Is "The Prisoner" science fiction? Yes, it's dystopian SF. It should rightfully take its place alongside other classic dystopias such as 1984, Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange, Fahrenheit 451, The Handmaid's Tale, THX 1138, etc.

I have a friend who anchors a morning news show in Denver. One day he wore a black jacket with white piping, like Number Six usually wears. I told him to look up "The Prisoner". He was amazed.

At the very start, when 6 was drugged in bed and talking to Dutton, the Doctor got Dutton to ask 6 about security secrets, top secret government information, NOT why did you resign. The Village couldn't really care less about why he resigned. They want him broken, defeated, 6 knows this, and will never tell because he must win and keep his freedom and not end up like most of the Villagers, mindless cabbages, as 6 said in The General.

This one could have been placed third or fourth rather than eighth. He's still trying to escape and they go out of their way to make him dead. Not unlike when Servalan declared Travis dead in Blake's 7... Mary Morris reigns supreme as No2. First class acting in everything she does...

Number 249 (Town Crier/the speaking judge in the purple emperor's robe) was played by Aubrey Morris, most famous for playing Mr. Deltoid, Alex's post-corrective advisor in _A Clockwork Orange._ He also played the Golgafrinchan leader in the BBC TV series _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,_ a series I strongly recommend you review. It's only 6 episodes.

Your so lucky , I wish i could see this series again for the first time

Especially in later episodes the Formula does not get stale

A great episode. Mary Morris is brilliant as Number 2. 15 years before she played Panna in Doctor Who serial Kinda. Engaging reaction, Marie-Clare!

Two things to note about time and how long it's been in the show for characters within it: 1) You're watching in transmission order. The episodes weren't transmitted in the order they were intended to be viewed in, and while IIRC McGoohan has confirmed the transmission order was not the intended order, he adamantly refused to give an intended viewing order. Basically the only thing that is generally agreed upon is that the first episode is first, and the final two episodes are last (Which guarantees the intended order isn't the production order, since the penultimate episode is the sixth one they made) 2) Even if you were watching in the intended viewing order, due to the surrealistic nature of the show and the editing employed within, I'm not sure the intended viewing order would actually be chronological, or if there's even intended to be an actual continuity outside of a few events.

There are a number of things about this episode that make me certain it was meant to be an early episode, not episode 8. I actually put it as episode 2.

If your question is “is this series now going to get predictable?”, then I'm afraid I can't type the answer for laughing….

I’ve heard that this is one of four scripts that were all written as a potential second episode (the others being The Chimes of Big Ben, Free for All and the episode following this one), which would go some way towards explaining all the references to No 6 having only been in the Village for a short time.

This is one of those episodes that I love for the look and feel rather than what it's about. I hope you enjoy the journey to the unique final episode... it goes to some surprising places before the end.😎

Just enjoy the ride. Mary Morris was frankly scary as #2 - that laugh

Marie -Clare. You have concerns over the series getting repetitive. Most understandable to have as did Patrick McGoohan. He only wanted to make it a Seven Episode series, stating it would `stretch` the concept if more were made. Why did it then become 17 episodes? Answer is American Television, Lew Grade the head of ATV who put up the money to make the series (And it was the costliest series per episode that UK TV had made at that time) Grade had to recoup costs via sales to US station CBS. They insisted on more than Seven, hoping for 26 or 30. McGoohan was adamant that such a number was far too much. A compromise of 17 episodes was reached and produced. McGoohan regarded the extra Ten as `fillers` but many fans, including myself think some of the greatest ever UK television is in some of those `later` episodes. Even the very best of TV series have `some` repetition, and this one is only 17 in length. Its Star, Producer, Director and writer Patrick McGoohan, only envisioned Seven!

Why doesn't he tell them why he resigned? This is mentioned in the first episode: get him to tell this, and the rest will follow. And this is why you think it's going in circles.

The `Laughter` was piped through the Loudspeaker system the Village uses for announcements.

Be seeing you!

Not all is what it appears to be, be seeing you

My definition of The Prisoner: " A Riddle, Wrapped In A Mystery, Inside An Enigma! " :)

Prisoner fans love to debate the "correct" episode order. My personal feeling is that it belongs early in the series, because Number Six is still feeling his way round and trying to figure out how things work in the Village. I also think it would work well if "Many Happy Returns" came immediately after, because the deserted Village in that episode would contrast nicely with the crowded, claustrophobic feeling of this one - plus both episodes feature the cat. Incidentally, the cryptic monologue that Number Six listens to on the radio, that talks about the appointment not being fulfilled, and the need to throw off tyranny - in reality, there's no meaning to that passage. It's an audio typing exercise.

Can anyone tell me if the Caesar costume worn in this episode was from Cleopatra, also worn by Kenneth Williams in Carry On Cleo?

Number Six faced a kangaroo court in this episode. If you had told anyone 57 years ago that one day a former US President would (in the opinion of a Canadian lawyer) be convicted by the worst kangaroo court ever, no one would have ever believed such a thing to be possible. With each passing year, western countries are becoming more and more like The Village. Number Six was also being hounded by the mob that is the brainwashed inhabitants of The Village. Today, there are plenty of online mobs that will hound you if you commit the smallest of offenses. At the end of the episode, Number Six was unable to disable the technology of The Village. Today, in China, I'm sure many are wishing they could turn off their online social credit score, but I guess there's no way to overcome the machines that govern our lives.

The episode order is a complex question, though many put this early in his stay, earlier than some you have seen already

If you haven't discovered it yet, may i suggest "Adam Adamant"? It's what Verity Lambert produced next when she left Dr Who.

Brilliant reaction, have you booked your holidays yet in the village,. portmerion in Wales

❤❤❤❤ great video hope you are well ❤❤❤❤❤

You're watching this as a "spy-fi" / science fiction fan of the 21st century. Expecting a 'story arc' etc. 1960s TV viewers didn't have the same expectations of what they were watching. It's important to understand that when watching The Prisoner nearly sixty years later.

One of my least favourite episodes but, as always, thanks for bringing such fresh energy Marie-Clare!