A resigning spy (Patrick McGoohan, who played John Drake in "Danger Man" and "Danger Man/Secret Agent") is abducted and whisked away to a mysterious village with bizarre architecture, whose inhabitants range from child-like to zombie. Apparently, after telling the bosses everything they wanted to know their minds are reduced to that level. As long as they get along everything necessary for a comfortable existence is given them. But if they raise a ruckus or try to leave, a huge, white blob sets on them and when it attacks one winds up on the hospital--at best.
The place is ridiculous. Straw hats, pennyfarthing bikes, colorful taxis, brass bands, lava lamps (then the latest thing) . . . It's a lovely throwback where people have time to sit in sidewalk cafes, have liesurely chess games, and watch women in bikinis frollicking with beach balls, with the cheerful voice of Fenella Fielding pleasantly telling everyone what to do . . . Now!
To have an easy life all one has to do is collaborate, accept being numbered and lose one's identity.
And then there's no. 2. He apparently runs the place. Apparently.
Guy Doleman (Thunderball, the Ipcress File) was an inspired choice for the first no.2. He can be by turns jovial and old-boyish with a "play the game" attitude; and then quietly threatening.
Then the true nature of the village is revealed when Doleman's no.2 vanishes without explanation and is replaced by George Baker, who has a mean streak a yard wide (mark his delight when the new Prisoner tries to fly away by helicopter--beautifully sadistic, like a cat toying with a small animal it means to kill when it's had its fun).
This Village is a place where nothing can be trusted . . . And surveillance is constant. Not only is there no individuality, there's no privacy. The scene where the Prisoner says what he wants for breakfast only to have the little butler lift lids to show it's already there used to be spooky. Now we have internet ads pop up on our computers perfectly tailored to our preferences. Brrrr. Doesn't that scare anyone anymore?
This opening episode sets up what one expects from a series: the new Prisoner will spend his days trying to escape from the village in the midst of a constant battle of wits against a neverending line of number twos.
And one's expectations will have the rug ripped out from under them.
What's "The Prisoner" really about? That, as the children say, would be telling.
Made at the height of the Cold War, it's the sort of show Brits and Americans thought they were accustomed to.
After DINO president Kennedy won the confrontation about missiles in Cuba, then authorized attempts to kill Castro, started a proxy war against the USSR in Viet Nam and was shot by a Castro-loving Communist, tensions between the Free World and the Communists--who included a lot of fifth-column Americans--were at their height.
So this series looked like another entry in the post-Bond "Spy Race." Which "side" ran the village? Who was number One? Would "the Prisoner" escape?
But that sort of questioning would slowly become beside the point.
Subsequent episodes would prove fun and frustrating, hilarious and hellish. And overall, inconsistent. Many episodes, like "a change of mind," are more relevant in the twenty-first century than they were then, with speech codes being erected like so many Berlin walls to keep people from trodding on delicate toes (a sign in the Village reads, "A STILL TONGUE MAKES FOR A HAPPY LIFE").
We're all in the Village now. And we know who "which side" runs it. The side that erects speech codes.
But to quote Rosanne Rosannadanna, Never mind. "The Prisoner" (TV show) may meditate on issues of privacy and individuality and free thought and the horrors words otherwise seemingly innocuous words like "community" and "democracy" may lead to (if you're always crying out loud for democracy and think "freedom" is a trigger word, watch the episode "Free for All." It's all about you).
But "The Prisoner" rarely tackles issues in a pedantic way with "this side" being right and "that side" being wrong. I have friends on both sides of the current political divide in America who love this show and think it supports their views.
Too, it's shot through with people we today would call "stars." Though they might not all shine brightly. Fine actors, supporting players, the occasional beautiful ingenue.
What do I think? "The Prisoner" may be the most overrated TV show ever, probably because it's in so many ways inexplicable. Any art we can't understand has the illusion of depth.
But it's colorful, well-written and full of unexpected twists. And for those who enjoy them, it's also full of fistfights. But not car chases, and this first episode explains that via one of the cloned gardeners.
I love this show (up to the last couple of rotten episodes) even though I think the whole thing is an elaborate leg-pull. But I love a good joke.
The place is ridiculous. Straw hats, pennyfarthing bikes, colorful taxis, brass bands, lava lamps (then the latest thing) . . . It's a lovely throwback where people have time to sit in sidewalk cafes, have liesurely chess games, and watch women in bikinis frollicking with beach balls, with the cheerful voice of Fenella Fielding pleasantly telling everyone what to do . . . Now!
To have an easy life all one has to do is collaborate, accept being numbered and lose one's identity.
And then there's no. 2. He apparently runs the place. Apparently.
Guy Doleman (Thunderball, the Ipcress File) was an inspired choice for the first no.2. He can be by turns jovial and old-boyish with a "play the game" attitude; and then quietly threatening.
Then the true nature of the village is revealed when Doleman's no.2 vanishes without explanation and is replaced by George Baker, who has a mean streak a yard wide (mark his delight when the new Prisoner tries to fly away by helicopter--beautifully sadistic, like a cat toying with a small animal it means to kill when it's had its fun).
This Village is a place where nothing can be trusted . . . And surveillance is constant. Not only is there no individuality, there's no privacy. The scene where the Prisoner says what he wants for breakfast only to have the little butler lift lids to show it's already there used to be spooky. Now we have internet ads pop up on our computers perfectly tailored to our preferences. Brrrr. Doesn't that scare anyone anymore?
This opening episode sets up what one expects from a series: the new Prisoner will spend his days trying to escape from the village in the midst of a constant battle of wits against a neverending line of number twos.
And one's expectations will have the rug ripped out from under them.
What's "The Prisoner" really about? That, as the children say, would be telling.
Made at the height of the Cold War, it's the sort of show Brits and Americans thought they were accustomed to.
After DINO president Kennedy won the confrontation about missiles in Cuba, then authorized attempts to kill Castro, started a proxy war against the USSR in Viet Nam and was shot by a Castro-loving Communist, tensions between the Free World and the Communists--who included a lot of fifth-column Americans--were at their height.
So this series looked like another entry in the post-Bond "Spy Race." Which "side" ran the village? Who was number One? Would "the Prisoner" escape?
But that sort of questioning would slowly become beside the point.
Subsequent episodes would prove fun and frustrating, hilarious and hellish. And overall, inconsistent. Many episodes, like "a change of mind," are more relevant in the twenty-first century than they were then, with speech codes being erected like so many Berlin walls to keep people from trodding on delicate toes (a sign in the Village reads, "A STILL TONGUE MAKES FOR A HAPPY LIFE").
We're all in the Village now. And we know who "which side" runs it. The side that erects speech codes.
But to quote Rosanne Rosannadanna, Never mind. "The Prisoner" (TV show) may meditate on issues of privacy and individuality and free thought and the horrors words otherwise seemingly innocuous words like "community" and "democracy" may lead to (if you're always crying out loud for democracy and think "freedom" is a trigger word, watch the episode "Free for All." It's all about you).
But "The Prisoner" rarely tackles issues in a pedantic way with "this side" being right and "that side" being wrong. I have friends on both sides of the current political divide in America who love this show and think it supports their views.
Too, it's shot through with people we today would call "stars." Though they might not all shine brightly. Fine actors, supporting players, the occasional beautiful ingenue.
What do I think? "The Prisoner" may be the most overrated TV show ever, probably because it's in so many ways inexplicable. Any art we can't understand has the illusion of depth.
But it's colorful, well-written and full of unexpected twists. And for those who enjoy them, it's also full of fistfights. But not car chases, and this first episode explains that via one of the cloned gardeners.
I love this show (up to the last couple of rotten episodes) even though I think the whole thing is an elaborate leg-pull. But I love a good joke.