From what I read, the reason they didn't state it was John Drake, was to avoid having to pay royalties to the creator of Danger Man/Secret Agent. It would seem that it was indeed John Drake. I can't overstate how great this series was, certainly one of my favorites of all time.
When you watch it in the 2020s, the revelation of the method, fictionalized whistleblowing and predictive programming become virtually undeniable. Propaganda, peer pressure, Edward Bernays, Saul Alinsky, The Lucifer Principle, subtle influencing, mind control, body doubles, MK Ultra, Black Sites, etc. all were addressed under the guide of "science fiction" in Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner.
That's what's strange about it. What they showed then was impossible--cameras watching him everywhere and all that. But now, that's exactly how it is--cameras follow your every move and they can track you with your phone. We've all become prisoners. Society has become what this show warned us of.
In the very last scene when McGoohan was walking into his residence the number on the door is a "1", as in Number One. That's the real number of that address which is Number One Buckingham Place, London. It was picked for that reason.
Leo McKern was a veteran film and TV character actor. In addition to his guest stints on THE PRISONER, he was a guest on SPACE 1999 and costarred in the Beatles film HELP!, along with many other TV and film roles.
Awesome series. Not only do they take their sweet time setting the scene with this intro, but they rely a lot on the implied rather than the implicit to convey meaning. Let the imagination of the viewer do some of the work. So very much unlike today’s television. Who today would manage to convey menace and terror through a big floaty ball, for instance?
I've read that Rover was originally a big, threatening-looking robot, which got stuck in the wet sand on the first day of filming. Down the beach a way, they spotted some meteorologists inflating weather balloons. Desperate, the director sent someone over to talk them into selling one, and it became the new Rover.
This was a timeless show, correction still is! Patrick McGoohan was a charasmatic actor who I loved his combination of cerebral and action style. The Prisoner was his brain child. Superb show. I originally watched this show as a kid in the 70's on channel 16 (PBS still is awesome.).
McGoohan and McKern drove each other literally, insane filming this episode. Crews came to the studio to watch in fascinated horror, as they drove each other mad....both having to take time off from filming and get treatment. The show is....Amazing. Nothing been made like it since and never will be again...hell, what actor today...would Risk their Samity for a Role?
Note that when the prisoner slaps his resignation letter on the desk chap sitting at the desk is Sir Lew Grade head of the production company that put up the money for the series.
There’s a great interview with Patrick McGoohan where he said that after the final episode of The Prisoner - Fall Out - aired, he couldn’t show his face in England for a time, because the audience hated the surreal ending. He said they felt cheated. I have to admit, they had a point. Still, I’d call it one of the Top 10 TV series of all time.
I saw the interview, where Sir Patrick McGoohan is talking in front of a large crowd of young fascinated people, when the actor reveals all of his anecdotes and stories, through which he tried coming across with a special message relating to his youth, as well as a script writer and director of his own epic télévision show.
Theme by Ron Grainer. Who created the theme for some other programme about a Doctor who... well, never mind. I was terribly disappointed that the recent Flight Simulator 2020 does not have detailed ground scenery for Portmeirion, so no re-creation of those glorious helicopter shots. What - doesn't _everyone_ try to fly that flight right after getting the sim working?
Nearly. Best plan is pack, leave, mail resignation on way to airport, then leave country on false passport (not one supplied by the agency). Get plastic surgery then enjoy new identity. Happy ever after. We hope.
Don't make the mistake of assuming "the State" as in the UK government of the time was the party behind the Village; they undoubtedly knew why their man resigned. Those thunder-claps and the angry visual of him berating the lackey behind the desk say that they knew very well what made him do what he did. I suspect that, in abstract, the people behind the Village - my guess is a non-state actor ala SPECTRE - knew it as well. "Matter of conscience", sure, but not the exact details. The State, as in his superiors [his direct superior would have been his father-in-law] knew and likely didn't care as he was just a cog [albeit an important one] in the machine. The "other side" likely didn't care either; they exchanged as much information in those times as they gained through intelligence gathering simply to maintain the status quo as much as possible. But a hostile non-state actor, knowing full well that the people of either side cared far more for things such as morality and right-and-wrong far more than their leaders ever did would be appalled by things deep agents for either side likely knew. A general panic would have been unthinkable, thus the value in what he knows [to a non-state actor who can use that knowledge for extortion] and the value of keeping their prisoners guessing as to whose side they were on. An apocryphal story goes that the writers submitted as part of their "series bible" the idea that John Drake actually conceived of a place like the Village to keep people who "knew too much" [George M. actually contributed that he knew of the existence of a place like that in WW2 Europe] out of circulation and, upon finding out a twisted version of it was actually created, resigned in protest only to find himself dumped there. "Number One" doesn't really exist in that the person who really invented the place was "The Prisoner" himself.
In case anyone was wondering who #1 was, it was #6 all along (inside joke). When you see Patrick McGoohan enter #6's flat in London at the 1:45 mark, the actual address of the building where it was filmed is #1 Buckingham Place, London. You don't see the number until the last episode when Angelo Muscat, who played #1's butler, walks into the building with the automatic door opening and closing.
You had to see this surreal tv when it first came out. You had to see western civilization before it became surreal and everything was a mic and a camera.
Ya'll may enjoy Barbara Feldon(Agent 99, Get Smart - TV Series) debut in Man From Uncle - TV Series :"The Never Never Affair" >. And, did you know that Debbie Harry(Musician - "Blondie") was the original pic to sing For Your Eyes Only (Sung beautifully by Sheena Easton th-cam.com/video/JP4xXjW97ko/w-d-xo.html )?
LOL at the time we were all desperately trying to work out who Number one was yet ever episode they told us "who is number one " answer ( honestly ) "you are number 6"
The way the music is used in rhythm with the images works better in the rest of the episodes. The rhythm doesn't match up as well in the first. It's not particularly noticeable until you've seen all the others and come back to the beginning - then something seems off-key.
A very unique and unusual TV series where every episode an allegory. And, yet, it depicted a fictional world that is now reality in the UK and other western European countries with surveillance cameras everywhere, and mind control in the form of political correctness. Step out of line or use a politically incorrect word and the State comes after you like rover (that big balloon watchdog). Meanwhile, just as in the village, the rest of the residents just go along being obedient.
Where am I ? In the Village. What do you want ? Information. Whose side are you on ?! That would be telling. We want information. Information... Information... You won't get it! By hook or by crook, we will. Who are you ? The new number 2. Who is number 1 ?! You are number 6. I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A FREE MAN ! A HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH
McGoohan stated in a 1985 interview that Number 6 is not the same character as John Drake, adding that he had originally wanted another actor to portray the character. However, script editor George Markstein, who co-created the series with McGoohan, always claimed that Number 6 is John Drake. According to Markstein, he conceived The Prisoner as a sequel of Danger Man when McGoohan resigned from the role........ Personally, having watched both, and always been a huge McGoohan fan, I believe that making such a 'performance' over 'his' resignation, the 'Bond / secret agent style' kit-car, plus setting up 'The Village' to ascertain his reasons for quitting and his loyalty, I go with the 'Number 6 IS John Drake' theory....fits too well to be anything else !!
The original intention might've been for Number 6 to be John Drake, but I think that was dropped pretty quickly for a number of reasons. Copyright being one and, perhaps more importantly, the character could be allowed to be far more enigmatic when freed of any particular identity - an 'everyman' (check out the name of McGoohan's production company). People who think Number 6 was John Drake are thinking too small... The Prisoner wasn't a standard television drama, it was an allegory and, as such, wasn't confined to the conventions of standard TV drama. If anything, Number 6 was a cypher for Patrick McGoohan himself. That makes much more sense. Incidentally, it's never overtly stated that Number 6 was a former secret agent, merely that his job was 'secret'. I've been lucky enough to discuss some of these ideas - albeit briefly - with Catherine McGoohan.
This is some amazing quality! Especially when I compare it to other uploads on TH-cam. Was this ripped from a DVD or something? Thanks again for the upload! Really enjoying it.
For the first time I’ve just noticed he drove UNDER the barrier at the car park ! Also, the hearse was waiting as he came out of the car park. Then it was in front of him !
The following is a bit lengthy, but if you are a big time fan of the The Prisoner, and also like to read comics, look through the following: In the mid 80's, DC Comics released a "prestige format" (see: cardstock covers with more pages) 4 issue story that through a somewhat similar series of events, takes a female spy who suddenly resigns, then immediately goes to the Harbour, and boards a sailboat she owned so she could follow her dream, which was to sail all around the world. Some things occur, and eventually she wakes up on the beach right next to what's left of The Village. As she explores the town, sees a lot of damage & decay, some natural, some obviously done by physical force. Eventually, she encounters an older thin man with a beard, and is soon revealed that he is Number 6, and after the events of the final TV episode, went mad and just kind of lived on alone aimlessly wandering here & there. It's implied that The State tried so hard to bend him (to their will) that he simply broke. A bit later, she encounters the Number 2 played by Leo McKern, also older and begrizzled. He too had gone completely insane after being unable to get the truth out of Number 6. A bit later, Numbers 2 & 6 come face to face while she is present, and immediately start attacking each other. After the fight, she talks to Number 2, who basically says that after being repeatedly unable to get the info out of Number 6, he suddenly realized he no longer had any purpose, nor place in society. Every time the two numbers encounter each other, they start brawling, but now being old men, aren't really doing each other any harm. Number 2 relates to the woman that it's like that every single time they both encounter each other. I hope that's enough to pique your interest. I found a scene in first issue somewhat amusing- while the female ex-spy is exploring The Village, she encounters that short column that a bust of Caesar on it, only now, it has been partially damaged, enough so that a surveillance camera is visible inside the bust. The complete 4 part comic series which only saw aa limited single print run, can be somewhat difficult to find. The best place is probably Ebay, or major US comic book stores, such as Mid-City in New York, Mile High in Denver, who both have large online buying sites, and also atomicavenue dot com. If you can get a hold of it, it really is quite interesting. Throughout the issues, a number of things from the TV series that remained unanswered are explained and given a reason to here & there in the comics. Hope this helps!
I've never seen this show, but from what I understand the Prisoner never escaped in the final episode which really sucks what they need to do is give him that final chance to escape and make it a movie when if they gave to get a new actor to play number 6 I wanna see the Prisoner escape his prisoner and call it The Prisoner Escapes maybe we'll finally know what Number 6's real name is.
I v'e never seen the Prisoner, but for. what I heard the Prisoner never escaped his prison that really sucks why didn't they have him escape on the final episode riddle me that.
La serie es brillante, pero al final nunca supimos: 1. Para quien trabajaba. 2. Porquè renunciò. 3. Porquè y cuando fue creada "la villa". 4. Quien era quien en ese lugar. 5. A que gobierno respondìa Nº 2. 6. Donde quedaba realmente la villa. 7. Què pasò con los demàs prisioneros. Para mì hubiese sido mejor revelar que Nº 1 era en realidad una mega computadora. El final decepciona y mucho.
In 1967 this got us all thinking. In 2019 no-one would bother. Reality TV & limited attention spans would ensure no one would watch beyond the opening credits - too much thinking involved.
Paul Putnam excellent analysis. This show is still ahead of its time. And requires too much thinking for many to follow. To the jump cut people and the explosions every 30 seconds people, this type of fare is “boring” or they don’t understand it.
All it did in 1967-'68 was to get thinking people thinking. Most people at the time recall referred to it as "weird". McGoohan had to leave the U.K. as a result. People haven't changed.
Nice to see I wasn't just imagining how weird, in my decades old memories, this show was. I would love to see some of this show again. I can't see the name Leo McKern without hearing the word "Kaili" in my head.
Me, too. In a book called The Prisoner Companion, the Rovers were the sheepdogs of the Village to either kill or capture. This scene in the last episode when Number 2 is using a dangerous interrogation method called Degree Absolute on Number 6, Number 2 had no idea as to the danger that he was in during the process. In the end, most of the questions were answered about Number 2 and the young blonde guy and the little butler who drives them all back to London in the truck. Most important of all why did Number 6 resigned.
There is a lot of discussion on this topic. My understanding is, yes it was Drake, but they couldn't use the name without paying the producers of Secret Agent. By the way, the first episode of Secret Agent was also filmed at the Hotel Port Merion.
A New movie of the prisoner shot in PortMeirion using Drones, Cell Phone camera's, (and instead of badges), people wearing numbered mask would be appropriate for the 2020's!
Don't forget, he was full of rage. His strong emotions were interfering with his senses (or else would also have known that the Agency would have not let him go, so easily).
Watching his driving in the opening scene, my attention was drawn by his right turn, made just as we in the US make the left turn! And he drives on the "wrong" side of the street by US standards. So much is British in this opening. And the phrase WAY OUT which they use instead of Exit. My friend and I visiting London in 1974 were amused by the phrase "Way Out" for Exit because in the US it meant absurd, or extreme, as in "That's way out!"
The manufactured reality of the Village was also the premise for the simulated reality of the first Matrix film. That is why Guy Doleman (as Number Two) is seen on a television screen near the end of the film when Neo is attempting to escape Agent Smith.
The answer to the whole series was in the first couple of minutes of the opening sequence....."Who is Number One ?"......"You are Number 6 !" - That was his answer - "YOU are, number 6" easy when you've watched the whole thing !
He's simply not answering the question. I think it was known in this episode; Number 6 won't say 6, and Number 2 keeps saying, "Six, One, Six, One, Six of One, Half a dozen of the Other". The last couple episodes were written at the same time.
I first watched this in middle school when it was broadcast on US TV in 1968. I don't think they had it figured out when they came up with the concept. They were planning on a multi-year production schedule like 'Faulty Towers' and that they'd have time to figure it out. But then the schedule was to be one season of 17 episodes so they scrambled, badly, to come up with an ending.
@@sierrapundit Simply put: no. McGoohan's original concept translated into 7 scripts and were supposedly (according to Him) intended as a miniseries. It was Sir L.G. who had to sell the idea to CBS to make more money (and aired as a summer replacement in '68 AND '69 for the Jackie Gleason show --if you've a memory) which required 10 additional episodes.
Gosh that was quick work by MI5 to have the Rolls at the exit as No. 6 drove out of his resignation at head office. Further No.6 drove ahead of the Rolls but later was behind. A great imaginative opening gambit to what was to become a chess challenge to keep up with the concept of human commodities in the making.......
It is actually pretty simple, there isn't much fancy expensive effects or and overly complicated script. Just the basic principle together with more up to date scenarios and adapted for today's norms and culture so that it still appears as future thinking. Can be pulled off pretty easy in the right hands.
Has anyone considered that the village is, in fact a prototype for the purposed 15 minute cities in the works ?? Complete with cameras every where and license plate readers !!! Guess they'll have those rovers patrolling the streets soon !!
A mystically sorrowful tale set to hauntingly simple and sad music that paints the very scenes on the screen of your own minds eye. To this very day, you wonder yet believe it to be true....
"The Prisoner" first appeared in the United States on CBS in 1968 as a summer replacement for, of all things, Jackie Gleason. The show became quite popular, and CBS rebroadcast the entire series in the summer of 1969.
I'd heard that the episode "Living In Harmony" was not aired during its 1969 run on CBS because it was too controversial. Number 6 refuses to fight The Kid. Refuses to kill simply because "he has a gun". At the time, the cities of America were filled with anti-Vietnam protesters saying the same thing ( Make Love, Not War), and the network executives saw this episode as adding fuel to the fire.
What the hell ever happened to "Rover"? Did it just sink into the sea? Perhaps the greatest visual McGuffin ever in a TV series! My own personal take-away is that the agent became a psychological prisoner in his own mind.....maybe all this happened in his own mind due to paranoia? But the show is fun because of all the implied themes. Like looking at a painting....what do YOU see?
there are many theories... mcgoohan wanted all viewers to decide on their own what the series was about only once did he say who number one is...the evil that is inside all men
I took a double decker bus tour of London several years ago and the tour guide didn't know #6's house in London. I told him and I heard him use it on the next tour he guided..he wasn't very well read on his own culture!
In the mid 80's, DC Comics released a "prestige format" (see: cardstock covers with more pages) 4 issue story that through a somewhat similar series of events, takes a female spy who suddenly resigns, then immediately goes to the Harbour, and boards a sailboat she owned so she could follow her dream, which was to sail all around the world. Some things occur, and eventually she wakes up on the beach right next to what's left of The Village. As she explores the town, sees a lot of damage & decay, some natural, some obviously done by physical force. Eventually, she encounters an older thin man with a beard, and is soon revealed that he is Number 6, and after the events of the final TV episode, went mad and just kind of lived on alone aimlessly wandering here & there. It's implied that The State tried so hard to bend him (to their will) that he simply broke. A bit later, she encounters the Number 2 played by Leo McKern, also older and begrizzled. He too had gone completely insane after being unable to get the truth out of Number 6. A bit later, Numbers 2 & 6 come face to face while she is present, and immediately start attacking each other. After the fight, she talks to Number 2, who basically says that after being repeatedly unable to get the info out of Number 6, he suddenly realized he no longer had any purpose, nor place in society. Every time the two numbers encounter each other, they start brawling, but now being old men, aren't really doing each other any harm. Number 2 relates to the woman that it's like that every single time they both encounter each other. I hope that's enough to pique your interest. I found a scene in first issue somewhat amusing- while the female ex-spy is exploring The Village, she encounters that short column that a bust of Caesar on it, only now, it has been partially damaged, enough so that a surveillance camera is visible inside the bust. The complete 4 part comic series which only saw aa limited single print run, can be somewhat difficult to find. The best place is probably Ebay, or major US comic book stores, such as Mid-City in New York, Mile High in Denver, who both have large online buying sites, and also atomicavenue dot com. If you can get a hold of it, it really is quite interesting. Throughout the issues, a number of things from the TV series that remained unanswered are explained and given a reason to here & there in the comics. Hope this helps!
McGoohan's sport jacket/button down shirt at the beginning is timeless, he could out of 1967 today and fit right in.
Cool dude!
From what I read, the reason they didn't state it was John Drake, was to avoid having to pay royalties to the creator of Danger Man/Secret Agent. It would seem that it was indeed John Drake. I can't overstate how great this series was, certainly one of my favorites of all time.
He knew too much to be allowed to be free
Another great Patrick McGoohan series
Number 6 never gives his name because that would be telling.
You are so right! Be seeing you!
When you watch it in the 2020s, the revelation of the method, fictionalized whistleblowing and predictive programming become virtually undeniable.
Propaganda, peer pressure, Edward Bernays, Saul Alinsky, The Lucifer Principle, subtle influencing, mind control, body doubles, MK Ultra, Black Sites, etc. all were addressed under the guide of "science fiction" in Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner.
Check this "intro" to the prisoner page! th-cam.com/video/7yDJ9gCyQBk/w-d-xo.html
brilliant!i bought a t shirt from no.6 house after visiting "the village"in the 90s
The Lotus Seven sets the pace, "I am not a number", as a Lotus Seven owner in 1970 I can go along with that.
Thanks! Trying to remember make of the Seven! Awesome car
Have both 1 & 2 original soundtracks from this Icon series (from 976-CREOLEMAN).
How could he not see that he was being followed?!
Michael Josefson He wasn't in conventional sense.
That's what's strange about it. What they showed then was impossible--cameras watching him everywhere and all that. But now, that's exactly how it is--cameras follow your every move and they can track you with your phone. We've all become prisoners. Society has become what this show warned us of.
I was wondering that....basic spycraft.
"Who is Number One?"
"You are, Number Six."
We never noticed the comma which made all the difference.
In the very last scene when McGoohan was walking into his residence the number on the door is a "1", as in Number One.
That's the real number of that address which is Number One Buckingham Place, London. It was picked for that reason.
@@socoman99 Thanks 👍 I wasn't aware of that!
I'd say it should be a semicolon.
but u can hear the Pause in Leo’s voice
Leo McKern was a veteran film and TV character actor. In addition to his guest stints on THE PRISONER, he was a guest on SPACE 1999 and costarred in the Beatles film HELP!, along with many other TV and film roles.
I always thought it was very effective to have crashes of thunder instead of dialog when he resigned.
He was strutting so fast down that hallway that he passed Maxwell Smart.
Awesome series. Not only do they take their sweet time setting the scene with this intro, but they rely a lot on the implied rather than the implicit to convey meaning. Let the imagination of the viewer do some of the work. So very much unlike today’s television. Who today would manage to convey menace and terror through a big floaty ball, for instance?
And the sound of “Rover” is haunting.
I've read that Rover was originally a big, threatening-looking robot, which got stuck in the wet sand on the first day of filming. Down the beach a way, they spotted some meteorologists inflating weather balloons. Desperate, the director sent someone over to talk them into selling one, and it became the new Rover.
Check this "intro" to the prisoner page! th-cam.com/video/7yDJ9gCyQBk/w-d-xo.html
@@bobbuethe1477 I always wondered how they got the idea for that. In my opinion, that's a lot more scary than a robot.
This was a timeless show, correction still is! Patrick McGoohan was a charasmatic actor who I loved his combination of cerebral and action style. The Prisoner was his brain child. Superb show. I originally watched this show as a kid in the 70's on channel 16 (PBS still is awesome.).
im watching it now, cant believe itis from 1967! still modern! manipulating dreams WTF..
I've been to that car park in london.... couldn't believe it when I recognised the arrows on the ground... loved it
Well ahead of it's time ' The Prisoner ' more relevant now than it ever was.
Way better than Lost, that's for sure.
McGoohan and McKern drove each other literally, insane filming this episode. Crews came to the studio to watch in fascinated horror, as they drove each other mad....both having to take time off from filming and get treatment.
The show is....Amazing. Nothing been made like it since and never will be again...hell, what actor today...would Risk their Samity for a Role?
Greatest serie, greatest Patrick McGoohan. Unforgettable
Still ahead of its time...and always will be.
I was gonna like your comment, but it stays at No. 6 at the moment, so I replied instead.
Note that when the prisoner slaps his resignation letter on the desk chap sitting at the desk is Sir Lew Grade head of the production company that put up the money for the series.
No, it's George Markstein. He and Pat created the show... and then they had a falling out.
The late great British actor Patrick Maghan wish he could have been alive to make his dream of a Prisoner movie
Thanks soooo much for posting... I have replayed this theme 100's of times!
I know,right!its classic
And of course woman
Have you wonder was those tall building in London when he passed out.
There’s a great interview with Patrick McGoohan where he said that after the final episode of The Prisoner - Fall Out - aired, he couldn’t show his face in England for a time, because the audience hated the surreal ending. He said they felt cheated. I have to admit, they had a point. Still, I’d call it one of the Top 10 TV series of all time.
I saw the interview, where Sir Patrick McGoohan is talking in front of a large crowd of young fascinated people, when the actor reveals all of his anecdotes and stories, through which he tried coming across with a special message relating to his youth, as well as a script writer and director of his own epic télévision show.
@@jeantetreault132 👍👍 to a fellow Prisoner fan.
I should provide the TH-cam link to the interview: th-cam.com/video/95DrM4tfyD0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=QEugOqtqX-B8zmvR
Theme by Ron Grainer. Who created the theme for some other programme about a Doctor who... well, never mind.
I was terribly disappointed that the recent Flight Simulator 2020 does not have detailed ground scenery for Portmeirion, so no re-creation of those glorious helicopter shots. What - doesn't _everyone_ try to fly that flight right after getting the sim working?
The most important lesson learned here is that if you are going to resign from being a spy, pack your bags first, resign and leave the country.
Nearly. Best plan is pack, leave, mail resignation on way to airport, then leave country on false passport (not one supplied by the agency). Get plastic surgery then enjoy new identity. Happy ever after. We hope.
@@bootstrapperwilson7687
Pilot, number 42 , surgeon number 64
@@johncarter579 "Dr Seltzman went farther than we ever imagined - switching 3 minds at the same time"
The ultimate cautionary tale about selling one's soul to the state.
And the lengths the state will go to to protect itself from people that won't conform.
Quite true, friend. Be Seeing You. 😉
@@luisreyes1963 And YOU!
Don't make the mistake of assuming "the State" as in the UK government of the time was the party behind the Village; they undoubtedly knew why their man resigned. Those thunder-claps and the angry visual of him berating the lackey behind the desk say that they knew very well what made him do what he did. I suspect that, in abstract, the people behind the Village - my guess is a non-state actor ala SPECTRE - knew it as well. "Matter of conscience", sure, but not the exact details. The State, as in his superiors [his direct superior would have been his father-in-law] knew and likely didn't care as he was just a cog [albeit an important one] in the machine. The "other side" likely didn't care either; they exchanged as much information in those times as they gained through intelligence gathering simply to maintain the status quo as much as possible. But a hostile non-state actor, knowing full well that the people of either side cared far more for things such as morality and right-and-wrong far more than their leaders ever did would be appalled by things deep agents for either side likely knew. A general panic would have been unthinkable, thus the value in what he knows [to a non-state actor who can use that knowledge for extortion] and the value of keeping their prisoners guessing as to whose side they were on. An apocryphal story goes that the writers submitted as part of their "series bible" the idea that John Drake actually conceived of a place like the Village to keep people who "knew too much" [George M. actually contributed that he knew of the existence of a place like that in WW2 Europe] out of circulation and, upon finding out a twisted version of it was actually created, resigned in protest only to find himself dumped there. "Number One" doesn't really exist in that the person who really invented the place was "The Prisoner" himself.
They can track your every move and communication. The only thing they don't have is an autonomous death bubble... but that's not far off I imagine.
Add a comma and reveal the Secret:
"Who is Number One?"
"You are, Number Six."
th-cam.com/video/r5kmCgVhADY/w-d-xo.html
Yeah I've seen that too
Dude spoilers!
Yes
I never thought of that.
In case anyone was wondering who #1 was, it was #6 all along (inside joke). When you see Patrick McGoohan enter #6's flat in London at the 1:45 mark, the actual address of the building where it was filmed is #1 Buckingham Place, London. You don't see the number until the last episode when Angelo Muscat, who played #1's butler, walks into the building with the automatic door opening and closing.
You had to see this surreal tv when it first came out. You had to see western civilization before it became surreal and everything was a mic and a camera.
I love the series and the music. Great series.
Ya'll may enjoy Barbara Feldon(Agent 99, Get Smart - TV Series) debut in Man From Uncle - TV Series :"The Never Never Affair" >. And, did you know that Debbie Harry(Musician - "Blondie") was the original pic to sing For Your Eyes Only (Sung beautifully by Sheena Easton th-cam.com/video/JP4xXjW97ko/w-d-xo.html )?
6:03 is my favourite part. "I, I, I!"
LOL at the time we were all desperately trying to work out who Number one was yet ever episode they told us "who is number one " answer ( honestly ) "you are number 6"
You are COMA number six!😂
Now we live in a state worse than the prisoner. Be seeing you .
And you.
Do you have a permit for that opinion Number 56,234, 621?
"DO NOT DETAIN. DO NOT QUESTION."
Bring politics into something that has nothing to do with it. Nice
Be hearing you.
The way the music is used in rhythm with the images works better in the rest of the episodes. The rhythm doesn't match up as well in the first. It's not particularly noticeable until you've seen all the others and come back to the beginning - then something seems off-key.
A very unique and unusual TV series where every episode an allegory. And, yet, it depicted a fictional world that is now reality in the UK and other western European countries with surveillance cameras everywhere, and mind control in the form of political correctness. Step out of line or use a politically incorrect word and the State comes after you like rover (that big balloon watchdog). Meanwhile, just as in the village, the rest of the residents just go along being obedient.
Your phone is watching you.
It knows where you go.
Off to Portmerion next weekend!
Patrick McGoohan born in the USA on March 19 1928.
Yes Leo Mckern had a breakdown doing this episode.
Leo Mckern was cast because he was having a breakdown
I love how they feature the dispensation of the parking ticket.
The genius of Ron Grainer
Ding!
Where am I ?
In the Village.
What do you want ?
Information.
Whose side are you on ?!
That would be telling.
We want information.
Information...
Information...
You won't get it!
By hook or by crook, we will.
Who are you ?
The new number 2.
Who is number 1 ?!
You are number 6.
I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A FREE MAN !
A HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAH
The 'Way Out' is the way I walk into places
Yes, but the show was also "way out"!
McGoohan stated in a 1985 interview that Number 6 is not the same character as John Drake, adding that he had originally wanted another actor to portray the character.
However, script editor George Markstein, who co-created the series with McGoohan, always claimed that Number 6 is John Drake.
According to Markstein, he conceived The Prisoner as a sequel of Danger Man when McGoohan resigned from the role........
Personally, having watched both, and always been a huge McGoohan fan, I believe that making such a 'performance' over 'his' resignation, the 'Bond / secret agent style' kit-car, plus setting up 'The Village' to ascertain his reasons for quitting and his loyalty, I go with the 'Number 6 IS John Drake' theory....fits too well to be anything else !!
The original intention might've been for Number 6 to be John Drake, but I think that was dropped pretty quickly for a number of reasons. Copyright being one and, perhaps more importantly, the character could be allowed to be far more enigmatic when freed of any particular identity - an 'everyman' (check out the name of McGoohan's production company). People who think Number 6 was John Drake are thinking too small... The Prisoner wasn't a standard television drama, it was an allegory and, as such, wasn't confined to the conventions of standard TV drama. If anything, Number 6 was a cypher for Patrick McGoohan himself. That makes much more sense. Incidentally, it's never overtly stated that Number 6 was a former secret agent, merely that his job was 'secret'. I've been lucky enough to discuss some of these ideas - albeit briefly - with Catherine McGoohan.
Proof the above is an erroneous assumption or your part, is Markstein's leaving the series.
There is no ...”way out”...
This is some amazing quality! Especially when I compare it to other uploads on TH-cam. Was this ripped from a DVD or something? Thanks again for the upload! Really enjoying it.
For the first time I’ve just noticed he drove UNDER the barrier at the car park ! Also, the hearse was waiting as he came out of the car park. Then it was in front of him !
The following is a bit lengthy, but if you are a big time fan of the The Prisoner, and also like to read comics, look through the following:
In the mid 80's, DC Comics released a "prestige format" (see: cardstock covers with more pages) 4 issue story that through a somewhat similar series of events, takes a female spy who suddenly resigns, then immediately goes to the Harbour, and boards a sailboat she owned so she could follow her dream, which was to sail all around the world. Some things occur, and eventually she wakes up on the beach right next to what's left of The Village. As she explores the town, sees a lot of damage & decay, some natural, some obviously done by physical force. Eventually, she encounters an older thin man with a beard, and is soon revealed that he is Number 6, and after the events of the final TV episode, went mad and just kind of lived on alone aimlessly wandering here & there. It's implied that The State tried so hard to bend him (to their will) that he simply broke. A bit later, she encounters the Number 2 played by Leo McKern, also older and begrizzled. He too had gone completely insane after being unable to get the truth out of Number 6. A bit later, Numbers 2 & 6 come face to face while she is present, and immediately start attacking each other. After the fight, she talks to Number 2, who basically says that after being repeatedly unable to get the info out of Number 6, he suddenly realized he no longer had any purpose, nor place in society. Every time the two numbers encounter each other, they start brawling, but now being old men, aren't really doing each other any harm. Number 2 relates to the woman that it's like that every single time they both encounter each other. I hope that's enough to pique your interest. I found a scene in first issue somewhat amusing- while the female ex-spy is exploring The Village, she encounters that short column that a bust of Caesar on it, only now, it has been partially damaged, enough so that a surveillance camera is visible inside the bust. The complete 4 part comic series which only saw aa limited single print run, can be somewhat difficult to find. The best place is probably Ebay, or major US comic book stores, such as Mid-City in New York, Mile High in Denver, who both have large online buying sites, and also atomicavenue dot com. If you can get a hold of it, it really is quite interesting. Throughout the issues, a number of things from the TV series that remained unanswered are explained and given a reason to here & there in the comics. Hope this helps!
I've never seen this show, but from what I understand the Prisoner never escaped in the final episode which really sucks what they need
to do is give him that final chance to escape and make it a movie when if they gave to get a new actor to play number 6 I wanna see the Prisoner escape his prisoner and call it
The Prisoner Escapes maybe we'll finally know what Number 6's real name is.
For a spy he wasn't very good. If he was planning on disappearing he should have had his bags packed before he handed in his resignation.
I v'e never seen the Prisoner, but for. what I heard the Prisoner never escaped his prison that really sucks why didn't they have him escape on the final episode
riddle me that.
Wouldn't Magoohan had made a great 007? He's closer to Fleming's description than Sean Connery too.
In fact he was the first actor offered the role of 007 due his successfull work in "Danger Man".
La serie es brillante, pero al final nunca supimos:
1. Para quien trabajaba.
2. Porquè renunciò.
3. Porquè y cuando fue creada "la villa".
4. Quien era quien en ese lugar.
5. A que gobierno respondìa Nº 2.
6. Donde quedaba realmente la villa.
7. Què pasò con los demàs prisioneros.
Para mì hubiese sido mejor revelar que Nº 1 era en realidad una mega computadora. El final decepciona y mucho.
Actually, the first transmission was in Canada, the UK was few days behind.
Really? That would make a good trivia question.
Leo McKern: "Carl Bugenhagen" from The Omen (1976)
I love the Brits. They have style...
In 1967 this got us all thinking. In 2019 no-one would bother. Reality TV & limited attention spans would ensure no one would watch beyond the opening credits - too much thinking involved.
Paul Putnam excellent analysis. This show is still ahead of its time. And requires too much thinking for many to follow. To the jump cut people and the explosions every 30 seconds people, this type of fare is “boring” or they don’t understand it.
All it did in 1967-'68 was to get thinking people thinking. Most people at the time recall referred to it as "weird". McGoohan had to leave the U.K. as a result. People haven't changed.
Nice to see I wasn't just imagining how weird, in my decades old memories, this show was. I would love to see some of this show again. I can't see the name Leo McKern without hearing the word "Kaili" in my head.
"The ring, the ring!"
One of Leo's most memorable roles was the high priest Clang in the Beatles film "Help!", directed by Dick Lester.
Was this show made for people on LSD in the 60's?
I can't connect the dots....
0:51--Patrick McGoohan looks downright scary in that shot!
Rover scared the hell out of me as a kid.
Me, too. In a book called The Prisoner Companion, the Rovers were the sheepdogs of the Village to either kill or capture.
This scene in the last episode when Number 2 is using a dangerous interrogation method called Degree Absolute on Number 6, Number 2 had no idea as to the danger that he was in during the process. In the end, most of the questions were answered about Number 2 and the young blonde guy and the little butler who drives them all back to London in the truck. Most important of all why did Number 6 resigned.
Is that John Drake's picture being stamped, filed and indexed?
There is a lot of discussion on this topic. My understanding is, yes it was Drake, but they couldn't use the name without paying the producers of Secret Agent. By the way, the first episode of Secret Agent was also filmed at the Hotel Port Merion.
Brilliant series.
When i watched this as a kid as re runs in the 1970's i always thought he was No.1.
I would have had a mirror behind a door as a final reveal.
I thought when he asked who was #1 the answer was "you are #6"
A New movie of the prisoner shot in PortMeirion using Drones, Cell Phone camera's, (and instead of badges), people wearing numbered mask would be appropriate for the 2020's!
A gloriously eccentric, nonsensical series - bit like Twin Peaks. My mate at school was in the Six Of One Appreciation Society.
The only problem I have with this is that surely he would have noticed he was being tailed.
Don't forget, he was full of rage. His strong emotions were interfering with his senses (or else would also have known that the Agency would have not let him go, so easily).
Timeless
Watching his driving in the opening scene, my attention was drawn by his right turn, made just as we in the US make the left turn! And he drives on the "wrong" side of the street by US standards. So much is British in this opening. And the phrase WAY OUT which they use instead of Exit. My friend and I visiting London in 1974 were amused by the phrase "Way Out" for Exit because in the US it meant absurd, or extreme, as in "That's way out!"
You cannot beat 'the system' without losing your mind
The manufactured reality of the Village was also the premise for the simulated reality of the first Matrix film. That is why Guy Doleman (as Number Two) is seen on a television screen near the end of the film when Neo is attempting to escape Agent Smith.
The answer to the whole series was in the first couple of minutes of the opening sequence....."Who is Number One ?"......"You are Number 6 !" - That was his answer - "YOU are, number 6" easy when you've watched the whole thing !
He's simply not answering the question.
I think it was known in this episode; Number 6 won't say 6, and Number 2 keeps saying, "Six, One, Six, One, Six of One, Half a dozen of the Other". The last couple episodes were written at the same time.
I first watched this in middle school when it was broadcast on US TV in 1968. I don't think they had it figured out when they came up with the concept. They were planning on a multi-year production schedule like 'Faulty Towers' and that they'd have time to figure it out. But then the schedule was to be one season of 17 episodes so they scrambled, badly, to come up with an ending.
@@sierrapundit Simply put: no.
McGoohan's original concept translated into 7 scripts and were supposedly (according to Him) intended as a miniseries. It was Sir L.G. who had to sell the idea to CBS to make more money (and aired as a summer replacement in '68 AND '69 for the Jackie Gleason show --if you've a memory) which required 10 additional episodes.
Love that car!
The opening sequence, along with Ron Grainer's iconic theme music, is simply unforgettable. The series was really quite ahead of it's time.
A man is imprisoned for resigning from the thunder delivery business.
Gosh that was quick work by MI5 to have the Rolls at the exit as No. 6 drove out of his resignation at head office. Further No.6 drove ahead of the Rolls but later was behind. A great imaginative opening gambit to what was to become a chess challenge to keep up with the concept of human commodities in the making.......
Thanks for posting this Doc.
The Village is actually Stoneham, MA(Nancy Kehrigen 's hometown).
In the episode “The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" ,Homer Simpson deals to Rover with a plastic spork.
th-cam.com/video/4RV3RXMNGVs/w-d-xo.html
I’d love to write and direct a movie adaptation of this.
You couldn't.
You are not Pàtrick McGoohan
It is actually pretty simple, there isn't much fancy expensive effects or and overly complicated script. Just the basic principle together with more up to date scenarios and adapted for today's norms and culture so that it still appears as future thinking. Can be pulled off pretty easy in the right hands.
Has anyone considered that the village is, in fact a prototype for the purposed 15 minute cities in the works ??
Complete with cameras every where and license plate readers !!!
Guess they'll have those rovers patrolling the streets soon !!
A mystically sorrowful tale set to hauntingly simple and sad music that paints the very scenes on the screen of your own minds eye.
To this very day, you wonder yet believe it to be true....
What the Fuck????
Can anyone read that punch card at 1:32? The hole positions should line up to a basic alphanumeric IBM code.
just the open title says it all and it stuck with me since I was a kid and it has greater meaning the way things are going.
"The Prisoner" first appeared in the United States on CBS in 1968 as a summer replacement for, of all things, Jackie Gleason.
The show became quite popular, and CBS rebroadcast the entire series in the summer of 1969.
CBS brought the series back in the early 90's in their Crime Time After PrimeTime lineup on late Thursday night/ Friday morning at 12:30am
I'd heard that the episode "Living In Harmony" was not aired during its 1969 run on CBS because it was too controversial. Number 6 refuses to fight The Kid. Refuses to kill simply because "he has a gun". At the time, the cities of America were filled with anti-Vietnam protesters saying the same thing ( Make Love, Not War), and the network executives saw this episode as adding fuel to the fire.
you are number 1! my next door neighbour was the editor :) 7:16
this above 8 minute montage is the Best summary of the series I have ever seen. Thank you producer
My dad didn't like this show. He liked Dander Man but not this series.
Without weapon, any Guy has the power to kill Its Enemy.
Some kind of weird upscaling or motion smoothing going on in this upload.
What the hell ever happened to "Rover"? Did it just sink into the sea? Perhaps the greatest visual McGuffin ever in a TV series!
My own personal take-away is that the agent became a psychological prisoner in his own mind.....maybe all this happened in his own mind due to paranoia? But the show is fun because of all the implied themes. Like looking at a painting....what do YOU see?
there are many theories...
mcgoohan wanted all viewers to decide on their own what the series was about
only once did he say who number one is...the evil that is inside all men
I took a double decker bus tour of London several years ago and the tour guide didn't know #6's house in London. I told him and I heard him use it on the next tour he guided..he wasn't very well read on his own culture!
Not like 'The Knowledge' of the cabbies?
My God, this series is more relevant today than ever!
As the Great One would say, "how sweet it is!"
It’s one of the best TV theme songs.
Thats why I am scared of baloons
Fall out is the last episode and it's crazy.
I am My Fan Still
“ Definitely “ “ Way “ “ Ahead “ “ Of “ “ It’s “ “ TIME “
Still a better love story than Twilight
It was shown the United States too because I watched it as a boy. I'll always remember him being chased by that giant sphere.
Rover
Always wanted a caterham that color. Never found out why he quit does anyone know.
In the mid 80's, DC Comics released a "prestige format" (see: cardstock covers with more pages) 4 issue story that through a somewhat similar series of events, takes a female spy who suddenly resigns, then immediately goes to the Harbour, and boards a sailboat she owned so she could follow her dream, which was to sail all around the world. Some things occur, and eventually she wakes up on the beach right next to what's left of The Village. As she explores the town, sees a lot of damage & decay, some natural, some obviously done by physical force. Eventually, she encounters an older thin man with a beard, and is soon revealed that he is Number 6, and after the events of the final TV episode, went mad and just kind of lived on alone aimlessly wandering here & there. It's implied that The State tried so hard to bend him (to their will) that he simply broke. A bit later, she encounters the Number 2 played by Leo McKern, also older and begrizzled. He too had gone completely insane after being unable to get the truth out of Number 6. A bit later, Numbers 2 & 6 come face to face while she is present, and immediately start attacking each other. After the fight, she talks to Number 2, who basically says that after being repeatedly unable to get the info out of Number 6, he suddenly realized he no longer had any purpose, nor place in society. Every time the two numbers encounter each other, they start brawling, but now being old men, aren't really doing each other any harm. Number 2 relates to the woman that it's like that every single time they both encounter each other. I hope that's enough to pique your interest. I found a scene in first issue somewhat amusing- while the female ex-spy is exploring The Village, she encounters that short column that a bust of Caesar on it, only now, it has been partially damaged, enough so that a surveillance camera is visible inside the bust. The complete 4 part comic series which only saw aa limited single print run, can be somewhat difficult to find. The best place is probably Ebay, or major US comic book stores, such as Mid-City in New York, Mile High in Denver, who both have large online buying sites, and also atomicavenue dot com. If you can get a hold of it, it really is quite interesting. Throughout the issues, a number of things from the TV series that remained unanswered are explained and given a reason to here & there in the comics. Hope this helps!