Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

This was a fantastic summer replacement when I saw it as a kid in Dallas, back in the days when many normally scheduled shows took a break to give actors and crew a time off.Until the final episode. We thought it would all tie the loose ends together and finally figure out what it was all about. Instead, the final episode was so bizarre, off topic, off story line, non-senseical, defies common sense - you name it - that the viewers felt that they were grossly cheated.I understand that the viewers in the UK were so outraged, disappointed and disgusted, there were huge protests against the studio, writers, producers, actors, etc. Some allegedly went into hiding for awhile until things simmered down. Anyway, still a fun and highly creative short series. Especially, all these decades later, to see the final episode.

I assumed this show was about life in the British prison. Boy was I wrong? Patrick McGoohan who should have been knighted is delightful as number 6. The audience nor number 2 and the others don't why he resigned his top secret post. They are clever not to tell the audience rather using the intro montage of back history. We the audience don't know his name as well. He is transported to a self contained and controlled village by the sea. The village is very picturesque with concerts, lovely shops, parks, and culture. This prison doesn't seem so bad after all. The village inhabitants are quite friendly and pleasant. The village symbolizes an ideal utopia community that was tried in communal living during the time period. But 6 wants out ever since his arrival. He is a challenge to the controllers here. The show is beautiful with lovely art direction and costumes. You have to ask yourself what constitutes a prisoner.

This series stands as a landmark contribution to television, to western culture, to man's affection for freedom, and to the ideological battle between individualism and collectivism. I was a grade school kid when the show came out in the late 60's; I was already a Star Trek fan (talk about doomed show choices of that era) and was attracted to the sci-fi / mystery aspects of the show on CBS. I never got to watch much because my parents owned the set; I was lucky if I got to see Star Trek on a regular basis. The images and icons of the show stayed in my mind; the tailored striping on the suits, the cloistered village, the menacing Rover, the high-tech surveillance center. I got a chance to see a few episodes of the show on PBS in the 1970's, however in an unsatisfactory presentation. It was a series called "The Prisoner Puzzle." A psychiatrist would comment on feelings of isolation and separation from society, then the Prisoner episode would be presented as an example of Number 6 yet again failing to fit in and deal with his social obligations. I suspected that was a topsy turvy way to use the show, but i did get to see the final three episodes of the series in this setting and wanted to see it all. THANK YOU AMC-TV for presenting the entire series on-line. I just watched all the episodes in order and I feel like a long-misadjusted part of my being has been properly aligned at last. What an experience. I know fans separate out "good" episodes and "bad" episodes (certainly we Star Trek TOS fans do it) but for me it was ALL GOOD. And all too brief. Thank you AMC, thank you everyone living and dead who made it happen.

Last night, I finished watching The Prisoner, Patrick McGoohan's gloriously trippy series, in glorious Blu-Ray. I have a very dim memory of watching it as a child during its initial American run on CBS in the summer of 1968. I'm not even sure whether I saw the whole series, but I remember liking what I saw. In any case, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it then as I can now.I find it amazing that such a bizarre show was actually made, and I find it even more amazing that it was picked up for American TV. I guess the CBS execs thought it would be successful, based on McGoohan's previous show, Secret Agent (called Danger Man in the UK). They clearly had no idea what they were actually going to get. It has to be the strangest show ever broadcast on a major US network. I can't think of anything else that even comes close.The show simply would not have worked with anyone but McGoohan playing the lead. His sheer intensity and forceful personality make you buy into the whole concept and make you feel his anger and frustration at being trapped in an insane situation. From the commentaries and the making-of documentary, McGoohan was clearly difficult to work with, but he was a tremendous talent, not only playing the lead but writing and directing some episodes as well.I was surprised to find that the show is largely episodic rather than serial. Other than the first episode and the last two episodes, it doesn't make much difference what order you watch them in. Any way you watch it, it's unlike anything else I've ever seen. Some old shows seem very dated, but The Prisoner seems more relevant to society now than it did during its initial run. The show had much to do with the Cold War, but the idea of being under constant surveillance is more of a problem now than it was in the Sixties.The final episode of the series is easily the most insane hour of TV I've ever seen. Nothing compares to it. Apparently, viewers were angered by the "ending" (as with the recent Lost finale), but The Prisoner ends on a far more ambiguous note than Lost did. I love the ending, but I can understand how it baffled and angered many people. The beauty of British shows is that they don't run forever (as American shows often do), so they can end the show at just the right point, instead of beating a dead horse. The Prisoner was only seventeen episodes, and it went out in a blaze of WTF???. It's a classic.