Rating: 
Summary: DANGER MAN in The Penal Colony
Review: For those interested, Patrick McGoohan was...along with Roger Moore and Sam Neil...among actors initially considered to play James Bond. Viewers who saw his TV spy saga DANGER MAN..expanded to hour-long segments as SECRET AGENT MAN...will know why. McGoohan is a cool head who could convincingly carry 007's license to kill. (Irony:...if I recall rightly...Secret Agent John Drake never gunned-down a single foe during the entire series). But: could a SUPER SPY resign? THE PRISONER suggests the fate of THE SPY might be as condign as a character from Dante...or more astutely: Kafka. The term Kafkaesque...a nightmare world of bureaucratic/Orwellian persecution with stifling of indivdual thought and values...perfectly describes The Village. When Danger Man Drake quits the Brit SIS, he finds himself PRISONER on a remote enclave recalling Franz Kafka's PENAL COLONY. While inmates are not "branded" with their crimes/Sins on hellish beds of needles, they are ceaselessly monitored; psychologically manipulated; and regarded as cyphers without rights, character, or spiritual dimension.McGoohan--Citizen NUMBER 6--wages war of not-so-passive rebellion angainst an unseen, "high-tech" oligarchy whose sole function seems to be arbitrary exercise of oppressive power.
NUMBER 2 is their voice but the LEADER himself is subject to whim as nefarious and cruel as his subjects. Questions probing freedom; power; Truth and sanity are thematically dramatized until THE CLIMACTIC (though not quite concluding) episode with Leo McKern as NUMBER 2 being subjected to MIND-ALTERING/REALITY DISTORTING gambits/torture that charcterize VILLAGE CONTROL and its minons. "WHO is NUMBER 1?" is not the crucial illumination in The Finale. For all its smoke-and-mirrors ploys with reality and illusion, THE PRISONER is an existential thriller garbed in Theatre of the Absurd. Its theme is DEFENSE of the human condition, spiritual freedom and individuality.
Patrick McGoohan's Danger Man in The Penal Colony presents a unique hero in one of the most extraordinary and challengingly entertaining TV series ever attempted. Once you've seen PART ONE, you might well be A PRISONER yourself...
Rating: 
Summary: Where Will This All End?
Review: Movie Summary: A British Secret Agent gets fed up and resigns from his job. He returns to his home and starts packing. The next thing he knows he is waking up in his bed. At first it appears that he is in his own room, but one look out the window shows that he is not. He has been kidnapped and taken to a place known only as "the village". The village is on an island and he is a prisoner there. The people there are all referred to by number, and our hero is number 6. It seems the people in power, number 2 especially, want to know why our secret agent retired. INFORMATION they yell. And they will have it, by hook or by crook. There is only one problem; Number 6 isn't talking. My Opinion: I can just barely remember reruns of this show when I was a kid on Sunday mornings. We didn't understand anything that was going on then. Now the show is very interesting. I'm watching them one by one and trying not to read anything that has a spoiler. The first three episodes seem to be pretty much independent of order. I enjoyed these episodes a lot even though where this is all going is no where near clear at this point. Hopefully it will just keep getting better! Be seeing you at the reviews for the second set. DVD Quality: Full Screen Dolby 2.0 Mono. The is a two disc set containing the first three episodes of the series. Extras include an alternate version of a furture episode called "The Chimes of Big Ben" as well as trailers, trivia, and stills. What You Should Do: Rent it if you've never seen it. At this point I can't recommend buying all five sets. What I have seen is very enjoyable but things could still go wrong. Related Movies To Check Out: Quantum Leap, Space 1999, The X Files
Rating:
Summary: AHEAD OF IT'S TIME
Review: I was too young to watch this series when it first came out, but I was lucky enough to catch a re-run of it on UK TV in the 80's and became instantly hooked. I even went as far as to actually visit the "Village" in North Wales during a Prisoner convention and I loved every minute (and I still have the t-shirt!). Pat McGoohan plays the part of a British secret agent (John Drake from Danger Man?) who makes the mistake of thinking he can resign. Returning to his home to pack he is rendered unconcious and wakes up in The Village. The Village is a self contained community made up of kidnapped agents, scientists, military and government workers from both sides of the iron curtain. The Village is run by Number Two and his unseen boss "Number One". Everyone in the village are allocated numbers to replace their names and subjected to mental torture in order to obtain any secrets they are hiding. McGoohan's character is allocated the number "six" and Number Two seems intent of finding out why he resigned. Number Six is unsure which side is running the system and decides to rebel and the series turns into a running battle between the establishment and Number Six as they try to break him while he tries to fight back and escape. While this series is arguably one of the best programmes to ever grace TV, the individual episodes are somewhat hit and miss. Arrival is by far the best episode on Vol 1 while the other two rank as average. The additional "feast" of the alternative version of Chimes of Big Ben is honestly of interest only to hardened fans due to it's poor quality - it was never inteneded for broadcast and seems to be a transfer of a proposed "edit" that was dumped in favour of the transmitted version but kept in someone's attic for years. This is probably the weakest volume of the whole collection (if 4 stars can be regarded as weak), but is a must as it contains the first episode which so effectly sets the pace for the following stories. If this story was remade today with no alterations to the script and minimal changes to the sets and costumes then it top the TV ratings all over again. A must for anyones DVD collection - buy them all!!!
Rating:
Summary: Eludes a simple description
Review: This has to be the one of the most remarkable TV series ever made. I initially purchased this set because of childhood memories of Rover. I can remember being about four or five years of age and having the TAR scared out of me when this spherical Corrections Officer/Monster/Machine rose from the water to chase a seemingly innocuous man. Yes, not much to go on if you're trying to decide whether the purchase is one you want to make, but I have to tell you that I am MORE than pleased with my decision to buy Set I. So much so that I've purchased Set II and wait in great anticipation for the release of Set III. The series is witty, humorous, horrific, sublime... much like real life can be. It delivers messages on so many levels, that I feel each episode requires several viewings in order to appreciate and fully understand the dynamics and true aim of the Village.....END
Rating:
Summary: Who is #1?
Review: "Who is #1?" This is a question that #6, a former British Secret Service Agent asks repeatedly throughout this vintage, classic TV show. The answer of course, is that The Prisoner is, and remains, the #1 smartest, and best written, televison show that has ever been shown on television, bar none. Oddly enough, this does not mean the show is so highbrow that it is unwatchable - it just means that it deals with issues such as an individual palce and struggle in society in an enjoyable format. The DVD version of this show has been cleaned up and includes several extras, the best of which- the alternate take of the "Chimes of Big Ben" is pretty interesting; the worst of which, the foreign file cabinet footage, is maddening (watching file cabinets open and close in ANY language is boring). The Prisoner DVDs are not only a must for any serious Science Fiction fan, they are a must for any fan of good, serious television. "Be seeing you." -Tom
Rating:
Summary: The Most Original and Thought-Provoking TV Series -- Ever
Review: I first saw The Prisoner as a small child, and happened to tune in during "Checkmate," the episode where people are used as chess pieces. "Wow, cool," I thought, and watched every other episode at the time, although it went way over my head. Subsequently, I caught it at various times in my life as it reran, finding more and more in this very enigmatic, weird, witty allegory. Not only was the entire series phenomenal, it has one of the strongest and most memorable finales ever created -- and it ultimately does answer the question, "Who is Number One?" Now, finally, the series is available on DVD, which is the ideal format for it. Not only is the picture quality in this transfer excellent, but you now have the opportunity to pause and study some of the more interesting production details. Why are there no number sevens on the Village information board? Do the Greek letters on that doctor's machinery hide a secret message? Does the first episode really have *two* characters who are number 66? If there's a flaw to the first two sets of DVD's, it's that the extra material is a little on the light side. Sure, set one has the complete alternate version of "The Chimes of Big Ben," and there are TV teaser commercials (which just demonstrate that the networks had no idea what to make of it), trivia quizzes and production stills -- but where is the audio commentary? Where are the interviews? Where's Patrick McGoohan? Maybe that will come in the final set, and I see that set three does have a behind the scenes interview. On the other hand, the "interactive" map of the Village really isn't, and if you want an excercise in boredom, watch the entire "Foreign File Cabinet" footage on Set One. But... all of that said, this DVD series is a must-have for fans of the show, and a good addition to the collection of any fan of science fiction, mystery, philosophy, history or what have you. "The Prisoner" is absolutely unique in television. The only other thing that ever came even halfway close was "Twin Peaks," nearly twenty years later, but the issues raised in "The Prisoner" are still relevant today, perhaps even moreso with the rise of both technology and PC groupthink. The Village, after all, is all around us. Be seeing you...
Rating:
Summary: Finnaly, "The Prisoner" is out on tape!!!
Review: Yes!! Finally one of the best, most thought provoking and most creative sci-Fi television seris is out on tape! This is not at all a brain-dead easy to follow series, and may be well over the heads of modern day couch-potatoes who have been weened by present day dumbed down holywood and television. This series is an on-going mind game about a high level spy that suddenly decides to quit. Shortly after storming out of his superior's office, he is captured and brought to a bizzare remote island dubbed "The Village". Evry episode, the spy (now known only as "Number 6", makes a complex and daring escape from the village, but just when you think he's escaped, he is once again captured. The final episode of the series is as much a mind game as any plot has ever gotten, and leaves the viewer speculating as to what the village actually was (did it ever really exist, or was it all in #6's mind, and who exactly was #1?!?!?!). If you like tremendous special effects and an easy story to predict and follow, this series is not for you, but if you are into a masterfull story and continuous mind games, television never got any better than this!
Rating:
Summary: thank you!
Review: i watched this series as much as i could when it was on the Sci-Fi channel. i'm glad they finally bring the series on DVD with features and bonuses the television couldn't. the Prisoner is by far one of the wierdest series i have ever seen. i'm not condemning the Prisoner's merits but complimenting the amazing approach used. it reminds of Thomas More's "Utopia" at first, but quickly Orwell's "1984" wittily is portrayed by a camera or phone call. you have to laugh at times in the subtle humor the writers utilize to provide a welcome change from today's cookie cutter entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the most interesting and intelligent series ever.
Review: Patrick McGoohan's `The Prisoner' TV series is perhaps one of the most intelligent and interesting programs ever created. The basic premise is that a British secret agent resigns for some reason. After turning in his notice, he is kidnapped and moved to a secret location called `The Village'. The series follows the efforts of his mysterious kidnappers to find out the reason why he quit and shows his repeated escape attempts. The series is filled with nuances that need multiple viewings to enjoy all of them. The DVD transfer is first rate with the picture quality excellent. The "technicolor" sets are shown in their vivid color. Highly recommended. This set is the beginning of the whole series and as such should be viewed first especially `The Arrival'.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: The Prisoner is television's first and last masterpiece.You need to buy this set first it will make you acquainted with the show.This edition contains some great shows:Arrival (5 stars),Free For all (4 stars),and Dance of the Dead (4 stars).This edition includes some great bonus features an alternate version of Chimes of Big Ben with deleted scenes.A textless intro and outro.Best of all features a village map and trivia quiz on the shows you've watched.the only thing out of place now is the sixties style,but this show is still ahead of its time.Overall an indefinite 5 stars.
| 
