The Prisoner (1967) rewatch

[Haggis and tatties]

^^I mean i wish the rover had erased the remake. lol

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'd hoped my rewatch posts would generate some discussion of the episodes. Are people even reading them, or is everyone TLDRing them?

Well, I just yesterday watched "Arrival" (my first-ever viewing of the show) as part of my larger lineup of 50th anniversary viewing...which means that I'm watching in airdate order on the weeks of the original airings (UK dates in this case). Reading your post on it after watching, I found this insightful...

The stifling nature of The Village is inspired by the 60's counterculture. "Questions are a burden" and "A still tongue makes a happy life" are a dig at governments and other powerful institutions that expect people to trust them, not ask too many questions or complain too much. The counterculture delighted in questioning and speaking truth to power, and would see P as one of them. But though they may be rooted in the 60's, these issues are timeless, and the ubiquitous surveillance of The Village is even more relevant in the 21st Century.

As a first-time viewer of the show, I'd been watching on a much more literal "What's going on here?" level, so the allegorical aspects hadn't occurred to me. Whether or not McGoohan and company were directly influenced by the counterculture of the time, they were certainly part of the same gestalt.

 

[Tallguy]

Wow, watching The Prisoner for the first time. I envy you.

 

[ChasFink]

I had the pleasure of sharing someone's first time watching The Prisoner about 15 years ago. I mentioned the show to a grad school classmate who I thought would like it and was surprised she had never heard of it. She went home and mentioned it to her husband, who told her not only did he love the show, but he had actually visited Portmeirion, the exterior location for The Village. He and I arranged a marathon viewing of 7 or 8 episodes in one day for her.

On another note, I'm amused by banners all over the community I live in saying "Mineola - the Friendly Village". Unfortunately, the font they picked is VERY reminiscent of the one used in this show.
See a picture (not mine) at https://www.flickr.com/photos/79009322@N04/28803888544/

 

[Tallguy]

Wow. Be seeing you, indeed!

 

[The Old Mixer]

As I'm watching according to the original UK airdates, my next episode was "The Chimes of Big Ben," covered with the week's other 50th anniversary viewing in this post.