Fans of The Prisoner fear sharing the same fate as Firefly.

Plans for a Prisoner movie stalled last summer though new and old fans are buying DVDs of the 1960s TV series. It depicted one man’s struggle for individuality after being kidnapped from his London flat and imprisoned on a well-guarded island. They called him No. 6. The character played by Patrick McGoohan would yell, “I am not a number. I am a man.”

“I’m kind of glad it’s not being made,” said Rob Levy, who has played host for the “Breakfast” panel over the past several years.

Levy and fans do not trust moviemakers to retain the integrity of The Prisoner, especially with the current mood in the United States and Great Britain. However, they do not have to worry much because McGoohan, known for his high and exacting standards, controls The Prisoner property rights and squelched the movie last year possibly because Gibson, fresh from Passion of Christ, would skew it with religious overtones.

The difficulty with making a movie based on The Prisoner is that the show is so complex and intelligent. Moviemakers cannot expand one episode into a movie or piece together bits of episodes for a competent retelling.

That’s why panelist Dean Motter said he made his Prisoner graphic novel a sequel occurring 20 years later.

Motter said his graphic novel, received a note of almost-approval from McGoohan. After reading it, McGoohan said, “I’m not unhappy with this project.”

Can you imagine what McGoohan is saying about the Hollywood scripts he’s receiving?