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The Prisoner: I'm Not a Number. I'm a Free Man

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Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner

I am not a number! I am a free man!

In 1967, The Prisoner came to British Television, and became a cult classic.

In the first of 17 episodes, we meet Number 6, a government agent who, upon resigning, wakes to find himself in a lovely village with beautiful weather all the time, well-behaved citizens and the mysterious "Rover" which prevents escape. His name is gone; he is called only "Number 6," yet he insists "I am not a number. I am a free man!"

The series is the story of his unwillingness to submit, his persistance in asserting his individuality.

The Prisoner's Lotus 7

The coolest car

Patrick McGoohan is a handsome spy-man, and so it's only appropriate that he drive a cool spy-car. And the Lotus 7 is just sexy enough.

The Series 2 Lotus 7 driven by The Prisoner would have been very lightweight. While it probably wouldn't exceed about 90 miles per hour, it might have gone from 0-60 in about 3 seconds!

But if you want to buy a 7 today, you can't go to Lotus. They sold the rights to Caterham Cars in 1973.

Locost - Build Your Own Sports Car

If you build your own spy-car, you can be a sexy spy-man like Patrick McGoohan! The Locost lens can help.

And no, of course they don't look like that! I just think the lego version is cute.

Interviewing 'Patrick McGoohan'

Number Six - a new Prisoner remake!

"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own."

The television company Sky One has denied rumors that Christopher Eccleston is to be the new Number Six.

While a movie based on The Prisoner has been promised for years, it hasn't happened. But now, a new series based on the original is in the works. Number Six will be a mini-series with six one-hour episodes, and is promised to be a "radical reinvention" of the Prisoner, with a $1M/episode budget, and a more exotic location.

There are complaints that such a wonderful series shouldn't be redone, but personally, I am looking forward to it. Imagine, new episodes to watch! Will there be a Big, White, Ball of Death? Who will be the New Number Two?

Even if it's not as good as the original, it may still be better than anything else on TV.

The only thing that worries me is Granada's (the company that's producing it) promise that the series will "make sense" to people who watch all six episodes.

Where's the fun in that?

Prisoner Fansites

Fans haven't stopped talking about, writing about, and obsessing over the prisoner since it first aired in the 60's.

RetroWeb: The Prisoner: A strong overview of the series, with information about every episode, and lots of pictures! This site also provides analysis of some of the crazy episodes that seemed to make no sense. Read the discussion of "Fall Out," the final, bizarre and psychedelic episode.
Six of One: The Prisoner Appreciation SocietyA A: This is the authoritative fan club. The site has news about current projects, a No. 2 Chair for sale, and other resources you won't find anywhere else.

The Symbolism of The Prisoner

They do tell us something....

The Simpsons honor The Prisoner

Homer Simpson is Number 5 in this brief clip from a 2000 episode called "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes."

PRISON BREAK simpson special edition: by pbfan99 | video info

4,141 ratings | 2,096,709 views

curated content from YouTube

The first three episodes

In the first episode, Arrival, "Number 6" wakes to discover himself in a strange and lovely place from which he cannot escape. (Escape attempts are stopped by what my family called the "big, white ball of death," but was identified in a later episode as "rover.")

Other villagers don't seem to find the environment strange at all, and they have no desire to escape. "Number 6" quickly learns that he cannot trust anyone.

The second episode, "Free for All" features an apparent impending election, with the prisoner running for the position of "Number 2." This is where the viewer first discovers the profound absurdity of the show, and the deep issues addressed, like the meaning of "prison" and "freedom."

In "A, B, and C" we enter, through the use of medical technology, the prisoner's subconscious, and travel with him to Paris.

More information about The Prisoner

The Prisoner on Wikipedia: Wikipedia offers a well-thought-out and frighteningly detailed look at the series, derivative novels, and even episode synopses.