Questions are a burden to others SPOILER ALERT!!! What follows divulges show secrets. If you haven't seen The Prisoner, do NOT read on. (I am assuming that most people at all interested in a show as old as The Prisoner have already seen it.)
Now, with that said, The Prisoner is easily, hands down, without any reservations the single greatest TV show in history. (A close second, in my book, would be the first four Doctors on the ORIGINAL run of Doctor Who.) The Prisoner wasn't only entertaining, it was thought provoking. To call it "Kafkaesque" is now cliché, though its similarities to Kafka's The Trial are many and striking. In The Trial a man is told he must defend himself in a bizarre court but cannot learn what the charge is. He never does. In The Prisoner a man learns he is a prisoner in a place called "The Village," a bizarre prison disguised as a luxury resort. The reasoning behind the prison is that prisoners will be so taken with the luxuries at hand that they will find no reason to escape. For No. 6, the sheer fact that he is not free to escape if he wishes is reason enough to do it. He spends the entire series trying to escape.
After discovering that the man in charge of The Village is himself (yes, No. 6 is No. 1), he manages to leave the Village. Or does he? Notice that when he finally gets home his door opens on its own, just like the doors in The Village. For those who didn't catch on, McGoohan later (in an interview) told us what it all means: No. 6 never escaped. He's still in The Village. Society IS The Village. If you live in society, you ARE a prisoner. But you pretty much HAVE to live in a society, which means you pretty much HAVE to be a prisoner. There is no escaping this fact. As McGoohan had achieved fame with Danger Man, he discovered he was prisoner to a contract he deeply regretted signing. He wanted to escape. Ironically, he was playing a spy on Danger Man, and resigned as star of the show. He then made The Prisoner, about a man who quits his job as a government agent. This has created much debate as to whether No. 6 in The Prisoner is in fact meant to be Drake from Danger Man. McGoohan has said no, but The Prisoner's other main writer and script editor has emphatically said yes. You decide. (I'll go with McGoohan, as I think his ultimate point is that everybody is No. 6. He once said that at the end of the show, he wishes the words "The Beginning" had appeared.)
McGoohan is obviously a libertarian. He despises bureaucracy, authority, and big government. He has said he loves the first amendment, adding emphatically that there can be no freedom without privacy. Thus we see why the greeting in The Village, "be seeing you," is so ominous to No. 6. Sure, it sounds like "see you later," but is really a way of reminding everyone in The Village that they are always under surveillance.
The show and No. 6's character traits and struggle has stayed with me, ever since I first saw it as a child. McGoohan is easily my favorite actor, and it is a true shame he did not star in more movies. I've always loved his devotion to his wife and children, how he never lets his work come before them, how he refuses to film any type of love scene because he doesn't want to kiss anyone but his wife, etc. He is truly a remarkable man. It saddens me that he had to turn down the parts of Gandalf and Dumbledor, due to his bad health, as he would have been perfect in both of them. I am very glad for his part in Braveheart, however, especially considering that before this he had spent much of the early 90s in a coma! Mel Gibson wanted McGoohan in the film as he is also a great Prisoner fan, and even (supposedly) toyed with the idea of helping McGoohan make the film version, playing No. 6 himself. Though I simply cannot think of any other actor who could "become" No. 6 (the role being a pure expression of McGoohan's rare personality), Gibson is about as good of a choice as one could make given the current options. In fact, AMC is currently toying with remaking the entire series, and guess what their greatest obstacle reportedly is? Surprise, surprise: they simply can't find anyone who can pull the role off. The actor would almost have to share McGoohan's convictions to be able to do it, becoming almost an embodiment of pure defiance and anger. The Prisoner is, after all, the single greatest showdown of the individual vs. the collective ever put to film, in my book trumping even The Fountainhead, Bullitt, and Enemy of the People (though Ibsen profoundly influenced McGoohan).
Interestingly, McGoohan and fellow Prisoner star Alexis Kanner later made a film together. Like much of McGoohan's film work, it's not available on DVD (which here is an absolute shame given that 1: McGoohan is one of the best actors alive and 2: this film is simply brilliant.) It's called Kings and Desperate Men, and has many of the same elements that The Prisoner contained. I've always been shocked that Prisoner fans haven't rallied for this film to be released on DVD. Perhaps they've never heard of it. In it, McGoohan's character is taken prisoner (literally) by a group of idealistic youthful liberal misfits. He laughs that they think they're in control simply because they have a shotgun, and proceeds to unravel them all with his wits. His libertarian views come out here as much as in The Prisoner, as his character scoffs at the moral crusaders' silly liberal ranting, and exposes the fact that their leader really doesn't know what he's talking about, and that if what he wanted actually occurred, chaos and anarchy would result. (Now that I've brought Prisoner fans' attention to Kanner and McGoohan's followup to The Prisoner, let's see how fast all 8 copies that exist on Amazon are snatched up. If you like it, try to do something to help get this released on DVD. I've written Anchor Bay several times.)
Assorted mind games, and the episode CBS refused to show This classic miniseries concerns ex-secret agent "No. 6" (Patrick McGoohan), held captive in a strange prison camp called The Village. The head man is No. 2, who reports to an unidentified No. 1. What starts as an offbeat spy thriller ends as a surrealistic allegory.
In "Change of Mind," it looks like No. 6 might suffer permanent physical damage. "Mind" reminds me of the earlier "Free for All," partly because both episodes include formal confrontations in the Council Chamber*, but mostly because in both episodes, No. 6's enemy is the entire Village population, not just the authorities. (The two bullies still seem a bit out of place, because they appear not to subscribe to Village group mentality.) Another unsettling detail is the Village authorities literally playing God, with Villagers confessing their sins in a parody of a religious ceremony. One potentially offensive detail is the element of misogyny, present in several episodes, but strongest here, since the woman administering No. 6's "treatment" is portrayed as first evil, then foolish.
"Hammer Into Anvil, " reverses the main conflict, as No. 6 goes after No. 2. But No. 6's tactics aren't ultimately as effective as No. 2's paranoia. The idea of being oppressed by some part of your own personality is one that will figure prominently into THE PRISONER's final resolution. But I have two complaints about "Hammer." First, I feel the idea doesn't support a full hour-long story. I find myself saying, about halfway through, "Okay, I GET it." This problem is particularly annoying when contrasted with the extreme complexity of other episodes. Second, although No. 6 is avenging a friend's death, I lose sympathy for him when he actively seeks to hurt someone.
"Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling" resulted from a schedule change that required an episode to be filmed while McGoohan was away working on ICE STATION ZEBRA. The story puts No 6's mind in another man's body in hopes that he'll track down one Dr. Seltzman, the only person who can reverse the process. Of course, No. 6 is also being tracked, so that Seltzman can be captured and pressed into sharing his technology. As in several other episodes, it looks like No. 6's own people may be involved with The Village. The idea isn't terrible original, but it's done with enough style and class that it's still way above most commercial television.
Note the altered beginning, which includes a teaser in London and omits the dialog between No. 6 and No. 2. I'm guessing this is to emphasize the involvement of those outside The Village, and foreshadow No. 6's memories of The Village being wiped.
Unfortunately, there are various logical problems and inconsistencies with the rest of the series. There has been NO SUGGESTION thus far of No. 6 having a fiancée, and some of Janet's lines suggest No 6's apartment has been empty since he was abducted. What about Mrs. Butterworth from "Many Happy Returns"?
More importantly, although No. 6's memory of The Village has been wiped, he's still a trained secret agent and old friend of Seltzman -- and thus should know what in general is going on and be hesitant to locate Seltzman, however much he wants his own body back. And if No. 6's memory of the Village has been wiped, why doesn't he ask where he is at the end? It's been suggested that No. 6 should have located his body first, because Seltzman couldn't help him without it. However, he might have figured it would be easier to bring Seltzman along on the search for his body, rather than vice versa.
I also have a technical quibble, which I've had with other mind-switching stories as well. If you put Oscar's mind into Wold's body, the displaced Oscar -- assuming he doesn't WANT to step into Weldors shoes -- would speak with the TIMBRE of Weldors voice, while retaining all other vocal vocal characteristics of Oscar. If Oscar had an English accent, he would speak with one from inside Walled, even if Walled were American. If Oscar was a loudmouth, he would be one from inside Walled, even if Walled were soft-spoken. But the displaced No. 6 speaks with all the mannerisms of his new body's original owner. The problem manifest itself even more strongly in the twist ending.
"Living in Harmony" makes an interesting follow-up to "Forsake" for two reasons. First, if No. 6's memory of The Village was wiped, that would set him up for happens here. Second, both episodes alter the show's opening. "Harmony" features a radical alteration, omitting the regular opening sequence and series title -- although what we see instead is a reworking of the regular opening. I'm among those who suspect CBS refused to air this episode because viewers might think it wasn't THE PRISONER. The more popular theory is that "Harmony" looked too much like an allegory of the Vietnam war. (BTW, O.S. residents may be seeing the "Harmony" trailer for the first time on this DVD.)
I'm guessing the intention is to (a) show No. 6 completely submerged in the illusion of the Western town, Harmony, and (b) produce a similar effect in the viewer. You KNOW this is a PRISONER episode, but you're persuaded to forget you know, which keeps you from anticipating the ending too strongly. The episode includes a second twist at the end to offset the fact that the first twist isn't going to be a true surprise. That second twist also makes "Harmony" into a story that can be appreciated on its own, without an understanding of THE PRISONER as a whole.
But "Harmony" is also tied to the final episode by the presence of actor Alexis Kana in both. The official work is that there is no relationship between the two characters, but I like think that The Kid was somehow reincarnated.
*The Council Chamber appears in "The General," but the proceedings are much less formal.
From His Fiercest Battles To His Decent Into Surrealism... This Prisoner set is action-packed and prepares the audience for the finale set. And, yes, it can be enjoyed on it's own without the other sets.
Though these episodes are terrific, they originally weren't intended for filming and so, in some way, that makes them technically "filler"- an episode spent in another person's body, an episode in the wild west, etc. They don't connect with the central plot insomuch as the Prisoner spends the first two episodes going after No. 2 and the community at large.
In A Change Of Mind, No. 6 pays the price for the constant disdain with which he treats his fellow villagers and the way they live. He has to deal with a public shunning, which you'd think would suit No. 6 just fine, right?
Hammer Into Anvil is a personal favorite of mine as No. 6 challenges a particularly angry No. 2 through phychological manipulation.
Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling has a different actor playing No. 6 (there's a reason). And this fellow does a rather good job of capturing McGoohan's performance in a different body.
Living In Harmony is a curio episode. It's really fun to see the world of The Prisoner transplanted to the wild west. It shows the malleable nature of stories in general and proves a point about the underlying meanings of the series. My father loves those old western t.v. shows, and The Prisoner, so this episode is always a particular treat for him.
All four episodes are great, as long as you don't object to their lack of relation to the main plot. That actually makes this set ideally able to stand on its own. You get two intense conflicts between No. 6 and his captors, as well as a western oddity and a great episode without much McGoohan or village in it for a change of pace. After this, No. 6 is ready for things to come to a head- Be Seeing You!
"Unmutual!" Back in 1967, an allegorical television show emerged that has yet to be topped by any other English television series. The show: The Prisoner. Starring Patrick McGoohan, he plays the role of No. 6, a former secret service agent who resigned for unknown reasons and then finds himself knocked unconscious and trapped in a seemingly peaceful place called "the Village." Each episode features a new No. 2 (with a few exceptions), who watches his every move and strives to find out why he resigned. The only superior is the unseen No. 1, the supposed ruler of the Village. The only other characters that reoccur are The Supervisor (also called Controller), played by Peter Stanwick, and The Butler, played by Angelo Muscat.
In "A Change of Mind," Number Six is labeled "disharmonious" and "unmutual" and is therefore shunned by the other villagers. They perform yet another mind game on him to make him "harmonious" and accepted, hoping for him to fit in and reveal why he resigned. Of course, he knows better by now and has a trick up his sleeve...
In "Hammer Into Anvil" (one of my top favorites from the series), the new Number Two is an extremely paranoid official. Number Six starts to play his own mind game in which he utterly convinces the new Number Two that he is spying on him and ready to cause a rebellion. The message here is clear: when you have power, you don't have much trust for anyone.
In "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling," Number Six is switched with a special agent. He finds himself outside the Village and in search of a famous scientist known for the creation of switching minds, but is he still free?
In "Living in Harmony," Number Six finds himself in a Western-style Village... he originally a sheriff who resigns for unknown reasons. An interesting and actually downright creepy episode that is one of the most illogically pleasing episodes of the series. "The Kid" is silent throughout the episode (well, sort of, just watch it...) and his actions are louder than his words. Originally, this episode wasn't aired in America for two years, possibly because of its close connection to the Vietnam War.
By now, The Prisoner has prevailed. He has grown resiliant to the Village, which makes each Number Two even more desperate than before.
Overall, a fantastic series. While I give the series a high rating, I do recommend the megaset as opposed to the individual volumes.
Change that Hammer and Anvil Your Mind, Oh My Darling This portion of the 5 tape Prisoner set is to my mind, one of the more intriguing, as it includes one of my favorite episodes, "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling". In this bizarre turn, the Prisoner's mind is transplanted into the body of another secret agent, allowing #6 to see his familiar surroundings, his former lover and the life he left behind when he resigned, but of course, he's barred from enjoying the experience as himself, and to fully realize the joy of being in love. Patrick McGoohan doesn't appear much in the episode, but he narrates the ersatz Prisoner's thoughts, which is just plain strange. "Hammer to Anvil," is a real creep-out, with a sicko #2 that radiates disdain and drips pure evil. Number 2 gets his in the end, in a very inventive twist of fate. The Western episode,"Living in Harmony" is a another trippy expedition, using American t.v. cliches (gunfights, harlots with hearts of gold) to make a powerful anti-violence (and by extension) anti-war statement. Worth viewing, especially today. "A Change of Mind," with its emphasis on mind-control shows just how far the keepers of the Village will go to enforce conformity. Exciting, well-crafted and full of the tension that makes the Prisoner such an intriguing piece of work. A great box set for the Prisoner fan, without a doubt. Be seeing you.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
