Rating: 
Summary: Exploit good taste...
Review: While I have been very happy to be able to see all of "The Prisoner" episodes via Netflix rentals. I only own this particular set. I would like to be able to purchase the whole series. The price for the volumes is out of whack with any other television collections with the exception of maybe "Dark Shadows". Unfortunately, this situation will likely continue to the point of making the sets more limited, collectible, and even more expensive in the long run.
Other reviews adequately speak to the quality of the show. It is one of my favorite television shows.
Each volume, when bought individually, provides very little in the way of extra material to provide an excuse for the price as due to high production costs.
It's a shame that the series is not more accessible due to the price.
Rating: 
Summary: From His Arrival To His Coming Out Party er Trial...
Review: If you're only interested in purchasing a few episodes of The Prisoner, or just don't want to committ to buying the entire series in one blow, then this is the set I'd recommend- even though, of the five sets, this is one of three sets with only three complete episodes included.
The first episode is the series opener, "Arrival", and it'll really put the hook in you. It introduces No. 6's circumstances and The Village itself.
The second episode is "Free For All" which is a send-up of politcal elections. We also learn more about The Village.
The third episode is "Dance Of The Dead" and focuses on the female quotient at work in The Village- and it has a chase scene near the end that's both funny and nightmarish.
Frankly, these three episodes were among the seven or eight Mcgoohan had originally intend the series to comprise. And they are stronger offerings than a few of the later episodes, some of which served as filler (exceptional filler, though) to kill time until the finale'.
Now, about that alternate "Chimes Of Big Ben" also included in the set. I believe that episode fits best in the fifth slot, so I don't know why they'd put the alternate on the first disk in the set... Also, the sound was so low on the episode that I could barely hear a thing with the T.V. turned all the way up! The other "extras" include some good stills, a not-so-interactive map of the village, fun trailers for the episodes, and some random extra shots that were pretty pointless.
But it's the story that matters, and these three episodes not only start out the series, but they are among the finest entries. Darkly humorous and thought-provoking- Be Seeing You!
Rating:
Summary: A new beginning
Review: While I endorse THE PRISONER as one of the truly artistic programs on commercial television, I understand why it makes people angry. It promises to be a straightforward if offbeat spy thriller, but turns into a surrealistic allegory. If you feel it would be easier to accept THE PRISONER's rhetorical left turn had it come earlier and/or been better foreshadowed, you might try watching the series in A&E's revised order. While its primary intent is to present events in the proper sequence, the new order also provides the foreshadowing that makes the final outcome acceptable.Of course, the first episode MUST be "Arrival," which sets up the basic situation. A British secret agent (series creator Patrick McGoohan) abruptly resigns, is mysteriously rendered unconscious, and awakens in The Village, the location of which is known only to those who run it. It looks like a vacation resort, but it's definitely a prison camp. Those who won't volunteer desired information have it extracted from them in the hospital. Those who try to escape get to meet Rover, a belligerent weather balloon capable of locomotion, and seemingly of independent thought. Rover deals with fugitives by plastering itself against their faces, rendering them unconscious or dead, depending on its mood. Citizens of The Village are identified only by numbers, our protagonist being No. 6. The Village is run by No. 2, who reports to an unseen and unidentified No. 1 -- apparently an unforgiving boss, because No. 2 is always being replaced. No. 6 is informed that he's there for life, and that his captors want to know why he resigned. Of course, he doesn't want to tell them, and does want to escape and find out who's in charge. And therein lies the conflict around which the series is built. The new second and third episodes are "Free for All," originally shown fourth*, and "Dance of the Dead," originally shown eighth*. To me, these are the weirdest (except for "Fall Out"), most disturbing, and most depressing episodes, which I suspect is why they were originally postponed. A&E begins with these episodes because they both call No. 6 a recent arrival This placement makes sense to me because both episodes show No. 6 trying to get his bearings and learning the hard way about the darker side of Village life. In fact, "Dance" seems more concerned with atmosphere than plot. But to me, the major advantage of starting with these episodes is that their twisted, nightmarish logic foreshadows the surrealism of THE PRISONER's conclusion. There's also a piece of dialog in "Free for All" that might even foreshadow the identity of No. 1, but I won't include it here because "that would be telling." BTW, "Free for All" shows No. 6 getting the nonalcoholic liquor spiel that he gives Nadia in "Chimes of Big Ben," which was originally shown second*. Another thing that struck me about watching "Free" before "Chimes" was that we see No. 6 getting that whirlpool treatment from Rover before we see it happen to Nadia, so that when No. 6 looks at the unconscious Nadia on the beach in "Chimes," we now see it as a knowing look from someone who's been there. The picture quality of all episodes is far superior to that of MPI's original VHS release. Especially improved is the scene in "Free for All" where we see No. 6 stumble down a corridor bathed in red light. An inherent problem with VHS is that such red scenes tend to appear grainy. The sound is also superior as far as fidelity goes,, although it's still mono. I realize you can argue that a movie or television program on DVD should have the same mix in which it was originally presented, and from the standpoint of historical accuracy I agree. From an aesthetic standpoint, however, I think it depends on how the movie/TV program's creators would have presented it if the capability had existed. I can't help but wonder whether McGoohan would have used surround sound if he'd had the option. In any case, I think a few surround effects at strategic moments might have spiced the DVD release up a bit. Even in mono, however, these episodes are enhanced by a good home theater system with a decent subwoofer. I'm thinking specifically of (a) the marching band sequences in "Free for All," with that booming bass drum, (b) Rover's "awakening" and rising from the ocean floor, (c) the automatically opening doors, (d) the slamming prison door that ends each episode. Regarding the bonus features, I was mildly disappointed by the "foreign file cabinet" footage, used for the opening sequence in non-English versions of the series. It includes only the cutaways of the "RESIGNED" label on the drawer. I was hoping it would include some part of the opening sequence to provide context. The "Alternate Chimes of Big Ben" is part of any definitive PRISONER collection (despite its poor sound quality, which I wish A&E had tried to enhance). This is a preliminary cut, using different theme music and sound effects, and including a scene in which No. 6 uses a navigational device to try and determine the location of The Village. However, I think it would have made more sense to package it with the official version. Alas, the "Alternate Arrival" isn't included here or on any of the A&E sets. The "textless intro" provides an unobstructed view of some shots usually covered by opening credits. The "textless outro" didn't do much for me, though, because the cool thing about the closing is the way the credits are fit in with the construction of the bicycle. The interactive map, I just plain didn't get. The trivia showed me I really haven't been paying as much attention to detail as I should have. *In both the U.S. and U.K.
Rating:
Summary: That bubble is disturbing
Review: I was in a college class where we had to watch this. Being used to television of today, the plot moved comparably slower, making it a little difficult to sit through. When we discussed the "Arrival" episode, most thought that the bubble was a little distubing. Compared with shows of today (Alias, for example), it was just 'unnatural.' I did like what I saw. I think that a classic television is good, not only for study (as I had to do), but also because modern television seems to move too quickly at times. They have to tell a complete story in a hour, minus the commercials.
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