The Prisoner (1967–1968) User Reviews

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[miloc · 9/10 · 17 August 2008]

Montage: a secret agent (Patrick McGoohan) storms into his superior's office and angrily resigns his post, for reasons unknown. A machine files away his Xed-out photo; he speeds away to his home. He enters his house and begins packing for a journey. Outside, a hearse pulls up to the curb. A pallbearer strides to the door. Knockout gas comes pouring in through the keyhole. When our hero awakes the room is the same... but the world outside is not.

We are in the Village, a picturesque nightmare co-fashioned by Orwell, Kafka, and Carroll. The unnamed agent has become Number Six in a population of equally nameless, creepily cheerful residents, headed by a shifting, and shifty, Number Two. Who is Number One? Well, that's the question, isn't it... In one direction are impassable mountains, in the other the sea -- and on patrol is a bizarre, lethal white balloon that hunts down those unwise enough to dare them.

Viewed today, "The Prisoner" seems so strikingly ahead of its time that one can only regard it as either a visionary masterpiece or a dazzling failure. Either way it is compulsive viewing. Co-creators McGoohan and George Markstein were seemingly at odds about what to make of it all, with McGoohan eschewing conventional James Bondisms for a more surreal, allegorical approach. (He himself wrote and directed some of the series' best and most bewildering episodes.) And truly "The Prisoner" works best when at its least explanatory and most hallucinatory. Not until "Twin Peaks" would another television show dabble this heavily in the logic of dreams.

McGoohan also believed the premise would only hold up over a limited run, and his concern seems justified. A few of the later of the seventeen episodes show desperation: low points include the feebly whimsical "The Girl Who Was Death," the plodding "It's Your Funeral," and "The General," which might as well be -- and nearly is -- an episode of Star Trek.

Yet at its best, in episodes like "Arrival," "Free For All," "Dance of Death," "Many Happy Returns," and the finale (one of the most astonishing hours ever programmed for television), the series achieves something extraordinary. Its influence reaches beyond such obvious successors as "Lost" and "The League of Gentlemen" -- and could you imagine "Brazil" or "The Matrix" without it? "The Prisoner" catches at a thread in our subconscious and pulls it loose; it tells us that something is genuinely wrong somewhere with the Great Big Picture. Its true antecedents are Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday" and O'Brien's "The Third Policeman": nonsense that bleeds into spiritual unease.

It's not hard to understand why the series has a cult following, or why, love it or hate it, it still packs a punch. We are in the Village. Be seeing you...

Not All Prisons Have Steel Bars!

[Sylviastel · 9/10 · 7 September 2014]

I assumed this show was about life in the British prison. Boy was I wrong? Patrick McGoohan who should have been knighted is delightful as number 6. The audience nor number 2 and the others don't why he resigned his top secret post. They are clever not to tell the audience rather using the intro montage of back history. We the audience don't know his name as well. He is transported to a self contained and controlled village by the sea. The village is very picturesque with concerts, lovely shops, parks, and culture. This prison doesn't seem so bad after all. The village inhabitants are quite friendly and pleasant. The village symbolizes an ideal utopia community that was tried in communal living during the time period. But 6 wants out ever since his arrival. He is a challenge to the controllers here. The show is beautiful with lovely art direction and costumes. You have to ask yourself what constitutes a prisoner.

As Time Passes It Gets Better...Maybe The Best TV-Series Ever Made

[AudioFileZ · 9/10 · 3 August 2019]

Does a 1960's avant grade UK spy thriller have more legs in 2019? Absolutely as time has elevated the brilliance of this off-beat TV series. It must be remembered that TV was already maturing into pablum. There were good shows like 77 Sunset Strip that still tended toward the silly over the sublime, the trendy over the introspective. The Prisoner was an island. It carved a path of mysteriousness and paranoia never overtly and outright outing showing itself. I'd say it took a cue from 1984 and ran with it. It foretold what we now hear often referred to as "the shadow government". Someone or ones who beyond a veil have a kind of ultimate control. If they single you out is your life you believed in just a creation of their manipulation? This presents a larger question as to what their goal is and what, or who, do they fear? To present these things all in the strange indenture of No. 6 is a kind of masterstroke. To present it so surreal in a TV culture that resisted such is amazing in that it comes out so deep and arty rather than unwatchable. It has an excellent hook because it inspired many interpretations in spite of often being frustratingly obtuse. If you were in you simply must keep watching much like an addiction. As it went it becomes more so culminating with what I'll only call "a fitting finality" that still kept so much open to ponder. I do not think I've seen another series as off-center and able to attract a large audience. This proves to be, perhaps, more amazing today when we often hear people ruminate that the world we've created is an illusion ran by some invisible super powerful cabal. With the masses being controlled by central banks and all-watching electronic surveillance I sometimes ask if I'm living in "The Village"? That said I find the show one of the finest ever to air and watching it again, over and over, every few years makes it seem even better as time passes.

You MUST come prepared for this enigmatic classic

[DHD99 · 26 October 2003]

Since its initial telecast, back in 1967, this enigmatic classic has evoked every reaction from awe to contempt. Given the amount of serious critical attention THE PRISONER has received, and given that a whole society has been created in its honor, I'd say the awe has won out, and I vehemently agree that THE PRISONER deserves to be honored as one of the truly artistic programs created for commercial television.

However, I can also understand the frustration many viewers have felt. Over the course of its seventeen episodes, this offbeat spy thriller becomes further and further offbeat until it ultimately transforms into surrealistic allegory. I confess I'm not sure whether this transformation was intended as a complete surprise, or whether you were supposed to know where the show was going, but in either case, I think you can better appreciate the series if you can see the earlier episodes as preparation for what's to come.

THE PRISONER's title character is a British secret agent (series creator Patrick McGoohan) who may or may not be SECRET AGENT's John Drake. The story begins with him suddenly and mysteriously resigning, then just as suddenly and mysteriously being rendered unconscious and transported to a place known only as The Village, the location of which is known only to those who run it. The Village is a prison camp, but with all of the amenities of a vacation resort,. Attractive dwellings, shops, restaurants, etc. exist side by side with high-tech methods of keeping order and extracting information from those who won't give it up willingly.

Those who try to escape get to meet Rover, a belligerent weather balloon capable of locomotion, and seemingly of independent thought. It appears (to me anyway) that the authorities can summon Rover, send it away, and give it instructions, but that it acts more or less on its own initiative. Rover deals with fugitives by plastering itself against their faces, rendering them either unconscious or dead, depending on how bad a mood it's in. Twice, we see it haul someone in from the ocean by sucking them up into a whirlpool it creates.

Citizens of The Village, including those in authority, are identified only by numbers. Our protagonist is known only as No. 6 throughout the entire series. The Village is run by No. 2, who in turn reports to an unseen and unidentified No. 1. No. 1 is apparently an unforgiving boss, because No. 2 is always being replaced.

Shortly after he arrives in in the Village, No. 6 is informed, by the reigning No. 2, that he should count on remaining there permanently. If he cooperates, life will be pleasant and he may even be given a position of authority. If he resists -- well, the only restriction they're under is not to damage him permanently. To satisfy his captors, No. 6 need only answer one question: `Why did you resign?' His question in turn is, `Who runs this place? Who is No. 1?'

Most of the episodes deal with No. 6's attempts to escape, and/or his captors' attempts to break him, although there are a few side trips. Several episodes suggest that No. 6's own people may be involved with running The Village. Some of the episodes are fairly straightforward, while others leave you with questions as to exactly what went on. It's important to note that several of the more obscure episodes -- for example, `Free for All' and `Dance of the Dead' -- are among the seven episodes that McGoohan considers essential to the series.

And then we come to the final episode, `Fall Out,' which promises to answer all the burning questions the viewers have been anguishing over for seventeen weeks -- and which so frustrated and angered those viewers back in 1967 that McGoohan had to go into hiding for awhile. Of course, I can't reveal any of the really important details, because, as No. 2 says in the recap that begins most of the episodes, `That would be telling,' and as all of us IMBD contributors know, `telling,' is frowned upon. However, to come back to the point with which I started, you should be prepared for a resolution of an entirely different nature than the one you'll probably be expecting -- a resolution that forces you to rethink your entire concept of the Village, and of the intention of the series. If you aren't ready, you'll be frustrated. If you are, you can accept THE PRISONER is the spirit in which it was offered.

I find more in it, and it in more, every time I see it....

[janemerrow · 10/10 · 29 April 2003]

This has become by far my favorite series of all time, so much so I have given up watching television altogether and turned to DVD's instead. That's not to say it's the best show ever, but it's one of those things you can watch as fluff action-adventure entertainment one day, or chew down to its bones, if you like, the next. That is, it doesn't require intelligence and concentration or an easy day at the office to enjoy, but if you've read a few books or have philosophical leanings you can amuse yourself by wringing quite a bit out of it.

On that note, it's especially fun to watch this series in conjunction with Danger Man/ Secret Agent. Although it isn't uncommon to have the same actors work together on different series, there is a town full of spies in DM/SA

referred to as the Village in the episode "Colony Three" which is the center of a debate on whether Number 6 and John Drake are the same. (McGoohan categorically denies this, but Markstein says it's true. Perhaps there is a legal hurdle involved? We will probably never get that information.)

I recommend watching them in order, so you can see Number 6 gradually abandon his open desperation and anger ("Arrival" to "The Chimes of Big Ben") for a cool and calculated needling of the system from within ("A, B and C" to "Hammer Into Anvil"). They try drugs, brainwashing, torture, virtual reality, letting him escape, and even babysitting to get him to talk. Each episode will appeal to someone different, some funny, some aggravating, but they all fit together by "Fall Out"; I have never met anyone who was not surprised at the final episode. It's truly extraordinary!

You will find references to the Prisoner are made constantly in other shows and movies, especially Sci Fi. The character Bester uses the Village greeting on Babylon 5; I have seen Village interrogation methods on the Pretender, John Doe and Farscape (whose leading man has an acting style similar to McGoohan's and a character similar to Number 6, IMHO, especially if you watch "A, B and C"); Number 2's trademark sphere chair is used on everything from Austin Powers to ads for American Idol.

The Village itself has appeared in tribute episodes of the Invisible Man and, of all things, the Simpsons ("The Computer Wore Menace Shoes"). Rover has actually appeared on the Simpsons twice!

I believe it's a classic that shouldn't be missed for anyone who ever feels trapped by rules that make little sense. If you like quoting Brazil and Office Space you'll find plenty of quotes to add to your collection here. My friends and I have even started referring to each other by number at work!

Be Seeing You!

An all-time great

[RNMorton · 10/10 · 15 June 2004]

Geez I just did another Imdb review listing some of the top ten tv shows of all time (in my opinion) and I plum forgot this one. It qualifies. 18 hourly episodes about attempts to pry information from taciturn retired spy McGoohan, kidnapped and held in an isolated village peopled by, well, we're not sure who else. There's maybe one bad episode in the whole lot; many shows have you wondering who are the captors and who are the captives among the village's inhabitants. Not sure it's explicitly stated but McGoohan's character could be a carryover from his Secret Agent Man, an earlier series also starring him. McGoohan is exquisitely perfect in the role, a bit eccentric, sometimes almost precious, athletic when necessary, crisply precise and (understandably) paranoid. Occasionally things go over the top, particularly in the final two episodes, but you certainly can't accuse them of playing it safe. Unique, inspired, insightful, distinctive, unparalleled.

Unique and Groundbreaking. Everyone should see this. Brilliant Stuff.

[tobydale · 10/10 · 31 July 2012]

I've resisted writing a review for The Prisoner for years. Why -? because even though I have watched this series end to end at least a dozen times in the last 45 years; I still don't know where to start.

Indeed - I was one of the lucky ones who as a 10 year old was allowed to stay up late to watch The Prisoner during it's first screening back in the 1960's. It was then and remains today some of the most remarkable and groundbreaking television ever made. It must be seen.

Even though I have started this review - I still don't know where to start! There is no point in looking at the detail over a 17 episode series, so perhaps the best place to start is with a big picture; The Prisoner deals with issues of Man-kind as a social creature in a complex age. In this age the concept of "the individual" who exercises 'real' choices is lost - subsumed by Education; what is taught and who decides its relevance. Subsumed by Politics; what are the interests of those you are asked to vote for. Subsumed by Technology; is the technology my tool, or am I the tool of technology. Subsumed by Society; who sets the norms, who behaves acceptably and who does not, what, indeed is 'acceptable'? Subsumed by Consumerism; what do I need, why do I have to buy this, or this? The Prisoner encounters and has to confront these themes and find his own way to escape from them. The Village is the location and epicenter for every aspect of the individual that is subsumed. The Prisoners' quest is to escape. We join and share in his quest.

There are many other deep themes going on in this wonderful and thought provoking series, but the deepest and most powerful of all is "Trust"; what and who can I trust? For the Prisoner, the ONLY person he can trust is HIMSELF, and there are times, for all his strength, when the Prisoner cannot even trust himself. The Village uses every muscle, stretches every sinew to separate the Prisoner from his own self-identity; to reduce him, actually and literally to a 'number'. It's brilliant stuff, because it causes US to question "who am I"?, "Where am I"? "By what definition am I free"? Brilliant stuff.

Only by constantly challenging, constantly questioning, constantly feeling for the boundary, constantly and consistently reasserting his individualism, does the Prisoner manage to retain his self-image. The Prisoner is a primer for Everyman living in the modern age - a set of sign-posts that say; "TAKE CARE"! Keep control of your own identity, think what you are doing - don't blithely accept everything you are told and you won't become a number....

Phew! I've done it! Encapsulated 45 years of reflection into 6 short paragraphs. Why 6 do you wonder?

The Great Escape

[hellraiser7 · 10/10 · 25 November 2017]

Prison it's always the last place we all want to be. However probably what makes the concept more discomforting are the prisons that come or attack our minds. Most of the time it has to due with a routine we are forced into or unintentionally build for ourselves, the wrong job occupation, not traveling away from home enough or far enough, just anything negative that makes us feel trapped. Which is part of why most to all of us constantly fight and exercise our freedom and rights to show that we're still people.

This is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. It is defiantly one of the most creative and weirdest shows I've ever seen and I love that which is what I expect from TV and the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre to always have something new and different. It was definitely a revolutionary show because it dared to be different but also challenge our intellects in a good way while at the same time having fun. The whole show by it's nature is one big puzzle, it's one of those shows where you may have to watch it more than once to uncover more.

The theme song is great it's one of my favorite theme songs of all time, it really fits the show as it has a mysterious and almost adventurous vibe.

I even like the main protagonist No.6 whom is one of my favorite fictional protagonists, his character in a way represents ourselves sort of our speaker and representative for humanity and sanity. He's got a dry charisma and sarcastic wit making him a bit funny. And like MacGyver he has to use his wits, cunning to somehow find a way to outsmart his unknown enemies. But what I really love about him is that he never gives up no matter the outcome of his plan he always tries again, which I feel is a good message to show not quitting makes you stronger. But also how much we emphasize with him and participation as were in the same boat as he is, not just in constantly trying to find a way out but also asking the same questions as him wondering what the hell is going on.

There is also a feeling of isolation as we see the only person he can truly trust is himself, this increases the emphasize factor more as it looks like his the only sane person in a land gone insane. It's true that we never really know a whole lot about him, let alone his name but that's the point it just adds to the mystery of the show.

However what really drive the show is it's story line and suspense. The story line in a way is like a mix of Franz Kalfka and Lewis Caroll tale. The Village is a really daft looking place. This really gives the place a surreal feeling from the buildings and architecture which is odd because it feels and looks like nothing really goes together,but even odder are the people whom may or may not be prisoners themselves but they exhibit odd behavior, let alone dress weird as some of what their wearing is not just colorful but also inconsistent with it's time periods. And each have some sort of rituals and customs that aren't really consistent or have any clear purpose.

But this production really induces the unsettling feeling of total disorientation and paranoia throughout the show. Usually in the suspense thrillers this is something that would take place in the night but here it's in the day which increases the paranoia even more because here there is no place to hide and no one to trust.

What makes the place even more disorienting and dangerous is that fact that each interrogator for No.6 is always someone different which raises the bar even more for No.6 as each have different methodologies to try and break him to get what they need whatever the hell that is. The interrogations remind me of Kalfka's "The Trial" which was about a man being accused for unknown reasons. Also it means No.6 has no way to understand what his unknown enemy's true motives are which means he is unable to get a step ahead or vanquish them which is a disarming feeling.

But shows power is how it really leaves you to make your own interpretations. To this day I still have questions like "Is the Village some sort of shadow organization/secret society that hasn't been discovered yet or one we already know like the Men in Black?" , "Why the hell do they want to know why No.6 quit or not?", "Is the whole thing real or one big dream." whatever the case this just gives the show replay value to find more answers or more questions.

Though personally I feel in a way the show satires on cold war paranoia though by today's standards it could be our war on terrorism. But gets into issues of distrust, conformity, information denial and manipulation, human rights constantly attacked and importance of defending them, but most of all about the importance of maintaining individuality.

No.6 truly is the most human in the show and he is one with a real identity. Where we see the people in the village have no identities at all, from not having names but numbers but also each aren't entirely their own person as they've traded identity off for security from The Village which as put them in even more danger as they've sacrificed their freedom.

I know once again haven't said a whole lot but it's one of those shows you have to see for yourself to believe, but to give yourself the benefit of participating in a great enigma.

In the words of No.6 "I'm not a number, I'm a free man." so are we and should remain so.

Rating: 4 stars

The Last Episode

[Stamp-3 · 10/10 · 19 December 2007]

The Prisoner may not be the greatest television series of all time, but for me it will do until something better comes along. I was one of the millions of people in the UK who watched the series when it was first televised and sat enthralled every week.

But rather than extol the virtues of the show overall, as many contributors to these pages have done, I would like to voice my love and support for the final episode.

INEVITABLY SOME SPOILERS

I loved the final episode and have watched it many times over the years. The first thing that has to be said, before one gets into its meaning and its relationship with the other episodes, is to acknowledge that it is an absolute virtuoso piece of television. The sheer imagination and creativity of the episode boggles the mind. The dialogue is quite astonishing, it's like avant garde poetry. The energy of the whole piece is staggering.

I believe McGoohan wrote the whole script and knocked it off in about a day. How he did it I do not know, but to say it was inspired is an understatement.

More importantly the episode is of a piece and complements all that went before. Where I think a lot of people have been thrown with The Prisoner… well perhaps that's a bit condescending….the key issue one has to address and acknowledge with the show, is that it presents an allegory of the human condition wrapped up in a fantasy; surreal, almost Alice in Wonderland in style; and then tells the tale using the conventions of a (brilliantly executed) action adventure series.

But you have to accept that it is the allegorical, stylised presentation that drives the show. Therefore one cannot expect a rational, neat conclusion. Who could the people behind the Village be? Who could Number 1 be? The Russians? The CIA, Ernst Stavro Blofeld? It just could not be anyone of these. In the context of the Village, my earlier comparison with Alice makes more sense; Number 1 might just be the Queen Of Hearts.

But the reality of McGoohan's imagination is much more compelling. First of all he took the conclusion and climax in an obvious direction; to move further away from even the notion of reality and to challenge us with ideas. And to express those ideas in the totally bizarre and wonderful setting of trial is quite stunning.

The whole series is about us, about the individual and how we confront the world and the oppressive evil in it; and how we express our own humanity. The Prisoner is about ourselves, the good, the bad; the strong; the weak. And to express that as an allegorical fantasy is, I think, something close to genius.

I think the question one has to ask is who else could Number 1 be, if not ourselves; or because this is a series in which McGoohan is the hero, Number 6. And Number 6 is us; with all our strengths, weaknesses, anger, frustrations and, believe it or not, hope, despite all that outside forces may throw at us.

But even having taken this line, McGoohan surely does not leave the "rationalists" empty handed. There is a conclusion, they do escape (albeit in a surreal way, bursting out onto the A2 – incidentally try driving down the A2 at 70 mph today; that would be surreal!),

And even the ending, with the Hearse driving up again and the compressed air "swoosh" of his house door opening, tells you the dark side may yet win.

The whole episode is perfect, and more importantly, to repeat myself, is a totally satisfactory ending to what has gone before.

Incidentally, as a coda, one comment on the whole series. Look at many of the episodes again, and evaluate the underlying themes of the whole series. Take away the sixties style and look, and doesn't the show resonate even more today than it did even then. What The Prisoner is fighting is more terrifying now than ever. And we are losing the battle with ourselves and letting it happen

Excellent until the last episode. Still one of televisions greatest moments.

[Canvoodoo · 9/10 · 18 December 2006]

"The Prisoner" was an excellent series until the last episode, "Fall Out". It wasn't perfect -- some episodes were better than others, and those that were intended to be part of the abortive "second season" were generally not as good as the first 13 episodes produced (note that these aren't necessarily the first 13 episodes aired...). However, the program was consistently entertaining, interesting, thought provoking, and unquestionably unique. I had watched various episodes of "The Prisoner" over the years (It ran a fair amount on educational television in the 1970s) and was very impressed with what I saw, but I didn't get a chance to see the concluding episode until many years later. To say that I was disappointed is a significant understatement.

The problem of setting up any "mythology" in a show, as Chris Carter found out with the "X Files", is that sooner or later you have to answer the questions that you've raised. That's where the last episode loses it -- it answers nothing about the previous 16 episodes, but rather asks a number of new questions, and then doesn't answer them either!

It would appear that the reason for the odd number of episodes of the Prisoner was that it was cancelled with 16 episodes either in the can, or still in production, and "Fall Out" was written in a great rush at the last minute to close out the series. Although in earlier interviews, MacGoohan said that all the answers were in the final episode, in a more recent interview, he has stated (regarding "Fall Out") -- "If anybody admits to understanding it, then please pass the understanding on to me."

I don't know if there would have been a more coherent ending if the premature cancellation had not occurred, or if original producer George Markstein (who left after the first 13 episodes due to differences with Patrick MacGoohan) had stayed. Overall, it is a pathetic end to an otherwise superb series. Mind you, the fact that there wasn't a coherent ending (plus the presence of lots of symbolism to encourage endless debate on what it all *really* means) is probably the main reason for the cult attraction of the series. Even with the inadequate ending, this series is a highlight of how thought provoking television can be if it's done properly.

Still the strangest show ever

[mrkrw-96109 · 7/10 · 5 March 2023]

You can watch this series repeatedly and just when you think you have it all figured out, you come away with a different perspective. If you are looking for a show that is all tide up in a bow at the end of the hour, this isn't it. Strange doesn't begin to describe it. Part science fiction part mystery part social commentary. Add them all together and you come out with weird. It can be rather maddening and leave you with a what the heck was that about but it makes you think and use your imagination which very few shows do, especially today. As for the last episode that is still talked about today which left most viewers mad with an undefined ending including its most ardent fans I fill you in. It was the 60's and these people be tripping.

brilliant, disturbing, visionary

[winner55 · 10/10 · 23 September 2007]

A number of reviewers have said that this series was "ahead of its time". Actually, as with any truly insightful art, it was entirely with it's time, it was all the other shows that were slightly backward.

Because of that, the series has dated in rather odd ways; the use of the Beatles' "All you need is love" in the final episode, for instance, really derives its power from the fact that Lennon and McCartney laced a lot of their songs with the same satirical venom this episode portrays, but much of this was lost on audiences (at least in America) until the release of the White Album. But now, 40 years later, only a handful of "Beatle-philes" remember this, so the edginess of the hallway sequence in which this is played has changed somewhat.

Too, the Theater of the Absurd that functions as backdrop to much of this show has been all but forgotten - Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" still gets revived now and again, but Albee's "Sandlot" never does; Brecht, once thought to be the Shakespeare of Left-wing theater, remains only as an inventive apologist for a failed Stalinism who wrote a few memorable set-pieces.

Yet "The Prisoner" survives, and likely will continue to survive, because it demonstrated both the potential power and the ultimate limitations of it's medium. There was never a show like this previous to it, and there has never been a show like it since, because the notion of a political/cultural satire extended for thirteen weeks for a mass audience is really unthinkable in television terms. How McGoohan came up with the idea therefore remains a mystery, but somehow he got it made. That there were millions willing to devote time and the effort of attention to it remains equally mysterious; but I think part of the answer is that at the time, many of us still weren't sure what the "television phenomenon" actually was. We didn't recognize it as mere audio-visual wall-paper, we thought it could be something else; and "The Prisoner" offered us a something else, something in keeping with what we had learned of great satire in letters, such as Swift and Voltaire.

Television as a medium has exhausted itself; it can never escape its economics, and so can never again be thought of a potentially liberating art-form. But there was a time when it was possible to imagine otherwise....

Not every episode is equally good, but "The Prisoner" remains brilliant, disturbing, visionary, and probably will for a long time to come.

A lot of wasted potential.

[GalacticScholar · 6/10 · 25 February 2020]

The premise for this series is amazing. A secret agent is imprisoned in a mysterious village by captors who pressure him for information. Which makes it sad how wasted it was.

The series has a lot of good ideas like the episode where his captors invade #6's dreams and the one where a replica of him is created for the purpose of screwing with his mind. These episodes are great by themselves, and some of the others are pretty good too, but when you look at it as one story, it becomes dissatisfying. The first major issue is that there is no progression between episodes. There is a beginning and an end but in the rest of them the plot does not advance at all.

This would not be a problem in a series without an overarching plot, but in this one, I think it kills any tension. There are several episodes where it appears that #6 has escaped but, of course, he always ends up in the exact same place in the next episode. In some other episodes it appears that something has changed or is about to change, like in the one where #6 becomes the new #2, but of course this never lasts. This results in the viewer not being able to feel anything, because they know that no matter what happens, nothing is going to change.

The other major issue is the ending. The pilot episode introduces several driving questions such as "Who is #1?", "Who runs the village?", "Why did #6 resign?" and "Why do his captors want to know?" And the ending answers none of these, just giving us a mind screw that will make you wonder what drugs the writers were doing.

And if these questions are never answered then why introduce them in the first place? And what's more, then why am I even watching this? While I did kind of enjoy this series, the thought of how much more it could have been if the plot was a genuine mystery where each episode gave us clues and foreshadowing before finally revealing the answers instead of the plot going nowhere and answering nothing leaves me with a very mixed opinion of it.

Be seeing you, indeed

[mfisher452 · 5/10 · 4 November 2008]

The Cold War years of the 1960s were the "golden age" of James Bond and the espionage genre. On TV, there was "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "Mission: Impossible," even "Get Smart" and some other shows best forgotten, such as "Mr. Terrific" and "Captain Nice." I first saw Patrick McGoohan when he played the dour, grim spy John Drake in "Secret Agent," a slightly modified version of "Danger Man" from Lew Grade's ITC. Sometime in the late 1960s, we saw McGoohan again---even grimmer and more dour, if possible---in a bizarre British "spy" series: "The Prisoner," also from ITC.

We Americans didn't see the same show the Brits saw. In those days, a typical season ran 13 weeks. "The Prisoner" was 18 hours long (16 hour-long episodes and a final 2-parter). A run of "The Prisoner" would always omit several episodes. Neither did we see complete shows, because each episode's running time was longer than U.S. shows owing to shorter and less frequent commercial breaks in the UK, so the episodes that did air were trimmed. The entire series was broadcast in later years, most notably on commercial-free PBS stations in the early 1980s. Even then, we didn't see quite the same show: The British PAL broadcasting system, with its higher number of lines, has a sharper picture and cleaner colors than the U.S.'s NTSC system. With the advent of all-digital and high-def TV, this difference may disappear. But what about the show itself?

The plot: A high-ranking British secret agent, whose name is never revealed, barges into the agency offices. He is indignant. There is no audio, but he appears to be telling his superior why he is fed up or outraged before he slams a letter of resignation down on the desk. But no, he hasn't said why. He goes home and packs for a trip, presumably to get away from it all. However, he knows too much for his own good, and mysterious forces are at work: While packing, he is knocked out by gas. When he awakens, he finds himself a resident on an island inhabited by others like himself: They possess information that makes them too risky to allow to return to a normal life. What looks like a beautiful resort is actually an elaborate, Kafkaesque prison called simply "The Village." The inmates do not have names, only Numbers. The protagonist is Number 6. (We never meet Numbers 3, 4 or 5. I speculated that future Number 2s are brought in at Number 5 and advance to 4, 3 and then 2 as each successive Number 2 bites the dust from week to week.) Escape is nearly impossible. The administrator of The Village is Number 2. (The identity of Number 1 is revealed---after a fashion---only near the end of the final episode.) In every episode, Number 2 devises an intricate scheme to induce Number 6 to reveal why he resigned, and in every episode, he or she fails and is replaced with a new Number 2. Number 6 is The Village's most strong-willed, stiff-necked, recalcitrant inmate, foiling every episode's plot to get him to submit, outwitting his captors in every way except one: His every attempt at escape ultimately fails. Every episode's opening credits end with The Prisoner shouting defiantly at his warders: "I am not a number! I am a free man!"

This, of course, is the theme of the show. The Prisoner's reason for resigning, with which his captors are obsessed, is merely the "gimmick," or what Hitchcock liked to call The MacGuffin, i.e., a plot device that motivates the characters or advances the story, but the details of which are of little or no importance otherwise. Like the world of George Orwell's "1984," The Village was a vehicle for McGoohan's musings on the modern conflict between totalitarianism, soulless conformity and regimentation on one side and personal identity, freedom, democracy, and the uses of education, science, art and technology on the other. McGoohan succeeded in creating a watchable imaginary world, with Orwellian dialogue and a visual style slightly reminiscent of early Fellini, at the same time as the plots and plot devices were often sublimely silly verging on nonsensical. The main piece of silliness is that never once does The Prisoner say his own name. Nor does anyone else! There is even one episode where he manages to escape back to London (before being tricked back onto the island), and the script contortions that ensue so that none of the other character says his name either are truly ridiculous. In the 2-part final episode, Number 6's captors acknowledge that he has maintained his individuality despite all their attempts to wrest it from him, and grant him what he has sought from the beginning: To find out who is the true master of The Village; to meet Number 1. This episode abandons all pretense at realism and becomes an often nightmarish roller-coaster ride through a succession of images that leave the viewer wondering just what in the world is going on. In the end, "The Prisoner" lets the viewer down. McGoohan seems to have run out of ideas and could not figure out a way to end the series convincingly, so he resorted to surrealistic silliness and hoped that everyone would be so dazzled by it that they wouldn't turn off the TV at the end thinking, "Makes no sense at all."

Now that "The Prisoner" is available on DVD, I would recommend that if you're interested, you should watch it once just to see what all the fuss is about.

Astonishingly Original and Intelligent

[rlcsljo · 14 March 2000]

When I saw the first episode of this series, my jaw dropped in amazement. Here was a TV series that was entertaining and actually made you think. Nothing was ever what it appeared, no one had a real name, you never knew who was the good guy or the bad guy (or if they were one in the same!). The "final" episode was what could only be described as PSYCHEDELIC.

This TV series was, and still is, way ahead of its time.

As a side note, there is a "lost" first episode that is wildly different than the first one generally aired that explains some of the symbolism used in the series.

I hope the movie remake is made and distributed.

I am not a number!

[ringnes_herre · 9/10 · 12 August 2020]

This series has the unsettling strangeness of The Wicker Man (1973), the cold intellect and social awareness of George Orwell's 1984 and the campyness of early Bond movies. It feels like something Rod Serling could have written at his peak, but tempered with typical British dry humour. Despite the clear influence from The Twilight Zone, it ends up feeling unique. So many shows carries a clear inspiration from, or pays direct homage to The Prisoner. It's one of those shows that stays relevant decades after it's first run, thanks to it's solid storytelling, deep philosophical underpinnings and atmosphere.

Never Surrender

[chaswe-28402 · 10/10 · 29 June 2020]

The memory of McGoohan as Danger Man and The Prisoner has stayed with me since watching these episodes on UK TV when they first came out --- so long ago I can't put a date on it. I can remember that I identified strongly with both characters although at the time I was never quite sure what was going on in The Prisoner. Still, I could see that he was arrogant and sardonic, but baffled and powerless. At the same time, he was never going to bend, break or crack. McGoohan filled this role to perfection. I thought the style and design of the series was exceptional, and I still do: it holds up remarkably well; and, as someone said, it is really timeless in theme and execution, which qualifies it as a genuine work of art. I get the message rather better now, forty-odd years later. Anyone who appreciates that the only worthwhile purpose of life is to maintain the struggle of the integrity and independence of the individual against the system --- bureaucratic, socialist, capitalist or any other -ism --- should own this series. Personal freedom is all that there is worth fighting for, but how to achieve it without submitting to the smothering forces that usually claim to have the same aim? That is the great problem. Never join them, even if you can't beat them. That's the answer.

McGoohan did it first

[Sabrejetp · 8/10 · 1 November 2006]

No 6 is an individual who's previous employment was highly classified and is now at odds with his conscience. THATS why he resigned.(in one old interview McGoohan describes No. 6 as being a former government scientist) What he knew was too valuable to the state so he couldn't be left to continue has a free man, he had to be kept a prisoner by his former employers in the interests of the state, a less generous nation that Britain might have killed him.. or maybe they just hope to win him back one day. Or at least that's how I think George Markstein thought the show was about, and that was fairly subversive for mid 60's TV.

McGoohan wanted to get more out of it, and he prototyped, as a TV show the kind of stories Philip K Dick was then writing and would eventually be successfully realised in stuff like the Truman Show, but he lost his way before he could write a proper finale. Nowadays on shows like 'Life on Mars' teams of writers and producers plot complex story lines that tease us and ultimately pay off.

The Prisoner is a cult because its great but never quite fulfils its promise. We keep watching just in case it'll work better next time.

BE SEEING YOU

[DD-931 · 10/10 · 18 August 2001]

I was living in England when this show premiered in late 1967. I was 12 years old, and this show grabbed hold of me and has never let go since. Patrick McGoohan has to be not only the most underrated actor of his generation, but also the most astonishing visionary ever allowed control over a TV production. The fact that he took a popular genre like the secret agent craze and turned it on it's ear is only part of it. So many loftier and more prestigious dramas have never come close to THE PRISONER in examining issues like integrity, societal pressure, the cost of freedom, and even the nature of reality itself.

For a long time I have been mystified by how little this show is acknowledged in historical documents of television, and by how many people seem to have forgotten both it and Patrick McGoohan. And after more than 30 years, I can only come to one conclusion about why that is.

We are still all living in the Village.

Are you a number? Or a free man?

[Artimidor · 9/10 · 20 August 2013]

This is the one. The show that everyone thought would be just another special agent series when it aired, and it wasn't. Far from that. The show with an extreme sixties look and feel, while at the same time injecting futuristic ideas, all around alternative, bizarre and psychedelic, even or especially when seen in the 21st century. Among its stars: a water filled balloon, named Rover, that substitutes for a special effect. This is the show that turned out to be labelled postmodern, broke its format and demanded from its viewers to think as individuals, not to be a number among numbers in the mass audience of mindless watchers out there. The show that forced its creator and lead actor to go into hiding after the final episode aired. A series that was way ahead of its time as they say and that still yields a thousand different interpretations in a thousand different people. This is the one. The cult show that is "The Prisoner".

Brainchild of Patrick McGoohan who was fed up with doing just another typical agent show and even rejected the Bond role, opted to go for something fresh, but used the metier he was already familiar with to convey his ideas. As in real life McGoohan's alter ego resigns from being an agent, only to find himself trapped in 'The Village', referred to only as No. 6. He is kept in check by mysterious people headed by a constantly changing No. 2 who want 'information'. Possibly there's an even more enigmatic No. 1 pulling the strings in the background... It's a great premise, and that's just the beginning. Shot on location at the unique Welsh seaside resort of Portmeirion the choice of the place alone already mixes a-historical beauty with sharp irony when seen in conjunction with the background story. Also "The Prisoner" doesn't shun from heading in entirely different directions episode by episode: it's action packed and cool, however substantial, chock-full with philosophical issues and features mostly brilliant allegorical storytelling ranging from psychological warfare, brainwashing, reality games, even a fairy tale and a western are in the mix and surrealism at its absurdest but most effective. It should be pointed out that the series is groundbreaking in many respects and yet far from perfect. That however is part of its appeal. What initially was planned only as a series with a handful of episodes by McGoohan and producer Markstein was blown up to 17 very uneven segments. A curse and a blessing indeed, as there are parts in it that work like a charm and others that appear tedious and strained. But all in all "The Prisoner" is the perfect thinking man's buffet to pick from and start discussions, with the episodes serving as the springboard. Most of all the series offers insight in what stands between man and his freedom, it even finally provides a definitive answer to the always present question: "Who is number 1?" If you don't know yet, or need a reminder: Be seeing you - in the village!

It takes a DaDa Welsh village. And Patrick McGoogan to make an icon!

[eltsr-1 · 10/10 · 7 October 2019]

Amazon Prime brought this to me recently while I was dog sitting at my son's house. My tour in Vietnam, May 67-Jan 68, bifurcated the episodes for me, but it has always been my favorite TV Series! This is what television programming should be. Tons of brilliant London theatre actors & Welsh inhabitants of a still very real village as guests & extras provide both quaint & disorienting psychological simulacra for McGoogan raging against what?! An intelligence driven mandatory existence that made 1984 look like a garden tea party. 1960s was the decade to drop out, but McGoogan's character had no clue where his free fall would take him. A bad trip of beyond excellent TV production quality & technique that is always moving well beyond MACH 1. I watched ALL of the episodes offered & each was a tour d 'force of great dialogue ("You're paranoid!" replies McGoogan's nightmare malevolent prison warden after he accuses her of multiple homicides--that he both witnessed & personally barely avoided!) Very dark British humor but no shadows in a gleaming seascape enshrouding a Disney acid trip of the (cough!) happiest place -- on Earth? It's your call. In my experience it isn't necessary to watch all of these gems in sequence, over several weeks or like I did, with my favorite grand-dog amidst feedings, walks & naps. Better than I remembered it! Enjoy!

you had to be there...

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 6 April 2014]

I can't believe I just started a review with an excuse, with an apology, but that is the only way to explain this series. It was the 60s.(A smart reviewer would end the review after that simple 3-word sentence, but I can't, IMDb has minimums, and you don't mess with their rules.) The spy thing had more or less peaked by 67, but McGoohan's street cred was still amazingly high. Of all the spy guys, he was the only one that had insisted (Danger Man) that violence be kept to a minimum and guile to a maximum; he was the only one to have achieved such a strong international demand that a UK production actually was being repackaged (with a new name and theme song) for American audiences (Avengers notwithstanding, save that for another review!); and he even snagged a middling role in an international movie entirely on the basis of his spy "persona" -- ICE STATION ZEBRA. Well, against this backdrop of success (and, I repeat, IT WAS THE 60s!) Patrick pulled a "Tom Cruise" and put together his own production, based on on his own idea, and starring (surprise!) himself. It was quite successful. Never mind that no one completely understood whether the story was to be taken literally or allegorically - the last episode ended with the head of the village revealed to be a simian! -- and never mind that it was PAINFULLY obvious from day #1 that he was never going to escape (otherwise, what is the point?), the series snagged both a mainstream AND a cult following (wow) and remains both popular and enigmatic to this day. Now, if you have read my other reviews, you know that this is the point in the review where I usually explain why a series like this was so oddly successful, in spite of the terminal gloominess, the repetitive plot arcs, and the fact that even McGoohan's charisma has its limits...? Three 3 word answer? It was the 60s.

Be seeing you

[nickenchuggets · 9/10 · 4 May 2021]

Those three words sound innocent enough on their own, but in the world of the prisoner, they are spoken because it implies a state of constant surveillance. The show focuses on renowned actor Patrick McGoohan, who plays some kind of secret agent retired from his life's work of espionage and spying. One day, he awakes in a strange village by the sea that has nice architecture and friendly inhabitants, but it has a dark side. He soon comes to realize nobody in this village has a name, and they're all reduced to numbers, his being 6. His captors will not allow him to leave until he tells them why he resigned from his job. 6 will have none of it and refuses to tell them what they want, and the village's leaders tighten their grip on his life, watching his every move through expertly hidden cameras and listening devices. The stories are thought provoking and interesting for what they are, but the competent storytelling runs out of steam on the very last episode, and the ending enraged so many people in fact that McGoohan was attacked in person for it afterwards. A common criticism of the show is that the prisoner doesn't tell you everything. The audience doesn't know the backstory of number 6, his job, why he gave up his job, or the village's history. But that's the whole appeal of it; that you have to use your imagination. A common theory among fans of McGoohan's past shows will say that the prisoner is an unofficial follow up series to Secret Agent (called Danger Man in the US) because he was a spy for nato in that. The connection between the two shows remains up for debate though and the prisoner neither confirms nor denies the similarities. What we do know however is that the prisoner is a good choice for avid viewers of spy shows and avant-garde things that don't make a lot of sense.

Still Ready Holds Up

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 13 August 2019]

Not every television series from the 1960's holds up by modern standards. I'd argue that most don't. So it takes a certain type of show, a certain style for something to be relevant over 50 years after it's initial release. It usually helps if the show has an element of science fiction to it (like this or Star Trek). The plots of these shows deal with eternal philosophical questions that will always be relevant even if the techniques and technology used to create them are not.

The Prisoner falls in the camp of relevancy because of the vision of McGoohan. As the main actor, producer, and often director, his singular vision of what this show was to be practically forced this show to stand out above the crowd of mediocre 60's spy and action dramas. Instead of focusing on standard spy plots, McGoohan created a show that focused on the metaphysical, the concept of individuality, the role of government. This isn't a show about a spy locked up on an island for what he knows, that is just the setting. This is about an individual's struggle to reject conforming to society and the issues that this creates. The setting is pretty, the characters unique, the direction often breathtaking, but it is the concept that keeps this cult classic in the hearts and minds of viewers decades after many other shows have been forgotten.

Just as bizarre 40 years on...

[orinocowomble · 1/10 · 25 October 2012]

I first saw The Prisoner when it was originally broadcast. I was about 6 at the time, and I remember telling myself, "OK...I don't "get" this because I'm a kid." I loved the Village, the clothes, and in a bizarre way, Rover. But I knew I didn't understand it. I did catch on to the basic messages of "man as just another number in society" and "Who are the bad guys? Are the "good guys" the bad guys? Who's in charge here, really?" Having with much older, social-activist siblings probably helped; but I must admit I watched it because they did. In 2004 I had the opportunity to see the series again, and I thought, "Now's my chance to see what this was really about." I watched it with my European husband. I still didn't "get" it, and neither did he. Oh, the anti-totalitarian message was still there...very much of its time and place...but it was just as bizarre and confusing as the first time. I never did figure out the significance of the penny-farthing bicycle that appears in sculpture, paintings and pins on people's clothing...but then I don't think you're supposed to. As for McGoohan's over-the-top acting...well, the less said about that, the better. Styles change with the decades, but even so...ugh. You don't *have* to be high to watch The Prisoner...but it probably helps.