It’s one of the highest-rated TV shows on IMDb, yet I’ve tried numerous times to start watching it with absolutely no success. Until now, I’d never made it past the first episode.

The show completely passed me by back in 2002, along with several other classics from that era like Spooks, The West Wing and Stargate SG-1. I was younger then and spent most of my time out with friends before getting married, rather than sitting in front of the TV.

If The Wire had come out a few years earlier or a few years later, I’m convinced I would have watched every episode as it aired.

Watching it now, 24 years on, it definitely feels like a product of its time. CRT monitors, flip phones and... was that an actual typewriter in the first episode?

Madness.

One of the biggest surprises has been the cast. Dominic West, Idris Elba, Lance Reddick, Wendell Pierce, Domenick Lombardozzi and even a very young Michael B. Jordan.

The list just keeps going.

What’s strange is that I know most of them from things they did later. Dominic West from The Affair, Idris Elba... well, everything. Wendell Pierce from Suits. Domenick Lombardozzi from pretty much every mob drama ever made, especially as Chickie in his brilliant role in Tulsa King.

So, I’m now two episodes in.

That’s already further than I’ve ever made it before, which has to be a good sign.

Now I just need to find out whether it really deserves that incredible 9.3 IMDb rating.

I've just finished watching The Prisoner and, before anyone starts asking awkward questions, I've never actually seen the original series.

My knowledge of the classic version was limited to this:

A bloke is trapped in a village.

If he tries to escape, giant white balls chase him.

I'm not making that up.

Those are literally the two things I knew about The Prisoner.

Despite my complete lack of knowledge, I was hooked almost immediately. Within the first ten minutes I knew I was in.

In fact, I have a little test for TV shows. If I'm constantly checking IMDb to see what else the actors have been in, it's usually a sign that I'm enjoying myself.

I spent a lot of this series on IMDb.

Without giving too much away, The Prisoner is weird.

Very weird.

It's trippy, confusing and occasionally feels like somebody dropped an episode of Lost into a blender and added a dash of existential crisis for good measure.

But that's also what makes it interesting.

The mystery kept me watching, and even when I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, I still wanted to know what happened next. It's one of those shows where every answer seems to generate three new questions.

Some people will probably love that.

Some people will want to throw their television out of the window.

I fell somewhere in the middle.

The best thing about the series is that it only runs for six episodes. It's just enough time to tell its story without outstaying its welcome.

Although I do have one question.

Six episodes?

For an American series?

What's that all about?

That's barely enough episodes to introduce the cast, kill off a few characters and have somebody wake up to discover it was all a dream.

So, did you rush off to Sainsbury's to collect your free 3D glasses?

I did.

Like millions of other people, I was quite excited about the idea of watching Channel 4's big 3D week. The Queen, Derren Brown and a whole week of television supposedly bursting out of the screen and into our living rooms.

The reality?

Well, it was mostly a gimmick.

That's not entirely fair. The Derren Brown programme was actually pretty impressive. For about ten minutes, anyway. After that, I found myself spending less time being amazed by the 3D effects and more time wondering why I was developing a headache.

The technology just wasn't quite there.

Maybe I've been spoiled by cinema trips, but those red and blue cardboard glasses never really felt convincing. Instead of feeling immersed in the programme, I spent most of the time noticing the effect itself.

That said, I still think 3D has potential.

I remember Children in Need doing a 3D special a few years earlier with Take That, and that worked surprisingly well. It didn't rely on the old-school red and blue glasses, and the whole thing felt much more polished.

Perhaps that's why Channel 4's effort felt a little underwhelming.

As for the rest of 3D week, I can't honestly say I was tempted to stick around and watch much more.

Maybe the future of television is 3D.

But if it involves cardboard glasses and a headache, I'll happily wait for the next upgrade.

Until then, I'll stick to two dimensions.