ITV PRESENTS
Written by Bill Gallagher
Directed by Nick Hurran
Produced by Trevor Hopkins
PRODUCTION NOTES
***The information contained herein is strictly embargoed from all press
use, non commercial publication, or syndicationin the UK until
7th April 2010 at 14.30***
INTRODUCTION
Page 3 - 5
THE MAKING OF THE PRISONER
Page 6
THE CREATIVE LOOK
Page 7 - 9
JIM CAVIEZEL PLAYS SIX
Page 10
IAN MCKELLEN PLAYS TWO
Page 11
RUTH WILSON PLAYS 313
Page 12
HAYLEY ATWELL PLAYS 4-15/LUCY
Page 13
LENNIE JAMES PLAYS 147
Page 14
JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER PLAYS 11-12
Page 15
EPISODE SYNOPSES
Page 16 - 27
CAST LIST
Page 28
CREW LIST
Page 29
DVD RELEASE
Page 30 - 31
SOUTH BANK SHOW REVISITED
Page 32
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Page 33 - 35
ITV PRESS OFFICE
PRESS CONTACTS:
Natasha Bayford - 0161 952 6209 / natasha.bayford@itv.com
Kate Richards - 020 7157 3039 / kate.richards@itv.com
PICTURE CONTACT:
Patrick Smith - 0207 157 3044 / patrick.smith@itv.com
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INTRODUCTION
Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen star in the network’s reinvention of the 1960s classic
cult thriller, The Prisoner. Caviezel takes the role of Number Six while McKellen
appears throughout the series in the role of Number Two. ITV Studios has coproduced the six-part series with Granada International and AMC, the channel
behind Mad Men.
In the 1960s, The Prisoner helped permanently alter the scope of the fantasy genre.
Through the work of Patrick McGoohan – who created, produced, wrote and directed
the series, and starred in the lead role of Number Six – The Prisoner is widely
viewed as one of the most well regarded and intriguing cult TV series ever created.
While the original series, which debuted in 1967, was a riff on Cold War politics, ITV’s
remake will reflect 21st century concerns and anxieties, such as liberty, security and
surveillance, yet also showcase the same key elements of paranoia, tense action and
socio-political commentary seen in McGoohan’s enigmatic original.
The six one-hour episodes tell the story of a man who finds himself trapped in a
mysterious and surreal place known as The Village, with no memory of how he
arrived there. As he frantically explores his environment, he discovers that its
inhabitants are identified by number instead of by name and have no memory of a
prior existence or outside civilization. Not knowing who to trust, Number Six is driven
by the desperate need to discover the truth behind The Village, the reason for him
being there, and more importantly, how he can survive and escape to his previous
life.
The Village is controlled by one man – the sinister and charismatic Number Two. In
each new episode Six and Two are locked in a battle of wits, as Six challenges the
oppressive nature of The Village and battles against his captors. Six must find out
what The Village is, but in doing so, he must also make sense of his life before he
arrived there.
Jim Caviezel first received critical recognition for his role as idealist Private Witt in
The Thin Red Line. The following year, he gained further recognition with roles in
Ride with the Devil and Frequency. In 2001, his role as Jennifer Lopez’s love interest
in Angel Eyes helped to establish him as a versatile actor and leading man. Caviezel
was then chosen by Mel Gibson to star as Jesus Christ in the film The Passion of the
Christ. The film went on to become one of the highest grossing movies of all-time and
made Jim a household-name. Most recently Caviezel played against type when he
co-starred opposite Denzel Washington in the thriller Déjà vu.
Ian McKellen is one of the world’s foremost stage and screen actors and has been
honoured with more than 40 International awards. In 2002 he received critical
acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of “Gandalf” in Peter Jackson’s
Lord of the Rings trilogy. McKellen’s work has spanned genres from Shakespearean
and modern theatre to fantasy and sci-fi, with other major film credits including Gods
and Monsters, X-Men, Richard III and The Da Vinci Code. Most recently he has
undertaken the role of Estragon in Sean Mathias’ theatre production of Waiting for
Godot.
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The Prisoner also stars: Ruth Wilson (Small Island, Jane Eyre, Capturing Mary) in
the role of Number 313; Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited, Mansfield Park) as
Number 41-5; Lennie James (Jericho, 24 Hour Party People) as Number 147; and
Jamie Campbell-Bower (The Twightlight Saga: New Moon, Sweeney Todd,
Rocknrolla) as Number 11-12.
Ruth Wilson is a BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated actress best known for her
portrayal of Jane Eyre; she also gained critical acclaim in Stephen Poliakoff's
Capturing Mary and A Real Summer, and was last seen on screen in the BBC1
drama Small Island. In March 2010 Ruth won the Laurence Oliver Award for Best
Actress in a supporting role for A Streetcar Named Desire.
Hayley Atwell recently appeared as Julia Flyte in the movie remake of Brideshead
Revisited. Her previous work includes the television adaptations of The Ruby in the
Smoke and The Line of Beauty, as well as Mansfield Park for ITV. Towards the end
of 2009 Hayley filmed Pillars of the Earth, a mini-series written for the BBC and
based on the Ken Follett novel.
Lennie James has had a prolific career on television, film and in theatre. Most
recently he has appeared in both series of the cult CBS show Jericho as the
mysterious Robert Hawkins. His film works include Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour
Party People and Guy Ritchie's movie Snatch.
Jamie Campell Bower is best known for his portrayal of Anthony, alongside Johnny
Depp in Sweeney Todd. In 2009 he appeared in the film Rocknrolla, directed by Guy
Ritchie and has since been seen in The Twightlight Saga: New Moon, the sequel to
the hugely successful feature film Twilight starring Kristen Stewart and Robert
Pattinson.
McKellen says of the role: “Bill Gallagher’s new version of The Prisoner is an
enthralling commentary on modern culture. It is witty, intelligent and disturbing. I am
very excited to be involved.”
John Whiston, Director of Programmes for ITV Studios says: “For those of us who
were watching grown up TV in the 60s The Prisoner was dangerous, exciting and
challenging TV. For those of us who were too young to stay up to watch the series, it
casts a long shadow. You don’t embark on something this iconic without the best
team around to do it justice for a whole new era. With Bill Gallagher as writer, Trevor
Hopkins as Producer, Michele Buck, Damien Timmer and Rebecca Keane as the UK
Execs, AMC as production partners, ITV as UK Commissioners and Jim Caviezel
and Ian McKellen leading the cast, we have that team on board.”
Writer Bill Gallagher says: “I was haunted by The Prisoner when I saw it as a boy on
its first broadcast. Here was something that was more than television, something I
couldn’t quite grasp but couldn’t let go of. It’s a unique opportunity for a writer to be
able to go back to The Village and tell some new stories about that strange place and
its surreal menace. We have a terrific cast and a wonderful director, so we hope to
serve up something as beguiling and disturbing as the original was.”
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Producer Trevor Hopkins adds: “The Prisoner was an iconic piece of 60s TV and
updating the series for a contemporary audience has been a stimulating and hugely
rewarding experience. I feel that Bill Gallagher’s splendid scripts, combined with Jim
and Ian in the lead roles will bring the series to a whole new audience, and hopefully
intrigue dedicated fans of the original.
“Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen bring an incredible level of talent to the project, and
we’re honored they are taking on these important roles. We look forward to bringing
Patrick McGoohan’s brilliant and captivating story to an entirely new generation of
viewers,” stated Charlie Collier, AMC’s General Manager and Executive Vice
President. “The calibre of Hollywood talent further validates our programming vision
and our successful strategy of producing quality cinematic originals that stand
alongside our library of iconic movies.”
Managing Director ITV Studios, Lee Bartlett, said: “As an ardent fan of both Patrick
McGoohan’s original vision and now Bill Gallagher’s reimagining, I am excited that
The Prisoner is the first project to be greenlit as part of ITV’s new co-production
model with US studios and networks. In particular, I am delighted to be partnering
with AMC on such a prestigious project.”
The Prisoner is a co-production of ITV Studios and AMC; the deal brokered by ITV
Worldwide, which holds all international rights, as well as sales and remake right to
the original series.
ITV DVD holds Home Entertainment rights. The series is written and executive
produced by Bill Gallagher (Conviction, Clocking Off, Lark Rise To Candleford),
executive produced by Mammoth Screen’s Michele Buck, Rebecca Keane and
Damien Timmer for ITV Studios and AMC’s Charlie Collier, Christina Wayne and
Vlad Wolynetz, Produced by Trevor Hopkins (Dracula, Poirot, William & Mary) and
Directed by Nick Hurran (Bonekickers, The Last Detective, Frank Stubbs). Jim
Caviezel’s deal was coordinated by ICM. Creative Artists Agency orchestrated the
deal on behalf of Ian McKellen.
The Prisoner will be available to watch on the ITV1 HD channel which is available
on the following EPG numbers:
Freesat
Freeview
Sky
Virgin
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THE MAKING OF THE PRISONER
How do you remake a cult television show forty two years after it changed the
landscape of popular storytelling? With themes including hypnosis, hallucinogenic
drug experiences, identity theft, mind control, dream manipulation and social
indoctrination the 1967 British show The Prisoner is considered by many to be the
most unusual, though provoking TV series ever made.
Producer Trevor Hopkins says: “Taking on a cult classic, one has to hit the right tone
and ensure that you are not copying the original… This is definitely the right time for
The Prisoner to be reworked, it’s a post 9/11 observation and so it’s about a different
world from the original.”
The new series is less of a remake and more a radical, pacy, revisioning of the
original show. The script by Bill Gallagher reflects 21st century concerns and
anxieties, such as liberty, security and surveillance, yet also showcases the same
key elements of paranoia, tense action, countercultural allegory, eerie intrigue and
socio-political commentary seen in Patrick McGoohan's enigmatic original
phenomenon.
As production began in Namibia, Charlie Collier, VP and general manager of
American Movie Classics said: “We entered this with two perspectives, one, with
great affection for the original, but two, knowing we’re not remaking the original,
we’re actually re-imagining it and interpreting it into a miniseries.”
Hopkins confirms this outlook: “I call it a surreal psycho-conspiracy thriller. This is not
a copy – it is a reworking for a 21st Century world. It has those kinds of resonances,
but Bill has loosely taken the premise of the original and reinterpreted it. It is
challenging programming. It doesn’t necessarily have a beginning, middle and an
end. You have to be prepared to go on a journey with it.”
In order to mount the series as a major event the filmmakers realised at an early
stage that they needed to have a cinematic style to the show. “It was very important
to find the right Two and Six,” says Hopkins. For that reason they looked for film stars
and not conventional television leads, “Ian McKellen was the first definite piece of
casting, he loved the script and he’s a dream and a delight to work with. Jim Caviezel
has never done a TV series before, so it’s a big challenge. Together the two of them
have great chemistry. They bring great acting, enormous marquee value and a
wonderful sense of film to the show.”
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THE CREATIVE LOOK OF THE SERIES
As varied and exciting as the range of characters are, the look of The Prisoner is
paramount to its appeal. The 1967 show was shot in the Port Merrion, an eccentric
coastal resort town in Wales. Producer Trevor Hopkins says: “Port Merrion is great. It
was what the original series was all about, in terms of making a statement about
taking in sixties fashion and attitude. That had been done. We wanted to come up
with an environment and space that was above and beyond The Village - you
wouldn’t automatically know where you were. The aesthetic had to be a little strange.
It is as much about The Village as the environment. We thought of the entire desert
world in Namibia as a backdrop and while looking for this inherent strangeness we
came upon Swakopmund. A town in a time warp – from the last century with a bit of
the 50’s and 60’s placed on top of it.
“The people we worked with in South Africa were extremely accommodating when it
came to our filming requirements. We were given a lot of assistance and cooperation from the Department of Trade and Industry. Their support meant we could
capture the essence of New York’s city streets without having to film in the US.”
Hopkins says that the tone is key to the success of the look, “one has to be careful to
not veer into parody or pretension. Colour, look and design are all-important. If it is
over designed it becomes too self conscious.” Ian McKellen thinks that perhaps Bill
Gallagher’s Village is slightly more believable, “You feel that Swakopmund has the
feel of a prison. The mighty Atlantic on one side and on the other you have the
massive desert with buildings that look familiar but are strange because they’re a
colonial German relic in Africa.”
Veteran production designer Michael Pickwoad whose credits include Lost in Austen,
Old Curiosity Shop, Longford (Bafta Nominated for Best Production Design 2007),
Marple and Sweeny Todd, says there were challenges in taking on a cult classic.
“The main challenge is living up to expectations and working out precisely what
qualities made it become a cult classic. In order to be of equal merit as the original,
it’s important to create a new interpretation whilst embracing the original concept.
“Having seen the original series transmitted in the sixties, I was already expecting a
great deal before I read the first script. The scripts were both intriguing and exciting
and although they owed a great deal to the original idea, the story was told in its own
way. I was also more than aware that it presented an interesting and welcome
design challenge.”
And he did give some ‘set nods’ to the original show, “It’s obviously fun to reproduce
certain elements, having a respect for what has become iconic. There was a
requirement for a village logo but it would have been wrong to use the original pennyfarthing although it does appear as a decoration in the Go Inside Club.”
“The open-air chessboard at the bottom of The Village amphitheatre was a link with
the human chessboard in the Port Merrion of the first series. 93, the old man, or the
McGoohan character’s flat is lifted from the first series as a direct homage with the
bizarre arches that somehow appear during the series.
“The dark interior of the Clinic was intended to reflect the control room of the first
series and the Sci-Fi sets of the late sixties and early seventies but at the same time
it represents the psychological influence of present-day interrogation.”
7
As for fans of the original series Pickwoad says, “It could be said that the first series
is indeed unbeatable in its unfathomable-ness but what we’ve attempted in the new
version is to create a more complete story in its own right and give it a logic which is
more accessible which in turn makes it more worrying as the malevolence becomes
increasingly plausible.” But he thinks that forty years seems “positively overdue to
repeat a success. The sixties produced a great many outrageous and far-reaching
thoughts that have gradually become realities; in the light of modern interrogation
and incarceration this is a very appropriate time to reinterpret the story. To what
extent can a person’s subconscious now be controlled? Forty years ago it was
unthinkable but it made rollicking good Sci-Fi.”
As the show is about memory and the subconscious versus reality Pickwoad had
many opportunities to play around with actuality in order to give the series a
dreamlike look. “A major initial direction was that The Village is a benign place,
almost to the degree of naivety and an abstraction of reality in its toy-like quality,” he
says, “As ideas grew, a slightly harder-edged reality crept in while still retaining a
simplistic innocence. It was felt desirable that The Village should have a timeless
quality, which resulted in a retro sixties feel.”
As for the Namibian coastal resort he’s full of praise, “The exteriors of Swakopmund
had elements of the perfect Village, not only in the use of muted colours but also in
the simplification of building design. The repetition of building shape seen in the
holiday A-frame houses, was suggestive of conformity and a lack of individuality
among The Villages’ population. And the use of sandy road surfaces, prevalent in
Swakopmund, imparted a blandness that gave the impression of being in a Hopper
painting. The interiors for The Village sets have the coziness of a remembered
childhood, just staying the right side of sentimental but evocative of another time and
place.”
When asked to compare The Village in both series Pickwoad says, “Port Merrion, the
main setting for The Village in the previous series is a capriccio Italian village built in
North Wales by the architect Clough Williams Ellis. In a similar way Swakopmund is
a copy of a German town built in South West Africa by expatriates. It comes across
as Brandenburg with palm trees and has the same sense of unreal reality as Port
Merrion.”
As for the bits of ‘real’ stuff we see, “The real world in the film has less emphasis on
colour and makes more use of the natural colour and texture of the building materials
employed. It has a hard-edged reality and appears grittier and steelier than The
Village.”
Jane Clive, the Costume Designer on the series, says that the original was and has
become an indelible period piece, “Ours is a contemporary piece with a twist. The
Village is timeless however. It doesn’t belong anywhere so it pulls in snatches of
different periods, which means it has a slight other-worldliness about it. In a way
there’s a sort of blandness to Village – a lack of character that becomes a character
in itself. A strange other world where you can’t believe the people are real.
Pleasantville to Nowheresville is what I call it.”
To affect the look of the characters Clive evoked Hollywood glamour on many
occasions with most of the clothes presenting a mask, hiding some kind of reality.
Six’s outfits range from stylish classic dark suits to a khaki sports jacket and chinos.
Two has an easy elegance to his outfits, expensive suits, classic linen jackets, whilst
also maintaining an almost Presidential style. 4-15 is more down-to earth with pretty
sunshine yellow dresses. M2 was another adventure, “She looks like she’s in aspic, a
sleeping beauty draped in silks and treasured satin.”
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Nadine Prigge also explored many looks from various periods in the hair and makeup on the series. “Because the original was such a strong period piece I didn’t want
to set anything in stone. We have a mixture of looks based on icons from throughout
the 20th century from Deborah Kerr to Jean Shrimpton to the rugged, consistently
appealing Six.”
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JIM CAVIEZEL PLAYS NUMBER SIX
The two leads are equally enthused by the series. Jim Caviezel plays Six, the man
who is abducted after resigning from a state-surveillance job and finds himself in this
strange isolated place called ‘The Village’. “Finances for another movie feel through
and my agent gave me the scripts for the first two episodes. I’d never heard of The
Prisoner until then but I remember thinking that the scripts were incredible. I was
then sent episodes three and four to read and it was really a no brainer to be apart of
this project.
“What is wonderful about The Prisoner is that it is subject to interpretation. It is as
enigmatic as ever. It is what ever you want it to be, wherever the mind takes you.”
Caviezel purposely decided not to view the original series. “I wanted to find my own
interpretation for the role without being influenced by what had been done before.
The creative team were keen to remain faithful to the spirit of the original but both the
structure and the character have been reworked and hopefully the audience will be
able to enjoy it as a separate piece of contemporary television.
“There is a whole generation of people who have never seen the original. The first
series tapped into the Cold War paranoia of 1967. We now live in very interesting
times and The Prisoner deals with many 21st century concerns like surveillance,
identity, and personal freedom. It’s inevitable that comparisons will be made. Our
series is more of a reinvention than a remake. It looks at the situation with a fresh
eye and deals with issues that affect us now.
“Although it would be foolish not to recognise the original character, created by
Patrick McGoohan, the Six I play is very much a contemporary man dealing with
issues that affect us all now. I didn’t want his brilliance to effect what I was about to
take on. The material that Bill Gallagher wrote stood alone.
“My Six has some similar characteristics with the original Six - his defiant nature and
his complex antagonistic relationship with Two. The challenge for me was taking on
an iconic role in a series of such cult status and making it my own. It is a hugely
ambitious TV project - surreal, complex and challenging for the audience.
“He still shares the defiant nature of the original Six as well as his complex
antagonistic relationship with Two. But we learn more about his life before The
Village. We also see his building of strong relationships with other villagers
throughout the six episodes.
“Six is stubborn, persistent, curious and clever. He is always looking for answers,
refuses to conform and never gives up hope. He is constantly looking for a way out of
The Village either physically or psychologically. In each episode he tries to escape
by different means.
“Ian is a superb actor and I knew I was going to have to raise my game in order to
match him. We had enormous fun playing adversaries. The locations, the desert and
the dunes where we filmed were awesome. The town of Swakopmund is a strange
and interesting place.”
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IAN MCKELLEN PLAYS NUMBER TWO
Ian McKellen, who plays Two, the charismatic and perhaps cruel ‘head’ of The
Village, couldn’t agree more with Jim’s enthusiasm; “This is the sort of thing I would
enjoy watching myself and that is always the test. And working on it, it just got more
and more intriguing than when I first read the script… Once you get involved with
something as good as this you find out things you didn’t know before. What I like
about The Prisoner are all the oddities, the strangeness the peculiarities. Two
appears to be in charge of The Village and he has the qualities of someone who
might well be that. If you like The Village you’d accept him as your leader and revere
him but if you don’t like The Village you’d think he was a monster. I personally don’t
think he is creepy at all.
“It is no secret that Two has a family. He has a son in his late teens and he has a
wife whose comatose with whom he is madly in love with. But he has a wife whom
he can’t really talk to and a son who doesn’t want to talk to him. Yet he loves them
both and it is his love for them both that sets the whole story rollicking along. Does he
bring Six into The Village to take over from him or does it become his motive as the
story goes on? You never really know with The Village.”
McKellen believes the story plays with current obsessions just like the original did,
“It’s about relationships in the context of things that preoccupy us. About the nature
of government today, about mental health, about conspiracy theories, but it’s also a
very exhilarating thriller and if you want to know why all these strange provocative
things happen, well you never know with The Village. You just have to watch the next
episode.
“There are clues from the very first scene in the very first episode. There are
references back to the original and there are characters that appear in the original
that appear in this. I don’t think there is any secret that Rover is back. In this, as
opposed to the original, we discover where Rover comes from.”
Reflecting on the original series McKellen says, “Bill Gallagher’s Prisoner is a more
believable place. It clearly has a style to it. You feel the Swakkopmund has the feel of
a prison. The mighty Atlantic on the one side of the town and on the other side you
have the desert. There were buildings that looked familiar but at the same time were
strange because they were German in Africa.”
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RUTH WILSON PLAYS 313
Ruth Wilson plays 313, a doctor in The Village who gradually becomes a major ally to
Six despite being in the service to Two, and says she found the character fascinating
to play because there are so many unsaid things going on.
“She has a sophisticated, neat, intelligent look. She is a clever woman but she is
tortured by everything she has to do. It is strange because I felt we are acting against
the look, the look is what The Village creates. She is neat women but has a messy
mind. The look goes against what she is going through. In the first episode 313 has
to build up a relationship with Six to get him to open up to her. She initially meets Six
in Club More. At that point you have no idea who she is. She then appears in the
hospital where Six is waking up and gradually the relationship between Six and 313
grows. It is only when she is talking to Six he starts making her question herself that
all her doubts about living in The Village are exposed.
“Eventually she finds herself growing closer to Six but mainly because they have the
same doubts and questions. From episode two she becomes his confidant. The
turning point of my character comes when it’s revealed that she too is a dreamer,
someone convinced another world is out there. As a dreamer she becomes more and
more tortured by her imaginings. She can’t work out why they keep coming back to
her. She’s like a political outcast. She dreams of another place which in The Village
is a crime so she is forced to deny this.”
Ruth enjoyed the realness and fascinating nature of 313. “I found her fascinating to
play. In every scene there’s so many unsaid things going on. The women in our
version are more interesting than the two dimensional characters in the original. It
has also been great to work with Ian because there is a real playfulness that he has.
His character is the baddie but he has loads of depth. Two abuses 313 and
manipulates her but she is drawn to him as a father figure and opens up to him.”
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HAYLEY ATWELL PLAYS 4-15/LUCY
The supporting cast were equally enthralled and intrigued by the scripts. Hayley
Atwell plays 4-15, a blind woman whom Six meets and falls in love with through the
manipulative Modern Love Bureau. “It has endured because it gave the audience
what they wanted. All great television, drama or stories reflect a deeper unconscious
need from society. That’s why entertainment can provide a great platform in giving it
a context. It came out of a time when mass consciousness was still living in the
paranoia of the Cold War. Now you have privacy laws and CCTV cameras and ID
cards and Facebook. How much of that is about losing your privacy? Anyone can
take advantage of that and use that information against you.”
Atwell acknowledges that her character is worryingly content, “She has similar
characteristics to a Stepford Wife,” and as for The Village she says, “It’s quite
dreamlike. When we began the series Carl Jung’s name came up quite regularly and
the thought arose that we were dealing with a state of being rather than a physical
reality. It could be Matrix-like. Think of Aldous Huxley and ‘The Doors of Perception’,
our ways of seeing can either liberate or imprison us.
“There is always a sense that the characters are being watched. The audience
included. There is a feeling amongst the characters in The Village that it is not great
to speak or to have intimate relationships, there are only certain things you can eat,
your leader is your god and you can justify murder for the sake of keeping the
principals of The Village together. You accept The Village rules or you live in fear.
Those who live in fear have a sense that there is something beyond. There also
some people who have no idea that they are being manipulated. It’s like living in a
dictatorship.
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LENNIE JAMES PLAYS 147
Lennie James is 147 the friendly, chatty taxi driver whom many could think of as the
ideal member of The Village. “Bill Gallagher described 147 as being The Village.
Basically he’s the epitome of the success of The Village. He’s completely content
with his life when we meet him. His life is based on one single happiness – his family.
“The question in the first three episodes is, is he spying on Six because he always
seems to turns up just when Six needs him. Over the first three episodes 147 is the
guy telling Six not to question anything and to try and find his peace in The Village.
Things, as always, change and by episode four 147 is a changed man. From then on
he’s firmly on Six’s side and realises that there’s something wrong with The Village.
In a very brave move 147 confronts 11-12, the son of Two, and he screams at him in
the street and demands to know what’s happening. He screams for the location of
God as they have been abandoned. It is the only mention of God in the entire script
and one of my favourite lines in the whole series. 147 says “somebody has to tell us
where God is. Cause we need him right now otherwise this whole Village is going to
be holes.”
Lennie agrees that most people behave like 147 by just accepting their realities.
“That’s why it was so clever of Bill Gallagher to set him up as a taxi driver – because
they facilitate people who run stuff and find contentment in a very small place,
without trying to rule the world.”
14
JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER PLAYS 11-12
Jamie sees 11-12 as a prince-like figure with problems. As the only son of Two and
M2, we watch him reveal things hidden by his father.
“11-12 is not as complicated as other characters. What he is feeling is what is written.
He‘s soulless – as though a part of him is missing. A prince in some respects, a royal
who lives very comfortably in Palais.
“He’s a little bit of a tearaway. He’s troubled, and the relationship with his father
evolves and becomes different to what it was at the beginning. Every character has a
purpose and at the end you begin to understand it. Throughout the series we see
him uncover truths that where otherwise concealed from him by his father. He is a
little boy lost. He deals with a lot of problems that young people are faced with, lack
of identity, sexuality, and parental relationships. The arrival of Six confuses him. He
begins to question and open his mind. Although he deeply loves his father he doesn't
like the man his father is and what he represents and starts to look for a father figure
in the relationship with 909.”
11-12 is different from the other villagers. “As for being a true village person, he does
not conform to most of The Villagers. He questions it and is interested in this bizarre
world he lives in. 11-12 uses his power to gain information from other characters,
most notably 313 and the pills that are being given to his mother, M2.
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EPISODE SYNOPSES
The following synopses are published in the production notes for
forward planning purposes only. Please do not reproduce entirely and
do not publish the end of the story. Many thanks.
The Prisoner, a reinterpretation of the 1967 British cult classic, follows Michael, who
after resigning from his job, finds himself inexplicably trapped in The Village, a town
where people have numbers instead of names. Michael becomes Six and in order to
hold on to his identity he must engage in a battle of wits with The Village leader, Two.
Two goes to extreme measures to convince Six that there is no other place but The
Village. When Six befriends a doctor, 313 and taxicab driver, 147, he must fight the
temptation to assimilate to The Village way of life. Never knowing who to trust, he is
driven to discover the hidden truth behind The Village, why he’s there and how he
can escape.
EPISODE ONE - ARRIVAL
A man awakes to find himself in the middle of the desert with no
recollection of how he arrived there. Entering ‘The Village’, what will his
future hold?
Michael wakes in the desert, disoriented and unsure of where he is. At the sound of a
gunshot and barking dogs, he goes to the aid of an old man who is running from
armed pursuers. Michael carries the old man into a cave, where, with his dying
breath, the old man asks Michael to hide his body and tell 554 he got away. After
burying the body, Michael follows a light in the distance and arrives in a Village.
Michael hails a cab and asks the driver to take him to a train station. "This is The
Village," the confused driver tells him, "and I do local destinations." Michael jumps
out of the moving cab and walks into a crowded nightclub, where a woman asks him
to dance. At the sound of barking dogs, he runs back out to the cab.
Unsure of where to go, he asks to be taken to 554. "Now you're talking," says the
driver, who identifies himself as 147. Michael finds 554, a young waitress at the local
Solar Cafe, and tells her the old man got away. 554 identifies the old man as 93, but
is hesitant to get mixed up in any trouble.
The dogs appear and chase Michael to a nearby rooftop, where he gets a fleeting
glimpse of a New York street before flashing back to The Village. At the approach of
a man wearing a fedora, Michael faints and falls off the roof.
Michael has a bizarre dream that he is trapped, but he wakes unharmed in the
Village hospital to find a doctor named 313 – the woman from the nightclub – tending
to him. 313 tells Michael she wants to help him accept reality. "I'm going to get you a
cold drink," she says, "and then someone will take you home. You're a free man."
Before he is checked out, Michael is escorted to an office to meet a mysterious man
named Two. Michael demands to see the American consul and to be returned to
New York, but Two – who calls Michael "Six" – tells him that's not possible: "There is
no New York," Two says. "There is only The Village." Two wants to know what Six
did with 93's body, but Six remains obstinate.
Six is driven from the hospital to his Village apartment – labelled "6" – which is
almost identical to his apartment in New York.
16
The next day, Six notices two towers looming in the distance. Determined to find a
way out, he purchases a map from the shopkeeper, steals 147’s cab and drives out
to the desert.
The scene cuts to New York where Michael sits alone at a diner. A woman
approaches and asks to borrow Michael's cell phone, claiming to have lost hers.
They flirt with each other and Michael invites her back to his apartment. The action
returns to The Village.
313 approaches Six, who is passed out in the desert. Driving him back to The
Village, she asks Six who he was talking to while he was unconscious. "I want to help
you with these delusions," 313 says.
At home, Two gathers pills from a cabinet and carries them on a tray upstairs.
At home with his wife, 21-16, 147 receives a summons to report to the Clinic for
escorting a new arrival into The Village. 21-16 is concerned. The summons also
requests that they bring cake.
Six goes to 93's apartment looking for clues. He finds a drawing of Big Ben in
London, but is interrupted by Two, who again asks where 93's body is hidden. Six
goes to 554 and shows her the drawing of Big Ben. He asks her if 93 ever spoke
about the picture. “There has to be a reason 93 told me to come to you.” Reluctantly,
554 reveals that 93 said the drawings were from his other life, before The Village,
and asks Six to leave her alone.
147 and 21-16 report to the Clinic. Two gives them medals for “services to The
Village” and asks about the new arrival. He was “loop de loop” 147 says. Two tells
them not worry; the new arrival has been dealt with.
Later, The Village announcer proclaims 93’s body has been found, and that he died
en route to the hospital. Six goes to the Solar Café and promises 554 that he will
leave her alone if she tells him what she knows.
At Six’s apartment, 554 reveals that 93 thought he was a prisoner and that there are
those who have similar dreams of another life. Six promises to keep her safe.
Later at Palais Two, Two feeds pills to a woman who appears to be asleep in bed.
His son 11-12 enters, and asks Two why Six believes there is another place. "For
people like Six, life is not enough," Two says. "They want to escape it."
Six goes to The Village cemetery and finds a vacant grave, presumably for 93. 313
shows up, wondering what he’s doing there. He quizzes her about the history of The
Village.
The next day, Six crashes a funeral for 93, telling the mourners that there is another
place outside of The Village and that 93 found a way out. He leaves the cemetery
and goes to see 554, and he’s stopped by 147, who wants to let Six know he will
always be his friend. Suddenly, the Solar Café explodes. Clinging to life, 554 tells Six
that 93 told her to "follow the towers."
At the hospital, Six asks 313 if the bomb was an act of terrorism. 313 begs him to
stop meddling. 554 dies. Distraught, Six goes to the gates of Palais Two. "I will find a
way to escape," he screams. "I am not a number. I'm a free man!" Six runs in the
desert toward the towers, but is stopped by an enormous white hovering ball –
Rover.
17
EPISODE TWO - HARMONY
Two plays on Six’s inherent desire to belong, to feel part of a family.
Six lies unconscious in the desert. The sight of a seagull flashes him back to a
childhood memory of a trip he took to the beach with his brother. A man named 16
wakes him.
In The Village Clinic, Two asserts that 16 is Six's brother. When Six denies it, 16
produces a picture of the two of them as boys. Two suggests Six go to therapy.
At 16's house, 16's children are overjoyed to see their Uncle Six. 16's wife prepares
Six his favorite meal, and the family enjoys an episode of The Village soap Wonkers.
16 begs Six to attend therapy. "I just want my brother back," he says.
In Palais Two, 11-12 spies on Two while he feeds the sleeping woman more pills.
In New York, Michael tells Lucy, the woman from the diner, that he watched her use
his phone. He knows she didn't make a call.
Six attends a therapy session with 70 and his alter-ego, Shadow 70. He tells the two
therapists in attendance that the seagulls in the desert reminded him of a childhood
trip to the beach with his brother. They called it "the edge of the world."
313 intercepts Six as he's leaving the Clinic. Six asks her if she took anything out of
his pockets. She denies it.
Six is welcomed back to work at the Escape Sightseeing Bus Tour. He gets to work
driving on The Village Tour while 16 provides commentary on the sights. Six notices
one of the passengers, a woman with a winking eye, watching him.
In the Clinic, Two checks in on Six's progress. 70 reports that, as predicted, Six is
resistant to therapy. Two scoffs at the idea of "therapy babble," but maintains, "It is
not necessary for me to believe. It is necessary for Six to believe."
When the tour bus moves out into the desert, Six spots an anchor submerged in the
sand. 16 shrugs it off as a desert folly. He takes Six to an abandoned train station,
reminding him they used to play there when they were children. They called it "the
edge of the world." Six admits the ruins feel familiar.
Lucy admits she lied -- she didn't really use Michael's cell phone. She was trying to
pick him up in the diner. Michael thinks it curious they met on the night he resigned
from his job. Lucy says it's a coincidence.
On another sunny day in The Village, the tour bus stops at Palais Two, where Two
makes a surprise appearance and boards the bus. Two announces he's there to
award a lucky family a holiday trip to Escape Resort: The winner is 16.
Later, Six catches 313 looking at the sketches of Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty
that she took out of his pocket. She tells Six she likes the idea of another place, and
apologizes for lying. Michael tells Lucy he worked at a company called Summakor,
observing security footage and collecting data on people.
18
That night, 11-12 asks his father about his childhood -- he can't remember it. Memory
is fickle, Two tells him, but he should never doubt his family.
Six has another dream about being on the beach: A young Michael helplessly calls
after his brother as he walks into the ocean.
Six takes 313 to the ruins and tells her that he feels a strange connection to the
place. Following his instincts, he uncovers an old box with a note he wrote as a child.
313 holds it as proof The Village is real. Six claims it's a trick, but now he's not so
sure.
Michael begins to tell Lucy why he resigned from Summakor: He noticed people –
"too many people" – changing. When Lucy presses him for details, she admits that
she too works for Summakor. "You think you resigned," she tells him. "They still
control you."
The winking woman from the tour bus tells Six she's heard sounds from the ocean in
the desert. 147 drives the two into the desert to search for it, but to no avail. They're
interrupted by the sight of a Village bus headed to Escape Resort without Six.
16 and his family wait at The Village Bus Depot. When Six finally arrives, they decide
to drive themselves to the resort. On the way, Six eyes the towers and drives toward
them. He's struck with a violent vision of the ocean while Two, sitting on the bus,
asks, "Do you know the way?" The vision shifts: Six is now tied to a post while Two
places a grenade in his mouth.
Six snaps out of it; 16 begs him to get a grip. Confused, Six apologizes for the way
he's been acting and accepts 16 as his brother. "I'm not your brother," 16 whispers.
At Escape Resort, 16 explains that "they" made him lie. He doesn't know what they
want from Six, but it has something to do with the "Other Place." 16 is afraid of what
they'll do to him. "We'll get out first," Six promises.
16 joins Six and the winking woman on a search for the ocean. When they finally
discover it, 16 gleefully runs into the water. Six calls after him to stop, but it's too late:
Rover attacks.
Six brings 313 back to the ocean, but finds only more sand dunes. He returns to
break the news of 16's death to his family, but they are distracted by Wonkers. Six
starts to shout as Clinic workers restrain him.
In the Clinic, Two laments that Six has completely lost control of himself. "Poor Six,"
he says.
"I am not a number," Six protests. "I am… Six."
19
EPISODE THREE - ANVIL
Two deeply involves Six in the machinations of The Village through his
Undercover work.
Two arranges for Six to work with a Village spy (called an "undercover") named 909.
An undercover's job is to find and report people who dream of another place. Six is
wary it's a trap. "Of course it's a trap," says Two, who wonders if Six can use the
opportunity to his advantage.
In New York, Lucy tries to leave Michael's apartment, but he grabs her and demands
she tell him the truth.
Six and 909 are assigned to watch 1955, a history teacher who has been turned in by
one of his students. Six goes undercover as a surveillance teacher.
Observing 1955's lesson on the history of Twos, Six asks, "Who is Number One?" A
student, 1,100, responds, "There is no Number One." The concept of Number Two is
humility, she explains, reminding residents that they are all public servants.
313 fears for her own well-being when she starts to sketch dreams of another place.
She decides to distance herself from Six: "People who get close to you, they don't
tend to live very long," she says.
At night, 909 and Six observe 1955: He enjoys swimming, and he dines alone. 909
finds his hobbies suspicious – "We're looking at a man who doesn't want to go
home," he says. A group of joggers run by; 909 explains that they're good candidates
for dreamers. Six notices 313 running ahead of the group.
In surveillance class, Six gives his students an assignment: "Find out who we're
working for."
Two hesitates before giving the sleeping woman a black pill. She wakes, and the two
embrace. "Why this time?" she asks. "Can a man not converse with his wife from
time to time?" Two says.
909 and Six perch themselves on the roof of 1955's house and watch him using The
Village's special "Roach Cam." 909 receives a mysterious call, and asks Six to fetch
coffee from his truck. Six snoops through 909's surveillance log and discovers he is
909's real mission – and that 313 is suspect.
Two and his wife, M2, speak of their life "before" – M2 wants to know how 11-12 is
doing. Two gives her a sip of wine, and she goes catatonic again. At the sound of
drilling, Two notices a roach cam being placed in his garden.
Back on the roof, 909's ringing phone alerts 1955 to their presence. Staring at the
roach cam, 1955 cuts his own throat. 909 and Six drop 1955 off on the steps of The
Village hospital.
The next day, 147 plays with his daughter, 832, in his backyard. Nearby, a massive
hole in the ground looms.
Fearing the ‘undercovers’ are watching her, Six searches 313's roof and finds a
roach cam. A nearby camera catches him in the act.
20
Two meets with 909. He notes 11-12 has been acting oddly and wonders if Six has
had any contact with him. 909 denies it, but Two doesn't trust him.
Six begins to trail 909, following him to the Go Inside Bar, where he discovers 909 is
romantically involved with 11-12.
Lucy reveals she read Michael's reports. He asked interesting questions, she says,
and must know more than he realizes because Summakor wants him stopped.
Six visits 1955 in the hospital and asks for help locating other dreamers. 1955 says
he doesn't know anything. The conversation is interrupted when Six senses someone
lurking outside. He runs after the stranger, but loses them. 1,100, his surveillance
student, hides in a nearby tree.
The next day, Six is summoned by Two and given a new assignment: to spy on 909.
Six goes to 313 and tells her to be careful. She shows Six photos of him on her roof.
"You're an undercover," she accuses, walking away.
At his house, 909 suggests that he and 11-12 take a break -- Two is suspicious. Six
walks in and finds them embracing. Six tells 11-12 to take all surveillance off of 313,
or he'll go public with knowledge of their affair.
Two tells 11-12 he doesn't trust 909, and suggests that he be sent to therapy to "dig
those secrets out of him."
11-12 goes to 909 with a knife. "It's OK," says 909, turning his back to allow 11-12 to
stab him.
Six arrives at 313's house just as she's being taken away by a black van. He runs to
909 for help, only to find him bleeding to death. "Tell me the dreams are true," 909
gasps. "They're all true," says Six.
Lucy asks Michael why he resigned from Summakor, but he can't focus on the
question. "You wanted to know; you stopped. Why?" she asks. "Because you're
already there."
Six finds 11-12 drinking at the Go Inside Bar. He wants help finding 313, or he'll tell
Two about 909. 11-12 sends Six to the tunnels, a dark cavernous place inhabited by
exposed Dreamers. In the tunnels, Six finds 1,100, who in turn helps him find 313. As
the three of them search for a way out, Rover appears.
Six springs awake in his apartment, then drifts back to sleep. Men in white coats
scurry out his front door.
Two tells 11-12 to forget 909 and find someone his own age.
Lucy says that she hears the name Curtis whispered on the Solutions floor, and
insists they go to Summakor immediately. Michael kicks her out. She writes her
number down and tells him to call her if he changes his mind.
In the Palais Two garden, Two gives 1,100 an ice cream cone and congratulates her
for spying on Six. 1,100 admits she was also spying on Two. She'll have to go in for
treatment, Two says – after she finishes her ice cream.
21
EPISODE FOUR - DARLING
Two intoxicates Six with passion for 4-15, to the point where she is all
he can think about.
In New York, Michael calls Lucy's cell phone. He hears a phone ringing outside of his
door and finds Lucy passed out in the hallway. She feels out of sorts and asks to go
in his apartment, but before they do, she wraps her arms around him and they kiss.
In The Village, Six wakes to the sound of a woman on his television, announcing it's
time for him to be romantically matched.
At the hospital, 313 avoids conversation about her dreams and encourages Six to try
the matching service.
At Palais Two, Two shows 11-12 a large hole in the ground, but dismisses its
presence as an "ambient anomaly" due to the weather.
Six goes to the Modern Love Bureau. Skeptical at first, he is surprised when the
system matches him with 4-15, a blind woman who looks just like Lucy in New York.
Michael is haunted with visions of a black van. He and Lucy decide to go to
Summakor, but they can't keep their hands off of each other.
Two speaks with 313 in the Clinic. He knows she is a dreamer, and that's why she's
going to help him betray Six. "If you betray the one person you love," says Two, "then
there must be something you want more than his love."
Six meets 4-15 at the Solar Café. She explains her blindness is the result of a
childhood trauma. Six tries to convince her they've met before in another life.
Lucy and Michael snuggle in bed. Lucy tries to explain she's normally not so
impulsive. "It's like the dials are spinning and suddenly I'm letting go," she says.
"Maybe that's how love takes us," Michael responds.
At Palais Two, 11-12 steals samples of M2's pills. Two, watching on video, catches
him in the act. 11-12 takes the samples to 313 in the Clinic, and asks her to
determine their contents.
The next day, Two warns 11-12 that once he knows the truth about the holes and his
mother there will be no going back. 11-12 insists he wants to know.
Six and 313 visit with 147 and his family (his wife, 21-16 and his young daughter,
832). 147 points out the hole in his backyard. At first he's not sure if he should report
it, but then he decides to call the authorities. While the adults are distracted with
champagne, 832 falls in the hole and vanishes.
In The Village, loudspeakers announce that to combat ambient weather anomalies,
every home should be given a pig. "Swine breath is a proven atmosphere stabilizer,"
the announcer explains.
Six confronts Two about the holes, hoping to help 147 find his daughter. Two asks
Six if he wouldn't rather be preoccupying himself with 4-15. Six almost takes the bait,
but demands answers. Two tells him the girl is gone.
22
Later that night, 313 injects a clear liquid into Six and 4-15 under Two's supervision.
"Let him go where love is terrible," Two urges. "It'll crack him right open, and then we
can see the Six inside."
The next day, Six continues to bond with 4-15. He presses her father to learn more
about her blindness, while her father urges him to consider marriage.
313 meets with 11-12 and reveals the ingredients in his mother's pills: one is a heavy
sedative, another a hallucinogen, and the third is of an unknown origin.
The disappearance of 832 wears heavily on 147 and 21-16's relationship: 21-16
blames 147 for not watching their daughter more closely.
Two invites 313 to Palais Two, where he shows her a sedated M2. Two asks if there
is any way to reverse love. 313 says it must be possible.
That night, 313 confesses her feelings for Six as he falls asleep. Men from the Clinic
arrive and take him away. At the clinic, 313 injects Six with a different syringe, just as
Two approaches.
Six wakes and Two reveals that his feelings for 4-15 have been artificially created
using Gene Symmetry Therapy. Two asks if Six would still like to marry 4-15. "Yes,"
smiles Six.
Lucy and Michael wake up together the next morning. Lucy knows she's behaving
out of character and tries to leave, but Michael wants to get breakfast for her. Lucy
wants oranges.
Six asks 4-15 to marry him. On their wedding day, 313 shows up at the church to tell
Six his feelings for 4-15 won't last. As 4-15 approaches, 313 kisses Six. 4-15 runs
into the desert. Six catches up to her, moments before Rover attacks.
"I have to go," Lucy tells Michael in a recorded message. "I'm not safe. Whatever you
do, stay away from…" but she's interrupted before she can finish.
Six runs to an unconscious 4-15. "You're called Lucy," he tells her. "We met in a
place called New York." She tries to deny it, but eventually relents. "I'm Lucy," she
says. Two brought her to The Village to love Six, and to break his heart.
Later, Six approaches a distraught 147, who wants to jump in another hole to find his
daughter. Six convinces him to do so would be suicide. As he holds 147 back, 4-15
jumps into the hole.
Michael walks down the street with a bag of oranges. As he approaches his building,
his apartment explodes.
In New York, M2 opens her eyes.
23
EPISODE FIVE – SCHIZOID
Having been warned by Six that his alter ego, 2x6, is out to kill him, Two
takes it all in his stride.
In New York, Michael storms his bombed-out building, but is turned away. "They're
selling tickets for your execution, Michael, but they're calling it a promotion," Lucy
says in her recorded message. "Whatever you do, stay away from Summakor."
Michael arrives at the Summakor building.
A distraught Six yells at the gates of Palais Two, vowing revenge for 4-15's death.
Across the street, another man – who looks just like Six – looks on.
Two confronts 11-12 at the Go Inside Bar. 11-12 accuses Two of being a liar, and
demands to know where The Village is. Two tells him The Village is inside of the
mind of 11-12's mother, and that she did it all for him. Two hands 11-12 the key to
the pill cabinet, offering his son a day with M2.
313 dreams of a Gothic church and a girl with a box over her head. She wakes from
the nightmare to find Six sitting in her bed. He asks why she kissed him at the
church; she says she couldn't help herself. Six kisses 313; she's struck with more
visions, and asks Six to stop. "Not like this," she says.
The next day at the Clinic, a melancholy Six bemoans the loss of 4-15 to 313. 313
wonders why Six wasn't worried about 4-15 last night. Confused, Six claims he never
went to 313's house.
Six runs into 147, who tells Six he doesn't want another fight. A bewildered Six
returns home. His apartment is in shambles, and a receipt from The Village Shop lies
on the floor. On the mirror, someone has written "Be Seeing You."
Michael's Summakor pass has been deactivated, but he convinces a security guard
to let him go to the basement to get a new one.
Six goes to The Village Shop and asks the shopkeeper what the receipt is for. The
shopkeeper admits it was for a knife.
Six tries to convince 147 that his earlier fight was with an impostor. The other Six
appears, and Six chases him into a building. Holding a knife to Six's throat, Six's alter
ego – who calls himself 2x6 -- says he's going to kill Two. 2x6 punches Six in face,
and then disappears.
Two prepares to leave the Palais and finds Six forcing his way through his
bodyguards. Six warns Two that 2x6 is out to kill him. "Isn't that how you feel?" Two
asks, deciding to take a stroll.
Walking through The Village, Two sheds his gentlemanly attire.
In Palais Two, 11-12 watches a message of Two warning Villagers of a Two
impersonator. 11-12 gets a black pill and wakes M2.
In shirtsleeves, Two goes into The Village shop and asks for cigarettes. The
shopkeeper reluctantly hands him one, then smokes with him. As Two leaves, the
shopkeeper phones the Clinic.
24
11-12 and M2 bond over lunch. 11-12 wants to understand the other place. M2
hopes that 11-12 will see The Village has all he needs.
A disheveled Two sits outside. Six approaches to try and warn him about 2x6, but
Two denies he is Two. "I am Untwo," he says, and he knows nothing about killers.
147 meets Untwo and takes him to his house to protect him from being caught as
a "numberless wanderer."
Michael goes to get a new card and recognizes the "Access Guy" as The Village
shopkeeper. The Access Guy is skeptical until Michael proves they have a shared
memory. "I need to get up to the Purpose Floor," Michael says.
147 and his wife eat cake with Untwo, until Dogs looking for the impersonator arrive
and chase Untwo away.
Untwo asks 313 if she would like to see the Other Place. 313 doesn't want to go
anywhere, but Untwo says he will grant her wish -- "whether you wish it or not."
313 seeks comfort in Six, but realizes it's 2x6. She runs away, haunted by more
visions, and finds herself in the middle of the desert.
As M2 spends time with 11-12, more holes appear throughout The Village. 11-12
asks M2 if he can go to the Other Place; she reveals it isn't possible: People born in
The Village cannot leave. Distraught, 11-12 runs out to the desert and hurls the key
to the pill cabinet.
In The Village Church, 2x6 approaches Untwo with the knife. Untwo explains why he
created The Village: He wanted a fresh start from the apathy and cruelty of the real
world. 2x6 goes to kill Untwo, but Six stops him. "Don't make us become the thing we
fear," Six says. "If we are one, then we can defeat Two." 2x6 disappears.
11-12 finds the key in the sand, and puts M2 back to sleep.
Two returns home, explaining that his impersonator has been found and detained.
The shopkeeper is dragged into the Clinic.
In the middle of the desert, 313 finds a glass door with a Summakor logo on it. She
goes inside.
Michael and the Access Guy go to the Purpose Floor. A room filled with monitors
displays profiles of Village residents. Michael recognizes the people as subjects from
his reports. On one monitor, he watches Lucy's recorded warning.
313 follows a long corridor until she she's confronted with her vision. She runs back
to the desert.
Michael approaches a window on the Purpose Floor and sees Six in The Village. He
bangs on the window to get Six's attention.
In The Village, Six looks towards the Towers, then disappears.
25
EPISODE SIX - CHECKMATE
There are those who will live and there are those who will not. Will Six
survive the entrapment of The Village?
The Village is expanding as newcomers arrive. Six asks one of them where she
boarded the bus to get to The Village. "In The Village," she responds. "Isn't that just
the wildest thing?"
On the Purpose Floor of Summakor, a woman (whom Michael recognizes as the
Winking Woman) tells Michael a car is waiting to take him for his appointment with
Curtis.
Six is doubled over in pain. He receives a summons to the Clinic, where 313
diagnoses him. "What is it?" Six asks a shocked 313.
Surveying The Village expansion, Two tells 11-12 he will one day inherit The Village,
and that it will stay in their family for generations.
Six confronts Two with his Certificate of Dying. Two tells Six that Village Death offers
clarity of choice: This life, or no life.
313 continues to be haunted with visions of herself from another life. She wants to
find a way to help Six. Two tells her there is something she can do, but that she must
not let the girl from the Other Place control her.
At the cemetery, 11-12 places flowers on 909's grave. Six challenges 11-12 to give
him the information he needs to get out of The Village. 11-12 asserts that his mother
cares for him. "Only a mother can destroy every ounce of hope in you," Six says.
Six collapses in front of 147, who offers to take Six to see someone who may be able
to cure him.
Michael is escorted to Curtis's car, where he recognizes the driver as The Village's
147. En route, the driver explains how he used to be an angry person, but Curtis
helped him turn his life around.
147 takes Six to a Village prophet, and tells Six that deliverance is coming -- they just
need to wait. Waiting is giving up, says Six.
Six approaches 11-12, who is drinking alone. Six asks him about his mother and the
pills. He asks 11-12 to leave The Village with him. "The Village is best for me," 11-12
whispers.
In New York, Michael meets Curtis and Helen – Two and M2 in The Village. Helen is
in a dreamlike state. Curtis explains that The Village is an experiment happening in
Helen's mind. She sacrificed herself so that "broken" people could have better lives.
In Palais Two, 11-12 enters his parents' bedroom and smothers M2 to death.
In the Clinic, Two taunts a dying Six with the details of his upcoming funeral. 313
listens from afar.
Two returns home to discover M2 dead and 11-12 nowhere to be found. Two and the
Dogs search the Go Inside Bar, and find 11-12 has hanged himself. Two carries his
dead son out, and places his body in state.
26
Holes begin to open in The Village.
Two visits 147, who he knows can empathize with the pain of losing a child. Two tells
147 there is something he can do to end the pain, but 147 must help: When the
moment arrives he must call out, "Six is the one."
Curtis takes Michael into the city and shows him the positive effects The Village has
had on suffering people. Michael claims Curtis doesn't have the right to help people
without their consent. Curtis offers Michael an opportunity to help him with The
Village experiment, and gives him a pass to the Purpose Floor of Summakor. Before
Michael can respond, they arrive at a church.
The effects of Village Death begin to overtake Six. Two concedes the plan was not
enough to crack him. But, he says, "Village Death was not my last throw."
Two has decided Six's desire to do the "right thing" will force him to assimilate to The
Village. He makes a deal with 313: She will give herself to Six to save him.
In the Clinic, Two forces Six to confront his worst nightmare – Rover.
Villagers gather for 11-12's funeral. Six attends, his fever from Village Death
miraculously gone. Two confesses to the crowd that 11-12's death was a suicide and
that they are all prisoners. A child throws a stone that hits Two in the face. Two tells
the crowd to look to Six for answers. 147 steps forward and proclaims "Six is the
one," inciting the crowd to join him.
Two tells Six the only way to shut the holes is for a Dreamer to take M2's place. 313
steps forward and takes one of M2's pills.
At the church in New York, Curtis introduces Michael to Sarah – 313 in The Village.
She is nearly delusional, suffering from the aftermath of childhood abuse. Curtis tells
Michael he can save her. Michael takes Sarah's hand, catching her as she collapses.
In The Village, Two places a grenade in his mouth: "Six, I give you The Village," he
says, pulling the pin. Two explodes.
Curtis returns home to Helen, and finds her well. "Don't look back," he tells his wife.
On the Purpose Floor, Michael takes a seat as the new head of Summakor.
In The Village, Six and a sedated 313 look out on The Village. "It took me all this time
to see how beautiful it is," Six says. "It has to be possible to do this the right way –
make a good Village." 313 sheds a single tear.
The above synopses are published in the production notes for forward
planning purposes only. Please do not reproduce entirely and do not
publish the end of the story. Many thanks
27
CAST LIST
Six/Michael ..................................................................... Jim Caviezel
Two ................................................................................ Ian McKellen
4-15/Lucy ...................................................................... Hayley Atwell
313 .................................................................................. Ruth Wilson
147 ............................................................................... Lennie James
11-12 .............................................................. Jamie Campbell Bower
M2 ..................................................................................Rachel Blake
909 .............................................................................. Vincent Regan
16 ............................................................................... Jeffery R Smith
554 ..............................................................................Jessica Haines
1891 ............................................................................... Sara Stewart
1955 ...............................................................................Warrick Grier
Winking Woman ....................................................... Leila Hendriques
29-44 ......................................................................... Norman Antstey
23-90 ............................................................................Hanie Barnard
37927 .............................................................................. David Butler
80-88 ...................................................................... Wilmien Rossouw
1100 ........................................................................... Lauren Dasnev
10-81 ............................................................................ Grant Swanby
28
CREW LIST
Written by ......................................................................................... Bill Gallagher
Director ............................................................................................... Nick Hurran
Producer ........................................................................................Trevor Hopkins
Executive Producers ........................................................................ Michele Buck
..................................................................................................... Rebecca Keane
..................................................................................................... Damien Timmer
......................................................................................................... Bill Gallagher
Co-Producer ................................................................................... Bill Shephard
Director of Photography ...........................................................Florian Hoffmeister
Editors.................................................................................................... Yan Miles
.......................................................................................................... John Richard
........................................................................................................... Paul Garrick
Production Designer ................................................................. Michael Pickwoad
Make Up and Hair Designer ............................................................ Nadine Prigge
Costume Designers .............................................................................. Jane Clive
...................................................................................................... Anna Sheppard
Script Editors .............................................................................. Francis Flannery
...................................................................................................... Jennie Scanlan
Head of Production ........................................................................... Gail Kennett
Casting Director .....................................................................Kate Rhodes James
Sound Supervisor & Effects Editor .................................................... Lee Walpole
Sound Mixer ..................................................................................... Stuart Hilliker
29
JIM CAVIEZEL AND IAN MCKELLEN STAR IN
AVAILABLE ON BLUE-RAY AND DVD IN MAY 2010
Internationally acclaimed actors Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings) and Jim Caviezel
(Passion of the Christ) star in the reinvention of the 1960s classic cult thriller, The
Prisoner out to own on DVD and Blu-ray on 3 May 2010 courtesy of ITV STUDIOS
Home Entertainment.
The six one-hour episodes tell the story of a man who finds himself trapped in a
mysterious and surreal place known as The Village, with no memory of how he
arrived there. As he frantically explores his environment, he discovers that its
inhabitants are identified by number instead of by name and have no memory of a
prior existence or outside civilization. Not knowing who to trust, Number Six is driven
by the desperate need to discover the truth behind The Village and, more
importantly, how he can survive and escape to his previous life.
The Village is controlled by one man – the sinister and charismatic Number Two (Ian
McKellen). In each new episode, Six (Jim Caviezel) and Two are locked in a battle
of wits, as Six challenges the oppressive nature of The Village and battles against his
captors.
McKellen and Caviezel are joined by an all-star supporting cast including Hayley
Atwell (The Duchess, Brideshead Revisited), Jamie Campbell-Bower (New Moon,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre, Small Island),
Lennie James (Outlaw) and Rachael Blake (Clapham Junction).
In the 1960s, The Prisoner helped permanently alter the scope of the fantasy genre.
Through the work of Patrick McGoohan – who created, produced, wrote and directed
the series, and starred in the lead role of Number Six – The Prisoner is widely
viewed as one of the most well regarded and intriguing cult TV series ever created.
While the original series, which debuted in 1967, was a riff on Cold War politics, The
Prisoner in 2010 will reflect 21st century concerns and anxieties, such as liberty,
security and surveillance, yet also showcase the same key elements of paranoia,
tense action and socio-political commentary seen in McGoohan’s enigmatic original.
ITV STUDIOS Home Entertainment has co-produced the six-part series with AMC.
-Ends-
30
Release information:
Title:
Release Date:
Credit:
Genre:
DVD Extras:
Cert:
Running Time:
Discs:
RRP:
Retail Cat. Number:
Retail Barcode:
The Prisoner
3 May 2010
ITV STUDIOS Home Entertainment
Action/Adventure, Cult, Supernatural
Exclusive DVD extras
15
276 minutes
6
£24.99
3711531133
5037115311337
Copyright:
© ITV Studios Limited 2009
Credit line:
Based on the original series "The Prisoner" (©) ITC
Entertainment Group Limited Licensed by ITV Global
Entertainment Limited. All rights reserved.
Notes to Editor
About ITV STUDIOS Home Entertainment:
ITV STUDIOS Home Entertainment is the consumer label within ITV Studios Global
Entertainment. It is the company behind one of the UK’s most comprehensive film
and video collections with over 3000 titles and is a major player in the UK and
International Home Entertainment Market. The range includes titles in contemporary
and classic film (Shawshank Redemption, Fabulous Baker Boys, Brief Encounter,
The Red Shoes), children’s titles (Numberjacks, Thunderbirds, Big & Small, Pinky &
Perky), drama (Inspector Morse, Cracker, Prime Suspect, Murphy's Law, Lewis,
Ultimate Force) sport (Arsenal, and Liverpool football clubs) and comedy (Al Murray
The Pub Landlord, Harry Hill’s TV Burp). ITV Studios Global Entertainment also owns
the video rights for the Rank and ITC film collections which contain over 1500 classic
British films.
For further information please contact Romley Davies Publicity:
Print and Broadcast:
Natalie Cheary
E: Natalie@romleydavies.com
Zoë Baldwin
E: Zoe@romleydavies.com
Digital:
Ollie Lavery
E: Ollie@romleydavies.com
T: 020 3301 4734
T: 020 3301 4733
T: 020 3301 4749
31
THE SOUTH BANK SHOW REVISITED:
IAN MCKELLEN
Ian McKellen‘s latest interview for The South Bank Show Revisited season, will be
his fourth visit to The South Bank Show, and brings up to date the actor’s life and
career, which the Arts series has followed for twenty-nine years.
His first interview on The South Bank Show with Melvyn Bragg was in 1981, and
saw Ian McKellen as a very earnest and stern young man who talks seriously about
the craft of his acting and his passion for the theatre - and his then distaste for film. It
was filmed after his successful run in Amadeus on Broadway. This was followed with
a diary film of a year in the life of Ian McKellen, as he spent a year working at the
National Theatre.
Twenty years later in 2004, The South Bank Show revisited this diary format with
Ian McKellen, who was by now an internationally recognised film star after his roles
as Magneto in X-Men and Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The film shows a
lighter and more relaxed man who has embraced the cinema and displays a
newfound easiness and emotional freedom that he attributes to having publicly come
out.
In this new interview, The South Bank Show Revisited charts Ian McKellen‘s
development in both his professional and personal life as he speaks about the
monumental changes that have occurred over the past twenty-nine years.
The South Bank Show Revisited features excerpts from his recent and acclaimed
performance in Waiting For Godot at the Theatre Royal Haymarket with Roger Rees.
The film will also include exclusive extracts from the much anticipated reinvention of
the 1960s classic cult thriller, The Prisoner, for ITV1.
Other films in The South Bank Show Revisited season include: Stephen
Sondheim, David Hockney, Judi Dench, Kiri Te Kanawa, Simon Rattle and a film
on Arts film making to include interviews with Ken Russell, Tony Palmer, James
Ivory and others.
The South Bank Show Revisited – a final season to cherish.
Presented and edited by Melvyn Bragg
Executive Produced by Jonathan Levi
Directed by: Bob Bee
Press contact: Deborah Goodman - 020 8959 9980 / deborah.goodman@itv.com
Picture contact: John Manthorpe - 0207 157 3045 / john.manthorpe@itv.com
Please register at www.readytoair.net to view this SBS online
32
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Jim Caviezel first received critical recognition in 1998 for his role as idealist Private
Witt in The Thin Red Line in which he starred alongside Sean Penn, Nick Nolte and
Adrien Brody. He then gained further recognition with his role in Ride with the Devil
(1999) and Frequency (2000). In 2001, his role as Jennifer Lopez’s love interest in
Angel Eyes helped to establish him as a versatile actor and leading man. Caviezel
was then chosen by Mel Gibson to star as Jesus Christ in the film The Passion of the
Christ. The film went on to become one of the highest grossing movies of all-time and
made Jim a household-name.
In 2006 Caviezel played against type when he co-starred opposite Denzel
Washington in the thriller Déjà vu. More recently, he starred in the sci-fi adventure
film, Outlander, directed by Howard McCain and co-starring Sophia Myles, Jack
Huston and John Hurt.
33
Ian McKellen is one of the world’s foremost stage and screen actors and has been
honoured with more than 40 International awards. Most recently, he received critical
acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of “Gandalf” in Peter Jackson’s
Lord of the Rings trilogy. McKellen’s work has spanned genres from Shakespearean
and modern theatre to fantasy and sci-fi, with other major film credits including Gods
and Monsters, X-Men, Richard III and The Da Vinci Code. Most recently he has
undertaken the role of Estragon in Sean Mathias theatre production of Waiting for
Godot.
34
Ruth Wilson
Ruth’s performance as Jane Eyre for the BBC earned her a clutch of award
nominations including a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. Her other television
roles include Stephen Poliakoff’s films A Real Summer and Capturing Mary
with Dame Maggie Smith. Mad directed by Leo Regan for Channel 4 and
Freezing directed by Simon Curtis. Ruth was last seen on screen in the BBC1
drama, Small Island, as Queenie. Later this year Ruth will appear in the BBC1
drama Luther as Alice Morgan, a beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent woman
who is a key witness in Luther's first investigation.
Hayley Atwell
Hayley’s screen successes include feature films The Duchess, in which she
starred as Bess Foster alongside Keira Knightly, Brideshead Revisited and
Woody Allen’s satirical thriller Cassandra’s Dream. Her TV roles include Mary
in Mansfield Park, Rosa in Ruby in the Smoke, Jane in Fear of Fanny and Cat
in In the Line of Beauty. In early 2009 she appeared on stage as Catherine in
a run of Arthur Miller’s modern classic A View from the bridge. Hayley has just
finished filming Pillars of the Earth, a mini-series written for the BBC and
based on the Ken Follett novel.
Lennie James
Since he began his acting career in 1990 Lennie James has played a range of
roles in films such as Outlaw, Sahara, Michael Winterbottom ’s 24 Hour Party
People, Guy Richie’s Snatch, Billy August’s Les Miserables and Jeb Walker’s
Lost in Space. His numerous television credits include Rod Hawkins in the
popular series Jericho, Luke Gardner in State Within, Oberon in the BBC’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Frances Tuesday for ITV, Buried for World
Productions /Channel 4, Storm Damage which he both wrote the screenplay
and starred in for the BBC and most recently, Lie To Me for Fox TV and Three
Rivers for CBS.
Jamie Campbell Bower
Jamie’s career was launched when he played the young sailor, Anthony in
Tim Burton’s award winning screen version of the Stephen Sondheim’s hit
musical Sweeney Todd - the Demon Barber of Fleet Street starring Johnny
Depp. This was followed by the part of Rocker in Guy Richie’s Rock ‘n Rolla
and Jack in Jamie’s Winter in Wartime. He can also be seen as Caius in The
Twilight Saga: New Moon, the sequel to the hugely successful feature film
Twilight starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Later this year Jamie
will appear as Gellert Grindelwald in the much anticipated Harry Potter and
the Deathly Hallows. On television Jamie played Douglas in The Dinner Party
directed by Tony Grounds for BBC. Jamie has recently finished filming
London Boulevard opposite Kiera Knightley, Colin Farrell and Ray Winstone.
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