I have been a film aficionado for a long time. My father brought me up on classics like David Lean's adaptations of Oliver Twist and Great Expectations as well as the various black and white classic comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. However, I became interested in cult TV series and films whilst attending University. Our campus was media-centered and as a result it had a huge catalogue of videos to rent, free of charge. I ploughed through many often taking the maximum 8 out at a time and consumed them voraciously. As a result, I believe that I am quite literate in films and TV but the series that really attract me are the more offbeat curios that were before my time and appreciating them for what they were, whether that be Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Twin Peaks, Children of the Stones, Ghost Stories for Christmas, Tales of the Unexpected, The Twilight Zone (in my opinion, the pop culture lodestone for so much that followed) or the myriad of niche films and series of yesteryear.
There was one series that I kept hearing a lot about so I thought I'd right that wrong; I would watch The Prisoner. I knew of The Prisoner through The Simpsons parody but also from reading various publications and magazines that spoke of the series in reverential tones.
Viewing the show with no nostalgia attached, I could see why the series has maintained a cult status. Like Twin Peaks, of which I am a huge fan of, the more one delves into the quirkiness, the lore and the theories, the more one appreciates what was done. It has clearly inspired many shows including Lost, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The X Files and so many more.
It is a singular show and it's tight 17 episode run keeps it evergreen by avoiding bloat and repetition... I mean, there's only so many ways you can attempt to escape by boat!
Patrick McGoohan is compelling in the role as 6.
The series is now seen as cult with its allegory of sociopolitics, but it was a prime time show when it was initially released. I don't know how Patrick McGoohan managed to get funding for it as it is so ahead of its time yet of its time; the Cold War was alive and well and the fear permeates this singularly psychedelic and Kafkaesque show with some real world analogies. However, it also embraced the Summer of Love with its fashion, crazy carnival of colours and The Beatles' All You Need is Love.
The show sure goes to some odd places, such as Once Upon a Time where 6 is brainwashed and regresses to certain points of his earlier life, or Free For All where he becomes a demagogue. However, it does make a weird kind of sense and shows the hopelessness of it all. In the words of 2, it doesn't matter if it's East or West who control the Village, it is '... a perfect blueprint for World Order'.
In Free For All, which is a very disorienting episode that looks at electioneering, it examines democracy in a vapid society where there is the guise of free media and culture. It could be analogous for much of the world today.
In Chimes of Big Ben, a pretentious art competition sees 6 create a flat pack boat and sell it off as a chapel door with a cross. He wins the competition, after being heavily supported by 2, and wins. This sideways look at the pretentiousness and corporate interests in art is a very unsubtle thumb of the nose to the art work of the 60s.
Other episodes I particularly liked include Hammer into Anvil, which sees 6 do some outlandish things in order to confuse and befuddle 2 into thinking there is a conspiracy against him, and Checkmate, which sees 6 combine with other uncooperatives to escape from the island. But, who can he truly trust?
There were a few others that I didn't care for, generally amongst the latter half of the series, but they were still worth a watch as they added to the mythos of the show.
The finale, Fall Out, is an extraordinary piece of work. It is utterly incomprehensible at first viewing, at least for me, but by piecing ideas from various episodes you can make a kind of sense, much like Twin Peaks: The Returns episode 8. I don't get it all but think The Prisoner is all about the power of the individual which is supreme but also about how individuality affects the social fabric so it is oppressed by those in power. The reason 6 resigned and what he was involved in are not the important things here, nor is the question of who or what number 1 is. What matters more is the vibe of the show which looks at the surreal, psychedelic and counter-culture movements and how it is seemingly a threat to common society- a fear held by many Libertarians.
I read the essential I Am (Not) a Number: Decoding The Prisoner by Alex Cox and his theory is one that rings true for me. I can get behind his theory and, with the passing of time, it seems the most accurate in my understanding of what the series is about.
Overall, I loved the show and even thought the central mystery remains for me, like it does for my theories of Twin Peaks, it will remain long in my memory.
LINK- Children of the Stones: Cult TV Series Review
LINK- Dead of Night: Cult TV Review
LINK- The Stone Tapes: Cult TV Review
LINK- Tom’s Midnight Garden: Cult TV Review
LINK- Children of the Dogstar: Cult TV Series Review
LINK- How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Mike Schur- Book Review
LINK- The Good Place and Philosophy- Book Review
LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’ LINK: Elden Ring- Videogames As Art