Big Finish's take on THE PRISONER comes into focus

Big Finish's "re-imagining" of the cult television series THE PRISONER is headed your way in 2016. Announced back in January, not  much was known about the series besides the presence of writer/director Nicholas Briggs. The company recently updated the sales listing for the audiodrama, which includes four episode titles and summaries, as well as brief commentary by Briggs.

"The first story, 'Departure and Arrival' gives a tiny bit more of a tantalizing glimpse into Number Six’s backstory," Briggs said. "But really only the tiniest of glimpses. Like the original series, this version of the THE PRISONER is still very much crammed with mystery and misdirection."

Episode One: Departure and Arrival: A failed meeting in Belgium catalyses Agent ZM-73 to resign from his top secret post, but when he wakes the following morning  everything has changed — even his name. Trapped in a bizarre coastal village, and with his every move monitored by the mysterious Number Two, the man now known as Number Six struggles to make sense of it all.

Two of the remaining three stories have titles that will be familiar to fans. "'The Schizoid Man" and "The Chimes of Big Ben" are adaptations of the original TV episodes with those titles, Briggs said. ‘They are faithful to the themes of the originals, but they contain new twists and turns ... and they fit into a new narrative arc that will, to varying degrees, flow through all the stories," he said.

Episode Two: The Schizoid Man: Six finds himself fascinated by a strange bond which has suddenly developed between himself and Number Nine. But the next morning, Six wakes to find himself changed. A moustache, different hair, and… a new name. Number Twelve.

The third story, "Your Beautiful Village," is an entirely new episode by Briggs. "The themes of this one are sense deprivation and the destruction of a personality," he said. "It’s an early, forceful challenge from the Village’s regime. An attempt to eliminate Number Six’s resistance completely… and it has very serious consequences for him."

Episode Three: Your Beautiful Village: Something is very wrong, as Six experiences the most disturbing sensual deprivation. Almost complete darkness, filled with haunting sounds, fragments of conversations, and a desperate call from Nine start to test his reason.

Episode Four: The Chimes of Big Ben: A new prisoner arrives in the village. The woman is strong-minded, independent, and refuses to accept her new number — Eight. She is not a number, she is Nadia. And Six is convinced that she is his ticket out of the village.

Big Finish says pre-production on the series is "continuing apace," which probably means we can expect a casting announcement in the near future.