Rating: 
Summary: Superior to the first box
Review: These four episodes capture "The Prisoner" on its absolute best form. Each of the episodes are equally thought provoking/unbelievable in their own way's. "Checkmate" begins with a gorgeously staged game of human chess. Number Six, a pawn tries throughout the episode to determine the structure of "sides" in the village. Particularly who his allies are. By the end he has staged an elaborate escape. "The Chimes of Big Ben," at the moment my favorite all-time episode of the show is one of the cleverest things going. Six orchestrates a clever escape only to realize that he has been used as a guinea pig the whole time. Very intelligently written, with some of the swiftest dialogue around, "Big Ben" demonstrates how good television can be and how so many modern shows are just grand dissapointments. "A,B and C" has number Six being drugged by number Two in another attempt to trick answers of his resignation out of him. Number Six, being the Wily Coyote that he is sees through the plot and gives a metaphoric middle-finger to the village leaders at the end of the episode. Another incredibly satisfying episode. Final episode "The General" as well as being a great episode turns out to be quite prophetic in its observations of our current "television culture." Here, village residents are taught university courses simply by watching subliminal messages through the television. Problem is, while they retain massive amounts of knowledge, nobody seems to understand any of it. George Orwell seems like he would have had a big influence on this particularly intellectual episode. Number Two is content in knowing that village residents are nothing more that "knowledgeable cabbages." If this doesn't sum up current society I don't know what does. "The Prisoner" evolves into a thought provoking masterpiece in this box set. All the episodes are incredible and stand up to repeated viewing. Even by today's standards "The Prisoner" is ahead of it's time. "X-Files" is a joke compared to this.
Rating:
Summary: From His First Solid Escape Attempt To His First Victory...
Review: This set of episodes 4-7 from The Prisoner (as A & E sequences it) contain what I feel are three of the best entries in the series and they can each stand viewing on their own.
Checkmate is a memorable story because of the human chessboard introduced at its beginning and for the daring, exciting escape attempt which follows as Number 6 learns to tell the difference between the whites and the blacks.
The Chimes Of Big Ben is many viewer's choice for the best episode in the entire series. Leo McKern is an excellent foil for McGoohan, and the story is as funny as it is exhilarating.
A, B,and C, is a fun piece with a really dark edge as Number 6 discovers, to his horror, that somebody has been messing with him while he sleeps!
The General (which I believe goes BEFORE A, B, and C), has a repeat Number 2 whose performance reminds me of my elementary school principal <shivers>. Anyhow, I found the resolution of this tale very sloppy and forced but, for its time, the notion of Number 6's question was still kinda fresh to philosophy courses, I suppose. It's just a little dated on that score and it may be my least favorite episode. Then again, I absolutely love Number 6's disguise, infiltration, and plot. And it does firmly establish that Number 6 is now on the offensive against the Village.
So, I see nothing wrong if this is the only set you want to get. It's got four solid episodes (as opposed to other sets with only three), the first two being classics of the series. The bonus material isn't very filling, and you'd think A & E could've put all four stories on one disc but, hey, why sell em' one disc when you can sell em' two, eh?- Be seeing you!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Series - LOUSY masterng :(
Review: Would that I could give this DVD set five stars, as it SHOULD have gotten that rating. Alas, the set is marred by one of the worst audio mastering jobs I have EVER heard on DVD - the production company for A&E displayed total disreagard for quality control by releasing this turkey. Also, some scenes in both sets 1 and 2 are unusually dark (I'm thinking especially of the scene in the opening where #6 is standing on the beach shaking his fist at the sky - I know it's supposed to be night, but my memory is not of this scene being so dark it's almost black!) As of 11/18/00, I understand that A&E will be issuing replacement discs to all of us who purchased the defective DVDs - my thanks to them for their professionalism in taking this expensive step. It reconfirms my belief that they are a leader in quality programming and customer satisfaction - my hat is off to them and I hope someone from A&E is reading this to know someone salutes them. Unfortunately, until you know *100%* that the current defective set is off the market (which should be by mid-December), I would not purchase this compilation, as you will just have to return it, as I am. Once the new set is out, however - BUY IT, show your support for The Prisoner and A&E. There is no finer example of thought-provoking, incisive writing than The Prisoner - I cannot put it more strongly than that.
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