How The Prisoner Has Been Thought-provoking In My Life

At first, The Prisoner was not understood at all. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey, also released in 1968, The Prisoner takes repeated viewings to be fully appreciated and translated into our consciousness. It is also very prescient, for it foretold better than any film or television show the world in which we find ourselves in today. We live in an environment in which we are all known by our numbers instead of our names. Our activities are watched and recorded and used against us. Our freedoms have been eroded away by well meaning fatheads whose true agenda is the complete enslavement of the citizens, as our guns and private property rights are whittled away.

The Prisoner foresaw all of this, and much more. Patrick McGoohan conceived, wrote directed and starred in this masterpiece. Isaac Asimov called it the greatest SF television series of all time. It is the first true television masterpiece, and one of the 10 best things EVER shown on television. This was much more than a disposable commodity, it has been the subject of debates, arguments and even college theses. Its impact upon television itself has been enormous, with at least 10 references being made in the Simpsons alone.

Never before, or since, has the television medium been manipulated to the breaking point. Originally conceived as only 9 episodes, creator McGoohan brainstormed with his staff and crafted 8 more stories. The show can be watched on many levels. You can watch it as a spy show, complete with all of the trappings. It’s a Science Fiction show without peer, as we see glimpses of technology and even life forms not from this planet.

There has been no better social allegory than The Prisoner, with its sharp, biting dialogue and wild story lines. I myself look at it as a Political SF show with an eye on the future that was coming whether we liked it or not.

Here is a quick run down of all 17 episodes. Some of them may sound odd, or ordinary, but don’t be fooled. Every story has many layers of meaning and context. They have never gotten old or predictable, despite watching them at least 20 times each.

1. Arrival. Number 6’s first day. Number Six encounters a friend from the outside who may have a possible escape.
2. The Chimes of Big Ben. A new prisoner, Nadia, may have information about the Village that makes an escape attempt possible.
3. A, B And C. A desperate Number 2 invades the dreams of Number 6 in an effort to learn why he resigned.
4. Free for All. Number Six runs for election to the post of Number Two in this biting, timeless lampoon of politics.
5. The Schizoid Man. Number 6 is introduced to his identical twin, who calls himself Number 6.
6. The General. A new form of instant learning comes to the Village.
7. Many Happy Returns. Number 6 wakes up alone in The Village. Is this a chance to escape?
8. Dance of the Dead. After finding a radio on the beach, Number Six tries to save an old friend headed for destruction at the hands of the Village.
9. Checkmate. A woman is brainwashed into falling in love with Number 6, which complicates his newest escape plan.
10. Hammer Into Anvil. Number 6 gets revenge on a cruel, sadistic Number 2 for killing a woman in cold blood.
11. It s Your Funeral. Someone is out to assassinate Number 2, and Number 6 is out to find out who.
12. A Change of Mind. The Village ostracizes Number Six to cure his “unmutuality”.
13. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling. Number 6’s mind is inserted into another man’s body as he travels back to England to seek a missing scientist..
14. Living in Harmony. A Western morality tale of greed, lust and murder.
15. The Girl Who Was Death. Number Six avoids the assassination attempts of a beautiful woman while foiling the plots of her megalomaniac father.
16. Once Upon a Time. A duel to the death between Number 6 and Number 2. who will break first?
17. Fall Out. Having won his right to be an Individual, Number 6 is taken to see Number 1.

MY TAKE. The Prisoner is more than an entertainment. It is a statement of concepts that I hold dear. The most important of these is the Right of the Individual to remain and Individual. In this faceless, over-secure and paranoid world, it is becoming harder each day to be ourselves. The mindless crap that passes for entertainment today forces us all to think, talk and spend our lives the same way. It’s not a positive way to live. We have all been forced into a world of The Matrix, but that’s a story for another day.

Be Seeing You.