I've watched a couple of episodes, and I seem to be in a distinct minority in that I enjoyed them. I haven't yet finished the show, but I like what I've seen thus far.
The Prisoner is a bit of a sacred cow, in my opinion: the original series is far too romanticized by its fans. I love the original series, but I have no illusions regarding it, either. Of the 17 episodes, about 10 were pure genius...and 7 were nonsensical filler. Remaking The Prisoner is not exactly as heretical as would be remakes of Citizen Kane or Gone With the Wind. I am reminded of the furor that arose over some aspects of the recent Star Trek film, in which thousands of angry fans seem to have forgotten the simple fact that the original series' good episodes were far outnumbered its mediocre-to-terrible episodes, but I digress...
While it's easy to belittle a remake, especially of a cherished show, I think people tend to view them with an unfair amount of disdain. The remake of The Prisoner isn't a money-grab; compared to other properties, the fanbase for The Prisoner is tiny and statistically insignificant. What's going on here is that the basic concept behind the original series has dramatic potential in multiple contexts, and is worth adapting to the modern world. It isn't supposed to tread the path laid by the original show...it can't. The point here is to use the basic concept to explore themes meaninful at this time in history, rather than those that drove the original series in its own temporal niche.
Of course, tastes are entirely subjective, and if the viewer simply doesn't like where the new series went, that's perfectly valid. I just think it's important to keep analyses in perspective.
