spotcheck

I know there a number of avation enthusiasts here. I am simply a casual observer (with a Dad and older brother with USAF credentials), but found this fascinating. FYI - at the end of each segment, hit backspace to return to the segment selection menu. http://www.airportappraisals.com/qualifications/

Too funny - especially the two people on the teeter-totter.

Rob - This - and the original - weren't intended as a Bond James Bond, or Jason Damon Bourne riveting thriller - they were hoping we would think carefully about the point/message. Honestly, I think that is how they were able to land a cast that included Mr McKellan, and partly why they declined to use Mr McGoohan's estimable acting skills as Two - too much focus on the past (although - if they had used him as 93, that would have been wild, but too much of a frontal assault IMO). I believe your question is dead-nuts on target. For both versions of The Prisoner/Village. Be seeing you. [PS - keep dry!!]

The producers said from the get-go it was not a remake. Rather, it was to be a modernized re-interpretation. So from that perspective you would be saying they certainly met their goal. Mr McGoohan had lobbied to be cast as Two in the new show (but they went with Mr McKellan instead) so it's hard to imagine HE saw it as an insult. And the first action in the new one? They kill the old six/old series and Six buries him/it. Literally. Pretty direct message - "forget it folks - its gone." The Big Ben sketch was another homage, telling us he never gave up, never quit trying. You think the original Number Six ever escaped? Really? What about the final episode of the original - Number One was who? Number Six was certainly a prisoner, but a prisoner of his own mind. Did that Village ever really exist, or was it a metaphor? One that existed only in his mind - maybe on a subconscious level? Hmmmm.....that's starting to sound suspisciously like the new show. And - at the end - everyone is chanting "Six is the One" - pretty straightforward. Story lines about spies and the cold war have been long put to bed. The tech-savvy people in this forum - tell us about "data mining." Or read a blurb from today's CNN.com about Google's next move: "Chrome OS netbooks will not have traditional hard disk drives -- they will rely on non-volatile flash memory and Internet-based storage for saving all of your data. All the applications will be web-based, meaning users won't have to install apps, manage updates or even backup their data. All data will be stored in the cloud, and users won't even have to bother with anti-virus software: Google claims it will monitor code to prevent malicious activity in Chrome OS web apps." All data will be stored in the cloud, and Google will watch over it all to keep us safe.......now, THAT makes me feel MUCH better. Cold war spies never touched us personally, but Summakor?? Hello, people. Last - Recall that the ratings for the original were awful - the viewing public emphatically gave it a thumbs down. At that time, anyway. Be seeing you.

Excellent. Loved it. Not a remake, but a re-imagination, with the odd homage/references to the original, plus other societal and sci-fi themes thrown in. But, no car in the intro. How dare they? Orwell + 1984? Its worse than that. Summakor not only watches, but controls. Original Star Trek and TNG had episodes about a parallel universe. Nope - it's more subtle than that - parallel levels of consciousness, and we live in all of them simultaneously, and Summakor can monitor and control them all. And - with respect, there was more good acting than just Ian McKellan (but he was certainly the best). Way more good acting than the original. And there wasn't the general explanation in the intro - which was their point. It wasn't until the middle of the last episode that they provided enough information to understand what/why happened to Six that took him to the Villiage. Wasn't as simplistic as in 1968 -they are assuming we are more sophisticated 40 years later. Six is The One. But - consistent with an underlying theme of the original - even he was co-opted, but this time in two different levels of consciousness. McKellan is out (I am assuming) but it is possible for them to add new episodes with Caviezel in his role as Two, and 313 as The Dreamer. Be seeing you.

I really liked the first 2 episodes last night. Ian McKellan is one of the truly great still-living actors. It had a number of references - some obvious, some more subtle - to the original. I howled when he asked the shop owner if he had a larger map. It also had the "whisky-tango-foxtrot?" quality of the original, plus a different structure that added to it - a lot of people are curious if there really is a "somewhere else". Of course, that could be the hook that i just swallowed. Be seeing you.

Now, this is really cool - the youtube clip. The 2 minutes after bird strike define "concentration" and "multitasking". http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/1549_hearings_ntsb_video_sullenberger_geese_bird_200551-1.html

Hey - Doc - you drying out any? Hope things have been going better for you than they were. Yep - on demand, but for free. SWMBO and I have been snagging one or two each night for the past few days - gotta get thru them before "Gandalf as #2" starts. Be seeing you.

"Whaddya have - whaddya have." Went tothe Varsity a few weeks after we moved to Atlanta - did not understand the rules - got to the counter, and the guy startled me by yelling "whaddya have-whaddya have" and I looked up at the menu, said "Ummmm" and he kicked me out of line. What a hoot. You saw my woodworking shop. I think you oughta be talking to me about building you an Ark, pal!! Good luck on the weather, Rob - hope the dehumidifier helps out - it sure as heck wasn't doing anything for me!

'course, it took an act of God, and intervention by an even higher authority - Mrs. Doctor. Dr Rob Mitchell (solder_guy) stopped by my house yesterday. Most recent Atlanta deluge refilled his basement, and his wife reminded him that some fellow from the USA7s group had offered a dehumidifier, so he came to get it. Good - it's been sitting in a corner collecting sawdust since 3 months after it was bought 5-1/2 yrs ago - someone in the house had figured we could use it to manage humidity in the summer - (right: not only our house, but the rest of Fulton County!!) - "Yes, dear. You're right, dear. Let's get one." Brought his "Rotus history book", and took the time to walk me thru the car's genealogy (and Mazda's also). Good conversation. What a pleasant guy. Great way to spend an hour. Now I just need to get a message to Mrs Doctor to remind him he is going to contact me sometime to sit in the victim's seat...

Rob - sorry - been away from laptop for a few days - PM sent

Yeah - I've been watching there as well. Just like being in the living room with DW - trying to have Good Husband credits > debits - I'm still upside down after 32 yrs. Betcha your boxed set is DVD? Mine is VHS. I think those tapes are in the same cabinet as my 8-tracks, cassettes, vinyl, buggy whips, etc.

Rob - feel stupid right about now - didn't even think of what you needed to recover. As lame as it sounds.....We have a dehumidifier that we have not used in a few years, and don't need. You are welcome to have it - if you don't need it, maybe a neighbor? N/C, plus I will be happy to deliver. Talk about closing the barn door.....

FYI - Cable network IFC is showing The Prisoner reruns - Friday nights in Atlanta. Stumbled across the initial 3-episode set this evening 8p - 11p. Looks like every Fri. Assume this is the run-up to the new Prisoner series on AMC Nov 15. Be seeing you.

Dave - no, it didn't come off that way - I didn't misunderstand you at all. The s*** hadn't really hit the fan when you posted, but it was sure as heck coming.