| The Prisoner | |
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The Prisoner intertitle |
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| Format | Spy fiction, Science fiction, Allegory |
| Created by | Patrick McGoohan George Markstein |
| Written by | Patrick McGoohan David Tomblin Anthony Skene Terence Feely Vincent Tilsley |
| Directed by | Patrick McGoohan Pat Jackson Don Chaffey David Tomblin |
| Starring | Patrick McGoohan |
| Theme music composer | Ron Grainer |
| Composer(s) | Albert Elms |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 17 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Patrick McGoohan |
| Producer(s) | David Tomblin |
| Location(s) | Portmeirion, North Wales |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | Film 35 mm 4:3 Colour |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original run | 29 September 1967 – 1 February 1968 |
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968.[1][2] Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.
The series follows a British former secret agent who is held prisoner in a mysterious seaside village where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job. Although sold as a thriller in the mould of McGoohan's previous series, Danger Man (called Secret Agent in its U.S. release), the show's combination of 1960s countercultural themes and surreal setting had a far-reaching effect on science fiction/fantasy programming, and on popular culture in general.
A TV miniseries remake aired on the U.S. cable channel AMC 15–17 November 2009.[3] In 2009, Christopher Nolan was widely reported to be considering a film version.[4]
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The show was created while Patrick McGoohan and George Markstein were working on Danger Man, an espionage show produced by Incorporated Television Company (also called ITC Entertainment). The exact details of who created which aspects of the show are disputed.
Some sources indicate that McGoohan was the sole or primary creator of the show.[5][6][7] McGoohan stated in a 1977 interview (broadcast as part of a Canadian documentary about The Prisoner called The Prisoner Puzzle) that during the filming of the third season of Danger Man he told Lew Grade then chairman of ITC Entertainment, that he wanted to quit working on Danger Man after the filming of the proposed fourth series.[8] Grade was unhappy with the decision, but when McGoohan insisted upon quitting, Grade asked if McGoohan had any other possible projects; McGoohan later pitched The Prisoner. However, in a 1988 article from British Telefantasy magazine Time Screen, McGoohan indicated that he had planned to pitch The Prisoner prior to speaking to Grade.[9] In both accounts, McGoohan pitched the idea verbally, rather than having Grade read the proposal in detail, and the two made a verbal agreement for the show to be produced by Everyman Films, the production company formed by McGoohan and David Tomblin. In the 1977 account, McGoohan said that Grade approved of the show despite not understanding it, while in the 1988 account Grade expressed clear support for the concept.
Other sources, however, credit Markstein, who was then a script editor for Danger Man, with a significant or even primary portion of the development of the show. For example, Dave Rogers, in the book The Prisoner and Danger Man, said that Markstein claimed to have created the concept first and McGoohan later attempted to take credit for it, though Rogers himself doubted that McGoohan would have wanted or needed to do that.[10] Rogers also stated that Markstein wrote a four page show Bible that became the basis of production for the show. However further research has shown that the four page document to be a publicity guide from 1967, well after the show was in production.[11]
Part of Markstein's inspiration came from his research into World War II, where he found that some people had been incarcerated in a resort-like prison called Inverlair Lodge.[12] Markstein suggested that Danger Man lead, John Drake (played by McGoohan), could suddenly resign, and be kidnapped and sent to such a location.[12] McGoohan added Markstein's suggestion to material he had been working on, which later became The Prisoner. Furthermore a 1960 episode of Danger Man, "View from the Villa", had exteriors filmed in Portmeirion, a Welsh resort village that struck McGoohan as a good location for future projects.
Further inspiration came from a Danger Man episode called "Colony Three", in which Drake infiltrates a spy school in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The school, in the middle of nowhere, is set up to look like a normal English town in which pupils and instructors mix as in any other normal city, but the instructors are virtual prisoners with little hope of ever leaving. McGoohan also stated that he was influenced by his experience from theater, including his work in Orson Welles' 1955 play Moby Dick Rehearsed' and the 1962 BBC teleplay The Prisoner by Bridget Boland.[12] McGoohan wrote a forty-page show Bible, which included a "history of the Village, the sort of telephones they used, the sewerage system, what they ate, the transport, the boundaries, a description of the Village, every aspect of it…".[8]
In a 1966 interview in the Los Angeles Times with reporter Robert Musel, McGoohan stated that "John Drake of 'Secret Agent' is gone." Further McGoohan stated in a 1985 interview that No.6 is not the same character as John Drake, further adding that he had originally wanted another actor to portray the character.[13] However, other sources indicate that several of the crew members who continued on from Danger Man to work on The Prisoner considered it to be a continuation, and that McGoohan was continuing to play the character of John Drake.[9] Furthermore, Rogers states that Markstein had wanted the character to be a continuation of Drake, but that doing so would have meant paying royalties to Ralph Smart, creator of Danger Man.[10] The issue has been debated by fans and TV critics, with some stating that the two characters are the same, based on similarities in the shows, the characters, a few repeating actors beyond McGoohan, and certain specific connections in various episodes.[14][15][16]
In addition to originally conceiving of the show and starring as the lead, McGoohan also wrote and directed several episodes, often under pseudonyms.[17]
The exteriors for the series were primarily filmed on the grounds of the Hotel Portmeirion in Penrhyndeudraeth, North Wales, the location that partially inspired the show. At the request of Portmeirion's designer Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, the location of the series was not disclosed until the credits at the end of the last episode.[18]
McGoohan had originally only wanted to produce seven episodes of The Prisoner, but Grade argued that more shows were necessary in order for him to successfully sell the series to CBS.[8] The exact number that was agreed to, along with how the series ended, is disputed by different sources. In a 1967 article, Dorothy Manners reported that CBS had asked McGoohan to produce 36 segments, but that he would only agree to produce 17.[19] According to a 1977 interview, Grade requested 26 episodes, which McGoohan thought would spread the show too thin, but was able to come up with 17 episodes.[8] According to The Prisoner: The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series, however, the series was originally supposed to run longer, but was canceled, forcing McGoohan to write the final episode in only a few days.[12]
The opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner have become iconic. Cited as "one of the great set-ups of genre drama",[20] the opening sequence establishes the Orwellian and postmodern themes of the series;[21] its high production values have led the opening sequence to be described as more like film than television.[22]
The series follows an unnamed British agent who abruptly resigns his job, and then finds himself held captive in a mysterious seaside "village" that is isolated from the mainland by mountains and sea. The Village is further secured by numerous monitoring systems and security forces, including a mysterious balloon-like device called Rover that recaptures those who attempt escape.
The agent encounters the Village's population, hundreds of people from all walks of life and cultures, all seeming to be tranquilly living out their lives. As they do not use names, they have each been assigned a number. The agent inquires of the Village's chief administrator, Number Two, "Who is Number One?", to which Number Two responds, "You are Number Six". The dialogue continues, "We want information", to which the agent responds "You won't get it!". "By hook or by crook, we will..."
The task of attempting to extract information from Number Six is carried out by the ever-changing "Number Two", acting as supposed proxy to the unseen "Number One". As the series unfolds, the audience learns that the Village authorities have other interests in Number Six aside from the knowledge he possesses: interests that often spare Number Six from the more destructive information-gathering techniques employed by the Village authorities upon other inmates.
Number Six, distrusting of anyone involved with the Village, refuses to co-operate or provide answers. Alone, he struggles with multiple goals: determining for which side the Village works, remaining defiant to its imposed authority, concocting his own plans for escape, learning all he can about the Village and subverting its operation. Some of his schemes, while not resulting in an escape, do lead to the dismissal of an incumbent Number Two on two occasions. By the end of the series the administration, becoming desperate for Number Six's knowledge and fearful of his growing influence in the Village, takes drastic measures that threaten the lives of Number Six, Number Two, and the rest of the Village.
The series features striking and often surreal storylines, and themes include hypnosis, hallucinogenic drug experiences, identity theft, mind control, dream manipulation, and various forms of social indoctrination. A major theme of the show is individualism versus collectivism.
Actors who played the same role in more than one episode are:
There have been several spin-offs of The Prisoner in other media, including novels, comic books, games and several attempts to make a movie.
A remake miniseries, in the works since 2005,[24] premiered on 15 November 2009 on American cable TV channel AMC, made in cooperation with British broadcaster ITV after AMCs original production partner Sky1 had pulled out.[25][26][27] On 25 April 2008, ITV announced that the new series would go into production, and in June 2008, that American actor James Caviezel would star in the role of Number 6, with Ian McKellen taking on the role of Number 2 in all six episodes.[28][29][30] In May 2009 the shooting for the new series was completed with significant plot changes from the original television storyline. The new Village is located in a desert tropical area instead of Wales, with location filming taking place in Namibia and South Africa. The six part series premiered in the UK on 17 April 2010.
The first home video editions of The Prisoner appeared in the 1980s. In North America, MPI Home Video released a series of 20 VHS tapes covering the series: one for each of the 17 episodes and three more containing "The Alternate Version of 'The Chimes of Big Ben'", a documentary and a "best of" compilation respectively. In the 1990s the first DVD release of the series occurred in North America/Region 1, with A&E Home Video releasing the series in four-episode sets and a full 10-disc "megabox" edition in the early 2000s; A&E subsequently reissued the megabox in a 40th anniversary edition in 2007. The A&E issue included "The Alternate Version of 'The Chimes of Big Ben'" and the MPI-produced documentary among its limited special features.
Numerous editions of The Prisoner were, meanwhile, released in the UK/Region 2 by companies such as Carlton. These editions differed from the Region 1 release in their special features, including one release that included a recently-discovered alternative version of "Arrival".
The Prisoner: The Complete Series was released on Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom on 28 September 2009,[31] following in North America on 27 October.[32] The episodes have been restored by Network DVD to create new high-definition masters,[33] of which standard-definition versions were used for The Prisoner: 40th Anniversary Special Edition DVD boxset released in 2007.[34] The US edition, once again by A&E Home Video, includes the first North American release of an alternative edit of "Arrival" (in high definition), as well as "The Alternate Version of 'The Chimes of Big Ben'" from the earlier DVD/VHS releases (in standard definition due to the degraded source material) and assorted documentaries and behind-the-scenes footage.
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