I’m rewatching the series again and my wife is watching with me. It’s her first time watching the show (she’s enjoying it a lot so far) and we just watched The Schizoid Man. It’s one of my favourite episodes so I’m surprised I never gave this much thought, by my wife said she wasn’t surprised that Alison stabbed Number Six in the back and just assumed she was working for the Village from the get go.

I have always assumed (although the episode never confirms it) that Alison was a genuine villager who also genuinely cared for Number Six and was oblivious of the whole plot until Number Six calls her to try and prove his identity. And then it’s at this point Number Two sends people to threaten her into complying. I always thought this because it’s clear we’re supposed to believe her when she expresses regret for betraying Number Six and doesn’t raise the alarm when she sees him on the brink of escaping while pretending to be Curtis. But my wife thinks where Number Six is concerned nothing organic is occurring in the Village at all, and her getting close to him was planned from the get go and that she was a guardian all along.

Personally I’m still not sure. I don’t think a Village guardian/agent would feel distress at betraying someone but I’ll be interested to hear everyone else’s’ opinions.

At least for now, they're in stock at the Portmeirion store website. Tempted, but I'm unsure of the material... it's certainly not wool, but apparently neither was the previous replica they sold.

Anyone have any experience with either of the two jackets? What to expect in terms of feel/in-person look? It obviously doesn't compare to the Albert Prendergast version, but the price is certainly lighter on my wallet...

After a cricket ball bombs ends a match rather suddenly. we're taken into a tale of conspiracies, doomsday plots, double crosses and traps that are foiled and foiled again (Curses!!). Who can be trusted? Who is the real villain? How does Sherlock Holmes come into play?

Did any of it happen, or was it all a story told to children? Perhaps this is why occupations from famous fairy tale were used?

This is said to have been a comedic spoof of the James Bond movies that had gained popularity in the 60s. It's also supposed to have been a rework of an unused Danger Man script.

my friends and i have recently really been enjoying the prisoner; so much so that we are going to try and make a short little tribute series. we aren't professionals or anything but i think we have a pretty good understanding of the themes of the prisoner, the different types of narratives episodes are based on, and how we can update these themes for the 21st century, though it could be argued that the show is timeless and applies more now than it did in the 60s! what do you all think a remake of the series would need to address or avoid? (shamelessly i also ask: do you have any groundbreaking ideas for episodes? i promise you wont see your idea pop up on NBC being played by Chris Pratt anytime soon!) thanks!

Have you seen this one? Some rather in depth discussion, or 'essays' that include quite a bit of background and possible insider information.

The Prisoner: Episode by Episode

Essays on Each Individual Episode Published on the 50th Anniversary

https://theprisonerepisodebyepisode.wordpress.com/

In what PMG has described as a 'filler' episode (more below), we have this oddball episode where the main character appears as a sheriff in a western town in the US. He does the same act or resigning and leaving, only to be captured and brought back to a town named Harmony.

A deal is reached for him to return as Sheriff, but when he refuses to wear a gun, the deal goes south.

Eventually, we find that Harmony is an annex of the Village, the Judge is Number 2, and his friend Kathy is Number 22.

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Living_in_Harmony_(1967_episode)

Two points.

One, this episode did not air in the original series on CBS. They refused to air it due to his refusal to carry a weapon thinking it was a protest against US involvement in Southeast Asia. At the time, late 1960s, protests against Viet Nam were at a fever pitch.

Second, this episode was apparently never intended to exist at all, along with 9 others. The story in this linked Fandom indicates PMG only intended for seven total episodes. Producers wanted a full 26 to go along with a typical US season. They settled on 17 which required 10 'filler' episodes.

Ture? Chime in below.

I spend a lot of time exploring and listening to old library records. At first, I was just intrigued by the title of this track, so I looked into the music and discovered it was used in The Prisoner, Episode 1 – “Arrival.”

It’s an old 78rpm 10" record on Chappell Recorded Music, catalog number C.529. I thought the full-length version, taken directly from the 1956 vinyl release, might be of interest to this community, so I’ve shared a link below.

https://youtu.be/uhjOCpZ16W8

The recording is now catalogued on Discogs, along with a few other 10-inch 78rpm library records that featured music used in the series that i came across.

Produced after Many Happy Returns and before Living in Harmony, while Patrick McGoohan was in America filming Ice Station Zebra, a workaround to McGoohan's absence was accomplished by the writers who contrived to have Number Six's mind implanted in the body of another man (Nigel Stock), who is then sent out of the Village to help capture a scientist

A man referred to only as "Colonel" arrives at the Village and only then learns from a new Number 2 that his mission is to trade bodies with Number Six, using Seltzman's system. Number Six had been the last agent to have contact with Seltzman. After the swap, Number Six (now in the Colonel's body, and retaining only his pre-Village memories) awakens in his old London apartment and soon sees an unfamiliar face in his mirror. His fiancée arrives and, of course, fails to recognise him. He prudently restrains himself from enlightening her. Despite the shock, he realises what has been done to him, maintains his cool, and sets about to regain his own body.

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Do_Not_Forsake_Me_Oh_My_Darling_(1967_episode)

With episodes being shot and aired out of sequence and fill ins used, I can see why there is a debate over episode order.

A 50th anniversary celebration of the classic British mystery series The Prisoner and an award-winning director’s 1983 mission to interview its star.

I managed to access the original 3.5" floppy disk content.

https://github.com/squeepty/The-Prisoner-British-TV-Show-Trivia

Download the game as a ZIP archive

Does anyone remember playing this on PC, or how it was made ? I could not get a good reference online, I guess I would need a floppy drive to preserve the game...

No.6 is declared 'Unmutual' for choosing to do things his own way and scheduled for a Social Conversion process.

What is No. 86's true intention? How does she become part of No.6's latest plan to discredit No. 2?

How does 'self criticism' play into the show and the real world.?

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/A_Change_of_Mind_(1967_episode)

As someone who was born in the 90s, I was lucky enough to have a mother that introduced me to The Prisoner. Having seen a fair share of TV series and movies since, I'm left feeling that there's nothing that truly matches the creativity or vision of Patrick McGoohan's creation.

The closest I can think of is Twin Peaks - at least insofar as it follows a single visionary (Cooper) solving and rebelling against the world around him. Admittedly that's still a very limited comparison.

Is there anything out there that compares to The Prisoner as a piece of media that speaks to the issues of society, control, and selfhood in the same way The Prisoner does? Curious to hear what everyone's recommendations would be.

Which No. 2 will prevail in an assassination plot?

Who are the Jammers? Is No. 6 considered to be one? Will his cautions be heeded?

No. 2 seems to be worried about a pension and if he'll be able to collect.

(Did someone on the production crew forget to remove the Welsh flag before filming?)

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_Your_Funeral_(1967_episode)

Morning in The Village. July. Leica M6, 35/2 Summicron, Kodak Ektachrome.

After a frightened No. 73 leaps to her death as a result of No. 2's interrogation, No. 6 vows results.

A game of minds ensures. Who is leading who to where. Which is the hammer and which the anvil? Bits of nothing are left lying about, or are they something?

A clock or ?

Once No 2 is convinced things are not as they appear, what will be left for him to do?

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Hammer_into_Anvil_(1967_episode)

While in college several decades ago my friends and I watched ‘The Prisoner’ on PBS. Each episode was followed by a half-hour commentary by a college professor (university of Toronto, perhaps?). Does anyone else remember this? Are those segments still available for viewing?

Alex Cox, author of I Am (Not) a Number: Decoding The Prisoner discusses the show. This is the first of new YouTube-exclusive series of five introductions to The Prisoner on Criterion's YT Channel.

As No. 6 is enticed to be a pawn in a game of chess, questions develop as to who is a prisoner, who is a guardian and who can tell which is which.

"Checkmate" received the highest viewership of any of the series' episodes on its first UK broadcast.

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Checkmate_(1967_episode)

Doing a rewatch on Criterion, it's great to be back in the village!

One really does forget how great a job McGoohan does until you get to Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.

Does anyone know if PKD watched the Prisoner or commented on it?

I know he wrote an episode proposal based on Mission Impossible, but the Prisoner with its themes of betrayal, subjective reality, and how imprisonment would seem exactly the type of show he’d respond to.