NEWSNIGHT HOMAGE - FEBRUARY 2015
Photos in this piece are (c) copyright BBC/QML with thanks to Stuart Denman, not to be reproduced without prior permission. Report by Rick Davy.
"The Prisoner" has been seen several times in the past on various shows being pastiched, or used to illustrate a point, but possibly not as well done as last week, when a special report on BBC2's flagship current affairs show "Newsnight" programme used music, clips, and imagery from the series to form much of Chris Cook's (left) report on how government departments are not adhering to the freedom of information act (an apt topic to utilise "The Prisoner" for, of course, given many of the key themes of the series).
Largely filmed at Portmeirion, with blazer and Rover props to boot, Chris's report was superbly edited, Produced, and directed by highly respected producer Stuart Denman. Stuart is a self-confessed fan of Cult TV and told TUW; "I very much enjoyed making it, and Chris certainly didn't mind being taken to Portmeirion for filming, which at this time of year was so empty it was like having a whole film set to ourselves."
Stuart also told TUW; "I should add that we were extremely grateful to Meurig Jones at Portmeirion for his assistance on this cold and windy day, which included loaning Chris Number 6's jacket and sacrificing a Rover to its inevitable tangle with a fateful tree branch, following several minutes of it ignoring my direction. But even attempting to direct Rover must be a career highlight."
The piece included inserted interviews with interviewees in front of various Portmeirion backdrops, or superimposed onto Number Two's control room viewing screen.
The piece was then followed by a studio discussion with the presenter in front of a Portmeirion backdrop. Chris's report can be seen online HERE.
With thanks to Chris Cook, Stuart Denman, Crispin Hodges, and Eric Mival..