22 Interesting, Funny and Weird Details in THE PRISONER (1967 TV series) (analysis)

Written, narrated and edited by Movie Archaeologist.
Also check out my analysis on Circus themes in the James Bond films:
• The Circus Paradigm in...

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

(UPDATE 23/3/24) Been receiving plenty of comments here about The Prisoner including a Freemasonic interpretation of The Village, so here is my generalised response for now: it is very possible that The Prisoner includes inferences to Freemasonry, and public awareness of Freemasonry has gone on for a long time, going back to the ancient Russian book War and Peace. But I'd say the show isn't only about Freemasonry, I believe the show is more about the indoctrinating and conformist aspects of our society generally. One point that goes against the Freemasonic interpretation is that The Village includes women as Number 2's, whereas Freemasonry has generally been a gentlemen's club that doesn't include women among their ranks (and have been bashed on the news reports for doing so... though there were offshoot masonic organisations that featured women). A critique has been said a handful of times in the comment section now which dismiss the lava lamp imagery as just being part of the visual trend of the time with no deeper meaning. Lava lamp imagery had novelty value back in the 1960's, yes, but that does not dismiss how The Prisoner used those imagery for communicating its themes. As I showed in the video, the protagonist glances specifically at the lava lamp imagery on the big screen as he says "Imprison people, steal their MINDS, destroy them?" In other words, the lava lamp imagery represents organic human minds that are encased and under constant scrutiny, hence they are shown on the same TV screen of Number 2's, but not among the Villagers' home TVs from what I recall. It makes perfect sense with the story. And for those of you who are not convinced of my observations in this video, I will mention here that I was previously 50-50 on the idea of the bright circular light shown in the episode Once Upon a Time to symbolise Rover (as I said in this video). But later on, I looked at the original script by the series creator and star Patrick McGoohan himself, and one passage says that the hypnotic lamp above the protagonist's bed "could be a distant relative of Rover in shape and colour." This strongly supports my original observation. There may be garbage interpretations out there on many things, but this experience of mine goes to show that if you don't explore, you don't discover. Be seeing you! 👌

[@COLONIALJO]

It's like what they are trying to do to us today, control. They punch cards when buying something costing them units, they are allowed so many. They dress alike and are monitored etc

[@Bippy55]

Thank you for your insight for this amazing series.

[@frankshailes3205]

When Rover was scripted as the "go-kart with a dome" it was black and white like a police car and had a flashing blue lamp that "paralysed" people. Several episodes have a "pacifying" blue light that freezes P in his tracks, and it forms the eye in the "all seeing eye" pyramid throne in the council chamber in two episodes as well. It basically symbolises the police force/law enforcement.

[@mojohnnysteedland4149]

The chessboard worked on both levels, freemasonry and the gaming/mental fighting element. Isn’t McGoohan a spy who rebelled/burnout. As are the other villagers. So it’s a “prison” for “retired” compromised spies at a superficial level. Remember Elizabeth I and John Dee developed the British Empire with psychic spying (black magic). And every other empire since has and continues to do the same. Mkultra , Stargate project being the declassified examples. Finally when McGoohan finds out he is No.1 this refers to every spies (humans) battle with their own evil, while battling with the evil elite - the grey men in Whitehall. But ultimately revealing that P.MCG is fallen/evil like everyone else and is facing eternal damnation. PS the white balls I see as the moon/greater evil always threatening to overwhelm the soul and capture and control it completely (for) eternity - the 2nd death, dark side of the moon, being beyond redemption.

[@vernugt]

I wonder if McGoohan peered into the darkness but knew he wouldn't be allowed to work and secure a life for his family if he blew the whistle, nor would anyone believe him, so instead he used ART- and heck it was the psychadelic 60's, no one questioned it as ART, even the controllers. Brilliant- I think he REALLY was n. 6, not acting.

[@donaldedgar1004]

This was one of the best tv shows of all time it still holds its own 👏

[@BillboardPenguin]

I love The Prisoner because it took the spy genre beyond action and intrigue. Sadly, the world has long since become The Village. Technology will continue to intrude ever further into our privacy.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Defo. If the social media already existed back in the 1960's, The Village would have a field day.

[@24revealer]

We are all secret agents of the birth certificate organization. We must resign this post and claim our Christian title which is the statement of birth, an original issue security held by the State Treasury. Read UCC-8 and the Security Transfer Acts in your State. You will also have to read about the High Court of Chancery to have your property interest vested.

[@johndemeritt3460]

@@moviearchaeologist9655, the observation about technology continuing to erode privacy is not a foregone conclusion. Before technologies change society, we choose the technologies that make those changes. This is what I found most significant about my journey through University of Houston - Clear Lake's Master of Science program in Studies of the Future. And if you read Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation, you'll see why.

[@collativelearning]

Enough in this series to make a ten episode study. Quite a few things in your vid I hadn't noticed too.

[@mullaleo85]

7 Octahedrons equels 7 chakras maybe!!?

[@l1ve2art]

I agree and I’m wondering, will you ever make a video breaking down The Prisoner Rob?

[@collativelearning]

@@l1ve2art Thought about it from time to time. Maybe one day.

[@l1ve2art]

@@collativelearning Oh wow! Thank you for replying Rob, I’d love to see someone break down this weird and wonderful show! 👍

[@CarolineBearoline]

Hey! It's YOUUU lol Subbed

[@fatdog1963rb]

Loved this series as a child in the 60s! Have to rewatch every so often. It's brilliant

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

The episode Hammer into Anvil is one of my favourites. The way No.6 - by hook or by crook - plays on the new No.2’s insecurity & paranoia by making him think there’s a conspiracy against him. Eventually No.2 cracks up, a most satisfying episode indeed!

[@robair67]

One of my favourite episodes, too. Number two (Patrick Cargill) is absolutely the most loathsome character of the entire series (with John Sharpe's No. 2 a close second in "A Change Of Mind") and demonstrates what a good actor he is, by that dubious distinction! His increasingly erratic and desperate interrogations of the various Village officials are so well observed, I can't help but be impressed. And his sudden, shocked realization that he, himself, was the traitor, when Number 6 confronts him with the bare facts, is absolutely poetic!

[@socoman99]

"The Girl Who was Death" was originally supposed to be an episode of "Danger Man" AKA "Secret Agent" in the US, but when "Secret Agent" was cancelled in the US, it meant the end of "Danger Man" in the UK. McGoohan held onto the script and adapted it into a "bedtime story" for the "Prisoner".

[@ThomasMulhall]

Anything with Justine Lord is fine with me!

[@number6223]

Also on the point of the ending, the prisoner is still the prisoner, after he “escapes” and makes it home, the Butler (or rather the “little man” who obeys orders) goes inside #6’s house, but the door opens automatically just as in the village. Such a great show! My dad got me hooked as a teenager in the 80s, still rewatch every couple of years and always find something new.

[@scottmerrow1488]

We are all prisoners No. 6

[@scottmerrow1488]

@buzz magister If we chose to incarnate that would be true.

[@karlarmstrong]

@@avishishalom7845 the film hell drivers his truck is number 1.

[@hagerty1952]

Not only does the door to his flat open with the "Village Automation" sound, but you'll notice that the number is "1." Also, the "little man" is the one source of continuity in the Village management. He serves the current office holder of highest authority.

[@user61920]

​@@hagerty1952woahhh it really says 1? Wild

[@Moodie111]

At 11:46, two possible reasons for the "priests" repetitive chanting of "I, I, I..." in 'Fallout' are given. However, when I first saw this show, back in 1968, it was obvious to me that the reason they were chanting this (ad nauseum) was that they were ridiculing Number 6's repeated insistence on the importance of his individuality, something that the Village's management was continually trying to do throughout the entire series and something that Number 6 resolutely refused ever to relinquish.

[@jagmarc]

...and another interpretation. .. "I" the roman numeral of the first chapter

[@frankshailes3205]

@@jagmarc ..and Number/numeral 1.

[@jagmarc]

Funny thing the whole episode was a result of him falling out big time with the head of the TV company

[@rgnyc]

I always heard the "I I I" as them mocking his individualism as selfish. "I Me Mine" by the Beatles comes to mind.

[@cathalmccarthy770]

Spot on; the collective mocking the individual

[@Peter-James66]

Fallout's ending, with 6's flat door opening automatically, as in the Village, suggests that he is still not free. The final scene, the same as the first of the series, implies that the series is a cycle that is about to repeat itself, supporting the idea that 6 cannot be free!

[@Moodie111]

Yes! My thoughts exactly. Number 6 had just been "promoted" into a much, much larger "Village". And he'll not escape this one! (Unless, of course, he intends to follow Number 1's flight into space!)

[@Warp75]

My thoughts exactly as well

[@_tillinghast_]

I would suggest that this scene shows there can be no 'physical' escape from the Village, whether on land, sea, or in space; but that the Prisoner (and you, the viewer) can still attain some degree of personal freedom as No. 6 has done, with the Butler personifying an ever-present reminder of the vigilance necessary to protect that hard-won freedom.

[@Former11BRAVO]

@@_tillinghast_ Sounds more like "The Matrix" in a way, although, I've never seen the show.

[@frankshailes3205]

@@Moodie111 That's if he hasn't swapped ego with Number 1, like Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks...

[@theStranger666]

The maid had the number 66, and she failed to extract information from No.6 despite being "most convincing". Thus she is "removed" and never seen again. The ex-admiral chess player now has her number, and says to the woman No. 9..."We're all pawns, m'dear". Thus illustrating how the Village uses people like pieces in a chess game in their manipulation for power and control. I look forward to to more Prisoner insights, especially in Checkmate.

[@clives344]

Think no 2 is a New Person every episode. Representing the System trying a new method in breaking no 6…None are successful and so are replaced. True to life.

[@18vallancel]

Some possible foreshadowing during the intro sequence. When Number 6 asks “Who is Number 1?” the reply is simply “You are Number 6”. In retrospect, this could be understood as “You are, Number 6”.

[@56postoffice]

Interesting. I never saw that. I always thought Number Two evaded 6's question.

[@paulhunter6742]

Most people never really catch upon true meaning of that phrase. Indeed, anyone the mysterious controllers of Village wanted focus upon would be Number One, Mr Vallance

[@Moodie111]

Interesting interpretation! That would explain why Number 6 battled various versions of himself in the final episode, 'Fallout'.

[@keithbartlett4909]

And all it took was a comma inserted!

[@freeforester1717]

Good use of grammar, the defining factor in discerning whether you know your sh1t or you know you’re sh1t….

[@Phl-ou6vn]

Over here in the states we enjoy The Prisoner mini-series, but we also like Mcgoohan for other things like helping to develop our cigar smoking, awkward, 'one other thing!' detective Columbo. What a great piece of work Peter Faulk said about Mcgoohan's writing and directing after Emmy Award interviews. Columbo was kind of like the opposite of your Hercule Poirot, a comedic character but just as shrewd inside a murder mystery always complimenting his wife that never appears in the series.

[@robair67]

Peter Falk- another absolute legend!

[@TheDesertwalker]

I heard Falk & Mc Goohan were good friends. Also, here in the states, there was a British series shown, THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH, introduced us to McGoohan.

[@tagoldich]

"Who is number 1?" "You are, number 6."

[@okay5045]

I watched this as a child in rerun few if my peers remember it. I found it fascinating.

[@thewkovacs316]

imho, the prisoner was the most impactful and important series of the 60s, if not the entire history of tv

[@theStranger666]

Rover has a piece of fanfare music sometimes that is heard just before it appears. For example :- In Free For All as it herds No.6 towards the Town Hall. In Many Happy Returns, we hear the same brief fanfare music, but instead of Rover, we see a Policeman near a roadblock looking for an escaped Prisoner (not No.6). A very clever way of illustrating that Rover is symbolic of authority through the use of a short piece of music we have become familiar with.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Hm, interesting, thanks. Btw, like your profile pic. High Plains Drifter is a great movie. 🐎

[@drumstick74]

A lot of interesting observations of this gem of a series. Please make more on The Prisoner. I'm subscribed! _Be Seeing You!_

[@paulhunter6742]

It's also very frightening how drugs and methods of mind control are used in trying break Number 6. His nightlamp or just cup of tea could contain something sinister.

[@AJGeeTV]

Back in 1980, dad bought a top-loading VHS video recorder, and the first thing we recorded was a re-run of The Prisoner. These videos recorded off ATV still play well with two commercial breaks included with all the ads of the time. I've noticed the difference between video and DVD quality as I bought the box-set. However, the 1980s videos seem to contain some short added scenes in the countryside around the village. I'm still checking this and will keep you posted if I find extra scenes.

[@rdf274]

It was quite a ride. I watched it when I was 21 (23 years ago). I got immensily hooked just on what the resolve of it all would be. The final episode, the I I I scene, the totally chaotic stuff, as if chaos was dissolving itself. I don't know, I never forgot about it, to this day. It was definitely a one of a kind watch.

[@davebartosh5]

Haha! I would have never noticed half of these, and I still watch episodes often. The number 66 one is clearly a riddle...food for thought! The series is obviously vastly more intellectual than most television. Part of why I love it so much.

[@Voyager...2]

👈 I cracked the bicycle code.

[@KutWrite]

I was happy to see Aubrey Morris, the actor who played "Mr Deltoid" in "A Clockwork Orange" had a place in this series.... yessss?

[@garyd1171]

I was fortunate to have seen the original showing of the Prisoner in the '60s when it first aired. In "Arrival" the taxi driver speaks to the prisoner in French. He questions her about it and she says "French is international." Later, in "Free for All" the prisoner is joined by Number 2 for breakfast. Number 2 refers to the cuisine as "international". The prisoner than says, "French", and No. 2 repeats, "international." I've wondered what the French/International relationship is.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Hm, that is curious. Might be to do with the dialogue about the entire Earth as a Village, but maybe there is something else specific going on there too.

[@marksasahara1115]

For a while, French was the international language and was used a common language, but has since been replaced by English.

[@frankshailes3205]

@@marksasahara1115 French was the international language of diplomacy and English was the international language of aviation.

[@raffihagopian532]

Maybe it has to do with the French playing both sides on the cold war, and France being defiant of the US leadership in the Western World.

[@aaronbredon2948]

​@marksasahara1115 Hence the term "Lingua Franca" to indicate whatever the standard international language is. It dates back before the Cold War, and before the British Empire. It dates to before the French Revolution, when the French Monarchy was looked up to by the nobility, and noble children all learned French growing up.

[@dirkbruere]

"I" "I" "I" Aleister Crowley in Thelema forbade his students to say the word "I" in order to dissolve their ego

[@thesunreport]

I think there's a lot of occultist sybolism in this show. Perhaps the whole thing represents an occult process which the Prisoner is subject to.

[@brendanward2991]

Rob Ager sent me here. Who am I to disobey? Be seeing you.

[@marmadukewinterbotham2599]

I think you're seeing hidden depths that aren't actually there. I was 19 when this was first shown here in the UK and it was a time of psychedelia and all its influence on artists, designers and film and TV makers who were going with the zeitgeist. The lava lamp (invented in 1963) came into its own, with its LDS-'trippy' moving hot oil. The control room had an Olivetti adding machine on the desk, standing in for 'strange computer gismo' as its new, very modernist shape looked curious. An early Xerox photocopier is used for similar purposes, with actors putting coded strips into it and receiving decoded ones out! (You can see it in the video above). Symbolic? No. Props people making do with 'found objects' rather then spending money on inventing and making special props. The explanation for the chaotic last episode (and the penultimate one) is simply explained by Peter Wyngarde, an erstwhile No.2, in the documentary included with the box set: "Patrick just didn't know how to finish it." It was special for its time, and full marks to the TV executives back then who took risks, unlike nowadays when they run for the hills at the slightest sniff of that word.

[@pauldavies5611]

@marmadukewinterbotham2599 I also came away with the same feeling that the author is making far too much out of the many items he specifies with an added bit of opinionatedness.

[@steveritt]

I think you're right

[@rgnyc]

When I originally saw the show during its first run (wow am I dating myself there!) I thought of the lava lamps as reminders that "Rover" could overpower you at any moment - or possibly that they were mini-recreations of how each "Rover" was formed under the water.

[@bob1505]

I agree with Marmanduke. Is there sybolism? Of course. But not every (prop) object has infinite depth. In the words of Leo McKern in another series. "Steady on old darling.". For instance the weather balloon "rovers" were originally supposed to be Volkswagon bug cars that chased miscreants around but they were having technical issues and the intended prop was going to send them over budget, so enter a cheap weather balloon that was near at hand. It is also worth noting McGoohan wrote the series with I less episodes but the backers wanted more so he cobbled together some additional episodes that don't really sit well with the originals script. If you want the money write some more episodes. That picture on the wall with the keyhole might just be an objet d'art an interior decorator thought 'looked cool" or maybe it IS the entrance to a Louis Caroll's netherworld. I dunno.

[@marmadukewinterbotham2599]

@@bob1505 "Steady on, old darling." LOL! Exactly. (Rumpole?) You're right about the additional episodes; some were in all honesty quite lame and stretched out to the utter limit. Still, all praise to such freedom of expression which is now, alas, a thing of the past. Lord Grade was a wily but trusting cove, to be sure, and I wish we had the like nowadays. I see rumours are again afoot that Christopher Nolan might be having a go at a remake. He's a clever chap, so he might come up with something very cool. But I'm not so sure how he'd reconcile the need to retain the cerebral aspects of the original idea with the inability of today's younger audiences' (who bankroll the film industry) appetite for unchallenging material that doesn't have at least seven exploding helicopters and a violent fist fight in earch reel.

[@T.S.Birkby]

Some things I found interesting: Number 6’s birthday is the same as Patrick McGoohans, I though the lava lamps were representing the over watching danger of rover, lots of Christian allegory, only 7 episodes where originally panned, Patrick McGoohan was pivotal in selecting the theme song, the village as part of “a new world order”, I thought the “I,I,I” in the final episode was the revulsion of the individual and the overall theme of individuality against the system

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Loads going on in this show, I've only scratched the surface in this video. Even though the TV show had a convoluted and quite rushed production (and there have been collaborators contesting ownership of certain ideas), a lot of the key themes have been consistent.

[@T.S.Birkby]

@@moviearchaeologist9655 Patrick McGoohan was the consistent element: a complex individual. Another video discussing themes is kzbin.info/www/bejne/epSQi35qnrlkf9U, unfortunately his other videos are now gone

[@paulhunter6742]

Just think, I,I,I was accurate prediction of Me first culture so prevalent today. The rise of Trumpisum and believe in election lies in years 2019/20 are prime example. People don't even bother check if so called facts we're given are accurate anymore.

[@starfishsystems]

I think we mustn't discount the theme of psychological disturbance. This was, in historical fact, an era of intensive efforts to extract information and exert covert control over adversaries, using every available technology. Abduction, torture, scopolamine, sodium pentothal, and LSD were part of routine tradecraft. I grew up in this time and remember it well. I remember how commonly (and, in retrospect, naïvely) we all took to the simplest and most colorful, most childlike and innocent, sorts of technological storytelling as good enough to warrant suspension of disbelief. The Prisoner is a very deliberate play upon that willingness of the audience to be persuaded by cool artifacts and trippy images. Of course it all looks very silly in retrospect. But these small theatrical touches - the striped shirts and awnings, the manicured lawns, the absurdly high tech "monitoring" crane, even the silly telephones - those were enough in a less cynical time to create a convincing sense of madness, psychological manipulation, and cunning power.

[@stephenmatura1086]

I was very much reminded of The Prisoner during the Covid pandemic.

[@chopper680]

in most of the series , you hear there is a threat of rain or showers, but it never rains

[@michaelmakes1225]

The people who made "The Prisoner" were mostly having fun on a low budget, and the entertainment they created is great fun... any attempt to see it as deep philosophy is a tribute to it's quality, and it's ultimate punchline.

[@ZigSputnik]

You clearly know nothing about this show. It was one of the highest budget tv shows at the time, which can be seen by the attention to detail. Patrick McGoohan was very meticulous and took it very seriously - often to a point where some actors found it a very difficult process. With regard to its analysis a university in Canada has used the show as part of a philosophy course.

[@michaelmakes1225]

@@ZigSputnik bla bla bla...they used lots of leftover sets and props,and when they ran out of money before the completion of the full series, they Improvised at various public locations>some entire episodes were shot on very little budget. Like the Western one, the fairy tale and of course the 2 final episodes..even the soundtrack at the end was a pastiche of public domain material...but I loved it all, a favorite, but cmon, it was wonderful off the wall entertainment, not Crime And Punishment 😄😄😆😆

[@susanlewis1951]

Just an aside. The scene with the Deer Statue was filmed in Stag Place in Victoria, London. Number Six's house was just off of that square.

[@maxpayne2574]

When I was only 9 years old I saw and loved The Prisoner.

[@danielgrace7887]

I don't think that number 48 is supposed to be a "loony" as you describe him, rather a free thinking youth that wants to be resilient to the corruption of his elders. Or yet to be corrupted.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

That is one way of looking at him. 🙂

[@rgnyc]

I also saw him that way.

[@sicks6six]

the first truly interactive TV show and probably the best, the term "world village" sums up today's electronic surveillance culture we live in , and the best of it is we all sign up willingly and even pay for it when we buy electronic goods, TV streaming devices, google hubs, smart phones, email accounts etc, we actually buy the devices that spy on us, who could have foreseen that back in 1967.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

I have finished reading a production history book of the show, and the show came out just as the credit card system was being introduced. And Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s coined the term "global village", which involves everyone's interaction with screen technology. Orwell and others knew what was coming.

[@DoctorPhobos]

I've just started watching this show on Freevee. I'm only four episodes in, and I had seen a great deal of the symbology in it, although I didnt know what they meant at the time. This video explained a few of them. One thing I noticed, was the salute the villagers give "Be seeing you" is the same salute Bester gives in Babylon 5. This was probably mentioned by someone else, but I actually picked up on it for myself during the first episode.

[@varanid9]

All those episodes of him trying to find out who Number One was, and, even at the end, he didn't realize that he himself was Number One.

[@Voyager...2]

Because of the missing comma at the beginning ?

[@ethelredhardrede1838]

I have doubts that Patrick has planned it that from the beginning. He wrote the last episode under extreme stress because he had not been able to figure out what do with it.

[@keithnaylor1981]

The most fascinating tv drama series ever made and because it is an enigma with many intriguing facets it can be enjoyed repeatedly. It will never become dated! Overall I believe the general theme to be about the rise of surveillance, of being controlled, being made to confirm, and having your personal identity and individuality erased. So think carefully next time you are obliged to take action on-line by responding to a question about ‘cookies’ or ‘privacy’! Do you really want all your actions recorded? I don’t. I never respond. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

[@kevinklix3992]

I lived in Austin about 81’ and Public Channel had a synopsis of each episode by Warner Troy that was very astute imho, ty Nancy. He was Canada Public TV if I recall and they have been lost in the void sadly. Questions like “How many times do you show your ID? “ still come to mind.

[@dantyler6907]

Wildest episode, in my opinion, was #6. Almost the first 30 minutes, silence. Then, crazy interesting deduction and a great #2 in some "other" capacity. Best episode of a great show!

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Do you mean Many Happy Returns? First 25 mins of no dialogue at all, how many TV shows are like that?! Most of the episodes are great. 👌

[@karlarmstrong]

@@moviearchaeologist9655 many happy returns was good but no need for Patrik Cargill as he was in hammer into anvil as number 2 and number 6 broke him the weak link.

[@Danimal77]

Episode order was different for many people. Your episode #6 might be someone else's episode #5 or #12, etc. Everyone had their preferred order of viewing the episodes based on different criteria. You would have been better off just naming the episode by it's title, rather than by the order in which you watched it.

[@ljs2000]

I was in San Jose when Prisoner came out I loved it so much I had custom plate PRIZNER for my license plate. The show was broadcast and I recorded all PLUS the experts reviewing each episode. I think it was PBS at the time. Anyway the balloon caught my attention to today's events. Ironic Be Seeing You....

[@cml222444]

Excellent analysis…. Great facts and perceptions

[@Roscoe.P.Coldchain]

I used to go to port merrion for the prisoner convention weekend in the 90s, don’t know if it’s still going but I should imagine it is...❤

[@stephenbarrette610]

It is just one of the best and most unique TV shows ever. I remember it vividly when it first was broadcast and I’ve seen it many times since thanks for your post.

[@CitizenSuspect]

The back and white checkered colours comes from the duality philosophy within freemasonry.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Possible. Freemasonry has been a thing in the UK for a long time.

[@CitizenSuspect]

@@moviearchaeologist9655 indeed, check out freemasonry symbology and look at Westminster and most of the statues around London.

[@michaelbrownlee9497]

No duality, singularity. It represents the intentions of life.

[@MarcillaSmith]

That's what I thought, as well. Freemasonry is an example, but Hermeticism, more generally

[@DownGrand1967]

KAR 120C = 33.

[@TheSmalltownhick]

Regarding the analysis of TV shows vs. Movies; TV shows are usually melodramas, which depict important events in the life of the protagonist(s), while movies are usually dramas, which depict THE important event in the life of the protagonist(s). The Prisoner is unusual in that it is a TV drama - its 17 episodes forming a single story that is the most important thing to happen to Number 6. This may be part of what sets it apart.

[@ottopenquist5545]

The Prisoner is my favorite television show. BCNU.

[@Bippy55]

You caught a few things, such as the curtains around the monitor screen, I never thought about before. My biggest challenge is about the lava lamps everywhere and close ups of their moving form. They're everywhere. I can't figure it out. Thank you for your review and analysis. "Be seeing you."

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

As I said in the video, I believe one of its key meanings is summed by the protagonist looking at the lava lamp screen as he says about The Village "stealing their minds". The lava lamps to me are what The Village believes its occupants to be, organic minds that can be imprisoned, measured and controlled.

[@ethelredhardrede1838]

@@moviearchaeologist9655 A lava lamp is used in the budding a Rover scene that is used frequently. That could not have been in the original plan since Rover was originally going to be a machine. It did NOT sink but it did not work out.

[@Moodie111]

I always thought that the "lava lamp" closeup videos were actually supposed to be from video cameras monitoring the underground chambers where the Village's Rovers liked to dwell in their off-hours. They *were* intended to be living beings, you know. ETs, that is, hence the reason that Number 1 launched itself *back into space* at the end.

[@davidsmith5523]

​@@moviearchaeologist9655he looks at the image just as he says minds. To me the colours and swirling imagiary represent his state of mind. At that point, possibly red for anger or strength of mind. Later his mental resolve would be in a more disturbed state. Possibly even delusional.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

@@davidsmith5523 I had that thought too. I noticed one continuity error when the protagonist first walks around the extended accommodation of his place, a lava lamp coloured green changes to orange / red in different shots. Very bad error unless the colour change means something. Not sure about anger, maybe something maternal considering the nursery like music... Only McGoohan knew...

[@lastcathar]

Very nice work. Thank you!

[@ck85x65]

This show, to me, is the culmination of Patrick McGoohan’s life experiences. It failed as a commercial venture because it rose above the Pablum of mindless entertainment, the formulaic basis for most programming. It was a program that demanded audience intellectual participation. Without that active

[@ck85x65]

presence the show became incomprehensible. It demanded audience intellectual participation, which is why the programme failed as a commercial enterprise. The breadth and depth of the story, characters, setting, acting, dialogue etc along with the allegory were impossible to fathom otherwise. It was perhaps one of the only programs ever made that demanded you think and question everything. An incredible and unique experience, provided you were willing to make the effort.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

The show was incredible for its day, yes, and it's still fantastic even by today's standards because of the show's deeper psychology and not relying on expository dialogue all the time like so many TV shows do.

[@ck85x65]

Well said. I agree.

[@ck85x65]

You state it far better than I. Thank you.

[@AuditTheSimulation]

Great Observations!!

[@loupasternak]

some trivia, at 5:09 thats the actor from I Claudius who played Tiberius. George Baker, who had a huge list of credits to his name.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

The image of the keyhole is a visual of the repeating theme of, "be *seeing* you."

[@wk4max]

Great stuff! I'm looking forward to the next one! ..Be seeing you!!👌

[@janetbailey3804]

DEAR MOVIE ARCHEOLOGIST, YOU BROUGHT OUT A FEW POINTS THAT EVEN I MISSED , THOUGH I HAVE WATCHED THIS AT LEAST SEVERAL TIMES AND LOVED IT!!!!GARY BAILEY KING OF DARKNESS AND GOD OF THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

[@michaelpoplawski2998]

The enigma and non-specificity of the overall message ends up being its strength allowing one to apply individual interpretation. I am writing this in 2024 and it seems that the subjects of privacy, information and control are even more relevant now. The thread running through "1984", "The Prisoner", social media and modern national politics demonstrate the trend growing with more surveillance technology, the public actually providing information on themselves, and finally the ability to add misinformation. The message of this series is even more relevant as we become more unaware of reality around us. We seem to have created our own "village" where we no longer know what is true and who is collecting information. All I can say is "be seeing you."

[@LooseOrangeJuice]

Great video! I watched The Prisoner for the first time about 10 years ago and have been meaning to do a proper re-watch. This video makes me realize how much depth and symbolism went right over my head the first viewing.

[@Peter-James66]

The end of this video see Patrick McGoohan reminiscing by declaring; "One can play with those ideas forever because the skies the limit, isn't it...be seeing you, I hope". He appears somewhat resigned and even saddened in that end scene. I wonder if it is a scene from an interview that was edited and added to this video and if so, where from?

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

It's from a 1980's interview, you can find it on KZbin. I included it because it does tie in with the notion of us having a lot of freedom on Planet Earth, and only on Planet Earth, lol.

[@Ashworth6]

Its an excerpt from a series of interviews that Patrick McGoohan did in 1983/84 for the Channel Four documentary 'Six into One: The Prisoner file'. Most of the interview footage was not included in the final programme and McGoohan has disowned the documentary (which has never been repeated in the UK). Apparently much of this interview footage has since been released as part of the Chris Rodman 2017 documentary (he conducted the original interviews in 1984) titled 'In my Mind'.

[@kristinesmart582]

by saying "isn't it?" he seems to be implying that there is an afterlife to be considered but merely as a suggestion for people to think about rather than preaching at someone or pushing his own faith on them. When he adds the "I hope" it seems to imply that he hopes the listener/viewer and himself will meet in that afterlife, presumably in heaven- "I hope." Love the sense of underlying strong faith and spiritual awareness of this actor at a time when most actors would shy away from speaking about such things to their audience.

[@projektkobra2247]

I always thought of the lava lamp images as having something to do with Rover...either its home, or material..or relatives..

[@jimmurphy9887]

I think the opening sequence evokes “Paradise Lost.” The star disciple rebels and is imprisoned in hell.

[@daniledrake4137]

Well thought out and presented.

[@TheRetroEngine]

Great observations there. One I worked out myself was the episode in the episode Chimes Of Big Ben. The character alongside Number 6 is named Cobb.

[@daniledrake4137]

I really enjoyed this, and learnt a few things I hadn't heard so that alone is a big thankful.

[@howardbeatman2820]

Your discussion of the globes in Number One's office remind me of the variant closing credits in one episode in which the large wheel of the penneyfarthing bicycle transforms into the Earth alongside the cryptic initials POP.

[@edward_grabczewski]

It's always interesting to hear someone else's interpretation of a work of art. It says more about you and your powers of analysis than about the artwork itself. How many times have you heard Patrick McGoohan say that "it's an allegory"? In other words, don't ask me what it means! :-)

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Personally I think this video speaks more about the powers of this show, it's definitely more original and creative than most TV shows. And plenty more interesting and powerful things going on in the show beyond the allegory stuff I haven't verbalised yet 🙂

[@scottmerrow1488]

Like "They Live" it's a documentary. an allegory for real life.

[@sonofcy]

He told Lew Grade, he didn't know how to end it, Grade said it didn't matter as they'd already made money.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

Apparently it was only supposed to be seven episodes, and McGoohan had already worked out the ending. Lew Grade wanted it made longer to stand a better chance of selling it. Some of the added episodes are quite clearly padding.

[@edwardgrabczewski]

@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 Indeed!

[@simeonsamuel8495]

The makers must have been watching Allis in wander land. 😁

[@timsloan9555]

The allegory of the Prisoner, to me, is simple. We live and operate in a mechanism of illusion. We first attempt to take control of our own path (his resignation) only to be driven deeper into the illusion, where the system would seek to control you more openly (The Village.) there is no more need to pretend, and when others like you lose their value to the system they seek to escape, the system eliminates them. (As the other prisoners die off through the series.) No. 6's value to the system is the service he provides, while he comes to terms with his value as a human being ultimately worth fighting for and dying for. His sheer will to not conform brings him to the ultimate face off- that he may be his own worst enemy. So he chooses to overcome the system, and even himself, becoming his own Number One, regaining control of himself. He may never escape his Village (now, the whole world and it's system) but he is, at least, now the one calling the shots for himself. A classic crisis of being and belief, recognizing the control of the accepted world as it's known, it's victimization of those who would seek to operate within its games, then overcoming one's own demons, realizing that one has the power to overcome and direct one's own life. And when you become that one, you become your own Number One.

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

Great analysis. Many things I've never noticed before. Regarding the sounds of Rover chanting; and the hooded costumes, with masked faces. Could this be an illuminati reference? Especially the I I I. Maybe not aye aye aye.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

I think conspiratorial metaphors like Freemasonry is possibly intended. Me and my family did joke of the Pyramid and Eye chair seen in some scenes as an Illuminati reference. However, it has been used generally in the dollar bill and other contexts. Illuminati theories I think were started in the 1970's as well. The chanting of "I I I"... Ooh, I have several different interpretation ideas, but the words "aye aye aye" were specified in the script. Thanks for your thoughts anyway. Be seeing you 😉

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

@@moviearchaeologist9655 understood and thanks. 👌

[@eugenedegeorge5084]

I've been a prisoner fan since it was first shown here in america in nineteen sixty seven anybody who was a fan probably ended up with a lava lamp. I still have one.

[@TOMAYASHI-STUDIO]

I did an amateur version of the prisoner credits in 1989. I was a big fan 😊

[@bonjovi1612]

Only my opinion as I was quite young at the time, but a lot of pioneering television of the time had to do with ideas around authoritarianism by psychological, techno logical and pharmaceutical methods. Even children’s programs such as Dr Who, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 included mind altering practices such as hypnotism and drugs to produce conformity and obedience. A great time to be alive. My favourite Prisoner episode was Many Happy Returns. The look on his face. Oh, yeah one other observation. Whilst most programs looked outside the UK for the authoritarian regime Patrick very pointedly pointed the finger at the UK as the enemy.

[@lloydbowers8997]

Thank you for this interesting video. Long-time fan of >The Prisoner

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

I always thought the Lava Lite was a reflection of the oppression and control ultimately exercised by Rover. Rarely is Rover stationary or 'resting'; it is always moving.

[@ZestySea]

Love this show, thanks for the commentary

[@jeffarmstrong5549]

How we arrive is always the key to what arrives before us.

[@tango6nf477]

I am old enough to remember this series when it was first shown and it immediately gained cult status. This was nearly 60 years ago and since then people have been trying to understand it, for example they think there are hidden coded messages within the script which they have tried to decipher over the years, without success. On the other hand some of us believe that it was simply a ground breaking series devised by a very creative mind which opened the door to many others taking a lead from it. So I would say don't look too deeply just sit back and enjoy because it is unique and has never really been equaled.

[@petejones879]

The Prisoner was THE best and my all time favourite programme ever made

[@davidsmith5523]

There's something deeper about his car. He tells number 2 that he knows every nut and bolt of the Lotus as he built it himself. I feel that it may represrnt his personal bit of freedom. A little like a safe space. Or the only place where he has control in reality. I like Hammer into Anvil because we see his capability if he really switches from defence to attack. After all, he is restrainee to a degree by his uncertainty aboutcl whether he is being held captive by his own side or not. My other favourite is I think Checkmate. Where he identifies the behaviour of the jailers. Very clever resolution to this story especially as it highlights the difficulty he has trusting anyone in his predicament. Most shows would have compromised and given him an ally or love interest. But not The Prisoner.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Him making his car a sign of his individuality, yes.

[@RLK-kh8vn]

The Lotus 7 could be purchased in kit form. This avoided taxes that were levied on assembled autos. Hence, the Lotus 7 was the hallmark of non-conformity and anti-authoritarianism.

[@davidsmith5523]

@RLK-kh8vn Absolutely correct.

[@victorm.photovic9983]

Question: is number 6 the agent John Drake from the Secret Agent Man series prior to the Prisoner? The reason I ask is because there’s a part in the theme song of Secret Agent Man where they say “They’re giving you a number and take away your name.”

[@geoffreywooledge6118]

The black and white represent duality, masonic and secret symbolism permeate the show. There is the repetition of 6 especially in one episode, 6 6 6. 6 6 6. The be seeing you gesture is reference to the all seeing eye. This almost looks like a show piece for those in the know

[@geoffreywooledge6118]

@cint xo he definitely understood the symbols

[@stevel9914]

Whilst I Know of the programme and watched a little...it wasn't for me.. unlike many other of it's genre. However I do consider that it has many hidden texts. The globes on the table of a map... I can't quite see the map, is it possible that it is a flat earth map represented perhaps by the village. Interesting that the lights look like the moon and that they use massive surveillance... an early version of "The Truman Show"... in some or many aspects.

[@sigurd2873]

Light looks like that glowy ball in Saudi Arabia.

[@anthonyharris7226]

50 years later you say oh what a great show where you been.

[@alihart]

such an excellent introduction - gentle swipes at really quite revered series. Also well worth the analysis

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video...👍

[@christopherliebler]

That was a real treat and timeless okay be seeing ya

[@robarnum7180]

whenever I see one of those California state lottery ads with that huge ball that bounces in I always picture the supervisor calling "Orange alert" ! that is what THIS TV show does to your mind!

[@anonymouscrank]

I wonder if the characters Number 2 and Number 48 in "Fall Out" are two sides to Number 6's personality, or even his identity--a member of Parliament, perhaps even a peer, who longs to chuck it all and live the life of a vagabond but is unable to break free of his own mental conditioning.

[@anonymouscrank]

Upon further reflection, I think everyone in The Village represents some aspect of Number 6's personality but only those parts of him represented by Numbers 2 and 48 want to break out the self-imposed prison.

[@nhmooytis7058]

Oh my Patrick was so handsome 😊!

[@johnsensebe3153]

An interesting parallel between "Arrival" and "Fall Out" is the way the protagonist is handed his identification and currency.

[@asullivan4047]

Interesting/informative/entertaining. The character guest stars enhanced Patrick's performances.🤗. Like the characters guest stars on the " Bat Man" series. Wishing viewers a safe/healthy/prosperous (2024) filled with plenty of " Prisoner " episodes-!!!🌈🎉💵😉.

[@PeterGaunt]

I saw the first showing of this series on UK TV. In some ways it's helped to shape my life.

[@rogerwprice]

Thanks for the insights - indeed this is a fascinating series

[@wk4max]

Great stuff!! Looking forward to the next video .he seeing you!! 👌

[@seanmoliver]

Your video was appreciated and inspired another marathon viewing! Some of your observations seem spot-on ( I never noticed the London chessboard pavement before, and I didn't link the B+W sunglasses with anything important - I assumed they're merely one of the many props and costumes that have the 60's pop-culture look ). There are certainly other significant images and dialogue that are almost subliminal. But I can't hear 'religious chanting' sounds (!?) with Rover, nor would I describe the music as 'tribal' - it's standard incidental TV show music with mostly light percussion whose sounds won't conflict with dialogue when viewed on TV. The paintings on the office wall are probably just part of a ready-made 'generic' TV set. But maybe not. Nevertheless, this is what makes this series so thought-provoking and enjoyable - the combination of both the obvious and the enigmatic, and how they all fit together. I'll check out your other material, thank you. Be seeing you!

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

I'm pretty sure either Andrew Pixley's book or one of the documentaries had McGoohan and crew members mentioning about the religious chanting sounds of Rover and the tribal music. The office painting is the more mysterious, but it is largely reminiscent of the lava lamp imagery in Number 2's lair. Thanks for the feeback anyway. Be seeing you! 👌

[@robarnum7180]

number 6 wants to know who runs THE VILLAGE judging by how monumentally geeky everyone is dressed I'd say it is the fashion police!!

[@TrevorBarre]

I first watched the prisoner in 1967 as a 12-year old. It's always been tempting to overthink it. Lava lamps, for example, were very popular in the average home in 1967, as were circular swivel chairs.

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Lava lamp imagery had novelty value back in the 1960's, yes, but that does not dismiss how The Prisoner used those imagery for communicating its themes. As I showed in the video, the protagonist glances specifically at the lava lamp imagery on the big screen as he says "Imprison people, steal their MINDS, destroy them?" In other words, the lava lamp imagery represents organic human minds that are encased and under constant scrutiny, hence they are shown on the same TV screen of Number 2's, but not among the Villagers' home TVs from what I recall. It makes perfect sense with the story. As for the circular swivel chair, that too has conceptual meaning. Here is what is in the script version of Hammer into Anvil, this is the ending scene: "No. 2 is sitting curled up in the egg chair like a foetus in a womb." That's what the scriptwriter said. And in the episode Once Upon a Time, the main set piece is called "The Embryo Room." Those detail also give plausibility to the lava lamp imagery having embryo like qualities too. There are some other details in the video that I am not as convinced of, as I said in the video, but the lava lamp imagery I am very certain has total symbolic meaning. Be seeing you 👌

[@RedVynil]

"Number twoses"? Where did you learn that?

[@moviearchaeologist9655]

Either I tried to pronounce "Number 2's" or my half Chinese accent slipped up there :)

[@johnnewton3335]

i think its probably better to watch the series as we did in the sixties, aged eight, without any thoughts of ulterior motives just to breathe in the wonderful quirky sixties style, futuristic and sci-fi at its best. to anyone interested look also at the avengers, emma peel ones, the champions and man from uncle.