The Prisoner (1967) rewatch
- Thread starter Captrek
- Start date
You can choose to not answer and let it sit for someone else to. Or say "I dunno." No need to burden yourself...Number 6.
In what order are the episodes on Amazon?
Original scheduled UK broadcast order (a.k.a. ITC order): https://www.amazon.com/Arrival/dp/B...8&qid=1499094946&sr=8-4&keywords=The+prisoner
Every Prisoner fan has their own opinion on which order is the best. For this rewatch, we'll be using my preferred order, because I said so. (Obedience to me will make you free.) My order:I've never seen the show, and it's been in my "must watch eventually" queue for far too long, so I'd be up for it.
Googling tells me there's more episode orders than episodes themselves, so I'd appreciate some advice on which one's the best and most newbie friendly.
Arrival
Dance of the Dead
Checkmate
Free for All
The Chimes of Big Ben
Many Happy Returns
A Change of Mind
It's Your Funeral
Hammer into Anvil
The Girl Who was Death
The Schizoid Man
The General
A, B, & C
Living in Harmony
Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling
Once Upon a Time
Fall Out
Dance of the Dead
Checkmate
Free for All
The Chimes of Big Ben
Many Happy Returns
A Change of Mind
It's Your Funeral
Hammer into Anvil
The Girl Who was Death
The Schizoid Man
The General
A, B, & C
Living in Harmony
Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling
Once Upon a Time
Fall Out
If you'd rather get the episode order one episode at a time, we start with Arrival.
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"Arrival" introduces us to the setup. We see our hero resign in anger, get abducted, and wake up in the Village.
The Village seems like a pleasant enough place. The abductee, whom we'll come to know as Number Six, is provided with a cottage that is an exact replica of his home in London. It's an attractive place, with all kinds of amenities. The first people he meets — a waitress, a taxi driver, and a shopkeeper — are eager to be of service, but can't or won't answer questions such as where this place is, or how to leave it.
It will also prove to be a surreal and disturbing place, where a giant white balloon enforces discipline by smothering troublemakers, and a wireless speaker (in 1967!) continues to function after being smashed to pieces. Most of the people seem almost mindlessly cheerful, with aphorisms like "A still tongue makes a happy life," and so consistently pleasant they play Radetzky March at funerals.
Six meets a Number Two, who shows off that he can predict Six's breakfast order, shows surveillance photos of Six from throughout his life, and even shows off that he knows what Six was thinking when then photos were taken. He works for "certain people" who know a disturbingly great deal about Six, but aren't satisfied: "One likes to know everything." In particular, they want to know why he resigned.
Two explains the stakes. Six can never leave this place. (The show is called "The Prisoner," after all.) But if he cooperates, life can be very pleasant here. Six says he will not answer any questions, and vows to escape.
Of course he tries to escape, fails, meets some more people, tries again, his captors are watching him the whole time... so much for synopsis.
What's going on? Who runs the Village? Who is Number Six? Is he John Drake? Why did he resign? Why is he so important to his captors?
Random thoughts...
The security system uses "Yellow Alert" and "Orange Alert." Were these inspired by Star Trek's use of "Red Alert"?
The time and date of Number Six's birth are McGoohan's own. I think McGoohan may have based the character and his situation on himself.
Just as Number Six had resigned from his previous post, McGoohan had abruptly quit Danger Man. He was at the top of his game, the show was a smash hit and he was the highest paid TV actor in the UK. Why? Strengthening the analogy: the man behind the desk when he resigns is none other than George Markstein, story editor on Danger Man and The Prisoner.
I do wonder how far this "meta" thing can be stretched. It is stated that Six's resignation had been "a matter of principle"; was McGoohan's departure from DM a matter of principle?
Maybe I'll have more thoughts later on. For now I'd love to hear from other rewatchers. What strikes you about "Arrival" now, watching it in 2017?
The Village seems like a pleasant enough place. The abductee, whom we'll come to know as Number Six, is provided with a cottage that is an exact replica of his home in London. It's an attractive place, with all kinds of amenities. The first people he meets — a waitress, a taxi driver, and a shopkeeper — are eager to be of service, but can't or won't answer questions such as where this place is, or how to leave it.
It will also prove to be a surreal and disturbing place, where a giant white balloon enforces discipline by smothering troublemakers, and a wireless speaker (in 1967!) continues to function after being smashed to pieces. Most of the people seem almost mindlessly cheerful, with aphorisms like "A still tongue makes a happy life," and so consistently pleasant they play Radetzky March at funerals.
Six meets a Number Two, who shows off that he can predict Six's breakfast order, shows surveillance photos of Six from throughout his life, and even shows off that he knows what Six was thinking when then photos were taken. He works for "certain people" who know a disturbingly great deal about Six, but aren't satisfied: "One likes to know everything." In particular, they want to know why he resigned.
Two explains the stakes. Six can never leave this place. (The show is called "The Prisoner," after all.) But if he cooperates, life can be very pleasant here. Six says he will not answer any questions, and vows to escape.
Of course he tries to escape, fails, meets some more people, tries again, his captors are watching him the whole time... so much for synopsis.
What's going on? Who runs the Village? Who is Number Six? Is he John Drake? Why did he resign? Why is he so important to his captors?
Random thoughts...
The security system uses "Yellow Alert" and "Orange Alert." Were these inspired by Star Trek's use of "Red Alert"?
The time and date of Number Six's birth are McGoohan's own. I think McGoohan may have based the character and his situation on himself.
Just as Number Six had resigned from his previous post, McGoohan had abruptly quit Danger Man. He was at the top of his game, the show was a smash hit and he was the highest paid TV actor in the UK. Why? Strengthening the analogy: the man behind the desk when he resigns is none other than George Markstein, story editor on Danger Man and The Prisoner.
I do wonder how far this "meta" thing can be stretched. It is stated that Six's resignation had been "a matter of principle"; was McGoohan's departure from DM a matter of principle?
Maybe I'll have more thoughts later on. For now I'd love to hear from other rewatchers. What strikes you about "Arrival" now, watching it in 2017?
Be seeing you.
Elsewhere @Unicron has made me really curious about the show. I have this on my to watch list for a couple of years, mainly because it pops up everywhere as an influence on other things I love, like the 90s “Nowhere Man”. It's not very well-known here in Germany, so I never really encountered it in my childhood. But I might just give it a try now. Have watched the first two acts of “Arrival” on YouTube, but really want to watch this on the television screen, so I will get the blu-rays first.
Officially, no, because they didn't have the rights to that character. So they used Patrick McGoohan's biographical details for #6 instead of Drake's. On the other hand, there's a Prisoner tie-in novel from the '60s whose first line is "Drake woke."
Star Trek did not invent the term "red alert." The practice of designating progressively more serious alert conditions with colors such as yellow and red dates back at least to World War II Civil Defense usage. Red Alert is also the title of the 1958 book that Dr. Strangelove was adapted from in 1964. And of course, the use of the color red to represent an emergency or danger goes back to prehistory, probably, since it's the color of blood.
Also, The Prisoner debuted in 1967, whereas Star Trek was not seen in the UK until the spring of 1969 (it was first aired in Doctor Who's time slot in the 9-month hiatus between the Second and Third Doctors). So it's unlikely that anything in The Prisoner was inspired by Trek.
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