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1967-68 British TV series starring Patrick McGoohan
The Prisoner

The Prisoner is a 17-episode British TV series first broadcast in Canada beginning on 6 September 1967, then in the UK on 29 September 1967 and in the US on 1 June 1968. It stars and was co-created by Patrick McGoohan, and combines spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.

Notable Works

  • A. B. and C. - Third broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Two induces dreams on Number Six
  • Arrival - First episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six arrives at The Village and attempts his first two escapes
  • Change of Mind, A - Twelfth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six is declared an "unmutual"
  • Checkmate - Ninth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six returns to being a pawn
  • Chimes of Big Ben, The - Second broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six returns to London (or not)
  • Dance of the Dead - Eighth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six is put on trial for acquiring a transistor radio
  • Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling - Thirteenth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six gets a new body
  • Fall Out - Final episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six gets to meet Number One
  • Free For All - Fourth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six becomes Number Two for a short while
  • General, The - Sixth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six matches wits with "The General"
  • Girl Who Was Death, The - Fifteenth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six becomes his former self
  • Hammer into Anvil - Tenth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six plays on the insecurity of Number Two
  • It's Your Funeral - Eleventh broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six foils ... ahh, that would be telling!
  • Living in Harmony - Fourteenth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six goes West
  • Many Happy Returns - Seventh broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six celebrates his birthday
  • Once Upon a Time - Penultimate broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six goes through the seven ages of man
  • Schizoid Man, The - Fifth broadcast episode of The Prisoner, where Number Six encounters his clone

Cast and Crew

Patrick McGoohanNumber Six

Websites

The Prisoner U.S. Home Page
Includes memorable quotes in MP3 format, a "theories" page attempting to answer various questions, and links to several other websites
Welcome to DoniaCorp!
Patrick McGoohan fan site, includes pages on "The Prisoner", "Secret Agent", personal list of McGoohan's top roles, picture gallery, tributes and some fan fiction
Related Topic: Patrick McGoohan

Video Products

The Complete Prisoner Megaset (1968), 25 Sep 2001
The Prisoner: The Complete Series (2009), 27 Oct 2009
The Prisoner: The Complete Series (40th Anniversary Collector's Edition) (1968), 25 Jul 2006

Memorable Scenes

The Prisoner Opening Sequence
Number 6: Who are you?
Number 2: The new Number Two.
Number 6: Who is Number One?
Number 2: You are Number Six.
Number 6: (on the beach, dark shadow, making defiant gesture) I am not a number, I AM A FREE MAN!

Articles

DoniaCorp's "The Prisoner" Page - Ordering the Episodes, by Theresa Donia
Examines various orders for the episodes, including logical, chronological and psychological, and offers her own recommended viewing sequence
From The Pen Of Chris Gregory - The Prisoner Episode By Episode, by Chris Gregory, 9 Sep 2009
Extended summaries of each episode, intended as companion to Be Seeing You: Decoding "The Prisoner"
Patrick McGoohan - Hero of the Day, by Erik Snow, The Daily Objectivist, 2000
Biographical profile published by The Daily Objectivist
The Village is managed by Number 2, on behalf of the unseen Number 1. Number 2 is a different person in every episode. He represents temporal, political authority, while Number 1 is the real power behind The Village. ... Each episode of 'The Prisoner' involves an attempt by 'the new Number 2' to break Number 6. The methods employed include brainwashing, mind-altering drugs, and even the court of public opinion (i.e. the other inmates of The Village). Through it all, Number 6 holds true to the declaration uttered at the beginning of each episode: 'I am not a number, I am a Free Man!'
The Troyer Interview, by Patrick McGoohan, Warner Troyer, Mar 1977
Transcript of interview originally broadcast on TVOntario, the public TV network which had shown "The Prisoner" series in Canada
McGoohan: ... I had sat down and I wrote a 40-page, sort of, history of the Village, the sort of telephones they used, the sewerage system, what they ate, the transport, the boundaries ...
Troyer: What about the philosophy, the rationale of the Village? What did you tell them about that? Its raison-d'etre, not its mechanics...
McGoohan: (very deliberately) It was a place that is trying to destroy the individual by every means possible; trying to break his spirit, so that he accepts that he is No. 6 and will live there happily as No. 6 for ever after. And this is the one rebel that they can't break.

Books

Be Seeing You: Decoding "The Prisoner"
    by Chris Gregory, 1997

The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Prisoner" as of 15 Oct 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.