Eye on America, Indeed (The Prisoner in real life)

Wired.com ^ | Oct. 28, 2002 | Lauren Weinstein

[Korth]

In the brilliant 1967 British television series The Prisoner, Patrick McGoohan portrayed a character known to the audience only as No. 6, who was imprisoned in an isolated, outwardly idyllic, crime-free oceanfront community identified simply as The Village.

Far from a true paradise, The Village was actually a platform designed for pervasive surveillance, complete with hidden cameras, microphones and other eavesdropping devices entwined throughout its structure.

[elbucko]

My skepticism to "Video Surveillance" is not constitutional, but practical. I do not believe they are any solution to any crime problem. Their only value is as evidence in a post crime trial. Which means cameras are no deterrence at all. Only an impotent witness to your victimization. The video of the crime committed is no guarantee of the conviction of your perpetrator.

Electronic surveillance is nothing short of putting a band-aid on a cancerous tumor. It gives all the appearance that something is being done but, in reality, is of little actual value in both crime prevention and increased public safety. "Institutional Voyeurism" is no substitute for good law enforcement.

[lds23]

In the episode "The Chimes of Big Ben", #6 and #2 have a little seaside chat about internationalism. Throughout the series, #6 tries to find out "which side are you on". In other words, Free World or Communist.

The problem is, in the Village there is no "side". It's the New World Order, where individual rights do not matter.

#2 asks what he thought about such a future world. #6 replies "I'd like to be the first man on the moon".

[AdamSelene235]

I AM NOT A NUMBER!

sorry had to be done

[Leisler]

Bump! How well do the video's work at ATMs, convience stores, banks, ect?

[No.6]

Be seeing you, 2.

[mgstarr]

"We're all pawns my dear."

[number48]

I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own.

[No.6]

The full quote, if memory serves, is:

No.2 (Leo McKern): "The whole world as The Village. That's my dream. What's yours?"
No.6: "I'd like to be the first man on the moon."

[lds23]

Number 6: "Welcome, friend. I'm Number 6."
Number 15: "I'm Number Fifteen. What number are you?"
Homer: " I am not a number! I am a man! And don't you ever ... oh wait ... "
[notices a button on his lapel with a "5" on it]
"I'm Number Five. Ha-ha! In your face Number 6!"

[devolve]