The Prisoner (1967). Why did you resign?

#ThePrisoner #StamFine
Stam Fine looks at the mysterious 1967 thriller series, The Prisoner, which starred Patrick McGoohan as a retired spy who wakes up in a strange Village from which there is no escape and everyone is known only by their number. Number 6, as he's known in this place, is the subject of various plots to find out why he resigned from his government job. I mean, a quick exit interview might have saved a lot of time. That said, the series is anything but straightforward. It fact, it's downright loopy.

[StamFine]

Just a note to the folks angered by an obscure reference to the comedy series Portlandia, I am aware of where The Prisoner was filmed, it something that's talked about and shown further along in the video if you keep watching. Be seeing you! 🕶

[hippomancy]

saw it as a kid; enjoyed it immensely, and was promptly bored by other tv offerings for the next thirty or so years...

[umachan]

The Prisoner was possibly one of the greatest TV shows ever. So far ahead of it's time and the fact that it's STILL being talked about to this day shows that it was something special.

[dbowne]

The intro is the absolute best part: the car, filing the ID card, the gassing, the music. Bravissimo 👏

[travishiltz]

Weird and trippy, walks a thin line between brilliant and 'they may just be messing with us', visually unique and endlessly quotable.

"This is a dreamy party!!" is one of my favorites.

Great show.

[rayasher]

Finally made my pilgrimage to Portmeirion. Stayed three days. Now rewatching with child’s eyes after the visit.

[sargonsblackgrandfather]

One of the best tv shows ever. I saw this as a little kid and it blew my mind, I still think about it often.

[seanmckenna]

Who is Number One? You are, No. 6. They told you at the start of every episode. Genius.

[mrmajestic]

Number 2 said it best in Chimes of Big Ben. "The Village is a model for the world order".

[emilymcplugger]

Recently I went to Number 6’s house in London and got a shedload of pictures.

It was a ridiculously sunny day so it looked exactly the same.

I don’t think I stopped smiling all day.

[peckelhaze]

I never get tired of The Prisoner. On again, started tonight on Horror Channel.

[nordan]

Never understood what the hell was going on, but loved the show from the first episode I saw in the late 60s! Still rewatch it every few years, but no episode more than Many Happy Returns. The look on McGoohan’s face when the woman he’d seen back in London walks into his village apartment is priceless! Be seeing you!

[haroldellis]

Answers in a finale from a show that gave us, "Questions are a burden to others, answers a prison for oneself."

[adame]

My dad watched this as a kid and I also watched it. Quality show!

[davebartosh]

My hat is off to McGoohan, (RIP) Nothing like this series ever came close to the intellect and artfulness of both writing and visuals. (edit: yeah the music, too)

[shawniscoolerthanyou]

"What do you want?"
"Like and subscribe."
"You won't get it!"

[TileGuyJesse]

Ron Grainer also did the soundtrack for The Omega Man with Charlton Heston. Good musical style.

[slowpawstevet]

brillant! followed every episode back in the day, coolest thing on tv.

[yousernameish]

I was a teenager when i saw this series, i remember the last episode getting more lunatic and then realising sadly that he'd been a prisoner of his own mind the entire time.

[cdscan]

The meaning of the Prisoner series: Every now and again someone wakes up and realizes we are all in the village. We are manipulated and shaped by selfish agendas set up by society. People are at various levels of denial and compliance in their attempts to cope with life. Most comply passively. Some try to join the system and rise to the top (No 2). They are aware of the corruption but co-operate anyway to have a better life, but they are still prisoners. No 6 is honest and doesn't give in and searches for people who think like he does. The system punishes those who try to resist, to death in some cases, so they have to conceal themselves. When No6 makes it to the top he realizes that the structure of the system is worthless and is run by faceless controlled automatons. Only at the end, when the system is dismantled, does No6 find out who his real associates are. Many of them appear like nut-cases to the casual observer, others have had to live a life of silent desperation (No2's the servant). No6 is by no means perfect. . No6 escapes to London and tries to tell his story. The final message comes when the door of his apartment opens automatically "We are all in the village". It seems the author of this video is a knowing or unaware enforcer. "He who leads into captivity goes into captivity."