The Prisoner : No 6 is back in a 2009 mini-series remake

I am not a number! I am a free man!

Ah yes, as regular reader Steve Green points out, The Prisoner is back.

And we've been remiss in not giving the remake a mention.

The new version is a mini-series from AMC, and is a re-interpretation of the British 1960s cult hit starring Patrick McGoohan.

This time round, Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) is No 6, the former spy trapped in a mysterious village.

His nemesis is Ian McKellen (Lord Of The Rings), who appears as No 2 - the power behind the throne.

You'll recall that in the original series, No 2's came and went as McGoohan outwitted them.

And we only got to discover who No 1 was in a bewildering final episode, which involved a rocket and a chimp.

Others appearing in the remake include Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre) as No 13 and Lennie James (Jericho) as No 147.

But don't expect the quaint Welsh resort village of Portmerion to make a comeback, too.

Most of the new series has been filmed in South Africa and Namibia.

Ian McKellen maintains a blog from the set here

It's not the first time that a Prisoner remake has been on the cards.

Back in 2005 Granada announced plans to bring No 6 back, with Christopher Eccleston in the title role.

But he ended up, of course, as the new Dr Who.

There's no firm date for the AMC remake's run, although the satellite and cable channel is starting a re-run of the original series as it builds up to the big day.