Series Description

The Prisoner TV show was a 60 minute British sci-fi series on ITV that became a cult classic! A British secret agent resigns from the service and is immediately rendered unconscious and kidnapped! He awakens in a resort village that is isolated from the rest of the world by mountains on one side and ocean on the other. Those in charge of the village interrogate him about why he decided to leave the service. They won't tell him why they want to know or who they work for and he won't co-operate with them unless they do so. Meanwhile, there are hundreds of other villagers who seem to be accepting their "imprisonment" willingly. Well, most of the time anyway. If you like entertainment that keeps you in suspense and you never are sure of what's going on, this is one for you. There really never has been another program that could be compared to this TV show.

The Prisoner Cast

Patrick McGoohan .... The Prisoner / Number 6
Angelo Muscat .... The Butler
Peter Swanwick .... The Supervisor

The Prisoner Trivia

The village captors will not refer to Patrick McGoohan's character by his real name. They will only call him "Prisoner number 6".

The scenes from the Prisoner TV show that were filmed indoors were done at Borehamwood studio, the same place that the classic movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey", was filmed.

The big ball that kept prisoners from escaping the village was called, "Rover". Episode #5, "The Schizoid Man", was the only episode where the name was mentioned. Rover was actually a weather balloon. They were so fragile that approximately 5,000 of them were used to film the series!

Due to the suspected hidden meanings in the TV show scripts, Universities have held courses about the show. Some Doctorial candidates even wrote their thesis on the subject. Patrick McGoohan has stated that there were no hidden meanings and that if anyone has figured out the meaning of the series, he would appreciate their explaining it to him!

The scenes of the exterior of the Village were actually the Hotel Portmeirion, an unusual resort in North Wales.

The Prisoner's sports car was a Lotus Seven Series II.

Patrick McGoohan wrote and directed several of the episodes himself. In fact, he wrote the final episode, "Fall Out", over one weekend!

The Prisoner's address that is seen in the opening credits and in a few episodes was: 1 Buckingham Place.

Patrick McGoohan was the first choice to play "James Bond" in the movies. He turned down the role because he thought it was too demeaning to women. He got plenty of experience, however, in his "James Bondlike" role as "John Drake" on the series, "Secret Agent".

The Prisoner Opening Narrative

(All episodes except "The Arrival". Patrick McGoohan's voice as "The Prisoner/Number 6". After being becoming upset over something, resigning as a British agent, getting gassed into unconsciousness, and waking up in a strange village, the following interaction with Number Two takes place.)

The Prisoner: "Where am I?"

Number Two: "In the Village."

The Prisoner: "What do you want?"

Number Two: "Information."

The Prisoner: "Whose side are you on?"

Number Two: "That would be telling. We want information. Information! Information!!!"

The Prisoner: "You won't get it!"

Number Two : "By hook or by crook, we will!"

The Prisoner: "Who are you?"

Number Two: "The new number two."

The Prisoner: "Who is number one?"

Number Two: "You are number six."

The Prisoner: "I am not a Number! I am a free man!"

Number Two: (Laughs sickingly).