The Prisoner

“I will not make any deals. I’ve resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own.”… Number 6

“I must have individuality in everything I do. I question everything. I don’t accept anything on face value. I argue because by arguing, something good often comes from the results.”… Patrick McGoohan

This introductory post is quite long, but I’ll keep the episodes within a 1-2 minute read, I promise, because I have most of them written. There is SO much to say about this show. I started this post in January and have been adding to it ever since. Next Friday we start the episodes with Episode 1…Arrival.

Original, experimental, very surreal, still totally relevant today, ahead of its time, who is number 1? Where or what is The Village?  Struggles with individualism, conformity, authority, and the nature of freedom, set within a mysterious, idyllic village. Surrealism? Yes, this one has it in spades! Salvador Dali could have directed some of the episodes. Also…the color of these shows! They beat modern movie colors with a stick. The brightness and distinct color just pop off the screen, a selling point for color TV back then, creating a surreal, pop-art feel. McGoohan even banned the word “television” on the set. He wanted everyone to have a cinematic view.

The word “allegory” comes up frequently in descriptions of this series. People are still trying to figure out what it means, and we all have our interpretations. Patrick McGoohan was a very successful actor, but he was questioned the rest of his life about this 17-episode series. It was a British show in 1967-1968. In Canada and the US, college classes have been taught about this show to try to get the meaning out of it.

I’m going to post this series episode by episode. It’s only 17 episodes this time, so it won’t take long. I wanted another sci-fi show, and this one fits that bill without a hundred episodes. This is one of the most interesting television shows I’ve ever seen, bar none. It’s like James Bond meets The Twilight Zone…heavy on the Twilight Zone. They only had 17 episodes, but it was enough to go on a trip into the bizarre. I watched this a decade ago, and I just watched it again in the past two weeks. Number 6 is my hero in his fight against a forced society.

A British spy resigns, and he goes home. At home, you see sleeping gas coming through the keyhole, and after that, he wakes up in a new home. He wakes up in a place called “The Village” with no name, a small microcosm of a perfect community where people are issued numbers instead of using names. Escape is made nearly impossible, enforced by a gang of thugs and a bizarre white sphere (called Rover) that smotheres people to death or brings them back to the village after an escape attempt. Cordless phones, constant surveillance, manipulative organisations, people reduced to numbers, and so on. Rover seemed laughable at the time with the effects, but now drones perform exactly that function, so it was a question of the technology not being available when the show was made.

A map (title is Your Village) says “The Mountains,” “The Sea,” and other generic names. Individualism is gone in this place. It’s quite a nightmare. He does not have his name when he is there; he is called Number 6. You never know his real name. The main question the Village leaders want to know is the reason WHY he resigned. He has a lot of secrets in his head, important to both sides. He just will not disclose the reason for his resignation. One reason is that he doesn’t know which side got him. The other reason is that he just didn’t want to because his life is his own.

He doesn’t resist using weapons or gadgets, but with wit and stubbornness. Each episode tests him in a different way: psychological games, manufactured communities, false friendships, and shifting authority figures. The Village looks pleasant, almost cheerful, which makes its constant surveillance more unsettling. The question is never just who is in charge, but why submission is expected at all. They mess with his mind constantly to the point where they bring a double in and convince him he is someone else. But, I’m happy to say, he messes with them as well, like in the episode Hammer Into Anvil. He usually turns the tables on them. He is the only independent thinker in the village, or the only one who admits it.

What separates The Prisoner from standard spy television shows (or other shows, for that matter) is its willingness to abandon logic for an idea. That’s the best way I know of putting it. Some episodes are like satire, others like dreams that do not explain themselves. The rotating cast of Number Twos keeps power unstable, reinforcing the sense that the system matters more than any individual running it. It’s a show that requires your attention, and they counted on that to keep the audience engaged. Number 6 is not a nice guy in this. He doesn’t want to be there, and some of the good citizens were in the know, and some were like Number 6. You cannot trust anyone, and he refuses to conform.

This show was the brainchild of โ€œDanger Manโ€ actor Patrick McGoohan. In The Prisoner, he was also director/co-producer/creator, and his allegorical tale concerned the retirement/imprisonment of a spy who knew too much.

Historians have long argued whether he was retiring his character John Drake from Danger Man, and if this was John Drake character, it’s never said. Patrick denied it, but others say it was probably the character he played before, but wouldn’t mention him because of royalties that would have to be paid tothe creator of Danger Man. It doesn’t really matter if this is John Drake or not; we know him now by Number 6.

Anyone who wants to follow along. ALL the episodes are on YouTube in one place. Be Seeing You!

Patrick McGoohan interview here in 1977

Simpsons Parody

The intro explains the setup for the show. I really want that car!

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

108 thoughts on “The Prisoner”

      1. Max, I think you will find that response to this will be very high. First of all, the show deserves it. Secondly, look at the wonderful people who comment here. It is a great match. Yes, I think this will get a whole lot of response. You did good, my friend.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. I gotta say. Once you see it, it stays with you. I remember watching it on Saturday nights on CBS, Channel 2 here in Los Angeles, with my father. To say it stimulated our minds is an understatement.

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      5. It doesnโ€™t surprise me that classes were taught around this show. I would have been a student if they were accessible to me.

        This is a show about power and paranoia, two subjects that were a big part of the late 60s.  Could you trust the government, which is a question fundamental to the entire history of the United States, and as the sense of democracy and freedom flowed from the Magna Carta, England. 

        The show immediately removes the idea that the people in charge are the government, they are merely the people who set up The Village and captured No 6.  Good guys?  Bad guys?  Well, of course the people in charge are bad guys and No 6 is a good guy, the only good guy.

        The people in charge want the secrets No 6 retired with.  The audience knows that No 6 was a secret agent.  Does he have secrets?  We donโ€™t know for sure.  But the people in charge think he does, and they want them.

        Who are the people in charge?  We donโ€™t know.  And it doesnโ€™t matter.

        The fact that this show is timeless is as obvious as the daily headlines.

        Thatโ€™s what the show is about.  And that is a huge subject.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. Well now you know lol…yea I wanted to add that to show it was popular over here somewhat. It is one of the most interesting shows I’ve ever seen. Like I told Dana…for about 12 episodes it’s as normal as you could get in the late 60s but then it takes a turn to the bizarre…a very interesting story. That McGoohan link I have at the bottom is him talking on what I think was a Canadian talk show at the time.

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      1. I don’t remember what you are talking about as a twist or change in it. The show was always out there. And done so marvelously that you took things for granted that are absolute greatness.

        Rover, for example. A big beach ball that turned into a horrible enemy. I love it.

        The Village, which actually exists. I grew up in Los Angeles, born two years before Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth it calls itself, was opened. I remember a feeling while I was at Disneyland that this was not the safest place. Yes, I was a good poppa and took my kids and my grandkids. But I never forgot the sense of possibilities, of dread.

        The fact that No 2 was different every episode, and sometimes there were multiple No 2s in the same episode.

        I have often wondered why one I so love a particular Dylan line. In thinking about this show, I now know the reason. That line, or lines are: Don’t follow leaders/Watch your parking meters.

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      2. When it gets to the 13th episode…it kinda takes a turn into the bizarre from then on. I personally loved it but it did change…it drifted into a Magical Mystery Tour like feeling for the last episode.

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      3. I watched an essay on You Tube that made me think about Lisa and others about not getting it. The show is ripe for interpretation. My interpretation will not be the same as somebody else’s. Some of the interpretations and thoughts this person came up with are way over my head and my level of interest. They have some valid points, but I am not for me. What I saw was way too intellectual and based in the academy. I’m not saying he is wrong, I am saying that I do not take that interpretation.

        I hope that in discussing the show people reach their own thoughts. We have an intelligent bunch here. I’ really looking forward to this.

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      4. Yea I know mine…but mine is simple…but I’ll wait. There are only a few movies or shows that affect me the way this one does. I will be looking forward to other peoples answers in this as well. There is no really right or wrong…that is why it’s still being shown and us talking about it over 50 years later.

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      4. The stylings are 60 ish but the show is timeless. I wonder how long it will be before the discussion gets political. And yes, I am thinking of how you so elegantly sidestep politics on this blog. You started the blog, my friend, but you got your work cut out for you.

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  6. This was an excellent series! When it was re-broadcast in the 80s, I was going to be out of town for the last episode. I asked a neighbor to tape it for me. He watched part of it and then just let the tape run, wondering about my sanity. The last episode makes all the prior episodes seem tame by comparison.

    And I have to admire a hero who drives a Lotus Super 7. It looks old but it was a contemporary car at the time.

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    1. Thanks! I am hooked on this show…I even have two buttons…number 6 and number 2. Something about this show spoke to me.
      That last episode was totally off the rails and I thought about it for weeks after…the show certainly doesn’t really resolve itself in a normal way.

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      1. I am jealous of your buttons. And I am sure my father, long deceased, would be equally appreciative. I have asked for a family photo from you. Replace that with this request, or just add this request. You gotta include a picture of the buttons in one of the messages.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I had to order them…I got them around mid January… there was no way I couldn’t…I love wearing them sometimes and it’s cool when you meet someone that knows what they mean.

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  7. Max, I mentioned before that one of my sons was a fan of the show. I tried to watch it before but didn’t get far. I will give it a chance — it’s been 20 years. Was surprised to learn, “In The Prisoner, he was also director/co-producer/creator, and his allegorical tale concerned the retirement/imprisonment of a spy who knew too much.” Never saw Danger Man but would like to check that out also. “Retired” can mean a few things, especially when you’re a spy. Looking forward to your coverage.

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    1. Well….the first 11-12 episodes are not too hard to follow…but the last 5? It goes off the rails lol. But notice one thing for me…if you watch a little bit of one…notice how the yellow and greens just POP out at you…I love how they did the color.

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    2. I apologize if I am out of line here, but the idea that you didn’t get too far the first time just adds to the sense of delicacy and innocence I have of you. I mean innocence in a positive way.

      Me? I never had that innocence, especially not in watching tv with my father who delighted in reminding me that it was clear, but never said, that Matt was taking Kitty upstairs in Gunsmoke.

      I watched a few of Danger Man and honestly wasn’t impressed. This goes back a long, long way. But it had none of the McGoohan’s guidance and touch.

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      1. Note to self. Max’s comment about the color. Like Lisa, I remember the show as black and white. Gotta pay special attention to that.

        Note to others. The idea that a television show garners special attention is pretty special. The surrounds of the Prisoner are so wide spread it doesn’t surprise me how much I missed the first two times I watched it. And yes, when PBS showed it I watched.

        So far I have added two pieces to my thoughts on this show. The idea of a put together car kit is fascinating in how it applies to the whole show. The use of color.

        Max, this is gonna be great…

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      2. Art, I’m flattered that you perceive me as having a sense of delicacy and innocence. As the others reading this, “he don’t know me vewy wew, do he.”

        I’m very sorry you feel that innocence was taken from you by your father’s attitudes. Maybe he was trying to prepare you for the real world?

        Good to know about Danger Man. I’ll probably wait until after The Prisoner and then decide if I want to see DM.

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      1. Severance is on Apple TV+. The gist is that people have their brain split in two by a surgical implant – they have a work self and a home self and the two have no memory or knowledge of each other. From there it gets weirder over time.

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    2. What let his guard down? He got gassed, lost consciousness and woke up in The Village. I never questioned that he had any choice in the matter. And I don’t see that he had any defense.

      The powers that ran the Village got him. He had no choice. That is essential to the story. The fact that No 6 fights the powers that be at every step requires that he could not stop being kidnapped and brought against his will to the Village.

      So I wonder. Is freedom the ability to fight against the powers that be? Naw, freedom is the right to live one’s life the way one wants.

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    3. Yeah, I always had trouble with that. They make that tail obvious to us. He’s a spy. He ought to know a tail when he sees one and he ought not be naive enough to think they will let him just walk away. I had to convince myself that he was so angry at the time that he wasn’t thinking straight or paying attention to his surroundings. There was no way I was going to let 30 seconds of that interfere with my enjoyment of the rest of the show.

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      1. Pat had a weak moment. He was thinking about basking in the sun and drinking a Harveywallnager. I love this stuff. Something about it. Watched an old English “spy” flick a while ago ‘Danger Route’ holes all over the plot , a low budget Bond disciple but I ate it up. Always lots of great British character actors. Can you say ‘Harry Palmer”?

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  10. Well, I’ll follow along, though I wonder if I will be able to keep up with it. The 60’s had some pretty weird and wonderful psycho-illogical paths to trip down. As Halfast says the car is a Lotus Seven, it was a 50s/60s kit car – sort of a box of bits, you put it all together like a meccano set. In your own time. Though they could be bought as a complete car from Lotus in the UK I believe. I thiiiink they are still made by Caterham or Donkervoort. Don’t quote me, vehicle safety regulations have been strangling the kit car industry for ages now.

    I believe they were also made in NZ by Steel Brothers here in Christchurch for a time. Yeah, Wiki says Steel’s made 98 Series 4s between 73-79.

    (Kit cars are another step off the road to normality Max, you may want to check out the Brubaker Box, Mayers Manx SR or the Midas for a bit of an automotive mind boggle!)

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    1. Well…the first time I watched it was a decade ago…the second time I knew what to expect and it made me think…oh yea! That is what they meant…on some anyway.
      I don’t get that about kit cars…think about it…if they allow the real cars on the road…that old…and the kit cars are copies….why not?

      I will check them out….thanks!

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    2. The idea of a kit car is new information. It doesn’t add anything to the show as screened, but adds a lot in terms of the production. Fascinating idea.

      THANKS FOR THE TRIVIA

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  11. As I said on the last post where you mentioned it, my mother was a huge fan of this show. I was probably 5 when it was on. The sphere was the thing I remember the most, of course. I have watched a few episodes on Amazon for free and they are something else. I will try to keep up with this one better. I only saw a couple of The Night Stalker episodes before I fell behind.

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      1. I was using the word orb when Max first mentioned the show a couple of weeks ago, but Max used sphere, so I was just trying to stay consistent.

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      3. Orb, weather balloon. It is Rover. Like so much else in this show, it takes on its own identity. In my sensibilities, Rover is as much of an oblique, nameless but very real symbol of those that follow the rules those in power set up without questioning or considering. In other words, the enemy. The powers that be.

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      5. Inescapable. YES!!!

        And I love the way it comes to be. Is it a mechanical device triggered by the authority? The fact that it comes from the water implies deep in the water and something natural.

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    1. It is different and very colorful and it does go in all directions! That interview at the botom with Patrick McGoohan was made in 1977 with Warner Troyer. It was by The Ontario Educational Communications Authority…didn’t know if you knew him or that organization.

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      1. Ha! Yes I recall Troyer was a journalist and the Ontario Educational Communications Authority was our Public TV. Itโ€™s called TV Ontario or just TVO. I remember the name from CBC TV as well.

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      2. I’m going to look up more by them…because I like these kind of interviews…no “whats your favorite color” kind of questions…that is why I always enjoyed Dick Cavett over Carson…he gets indepth.

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      5. Now I would say it goes in one direction, and one direction only. But I am not disagreeing with what you said. It is open to interpretation.

        I see the show as individual against power system. Guess which side of that equation I have always been on? ๐Ÿ™‚

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    2. I checked this morning on the last episode. The You Tube link works. I wonder if it might be an issue of crossing national lines, but I don’t think so because the Internet is not supposed to be limited like that. I will say a very annoying SHOUT ad came up when I clicked on the You Tube entry, but then I went back and clicked on the precise You Tube button. Came through fine.

      One thing I will say is the annoying difference between where You Tube breaks for an ad and where the show naturally breaks for an ad. Oh well.

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  14. Well of course Iron Maiden based there whole tune The Prisoner around the show and even got McGoohan’s approval to use his voice at the start of the tune….give it a listen.

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  15. The link to the last episode works. I just watched it. Wonderful stuff. Deep and symbolic, with lots of questions and, and this is the key, NO RESOLUTIONS. No answers.

    I apologize for being as vocal as I am and will no doubt continue to be. This is excellent television that asks questions, lots of questions, of the viewer.

    Wonderful stuff

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    1. I thought about doing that in the middle of this. The middle would probably work well. I’ve read a lot about it and yes it does have a lot of history. I’m a huge Beatles fan…and that is how I found out about the show.

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  23. Great introduction to The Prisoner! I love how you highlight its timeless themes of individuality, authority, and conformity, as well as its surreal, ahead-of-its-time style. The insights on Rover and McGoohanโ€™s cinematic vision really show why this show remains so unique and thought-provoking.

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    1. Thank you so much for reading. I was lost (didn’t pay enough attention and you have to with this one) when I watched it around 10 years ago but I wanted another round…this time it stuck. The show just pops off the screen with it’s vivid colors…and the first thing I thought of watching it the 2nd time was Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote “Whoso be a man must be a nonconformist”

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    1. First… Thank you so much for reading this!
      Oh….you can just click on subscribe. I post The Prisoner on Fridays every week until I finish the series. I’m on episode 2 now that I just published today.
      All together I do 6 posts a week…two on Fridays, Saturday, and Sunday.

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