"On The Other Claw...."

Hmm, yeah. The only one from that list that truly excited me is The Prisoner. This is the first I've really known about a trailer, so I rushed straight off to find it.

I dunno. The acting didn't quite grab me -- except for McKellan, who was excellent of course. This is a tiny point, but just as an example, the shopkeeper who sells 6 his Village map was a little too... smirky. Maybe it's just that I'm used to The Prisoner being acted in more British emotional pigments -- subtler pastels like "chipper" and "arch."

I didn't see any really sterling signs that it meets my #1 criterion for loving it: awareness that it's a social allegory and a potentially damned trenchant one, truly updated for 21st century and the things that hinder human freedom now in particular.

And I really do miss the surreal architecture. The Mod stylization of The Prisoner isn't absolutely vital to me, but it was a vital part of the original's success. There are enough other good, recent models for filming a show like this -- Lost comes to mind, obviously -- but I really think the flat abstraction of The Village '67 helped life there feel mediated. You'd think that in the post-Cronenberg, post-CG era, they could be a little bolder at making the place seem truly unreal. "Gritty" worked beautifully for Battlestar; it's not right for The Prisoner, IMHO.

On the other hand, I am really intrigued by some of the new premises, like the total amnesia about the outside world. It could go either way, but the subplot with Number 2's deluding his own son about the outside world could be pretty gripping.

I'm probably investing way too much hope in the line "He only wants to do the right thing, and that's what will give him to me." There's some fantastic potential for critique of modern Britain and America and their global roles, there. I'm concerned that the lack of Cold War context will weaken the power of the show, but I also admit it's a big challenge for any writer and could be really rewarding if they pull it off. The Guantanamo subtexts should be obvious; I won't write the show off if they don't want to touch that, but there had better be something equally sharp in its place. [Aah, just got to 8:06 on a closer viewing. Hmmm...]

I do dig the new Village logo.

And wow, is that an actual minority or two? Neat! :D

Intrigued by the reference to "God" late in the trailer. I would have mad respect for these guys if they turned in elements of spiritual/mystical allegory -- again, like Lost.

Yay, they kept Rover! If my sweet, darling murder-bubble survived the executive vultures, it's entirely plausible that so will the libertarian spirit and grand surreality of the show.

If the show turns out to be remotely good, I want to start a betting pool on the ending. Seriously, I really do. My money's gonna be on "The Village is a purely mental/virtual construct." It's the shortest path to making it agonizingly contemporary. :)