t decide whether he is right or left handed (they “trained him” to think he was a southpaw).

At any rate, if it wasn’t for photographic evidence of a bruise underneath one of his fingernails, which almost complete healed “overnight”, McGoohan may have been broken – instead, he breaks the conditioning (courtesy of a faulty lamp – electroshock therapy on the cheap!) and beats up the Fake Number 6. When McGoohan decides to take over as the Fake Number 6 to escape, he is helped by Rover who accidentally kills the imposter (!). Alas, he can’t get away with it, because, unlike The Fake Number 6, he did not have a lot of information to go on and so he is found out in the end.

Two quick sidebars – the Fake Number 6 also made one critical mistake – he claimed the Number of 6 for his own, something the real McGoohan would never do. And the idea of ESP playing a part in the episode looks so very dated today… But it does work in the context of the plot (especially when its revealed the girl with ESP is working with Number 2).

A good, solid episode, with three fight scenes and some fine sharp dialogue. One of the top 10, for sure.

Here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute:

In anticipation of the re-imagined The Prisoner, coming to AMC November 15th, and in celebration of the new blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“Free for All”

“Obey me and be free!”

That’s a very quickly-spoken statement McGoohan says at the end of “Free For All”, the fourth episode of The Prisoner broadcast, and it goes by so fast I never noticed it until I rewatched it last night. And if you pay attention, it was dubbed in to the show in post-production and not recorded “live.”

That quote is a big Key to the puzzle, I think, and captures the subtext of the episode nicely. An episode that is about as damning an inditement of the electoral process as ever created.

(A quick sidebar – since I consider Number 6 to affectively BE McGoohan – as the show was his vision and all I have read about him sounds like he was a glaring raging guy in real life too, I refer to the main character as McGoohan in these posts. I think that is especially appropriate when discussing this episode, as he also wrote and directed it).

Here’s a short plot summary: The New Number 2 is running for reelection, and he wants McGoohan to run against him “for the good of Village morale.” Skeptically, McGoohan accepts, and soon after his public declaration is saddled with an assistant, Number 58, a cute young maid who can’t even speak English. McGoohan then gets swept up in a bizarre council meeting with Number 2 and his “cabinet” – 2a, 2b, 2c, etc… when he speaks back to the council he is drugged and subjected to The Truth Test, where they ask him why he decided to run.

We never hear McGoohan’s responses, but the person administering the test seems to as he monitors a visual of McGoohan’s profile and two sliding indicators on the wall. “You want to help them?” The man asks, and McGoohan both agrees and disagrees simultaneously – a key point to note – he wants his own freedom, but he also wants to help his fellow Villagers “wake up” and escape.

After The Truth Test (and making sure they don’t “damage the tissue”) he’s brainwashed, and becomes a “puppet candidate” who starts talking about how he will bring “freedom” to the Village… not literal freedom, of course, but freedom from fear and worry – security. Sounds familiar?

McGoohan fights the brainwashing, and tries to escape – I love that in the midst of even the weightiest of topics on The Prisoner they always try and work in an action sequence or two. After his capture and re-brainwashing, McGoohan wins, becomes the new Number 2, but we soon find that he’s really lost – the New New Number 2 is his assistant, who, after McGoohan is beaten (and posed, Christ-like) asks him in perfect English, “Will you ever learn?”

Interestingly, though the last episode “A, B, and C” was set mostly in a dream, it is this episode that is dream-like. It’s more a nightmare, and the instance that McGoohan is drugged before the Truth Test all the way through the end is a blend of both the realistic and the surreal. It’s powerful and provocative stuff, and one way of interpreting it – that elections only give us the illusion of control – is eye-opening.

Now, back to that quote. McGoohan says it after he is “woken up” so that is not programming – that’s his raw emotion coming through, when he thinks he has a chance to control The Village as Number 2. It’s both altruistic and egotistical at the same time – why do people run for office? To help people? Yes, some do… but many do it for the power, and that quote – “Obey me and be free” – refers to that darker egocentric reason. To be in charge, to take over, because you know what’s best for someone else…

To become Number 1.

It’s that ego, that part of him that makes him free and independent, also makes him susceptible to this type of plot – a lesson those in charge of The Village learned here and will reapply later (in the last episode “Fall Out”).

I could write hundreds more words on this one, but I’ll stop here. It’s one of my favorite episodes of any show EVER, and is one of the 7 core episodes that are must-sees for viewers if they want to even attempt to “get” what McGoohan is saying in his series. Though I love this episode it’s one that I can see some people not liking because of its structure and subtext. Like the best Art, it is open to interpretation and people’s reactions will vary.

Here’s the episode in its entirety (this is one you DON’T want to just watch a one-minute summary of):

In anticipation of the re-imagined The Prisoner, coming to AMC November 15th, and in celebration of the new blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“A, B and C”

This was an… interesting episode.

The premise was simple – The New Number 2 (who sweats and gulps a lot) thinks that McGoohan resigned in order to “sell out” and so he decides to test that theory – by making him dream about it.

Which is kind of an amazing premise. If the warders of The Village can watch (and even influence) the dreams of their prisoners, is there any hope for them at all? They can GET IN THIER MINDS and INFLUENCE DREAMS, for pete’s sake. A capability that was never mentioned on the series again. In affect, this was the first “holodeck episode,” ever – airing the same year that Star Trek first did.

I hate holodeck episodes.

So, suffice to say, this is not a favorite. The rest of the premise, that they use this technology to see if McGoohan would sell his secrets to one of three suspected agents – “A”, “B” or “C” – by creating such an opportunity in his dream… well, it’s weak. Yes, if McGoohan reveals any secrets in his dream, then he is one step closer to being “broken,” but we all know that ain’t gonna happen. HIS LIFE IS HIS OWN! There’s no real drama here. Most of the episode is A DREAM.

In the end the only character who is any danger is Number 2, because he is under direct orders to get the answers in this affair from Number I himself (the first time we see any character talk to Number I on the phone is in this episode), and grave misfortune would befall him if he doesn’t deliver – which, of course, he doesn’t. McGoohan is so cool he can even control his own DREAMS.

(Of course, he must not have been in TOO much danger because the same Number 2 reappears in another episode later in the series).

Meh. The next episode is much better. Much MUCH better. ‘Till then, be seeing you…

Here’s your “Prisoner-in-a-minute:”

From SNL, here’s Jon Hamm from Mad Men in character giving advice on how to woo the opposite sex. Very well done.

I’m tellin’ ya, if Warner Brothers doesn’t sign Hamm ASAP to play Superman, they have room-temperature IQs.

In anticipation of the reimagined The Prisoner, coming to AMC November 15th, and in celebration of the new blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

Ah, yes, I now reflect on “The Chimes of Big Ben (Big Bill),” episode number 2. And how appropriate that his episode also brings us the best Number 2 the series ever had, in Leo McKern. He was so good that he was the only one to come back more than once, appearing in the last two episodes… but more about those later.

“The Chimes of Big Ben”

McGoohan gets a neighbor, the new Number 8, and she’s got a suspicious hairstyle that set me on edge right away. McGoohan was also suspicious, but somehow her June Foray-style Russian accent got through his defenses. As we shall see, big mistake.

McKern as the New Number 2 is just wonderful – bustering and loud and oh-so-over the top. His laugh alone elevates the episode beyond typical 60’s spy fare. His scenes with McGoohan are where the episode really crackles, and the casual conversation by the water about his theories – “The whole world, as The Village?” “That is my hope.” – both entertains and makes me shudder at the same time.

The Village has an art competition – primarily to give them something to do, methinks – and McGoohan joins in order to get Nadia, who attempted escape, out of the “hospital” (really a place of physical and psychological torture in The Village). Number 2 considers this a victory, and states that maybe McGoohan is mellowing and growing less resistant to his warders.

Not a chance.

His entry in the contest, an abstract piece that he carved out of really bad stock footage of a tree that was cut down, was in actuality a boat, and the sail is made of a tapestry another Villager made (that shows a regal Number 2). Nadia had let him know they were in Lithuania, and they set off for Poland.

Six and Nadia escape Rover, meet up with a colleague of Nadia’s (which was mighty damn suspicious, but McGoohan was obviously too water-logged to notice) and they are smuggled back to London, where they arrive in his old boss’ office – the cracked tea cup from the opening resignation scene notably absent.

His boss, Fotheringay, starts questioning him as to why he resigned, and McGoohan is just about to spill the beans when… Big Ben strikes eight.

The thing is, McGoohan’s watch ALSO reads 8, and the jig is up, cause the watch is from Nadia’s friend in Poland… and Patrick knows his time zones.

He never left The Village – the office is a ruse, and his old boss is In On It. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. McGoohan walks away, glaring and staring at Nadia as she and Number 2 sigh at the results of their failed plan.

This is probably the best episode one can use to introduce someone to The Prisoner. The acting of the two leads McKern and McGoohan are great, and the twist at the end is really well done. Is it the best Prisoner episode ever? Maybe – at the very least, it’s a personal favorite of mine. Here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute, for those ADD readers out there…

There are few things in life I love more than The Prisoner, that great 1960s spy series that was the brilliant creation of actor/writer/producer Patrick McGoohan. I wrote of many of the reasons I loved it in my obituary of McGoohan here, and I will not repeat that here – suffice it to say, it just works for me.

Next month (November 15th – 1+5=6) AMC will be showing a new “reimagining” of The Prisoner, which I think is going to be more of a sequel than a remake. What excites me about that project is it will give many people who have never heard of the original the opportunity to see of the ideas that McGoohan proposed in his original… proposals about the nature of man and freedom that I think we are in dire need of being reminded of today.

To celebrate the new, I’m taking a trip back to the old – rewatching the original 17 episodes, in order, and posting my thoughts here. i hope to get through all of them (I’m especially excited about rewatching and reflecting on the last episode, “Fall Out”) before the new mini-series airs. So, let’s get on to it, shall we?

“Arrival”

Wow, McGoohan is ticked off.

(Oh, and while I know that the scripts referred to his character as PRISONER, I will in my musings on the series call him McGooghan – his character and his own views are so intertwined that I just consider the character on the show a reflection of the actor, and the man – hence, to me he’s McGoohan – and not John Drake, or Prisoner, or Number 6.)

We begin, and before titles start, McGoohan glares at EVERYTHING, starting with you, as he drives his Lotus through the London desert (!) – this is a man not to be trifled with.

Driving out of the desert and back to London, McGoohan resigns from some double-aught spy organization at the beginning of the series, and he’s so mad he bangs the desk of his superior and breaks a tea cup. When an englishman does something like THAT, you know he means business.

As he arrives at his flat (after glaring at the door), he passes a hearse and before he can pack his scuba gear and copy of Esquire for the flight, gas pours in the keyhole and he’s knocked out.

He wakes up in The Village.

Which, we will find out as the series progresses, is everywhere. And nowhere. We are all in The Village, in some way or another… and McGoohan is the only one who is angry about that.

The Village is for people who have secrets – information that should not be “let out” and must be controlled by the Powers That Be – Powers we all report to, in one way or another.

After stumbling around to try and find out where he is and what has happened, McGoohan meets the head of the Village, Number 2, who does a great bit of monologuing to explain the basic premise of the show to the viewers.

(We also get a wonderful “tour” of Portmeirion, in Wales, where the series was filmed – the unique landscape and mixed architecture being the perfect setting for the series. I hope to go there, someday.)

McGoohan resigned, and the Powers that run The Village want to know why. McGoohan’s response? Surprisingly, he glares at him. Number Two tells him “You can’t escape, Number Six” – the number he is assigned in The Village – McGoohan, of course, then immediately tries to do so, and runs across a weather balloon with attitude called Rover (the weather balloon was a last-minute replacement for a mechanized vehicle that ended up sinking the first time the producers tried to use it).

Knocked out, McGoohan wakes up in hospital, meets an old spy friend Cobb – who then proceeds to jump out the window. Or did he? The Village is filled with secrets.

Later, at Cobb’s funeral, Mcgoohan sees a woman crying – a friend of Cobb he confronts and asks what she knows. Apparently, she doesn’t know how to respond to glaring because she bursts into even more tears and promises to help him escape. Which… is a trick. You see, they are trying to demoralize McGoohan, and make him realize that he can’t escape.

We’ll see about that.

All in all, a great start for the show – McGoohan is wonderful, the premise is terrific and the show will go on to bigger and better things.

And hey, don’t have time to rewatch it like I did? Here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute!

We’ll continue, soon, with “The Chimes of Big Ben.”

Be seeing you.

Since I have not posted about Galactica in a while, here’s the newest trailer for the direct to video movie The Plan, which may be the last time we see our beloved cast together (and it’s directed by THE Edward James Olmos, who ROCKS):

I’m a fan of the classic comic strip character The Phantom, and I even liked the Billy Zane movie… But this, a “re-imagining” of the character for an upcoming mini-series on SyFy leaves me in a “meh” state of mind.

Here, judge for yourself:

[YouTube]X74WvxfvyM4[/YouTube]

Adam, all of us here in the Dickerson household love ya, and wish you the very best for your 81st birthday.

UPDATE: The song on this video is from the great animation voiceover actor Wally Wingert, who just got a new gig as the announcer at the Jay Leno Show.