The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode
British television series first broadcast in the United Kingdom from
29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968.
Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction
with elements of science fiction, allegory, and psychological drama.
Starring Patrick McGoohan
This Series has long been Out of Print and sells for as much as
$169 used on Amazon
The series follows a British former secret agent who is abducted and
held prisoner in a mysterious coastal village resort where his
captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job.
Although sold as a thriller in the mould of the previous series
starring McGoohan, Danger Man (1960–68), the show's combination of
1960s countercultural themes and surreal setting had a far-reaching
effect on science fiction/fantasy programming, and on popular
culture in general.
Plot summary
The series follows an unnamed British agent (played by Patrick
McGoohan) who abruptly resigns his job, apparently preparing to go
on a holiday. While packing his luggage, he is rendered unconscious
by knockout gas in his apartment. When he wakes, he finds himself
held captive in a mysterious seaside "village" that is isolated from
the mainland by mountains and sea. The Village is further secured by
numerous monitoring systems and security forces, including a
mysterious balloon-like device called Rover that recaptures – or
kills – those who attempt escape. The agent encounters the Village's
population, hundreds of people from all walks of life and cultures,
all seeming to be tranquilly living out their lives. They do not use
names but instead are assigned numbers, which give no clue as to any
person's status (prisoner or warder). Potential escapees therefore
have no idea whom they can and cannot trust. The protagonist is
assigned Number Six, but he repeatedly refuses the pretense of his
new identity.
Number Six is monitored heavily by Number Two, the Village
administrator acting as an agent for an unseen "Number One." A
variety of techniques are used by Number Two to try to extract
information from Number Six, including hallucinogenic drug
experiences,
identity theft, mind control, dream manipulation, and various forms
of social indoctrination. All of these are employed not only to find
out why Number Six resigned as an agent, but also to extract other
dangerous information he gained as a spy. The position of Number Two
is filled in on a rotating basis; in some cases, part of a larger
plan to confuse Number Six, while other times as a result of failure
in interrogating Number Six.
Number Six, distrusting of anyone involved with the Village, refuses
to co-operate or provide answers. Alone, he struggles with various
goals: determining for which side of the iron curtain the Village
works if, indeed, it works for any at all, remaining defiant to its
imposed authority, concocting his own plans for escape, learning all
he can about the Village, and subverting its operation. His schemes
lead to the dismissals of the incumbent Number Two on two occasions,
despite their failure to facilitate his escape. By the end of the
series the administration, becoming desperate for Number Six's
knowledge and fearful of his growing influence in the Village, takes
drastic measures that threaten the lives of Number Six, Number Two,
and the rest of the Village. A major theme of the show is
individualism versus collectivism, summarised in one of Number Six's
defiant statements: "I will make no deals with you. I've RESIGNED. I
will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, de-briefed, or
numbered. My life is my own."
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