AMC has green lit the cult hit ‘1984’/ ‘Brave New World’ amalgam ‘The Prisoner’ 1960’s TV show for a one hour series set for production this spring for a worldwide premiere opening in 2008.
Says Rob Sorcher, executive VP of programming and production at AMC, "This show made an explosion in the genre 40 years ago; to this day, it's loved by so many. This is an opportunity to remake a classic and reinterpret it, and it also gives us a built-in fan base."
And how? A quick search into Google of “The Prisoner” yields virtually endless results. Fox’s ‘The Simpsons’ paid homage memorably in the 2000 episode The Computer Wore Menace Shoes, in which Homer’s internet exploits land him in a mysterious place called “the island” in a strange community based on ‘Prisoner’s’ “village.”
Just like the decades-ago hit originally aired on the BBC, AMC’s remake will feature a similar storyline which starred Patrick McGoohan, who played No. 6, and was also creator, writer, producer and director of the ‘67-‘68 classic. The new series will showcase a man trapped on an island without any memory of how he got there, and finds himself in a place where all inhabitants are identified by a number instead of a name.
As of now, there is no producer or director for the project, but according to TV.com, AMC is looking for one from the A-list who can "bring his or her own vision to the material." AMC has also acquired rights to ‘The Prisoner’ and will air those episodes around the time of the launch along with similarly-themed movies.
In the meanwhile, you can catch a quick clip ‘The Simpsons’ hilarious interpretation of ‘The Island’ right here on YouTube.
