Rating: 
Summary: I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A BOX SET OF DVDs
Review: Well not exactly Patrick McGoohan's opening from The Prisoner, but it did catch your attention :-). Seriously here they are, all 17 episodes plus the Prisoner Video Companion originally offered on MCI Home Video now on DVD compliments of our good friends at A&E. What's nicer is the episodes are arranged in what the fans believe to be the chronological order of the episodes in terms of Number 6's time in the Village rather than order of original airdate (although some of them are in airdate order). As a hint at this look carefully at "The General" and "A, B and C". Both star Colin Gordon as Number 2, but in the opening for "A, B and C" he says "I am number 2" rather than "The new number 2". Also this set contains something released on video previously but only in England, a special edition of the 5th episode of the series, "The Chimes of Big Ben". Definitely the best of McGoohan's 3 British Secret Agent types series, but also the quintessential scifi series as well. By the way, a special debt of gratitude to A&E Homevideo. When this series first came out on VHS on MPI Homevideo in 1990, they made a muff in the episode "Checkmate". In the "Where am I" segment of the opening sequence it started with McGoohan doing it with the fore mentioned Colin Gordon even though Peter Wyngarde played Number 2 in this episode. By the third line "That would be telling" the tape was ok. I can't speak for the new A&E VHS copy, but on these DVDs the muff has NOT recurred. Which means either A&E acquired a better copy of the episode to restore on DVD or someone told them about the flub from 11 years ago. So kudos to A&E Video for to repairing this decade old "blooper". This 10 pack is much better buy than the 5 sets of 2 DVDs individually. Get it now, return to the Village and escape at your own pace.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent collection
Review: A previous review here stated that the video quality of this collection was on par with 60's broadcasts. While this is accurage - the images are of broadcast quality - I would say that it would be particularly superior broadcast quality. The sounds and images maintain the fidelity of the original media and, in a world of digital-remastering, I found it quite refreshing. The DVD set further makes a cunning use of the fade-to-black commercial breaks as a Chapter transition. The DVDs have the grace of flow of linear magnetic cassettes with the fidelity to source of the DVD format. The DVD collection itself presents the episodes in the "Six of One" format. "Six of One, The Prisoner Appreciation Society" is the official "The Prisoner" fan club and the club is recognized by Patrick McGoohan, creator and star of "The Prisoner". The Sci-Fi Channel has also used this viewing order. One would presume that the order is also endorsed by A&E, as they released the set in question. As to the show... what can I say? It's "The Prisoner". You really have to see it to get the full effect, and I think that this box-set presents the show in a manner where one can get the most out of the experience. As the price has lowered, I would fully recommend this DVD collection to anyone with the money to spare and an interest in "The Prisoner". I don't buy many DVDs, but I heard good things about this set and I took the chance. I'm rather glad I did.
Rating:
Summary: A must for Prisoner fans
Review: I myself did not think the transfer was all that bad. In fact I think it looks good on my 61" Sony and Sony DVD.
I started watching the Prisoner when it first released in the US as summer replacement. I have been hooked ever since.
Yes it is about a spy or "Secret Agent" who resigns in obvious disgust and is kidnapped, taken to a very mysterious, secret and very secure place known as "The Village". It is also about his attempts at escape and other intrigues. Leading edge spy stuff for its time.
To appreciate The Prisoner you must go beneath the surface at what The Prisoner really means. The series is full of symbolism and social commentary while The Vilage is referred to as "The model for a new world order" by one of the constantly changing #2's.
The series blew everyones mind in the late 60's when it aired. I knew many people who could not get it and never watched more than one or two episodes. The die-hard fans hung in there and got our own minds blown in "Fall Out" the final episode.
After years and careful noticeof the world and politics and social upheavals The Prisoner now makes sense immediately to people who are just now seeing it for the first time - like my 22 year old daughter. she had it figured out (correctly) by the 3rd DVD.
Anyway, this is an important series and TV's first true masterpiece. It is a work or art, it is a social commentary and it is very prophetic and more relevant than ever.
I love this set. I enjoyed the bonus tracks. To those who think the bonus tracks are lacking, remember this is a TV show produced in 1967. This is a veritable gold mine of bonus material.
After seeing all 17 episodes again in order, sharing them with my daughter had brought me to even new revelations about the series and the genius behind them.
My daughter thinks the special effects and action sequences are not realistic - BUT be reminded again, this is a TV series from 1967.
Could The Prisoner be remade and updated? Perhaps, but I would have a fear of losing the message. This series was created in an era of relative innocence when most people trusted the government. This is one of the things thsat made the series so remarkable.
Here we are 37 years after production and we are STILL discussing it;s significance. While I might agree with my daughter that modern production values and updated special effects woulc be a good spice to the series I would fear destroying the essence and the uniqueness.
Mc Goohan had a degree of freedom when producing the series. Any newer production would most likely be polluted by attempts to make it more mass-market acceptable.
The Prisoner is a sensitive work and a work of genius. Buy the DVD set and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Forever timely & brilliant!
Review: A nameless man resigns from a secret Government agency, planning to embark upon a new life with a free conscience. Gassed in his room, he awakens in The Village, a deceptively lovely & inviting prison where everyone is a number & there is no escape. Informed that he is now Number Six, a succession of new Number Twos does their best to break him & discover precisely why he resigned. As the series progresses, the tone becomes more surreal & allegorical ... I first saw this wonderful series as a 14 year old back in 1968, when it appeared as a summer replacement for "The Jackie Gleason Show" on CBS. While certainly a product of its time, its questions not only remain timeless but all the more relevant today, when privacy is at an even greater premium & the individual is bombarded with an endless deluge of homogenized consumer, political & cultural inanity & propaganda. What began as a mystery/suspense series quickly became something much deeper, much richer -- but creator & star McGoohan was smart enough to provide plenty of excitement & adventure for those viewers who wanted nothing more than that (although the densely symbolic final episodes must have proven frustrating for them). In various episodes, the series explores the limits of democracy; the role of the media in shaping public opinion; the various aspects of supposedly benign Big Brotherism (both from Left & Right); the perversions of science & technology, often used to mold & control people rather than serve them; the morality of violence in service of the State; the boundary between individual conscience & community need ... and we're just getting started! The dichotomy between the outer holiday atmosphere of the seaside Village & the cold, ruthless interior is powerful. Every episode is a goldmine of pithy, thought-provoking dialogue & startling images, often achieved by very simple means. Complaints about the quality of the special effects completely miss the point. That's like concentrating on the flashy surface of the Village while ignoring what's going on beneath. In fact, the current emphasis on special effects in so many reviews only goes to prove that the triumph of style over substance is even more pervasive today than it was when this show was originally made. Rather than spoon-feed the viewers pre-digested ideas, it demands that they use their imaginations & actually THINK! So visit the Village ... but be warned: once you go there, you'll never truly escape it. Most highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: For die-hard fans only, but for us, it's a treasure
Review: Honestly, if you're not a true fan of the series, I can't imagine why you would want to shell out this kind of money to own the whole set. But as a former member of The Prisoner Appreciation Society, I think it's a great collector's item, and is good for introducing the series to friends who have never seen it before or who only saw it in passing. The series is as addictive and thought-provoking as ever, though having the whole collection to watch back-to-back lets you find lots of continuity errors that you were likely to miss the first time around... and the three or four really BAD episodes stand out all the more when you're watching them all in sequence and are focused on them. As for the DVDs themselves, the audio quality of the episodes is what you might expect from a 1967 TV series (the difference between the audio of the shows and the modern-day interview is pronounced), the menu screens are attractive and in a style which fits the series well. The bonus features are a little scant. The "alternate version" of Chimes is so barely different it isn't that interesting, the Trivia Quiz was lifted right off the Appreciation Society's website, the trailers would make you NOT want to watch the episodes, but the couple of extra interviews are pretty cool.
Rating:
Summary: The Archetype Prevails
Review: There are no greater television shows than "The Prisoner". Not ever. Perhaps shows such as "MASH" or "Twin Peaks" rise high enough to catch a glimpse of Patrick McGoohan's Big Idea racing off into the distance but they will never catch up. "The Prisoner" is one of the few works of art in the twentieth century that actually deserve to be called revolutionary. But, Patrick McGoohan, the show's creator and star, has no time whatsoever to rebel against things that lesser figures and would-be rebels wish to rebel against -stoking up the fires of their tiny egos. McGoohan means business and his series, "The Prisoner" rushes up to all of the Big Questions and grabs them by the neck. "The Prisoner" is a declared war against tyranny in all of its forms: sexual attraction, the lure of comfort, the facade of democratic politics, science, fundamentalist anti-science, conservatism, cheap liberal progressivism, group-think in any form at all including "individualism" (which is just another form of group-think),the ultimate prison which is one's self, and more. Number Six, played by Patrick McGoohan himself, is absolutely relentless on his assault upon the Village which would keep him there against his will. And he desires to leave no matter what wholesome blandishments are offered to him. In that way, Number Six is a greater human being than most of us. He is more than a common human individual living out his life. He is an archetype. He can never quite escape but the octopoidal snares of the Village can never quite hold him. In that way, his story resembles the myth of Sisyphus. And yet Number Six is more than Sisyphus. I will not give the end of the series away but I will say that at the end Number Six comes to a true understanding of himself. The only good true understanding of one's self is if that understanding destroys the cycles. The strangest idea at the base of "The Prisoner" is the idea that morality itself, at its most secret heart, is the ultimate form of rebellion. Number Six has a devotion to pure justice, profound freedom, actual compassion ( as opposed to its sentimental counterfeits), and rigorous truth telling that is so extreme - more extreme even than the great Jewish prophets in the Bible - that he actually is an archetype, and not merely a single human being. Number One is the secret Archon that rules the Village. The Village is, of course, demon possessed, though the demons mostly reveal themselves as Angels of Light. Under Number One is paraded a grand series of Number Two's. They come and they go. Each one of them is yet one more attempt to seduce or brutalize Number Six into giving up his freedom. One of the strangest things about this series is that Patrick McGoohan's idea of freedom rejects both the dionysian and the apollonian as categories of human thought and endeavour. McGoohan believes there is a third way that carves its own path, disdainful of the sharp and controlled, fascist geometries of the apollonian and compassionately rejectfull of the oblivion and disintegration offered by the dionysian. No better show exists. I don't think the fifth grade schoolboy bullies who dominate Hollywood or the television studios could allow such a great work to be made or shown on television today. But that is both their fault and their impotence. The Number Two's come and go but the Archetype prevails.
Rating:
Summary: Never Surrender
Review: The memory of McGoohan as Danger Man and The Prisoner has stayed with me since watching these episodes on UK TV when they first came out --- so long ago I can't put a date on it. I can remember that I identified strongly with both characters although at the time I was never quite sure what was going on in The Prisoner. Still, I could see that he was arrogant and sardonic, but baffled and powerless. At the same time, he was never going to bend, break or crack. McGoohan filled this role to perfection. I thought the style and design of the series was exceptional, and I still do: it holds up remarkably well; and, as someone said, it is really timeless in theme and execution, which qualifies it as a genuine work of art. I get the message rather better now, forty-odd years later. Anyone who appreciates that the only worthwhile purpose of life is to maintain the struggle of the integrity and independence of the individual against the system --- bureaucratic, socialist, capitalist or any other -ism --- should own this series. Personal freedom is all that there is worth fighting for, but how to achieve it without submitting to the smothering forces that usually claim to have the same aim? That is the great problem. Never join them, even if you can't beat them. That's the answer.
Rating:
Summary: Mission Impossible it ain't!
Review: Without question this has to be the most thought provoking and socially relevant series ever made. The only drawback is the price which is over the top. I became a fan of this show when it first came out in the 60s for an entirely different set of reasons than I have now for considering it a masterpiece (or very close to). The concept of being held under constant surveillance by the powers that be was something unheard of for the television media back then and, other than Orwell's great work, something the media has generally never shown no particular interest in. That's not entirely surprising considering the chief purveyors of political and corporate disINFORMATION are so closely tied to today's media. A series of this sort will never see the light of day again (sans the manipulative twisted social agenda of the western media) and there is very good reason for that. No old boys club is going to point the finger of blame at itself for creating a perverted and obscene society. There are those who absolutely hate this series and in some ways that's understandable as well. The main character is not a thoroughly likeable one and has a tendency to come across as smugly self-assured. That can be irritating and, as today's viewing public is convinced their heroes should portray a perfect balance of society's most cherished misconceptions, it's not surprising some will be unable to appreciate number six's unique character traits. They are however essential for carrying the series' winding plot to it's inevitable if somewhat bizarrely choreographed conclusion. Not everyone deserving of autonomy has Mel Gibson's unassuming manner and the Village authority (much the same as the power elite today) has absolutely no tolerance for number 6's unique and dangerous blend of: 1) youthful rebellion against any accepted norm
2) the audacity of an established/successful member of the establishment biting the hand that feeds it. With regard to social relevance this show was far ahead of it's own or even today's mass mindset. If you are looking for a high tech action thriller that spells out the plot and subplots this isn't something you will enjoy. If you appreciate a unique brainteaser artfully and entertainingly mixed with action, drama and social commentary this one is essential viewing. Mission Impossible it ain't and we can all be very thankful for that! SM
Rating:
Summary: Better than Bond
Review: The Prisoner is one of the most interesting, surreal, and above all, the most original spy shows I have ever seen. Patrick McGoohan is a GOD. Buy it. Watch it. Love it.
Be seeing you...
Rating:
Summary: Forever timely & brilliant!
Review: A nameless man resigns from a secret Government agency, planning to embark upon a new life with a free conscience. Gassed in his room, he awakens in The Village, a deceptively lovely & inviting prison where everyone is a number & there is no escape. Informed that he is now Number Six, a succession of new Number Twos does their best to break him & discover precisely why he resigned. As the series progresses, the tone becomes more surreal & allegorical ... I first saw this wonderful series as a 14 year old back in 1968, when it appeared as a summer replacement for "The Jackie Gleason Show" on CBS. While certainly a product of its time, its questions not only remain timeless but all the more relevant today, when privacy is at an even greater premium & the individual is bombarded with an endless deluge of homogenized consumer, political & cultural inanity & propaganda. What began as a mystery/suspense series quickly became something much deeper, much richer -- but creator & star McGoohan was smart enough to provide plenty of excitement & adventure for those viewers who wanted nothing more than that (although the densely symbolic final episodes must have proven frustrating for them). In various episodes, the series explores the limits of democracy; the role of the media in shaping public opinion; the various aspects of supposedly benign Big Brotherism (both from Left & Right); the perversions of science & technology, often used to mold & control people rather than serve them; the morality of violence in service of the State; the boundary between individual conscience & community need ... and we're just getting started! The dichotomy between the outer holiday atmosphere of the seaside Village & the cold, ruthless interior is powerful. Every episode is a goldmine of pithy, thought-provoking dialogue & startling images, often achieved by very simple means. Complaints about the quality of the special effects completely miss the point. That's like concentrating on the flashy surface of the Village while ignoring what's going on beneath. In fact, the current emphasis on special effects in so many reviews only goes to prove that the triumph of style over substance is even more pervasive today than it was when this show was originally made. Rather than spoon-feed the viewers pre-digested ideas, it demands that they use their imaginations & actually THINK! So visit the Village ... but be warned: once you go there, you'll never truly escape it. Most highly recommended!
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