Sunday, April 17th open thread: ‘Gone Daddy Gone’

For Those With Eyes To See

The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series[2] first broadcast in the United Kingdom from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968.[3] Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory, and psychological drama.[2]

The series follows a British former secret agent who is abducted and held prisoner in a mysterious coastal village resort, where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job. Although sold as a thriller in the mould of the previous series starring McGoohan, Danger Man (1960–68; retitled as Secret Agent in the US), the show’s combination of 1960s countercultural themes and surrealistic setting had a far-reaching effect on science fiction/fantasy programming, and on popular culture in general.[4]

The series follows an unnamed British agent (played by Patrick McGoohan) who, after abruptly and angrily resigning his job, apparently prepares to make a hurried departure from the country. While packing his luggage, he is rendered unconscious by knockout gas in his flat. When he awakes, he finds himself held captive in a mysterious seaside “village” that is isolated from the mainland by mountains and sea. The Village is further secured by numerous monitoring systems and security forces, including a sinister balloon-like device called Rover that recaptures – or kills – those who attempt escape. The agent encounters the Village’s population: hundreds of people from all walks of life and cultures, all seeming to be tranquilly living out their lives. They do not use names but instead are assigned numbers, which give no clue as to any person’s status (prisoner or warder). Potential escapees therefore have no idea whom they can and cannot trust. The protagonist is assigned Number Six, but he repeatedly refuses the pretense of his new identity.[citation needed]

Number Six is monitored heavily by Number Two, the Village administrator acting as an agent for an unseen “Number One”. A variety of techniques are used by Number Two to try to extract information from Number Six, including hallucinogenic drug experiences, identity theft, mind control, dream manipulation, and various forms of social indoctrination. All of these are employed not only to find out why Number Six resigned as an agent, but also to extract other purportedly dangerous information he gained as a spy. The position of Number Two is filled in on a rotating basis: in some cases, this is part of a larger plan to confuse Number Six; at other times, it seems to be a result of failure in interrogating Number Six.[citation needed]

Number Six, distrustful of anyone involved with the Village, refuses to co-operate or provide answers. Alone, he struggles with various goals: determining for which side of the iron curtain the Village works if, indeed, it works for any at all, remaining defiant to its imposed authority, concocting his own plans for escape, learning all he can about the Village, and subverting its operation. His schemes lead to the dismissals of the incumbent Number Two on two occasions, although he never escapes. By the end of the series, the administration, becoming desperate for Number Six’s knowledge and fearful of his growing influence in the Village, takes drastic measures that threaten the lives of Number Six, Number Two, and the rest of the Village.[citation needed]

A major theme of the series is individualism, as represented by Number Six, versus collectivism, as represented by Number Two and the others in the Village. McGoohan stated that the series aimed to demonstrate a balance between the two points (Wiki)

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