Posted on 10/29/2009 7:59:40 AM PDT by pillut48
"Watch this exclusive preview of AMC's "The Prisoner" that premiered at Comic-Con."
(Excerpt) Read more at fancast.com ...
I don’t remember a single thing about this show except that giant bubble.
I was fascinated by it as a kid of about 8.
It’s the 60’s - 70’s version of Lost.
Who is Number One? LOL
I just finished watching the whole series.
Ahead of its time and VERY entertaining.
“You are, Number Six.” The voice was aswering the question. The bubble’s name was Spot.
The difference is that The Prisoner was designed to be a short series. Lost had the feeling of a piece of bread with not enough butter - as they added more seasons the butter kept getting spread thinner. Prison Break was that way too: season 1 get out of prison, season 2 stay out of prison, season 3 start stinking.
Rover, not Spot.
I never did figure out what an "Orange Alert" was. Is it a Brit term for something between yellow and red, or was it created by the show's writers?
I don't think it was quite short enough. I lost interest in The Prisoner after 8 or 9 episodes, and the finale left much to be desired, IMO. There's only so much one can do with a show about a Prisoner who attempts to escape having endless mind f***s played on him.
However, the good episodes are very good. The first episode is a stunner. I just wish they'd managed to end it with a better finale.
I saw that at Comic-Con. Some of the stars were there. They said that “village” shown was an actual town, not a set. They were pretty creeped out by it and it drove them a little crazy.
In the comic book out a few years ago, they presented that the final episode, with all it's mind-banging symbolism, was inside #6's head after the events of the SECOND to last episode. In the end, McGoohan said that the reason that #6 quit the Service was that "he could." The entire series was about human choice, the rights of the individual in the face of the pressure of society and how it wants to remake us in its image. The point was that The Prisoner was the Individual...and should have the right to determine his own future. In the end, off comes the white hood of mystery, our society, and we see the jabbering monkey...the Id, the base desires of the individual man. Rip that off, and we see...us. Leo McKern (the last #2) says in the second to last ep, "If we fail to put it together, POP!" We must balance our inner drives against the crushing weight of being only a number...find the point at which we have order, but that it does not destroy the individual.
In his mind, #6 knows the truth. HE is number one...we all decide exactly how much of ourselves we are willing to give up in the name of "going along" for the betterment of our neighbor. Put it together, or POP! (Which was also an acronym for "Protect Our People."
I always liked that...in a Village that much like today's Britain has vidcams on every corner, what could be more apt than the greeting "Be seeing you!"
Also, the hand gesture of looking through the circle with fingers extended has been suggested to be symbolic of the Ithus.
I tried googling, and tried wikipedia... no results.
What's the "Ithus?"
Regards,
You are correct sir.
Do the British police have teeter-totters in the rooms where they view the video feeds?

I think my favorite episode was Hammer into Anvil where Number 6 decides to destroy that episode's Number 2. Why in the world would the Village's general store need 6 LPs of Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suite (and now that music is stuck in my head again) for Number 6 to listen to and make notes about the "differences" among them.
Thats the Christian Icthus where my arthritic fingers and wandering brain fail to perform properly.
I hope they don’t screw up this remake.
BTW- I watched the original on its initial American showing, and the thing that has stood out to me over the years, was Ron Grainer’s theme music for the show. I couldn’t stand it first, but it has grown on me...
Next to Hawaii Five-O, it's my favorite TV theme music. So swinging 60s, you almost expect Austin Powers to appear.
The Blu-ray of the original is coming out shortly. I’m waiting for the reviews and if the video is well done, it’ll be a must buy.
This new preview made more sense to me than the entire original show. With the original, I was glued to the TV trying to figure out what was happening. I loved Rover though and every week I looked for him to make an appearance.
The thing I remember the most is the question, “Who is number one?” But I don’t remember ever finding out the answer.
This new version looks more like a movie than a TV show. I like it.
"That would be telling."
No, not "Icthus."
From Wikipedia:
Ichthys or Ikhthus (Greek: ἰχθύς, capitalized ΙΧΘΥΣ or ΙΧΘΥC) is the ancient and classical Greek word for "fish."
Regards,
We want information. In Formation! IN FORMATION!
There is something new every time I watch one of those episodes. McGoohan made something timeless, and with the exception of those laughable "big turning reels of magnetic tape" computers, you could re-issue the original series today, and every element would be just as timely. The current administration wants us In Formation. We are not to bother them with Un-Mutual ideas like individuality. We are to rely entirely on the govenment of the Village for all our needs. The world is our Village, and there is no (need to) escape.
Have you ever seen the 4-issue graphic novel from about ten years back? Wonderful imagery, true to the original and OK'd by Patrick McG.
"But who had won the battle? The knights...or the dragons?"
“Cool, Daddy!”
ping
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