G: YOU. SHALL. NOT. PASS!
J: I shall pass, and I shall return on the third day!
Maybe I was tired, but I gave up about half way through. I couldn’t be bothered to follow it.
I found it creepy enough to be enjoyable, but unsatisfying in most other respects.
I was around to see the original, and while it had its incoherent moments, it had enough of a theme and narrative structure that the question we asked was “Who are they and what do they want?” rather than “What the hell is happening at this very second?”
I agree, which is why I never watched miniseries back then, either. The only exception I made was for Ken Burns’s The Civil War, and other Ken Burns things (though I usually gave up on them rather then waste that chunk of time). Recording the show doesn’t interest me; I’ll never watch the tape.
In any case, I might have kept with this longer if it were weekly, hoping it might improve. Now, I’m done with it.
Was prepared to enjoy this one, but didn’t.
(a) I didn’t care about the lead character (“Six”); I don’t understand his motivation.
(b) The show provided no compelling dramatic reason why Six wanted to escape so much (he’s not being ill-treated, as far as we can tell, and it is not apparent what he had back in the real world)
© Given that he was willing to tell some random [del]hooker[/del] woman why he resigned, it is clearly not a deep/dark secret.
(d) In the original, people knew that they were in some sort of prison; the doubt was who were the prisoners and who were the watchers. In this one, some random set of people believe that “The Village” is all that exists. M. Night Shamaylan will be suing for plagarism (and possibly for misspelling his name)
(e) Mrs Scruff and I are both worried that this turns into some sort of Life in Mars twist.
(f) Six is finding out things awfully quickly, and getting people to confide in him with very little effort.
(g) Jim C is not a worthy antagonist. He seems whiny and mal-adjusted, rather than rebellious. So when he does come out with some wit/snark/comeback, it comes across as petulant rather than evocative.
There is no internet, nor Fox News.
Confiding in Six seems to put your life insurance rates up there with women who marry Joe Cartwright.
Very pretty, but so far not that compelling. I’m actually more interested in the bits that happen outside of The Village than what’s happening in it. Six just doesn’t seem to be that interesting. CCTV analyst? Seems more like a job for 106. He’d better have seen something damn interesting in that video. And if this is a contest of wills, this Six seems to be completely unprepared. Maybe that’s supposed to make him more accessible or something and they’ll turn it around, but I’m not getting my hopes up (still).
The next episode is “Anvil”, supposedly based on the original episode “Hammer Into Anvil” which was great, but considering “Harmony” bore little resemblance to “Living in Harmony”, who knows. I’m hoping for a guest appearance by a wild-haired metal band comprised of goofy yet lovable fifty-year-olds.
He’s a free man and chooses to live as one. Isn’t that enough? I know if I wake up in The Village one morning, I’ll be raising hell until I figure out how to escape too…
That’s an interesting concept. You know it’s fake, and they know you know. The only way to be able to move about may be to let them think you’ve come to believe them. How long do you wait? If they don’t believe they can turn you at some point, what the hell are they doing?
Some friends of mine who love the original series (they have them all on videotape) invited me over to watch this new show. At 6pm we sat down and they showed me the original series pilot and a 2nd episode, “A B & C”. Then the new show came on.
I liked the original series quite a bit. I thought the mod sets and the shot composition was excellent, and I was very impressed with the music. I thought The Village was a terribly interesting place, if somewhat nefarious. I liked the way that #2 changed without warning. I also thought the blancmange was hilarious, but I could see what they were going for so I let it slide.
I also liked the new series. I thought they did a great job of following the original script, even lifting quite a bit of dialogue almost verbatim from the original first episode. I didn’t think the new desert landscape compromised things at all. Although the music was underwhelming (like, I don’t even remember if the new show even had any music), I thought the shot composition was excellent, and despite it clearly being shot on video, I thought they did a lot of excellent focal changes and unusual angles that helped give it the same unsettling but artful feel that the first series had.
I think the whole cult of personality thing with #2 is sufficiently different that it is difficult to compare the 2 series. In the original, we know that there is a mysterious #1 behind the scenes, manipulating everything that happens. In the new show, #2 seems to be, in reality, #1, although his motives and actions are unfathomable at this point.
My friends commented that the original was a conflict of 1 man against many, where the new show is one man against one man. But, I noted, the way they are setting things up it may be one man against The System, with many others trapped by the system trying to fight their way out too. So slightly different, perhaps, but since we are in the dark about so much, it’s really impossible to tell who is really on who’s side or even what sides there are. In that respect, I think it’s better than the original series. In the first one, it was clearly just one guy fighting against impossible odds (and winning in every case, somehow, from what I’ve been told). At least in this one they are keeping the purpose of The Village a mystery not just from the prisoner, but from the viewers as well.
I thought the flashbacks were great, as it brought up the question: who is this girl he picked up, and who is she working for? Is she with the people who set up The Village, or is she with competitors? (Surely she wasn’t just a flirt that hit on him, eh.)
I won’t be able to watch the rest of the mini-series, as I do not have a television, but I’m sure my friends will be watching the other episodes. Perhaps I can get another friend to DVR it or something for me to watch at a later date. In any case, when the 2 hours were up, I was curious as to what 6 may know that they are interested in to go to such great lengths to get him to reveal it, much as I was when watching the original series.
Oh, and I thought the return of the blancmange was excellent.
ETA: The bit with the map was very funny, and got a laugh out of all of us.
The original had what I consider the best theme music I’ve ever heard. In fact, the whole open sequence was great to watch, and I never tired of seeing it. Patrick M. was an instantly likable and sympathetic character. This new 6 just isn’t.
I enjoyed it, my wife hated it.
Wait, is it a 6 episode miniseries, or a 4 episode lead-in to a series? If it’s going to be a full series, I’m done with it. If it’s a limited miniseries, I may stick with it, though last night was kinda dull.
And what is with the annoying “Coming up next” promos during the commercials? If I am already watching the show, I don’t want to see what’s going to happen next! Frickin idiot producers. That will make me mute or turn the channel during the commercials, I’m guessing *not *the reaction they would like.
This falls fall short of the original. Most of the characters’ motives are missing or incomprehensible. While at least it isn’t a rehash of the old one, the random elements they did keep (like bits of episode plots) feel snipped up and mashed together.
I’ve found it slightly interesting to follow the only good character - 11-12 (#2’s son). Maybe the show is secretly about him. His name also makes me think of the CTW pinball thing.
I’m just watching the first episode now. A little too trippy so far, but I’m willing to watch the first two hours before deciding to continue or quit.
How does the original hold up over time? Should I Netflix it?
I always figured his secret was that there was no secret. One day he just got fed up with his job and quit. His employers, in their paranoia, just couldn’t accept that and instead believed he must know something they don’t. Six, being a smart cookie, understood that if the management of the village would realize this, he’d be killed. So he kept his mouth shut.
Keep a pig for security.
This has to be the weirdest show I’ve watched in a long, long time. My hubby loves it and I’m…lost!
Okay, here’s the deal. You have to record all six of them. If you edit the order of the scenes correctly, it will make perfect sense.
Hahaha, yes, I liked that bit. I can’t decide whether I like or dislike this remake. I stayed for the pig security.