“The Prisoner” (1967): The Best from British TV. I previously published this on the fiftieth anniversary of the incredible, and classic British TV show “The Prisoner”. Time flies, and we are now nearing the 55th anniversary! But, with a few tweaks, why not republish my homage from then, while keeping as much of the original intact.
Thapson
So, let me share my two cents worth on one of the coolest TV shows to come out of the UK. And that’s saying a lot because they made a ton of good shows and I got to see most of them (thanks to the unsung staff at Television Zambia back then). I refer to the mind bending, nail biting show “The Prisoner” starring Patrick McGoohan who was an interesting person unto himself.
“The show (launched in 1967) was spellbinding, the locale awesome, the cast top notch, the story lines gripping, the acting superlative, and those BBC accents were a joy to listen to.”
My First Intro to “The Prisoner”
I had seen some episodes of “Secret Agent” aka “Danger Man” starring McGoohan, but had never seen “The Prisoner” until almost two decades later. People say “The Prisoner” was a kind of follow up to “Danger Man” once that show had gone off the air. It was when I was in college in Rhode Island one night catching a station out of Boston over my rabbit eared antennae on a 12-inch TV, that I stumbled upon “The Prisoner.” I was blown away as it was a show unlike any other, and only the Brits could pull it off.
I was then a student and was unable to follow the show on a regular basis. So I filed it away in my mind. A few years later, they had a marathon of the show on Cable. I managed to catch it, and found myself spellbound again. The show (launched in 1967) was spellbinding, the locale awesome, the cast top notch, the story lines gripping, the acting superlative, and those BBC accents were a joy to listen to. British stuff at it’s best – something they hardly do these days. My dad always used to say “the generation that made the UK great is long gone.” Productions like “The Prisoner” is testament to his statement.
The Show’s Premise
Back to the show. The story is simple enough. It involves a Secret Agent, played by Patrick McGoohan, who abruptly resigns, and is then promptly abducted and dropped off onto a mysterious island populated by people who’ve resigned to their fate. However, our man (Number 6) is made of sterner stuff and spends the rest of the series trying to get off the “The Village” on this island. Does he manage? Who has brought him there? What do they want? Who is Number 1? Ah, but “that would be telling.” You have to watch the series to get the answer to these questions. Does the series even answer these questions? No, I’m not going to tell you as that would only spoil the thrill of watching the show. And you know what? I’m not sure I know the answer myself!
The Prisoner Opening and Closing theme / snarfmatic – Youtube.com
The Cast
While the show’s cast changes on every episode, the only recurring cast are:
Patrick McGoohan, playing the lead as Number 6.
Angelo Muscat, who plays the (mute?) butler to Number 2 throughout the series.
Peter Swanwick, as the Supervisor of the security monitoring setup in “The Village.” He appears in the second most common episodes after McGoohan and Muscat.
The other notable cast members include a new Number 2 each episode, along with others as per the story. This ever changing cast probably adds dynamism to the show as each Number 2 brings with him/her a different personality and strategy in dealing with the difficult Number 6. My favorite Number 2s, on a purely personal level include:
McGoohan’s acting is so taught and angry it’s a thrill to watch. The Number 2 Britishness (rather the Britishness of the entire cast) is a joy for any Anglophile. They remind me of my British teachers in school – strict, demanding, and forceful on the use of the British accent as a standard. In fact, even the clothes worn right down to the shoes resemble the school uniforms we had – later phased out as they were regarded as remnants of Colonialism. The island itself (on the Welsh coast) is a pretty cool place with its own history.
Patrick McGoohan
He was born in the US of Irish parents who returned to the UK where he grew up. Having lived in both the UK and the US, he developed something of a “neutral accent.”
Patrick then returned to the US after “The Prisoner” and continued acting over here both in Movies and TV. A good friend of Peter Falk, he played villain, in 2 or 3 episodes of Columbo.
You can almost see them winking and laughing with each other as they play cat and mouse on Columbo. Unfortunately, we’ve lost both these wonderful actors. McGoohan in 2009, and Falk in 2011.
So, if you want to watch a good TV show which only had 20 odd episodes, catch “The Prisoner” (1967). Hope you enjoy it as much I still do. You’ll realize where many of the newer TV shows got their ideas from – the pioneering brilliance of the producers of “The Prisoner.”
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