"The Prisoner" (1967) TV series 1967-1968

User Rating:

9.2/10   

Creators:

George Markstein
Patrick McGoohan

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

1 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

No Man Is Just A Number.

Plot:

After resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to escape.

Plot Keywords:

Information | Secret | Number | Prison | Secret Agent

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Patrick McGoohan	...	Number Six / ... (17 episodes, 1967-1968)
George Markstein	...	Man behind desk in title sequence (15 episodes, 1967-1968)
Angelo Muscat	...	The Butler (14 episodes, 1967-1968)
Peter Swanwick	...	Supervisor (8 episodes, 1967-1968)

Runtime:

50 min (17 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Buckingham Place, Palace Street, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company:

Everyman Films

Trivia:

McGoohan also starred in an earlier TV film entitled "ITV Sunday Night Drama: The Prisoner" (1963), which, while unrelated to this TV series, shared more than a few similarities with it.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the opening sequence, the letter X is typed across the prisoner's photograph, but the typewriter typebar for the letter H is moving. The typebar for the letter X is at the far right of the frame.

Quotes:

Number Two: You shouldn't have interfered, No.6. You'll pay for this.
Number 6: No. You will.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Watchmen (2009)

Soundtrack:

Double X

An all-time great

Geez I just did another Imdb review listing some of the top ten tv shows of all time (in my opinion) and I plum forgot this one. It qualifies. 18 hourly episodes about attempts to pry information from taciturn retired spy McGoohan, kidnapped and held in an isolated village peopled by, well, we're not sure who else. There's maybe one bad episode in the whole lot; many shows have you wondering who are the captors and who are the captives among the village's inhabitants. Not sure it's explicitly stated but McGoohan's character could be a carryover from his Secret Agent Man, an earlier series also starring him. McGoohan is exquisitely perfect in the role, a bit eccentric, sometimes almost precious, athletic when necessary, crisply precise and (understandably) paranoid. Occasionally things go over the top, particularly in the final two episodes, but you certainly can't accuse them of playing it safe. Unique, inspired, insightful, distinctive, unparalleled.