BASED on the cult 1960s series of the same name, The Prisoner is a sci-fi mystery which takes itself a little too seriously for its own good.

Jim Caviezel stars as the troubled lead, known only as Six, who finds himself in the creepy, surreal Village, with no memory of how he arrived there.

Its inhabitants are known by numbers instead of names and have no knowledge of the world beyond the baking hot desert the oasis is plonked slap bang in the middle of.

In charge is the sinister Two (a white suited Ian McKellan) who is determined to keep Six from discovering the truth.

It's an intriguing concept and the first episode is exciting enough to make you want to watch more.

But three episodes in to the six part series and not only have all the characters lost the plot but I have lost any interest in Six and his struggle to escape the utopian prison.

It doesn't help that Caviezel, who committed career suicide playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, is as dry and characterless as The Village's arid setting.

McKellan is, as always, a scene stealer, playing the villain with panache and thankfully resisting the temptation to ham it up.

However, despite the initial suspense, not even Magneto himself can save this bloated and self-important series from being a dreary bore at times.

The Prisoner (15) is out now on DVD (£24.99) and Blu-ray (£29.99).