Prisoner

As part of my winnings from some RIA contests, I ordered this from Amazon. I`ve seen it several times, but never in a marathon, which I`m currently doing. A clever, intelligent piece of television, with shades of Welles, Kafka, Greene, Bunuel, Camus and Chandler showing in an alternatively amusing and paranoid tour de force. This requires some intelligence, thought and attention to watch, if you`re to hope to know whats going on, but even then the surreality of script elements proves overpowering at times. Sometimes called the first masterpiece of television, it is probably all of that, and its use of iconic themes is extremely influential.

Intense, well acted drama. You had to be there for the beginning episodes or it was hard to follow. I rented the whole series from Netflix years ago and enjoyed it very much.

One of the most memorable shows of the sixties. "I am not a number, I am a free man!" (Or so he thought...). Patrick McGoohan also starred in another of my favourites, "Danger Man" (known as "Secret Agent Man" in the USA, I believe)

TV is a poor medium for much besides comedy and cartoons; but there are a handful of successful serious programs, and The Prisoner is one of them. The show managed to combine several strands of 60s pop culture, in particular the James Bond/secret agent theme, and the paranoid, 'Things are seldom what they seem' world (which started with film noir in the 40s and came to a climax in the films of the 1970s). The Prisoner gave these common themes a curious twist, putting our secret agent in a resort-like prison from which he is continually attempting to escape. There are some very interesting themes from Orwell, Huxley and Kafka, mostly well done. The acting is very good for TV, and the show was remarkably good at getting 'the little things' right (music, sets, opening sequence). The espisodes varied quite a bit in quality, and they ran out of ideas after about episode 12; at its best, however, The Prisoner had no equal.

A little weird but entertaining. I always wondered how Rover operated.

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One of the best show of the 60s!

It has been said that this is television's first masterpiece and I agree with that statement 100%. In my view, this is the most sophisticated and intelligent adventure series (only 17 episodes in total) to ever make its way to television. Patrick McGoohan plays a secret agent who resigns and is then kidnapped and brought to a village located on a remote island. Although the buildings and decorations are cheerful and everything is brightly colored, there is a dark purpose lurking underneath. All residents of the village have been brought there because they have some kind of valuable information. No one is safe from the eyes of their captors as even the statues that adorn the grounds are cameras and people can be watched wherever they are, even in their living quarters. Everyone is assigned a number and Patrick McGoohan is assigned the number six. With the exception of actor Leo McKern who appears three times (twice as number two and in the final episode as the defeated and dead number... Read more

This is one of my alltime favorites.The plot revolves around a spy who quits and refuses to tell why as he is being held prisoner on an island.Who watches him and why remain unknown. This British series shows why the sun never set on the empire.Long live no.6 I am not a number I am a man.

Outstanding show. Stylish rather than substantive. Patrick Mcgoohan is perfect as the utterly cool#6. I never saw the last show so I dont know if he excaped. Long live Number 6!!

Without a doubt this is one of THE most original, cerebral and captivating television shows to come out of the 1960's – or any other decade for that matter. Patrick McGoohan with his deep stare and compelling, cool good looks perfectly captured the enigmatic presence of the mysterious ex-secret agent known throughout the show simply as “Number 6”. He was the man who knew too much - so much that he has to be taken to a place where he can be watched, monitored and pumped for information – a kind of surreal gilded cage of sorts called the Village. Throughout the series of 17 episodes Number 6, along with the viewer, attempts to understand his circumstances and put the entire mystery together one puzzle piece at a time. Though there is nearly always a lot of physical action much of his journey is psychological. An extremely enthralling cult series (that truly deserved its cult status) “The Prisoner” was interesting enough to watch again and again and always notice something new. Enoug... Read more