In pictures: The Prisoner at 50

BBC News ^ | September 4, 2016

[AJFavish]

It was 50 years ago, on 5 September 1966, that the cameras rolled for the first time in the Italianate village of Portmeirion as filming got under way for the cult 1960s adventure TV show The Prisoner.

The programme starred actor Patrick McGoohan playing the part of Number Six who is held captive in a mysterious village where the residents are known only by a number.

[discostu]

He only got out in a couple of episodes, and always ended in. It’s a show that wanted you to think, it makes sense if you put the effort in.

[faithhopecharity]

Thanks very much !

[Robert DeLong]

LOL, I was wondering who #1 was myself. I saw the show a few times back in the day, but was not a devout fan. There was probably something else on at the same time. Either that or I had come in so late and had seen so few of the episodes that it might not have made sense. But who knows anymore why.

[EveningStar]

ping

[Reily]

I have the series on DVD.
When my daughter was in high school I had her watch a couple of episodes. This was so she would have a benchmark as to what “cool” actually was.

She still occasionally humors “Dear Old Dad”.

As you can tell I am a huge huge fan of the series.

[Oatka]

That was the secret, there really wasn’t a number one. It was a group, of which the number 2s were a part.

One review I read said that that was a brilliant tactic - introduce a new No. 1 each episode so things didn't get stale. It worked. You always waited to see how he would screw over the current leader.

[AJFavish]

"It did address a legitimate point that has been a serious problem with some individuals working with state secrets and/or spies, what do you do with people who know too much ? If it was his character of Drake from “Secret Agent”, he would be very dangerous as a disgruntled ex-employee of HMSS and it would be in the state’s interest to either kill him or have him imprisoned or isolated."

What about when Obama leaves office? Not that he should be killed or imprisoned or isolated, but he's seen the Big Board.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Or our greatest nightmare: universal collusion and that it’s all a carefully orchestrated game. After re-watching the first ep this morning, as the old Admiral said to the lady, “We’re all pawns.”

[fieldmarshaldj]

Soros may not have let him see it.

[Billthedrill]

My favorite TV series of all time, with The Avengers in a close second place. The finale works best once you realize that The Village has won and Number 6 has gone mad. Is he literally Number One? And what, exactly, is it that he returns to?

Great stuff. There is a brilliant episode where Number 6 is shunned as being "un-mutual" with an opening in what is a frighteningly accurate portrayal of a re-education camp self-criticism group. That scene would be familiar to several generations of college students. If you want one key to the series, it's right there.

Only one of the episodes strikes me as dated, and it is where Number 6 manages to defeat a digital master computer by (ugh) typing the question "Why?" onto a sheet of paper and feeding it into a slot. I've seen a lot of computers in my time but I'm still waiting for one of them to start smoking when I give it garbage input. They do occasionally give me the right answer, though: "Because I'm in charge and you piss me off."

There is another episode where Number 6 runs for office that will make us all squirm in this election year. I shall say no more.

[Pelham]

Diana Rigg (no 's')

[MomwithHope]

Found this thread. I posted on it in 2016, saying it was time to watch them all again. Started before Christmas and just finished today. Just as brilliant. Yes a couple of episodes were not that great, but overall brilliant. Certainly fits the deep state example today.