Six of One Tribute
The Classic Series (1967-68)
WHY THE PRISONER IS GREAT
What makes The Prisoner so great? The answer is that it was the sum of its parts. A combination of fortunate events led to the creation of this remarkable TV series, one that has stood the test of time and is often said to be unique. Many of TV's more recent offerings have been compared with The Prisoner because they are either enigmatic or do not fall into any particular genre.
The Prisoner was a non-category show. It was part science fiction, part fantasy, part allegory, and even part social and political commentary. How they managed to put all this into a prime-time show for mass audiences is a mystery, but The Prisoner was dubbed into many languages and shown around the world because it has a universal message, and people identify with it.
As McGoohan predicted, we are numbers, we are watched, our details are in data banks, and our hobbies and even buying habits can be tracked.
At the time of the original show there was the Vietnam War, the space race, the buildup of nuclear weapons, and the coming of the first true computers. In one episode, a giant computer is being used for malevolent purposes and must be destroyed. Each Prisoner episode had some such issue, such as political elections, education, drugs, extracting information by coercion, and bids to escape.
We have secret camps nowadays where people are held and interrogated. The place where No. 6 was kept in the original Prisoner was called the Village, and this itself symbolized both prisoner-of-war camps and the individual prisons that we carry around with us: our being restricted by our jobs, our monetary situation, our health, our looks, our location.
And yet The Prisoner was also able to represent our personal beliefs and traits. There are those who've seen their sexual orientation given meaning by the strength of No. 6. Others have seen their religious leanings reflected in the show, especially in the final episode. There have been some who identify with the lead character, but, equally, there are others who identify with No. 2 and the Village leaders who keep the prisoner in check and control the local community. As in life, some people do not want to be in authority, while others do.
Enough of the analysis: Let's look at the production qualities. Excellent music and scores by different composers; terrific scripts by a team of unconnected writers; top-class acting from big names of the stage and screen; and exquisite locations, mainly the North Wales resort of Portmeirion. Overseeing all this was the man in control, Patrick McGoohan, whose artistic vision, coupled with the expertise of producer David Tomblin and story editor George Markstein, made sure the project was a winner. The series has fascinated audiences for decades and will continue to do so.
Maybe there is one other thing that made The Prisoner great: the sixties. The show included elements of those Summer of Love days, even featuring the Beatles' music in the final segment. Episodes showed us a carefree, happy existence for those living peacefully in the Village, but against a more sinister backdrop of those in power who watch everyone and keep them under control.
Probably the people who made The Prisoner never thought that all of this would be read into the stories, but somehow—consciously or subconsciously—they produced what has been called TV's first work of art, a true classic that's now described as cult viewing. The Prisoner is for everybody, as it reflects our own lives. As McGoohan's character and those in the Village keep saying, "Be seeing you." Says it all, really!
--Roger Langley, Six of One principal organizer and author of the biography Patrick McGoohan: Danger Man or Prisoner?
