''The Prisoner of Zenda, Inc'' is a 1996

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

starring Jonathan Jackson and

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

. It was produced for

Showtime Network Showtime (also known as Paramount+ with Showtime) is an American premium television network and the flagship property of Showtime Networks, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Showtime's programming in ...

s under their family division, and first aired in September 1996. The film was written by Rodman Gregg and Richard Clark. Inspired by the classic 1937 MGM version of

Anthony Hope Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933), better known as Anthony Hope, was a British novelist and playwright. He was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels but he is remembered predominantly for only two books: ''T ...

's 1894 novel ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...

'' and starring

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

, ''The Prisoner of Zenda, Inc.'' was a contemporary version loosely based on the original. Zenda was the castle in the mythical kingdom of

Ruritania Ruritania is a fictional country, originally located in Central Europe as a setting for a trilogy of novels by Anthony Hope, beginning with '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1894). Nowadays, the term connotes a quaint minor European country or is used a ...

in previous versions, whereas Zenda Inc. is a computer business empire in this version. The film continued the theme of mistaken identities which was central to the plot. Jackson plays Oliver and his lookalike Rudy (who is named after Prince Rudolf from the original, and in this case is a ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' fan—a nod to co-star Shatner). The film also starred American character actor Don S. Davis from the popular television series ''Stargate SG-1''. It was released on VHS under the renamed title ''Double Play'', but reverted to the original title for the DVD release.

References

External links

* 1996 films 1996 television films 1990s adventure drama films Films based on The Prisoner of Zenda Films shot in British Columbia Showtime (TV network) films 1996 drama films American drama television films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Films set in Europe English-language adventure drama films {{1990s-US-drama-film-stub