You Have to Say the Number.

Holy Pacifying Balloons, Batman! No edgy dutch angle is left unemployed in the full trailer for AMC’s forthcoming revamp of The Prisoner. Hmm…even with Sir Ian McKellen on board as No. 2, I’m starting to feel dodgy about this one.

Six Stands Down.

“I must have individuality in everything I do. It’s not easy to find it always. I question everything. I don’t accept anything on face value.’” Patrick McGoohan, 1928-2009. “Mel [Gibson] will always be Mad Max, and me, I will always be a Number.“

I am not a number. I’m a free man!

Everyday I think I’m gonna wake up back in The Village… As part of the lead-up to their 2009 reboot with Jim Caviezel (Six) and Sir Ian McKellen (Two), AMC posts all of the original episodes of Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner in their entirety. (Via Neilalien.)

This Place is a Prison.

Rumors were floating around a few weeks ago, and an earlier attempt with Christopher Eccleston failed…but now it’s confirmed. The classic British sci-fi show The Prisoner will return as a six-episode miniseries for AMC and ITV, with Jim Caviezel as Number 6 (Patrick McGoohan) and Ian McKellen as Number 2 (Leo McKern, most memorably). “While the original show worked as a metaphor for the paranoia of the Cold War, AMC says the remake will reflect 21st-century stressors such as constant surveillance and the conflict between liberty and security.”

Avon’s Last Laugh?

Fire up ORAC and break out the funky, funky eyepatch, man: Blake’s 7, a classic British sci-fi show i was hyping here just last month, is now set for its own BSG/Doctor Who-style revamp, albeit by Sky Television, who recently tried and failed to bring back The Prisoner. (Rumors were circulating of a B7 return five years ago, but that particular Liberator never got off the ground.)

At any rate, it’ll be interesting to see if a new Blake’s 7 can find its niche in today’s crowded sci-fi market, particularly given that Farscape and Firefly both borrowed liberally from B7’s original “band on the run” premise, and that the new incarnation of Battlestar has appropriated much of the darkness and misanthropy that lingered around Roj Blake’s crew, three decades ago.

A Dent in Nolan’s Plan.

In an interview with IGN Filmforce, Christopher Nolan discusses The Dark Knight and The Prisoner, and confirms that Harvey Dent will have a role in the former, although he hasn’t yet been cast. Guy Pearce? Liev Schrieber?

Terry Does Dick | Prison Break.

Speaking of Philip K. Dick, word on the street is the one and only Terry Gilliam will be heading The Owl in Daylight, a biopic of the author set to star Paul Giamatti in the lead. And, speaking of paranoid sci-fi-ish surveillance thrillers, Christopher Nolan looks set to board The Prisoner, as in a film version of the classic BBC series, after he finishes the Dark Knight.

Prisoner’s Dilemma.

Village people take note: Having passed over season 2/28 of Dr. Who to David Tennant, Christopher Eccleston will instead channel Patrick McGoohan’s Number Six for a six-episode revival of BBC cult classic The Prisoner. Hmm…more Who is always a good thing, but this sounds unnecessary.