The Prisoner - 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition


The central philosophical notion running through The Prisoner is the clash between individuality and conformity. Nearly every episode addresses this duality but none as overtly as The Schizoid Man. In a brilliant twist on the television stand-by “good twin, bad twin” plot line, Number Six is taken from his quarters and brainwashed into believing that he is actually a body double, sent to the village to make the “real” Number Six question his identity. A second Number Six arrives claiming to be the genuine article and a clash of wills ensues. The Schizoid Man successfully turns the expected plot points on their heads and almost has us wondering exactly which Number Six is which.

Episode 9: Many Happy Returns


Excluding Once Upon a Time and Fallout, Many Happy Returns is my personal favorite episode of the show. In a nutshell, Number Six wakes up one morning to find The Village completely deserted. Everyone is gone. No Number Two, no old men playing chess, no friendly shopkeeper saying, “Be seeing you!” Seizing the opportunity, Number Six builds a boat and beats a hasty exit. Because Six is alone, there isn’t a single line of dialogue for the first full third of the show, just the hypnotic and hip incidental music. The action builds through act two and several unexpected plot twists until it reaches a paranoid crescendo of Orwellian proportions.

Episode 10: It’s Your Funeral


Even an imprisoned man may find justification for protecting his jailer. In It’s Your Funeral, Number Six uncovers an elaborate scheme to assassinate Number Two, but rather than assist the assassins, he attempts to thwart their plan, believing there would be negative repercussions for every citizen if it succeeded. It’s Your Funeral raises questions of loyalty and allegiance, of sacrifice for the good of the community and of the abused’s empathy for the abuser.

Episode 11: A Change of Mind


When Number Six is declared “un-mutual” for his antisocial behavior the normally placid villagers suddenly become aggressive. Number Six is first shunned by the citizens, then verbally abused and finally physically assaulted. In the custody of Number Two he undergoes a treatment intended to medically neutralize his rebelliousness via a sort of space-age lobotomy. But why would Number Two jeopardize the mind of his most valuable prisoner for the sheer sake of conformity? This fascinating examination of mob behavior shows Number Six in more control of his situation than any of the previous episodes.

Episode 12: Hammer into Anvil


Now the stakes are getting high. Number Six is becoming more and more adept at manipulating Number Two’s plans, to the point that we’re not exactly sure who has ultimate control. At the opening of the episode, Number Six forces his way into a room where Number Two is interrogating a woman. In the confusion, the woman jumps out a window to her death. This sparks a confrontation between Number Six and Number Two, each vowing to destroy the other. With all the tools of The Village at Number Two’s disposal and Number Six with only his ingenuity the outcome should be a foregone conclusion.

Episode 13: Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling


When Patrick McGoohan’s schedule demanded that he travel to America to shoot his part in Ice Station Zebra for MGM, Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling had to be completely re-written. McGoohan only appears at the beginning and end of the episode but the plot, more than any other installment, challenges Number Six’s self-image. The action follows a very conventional spy drama template complete with a brilliant scientist, a slow-speed car chase and plenty of fisticuffs and gunplay. The ending is anything but conventional though and sheds a lot of light on what it really takes to escape The Village.

Episode 14: Living in Harmony


Straying the furthest from the established formula, Living in Harmony is a top to bottom re-imagining of the show as a western. In the opening credits, an unnamed sheriff (McGoohan) storms into the marshal’s office and throws down his badge and gun, resigning. On leaving the building he’s jumped by a group of thugs and beaten unconscious. He wakes up later in the little gold rush town of Harmony, which bears eerie similarities to The Village. The episode raises questions about institutionalized violence, state-sanctioned murder and squarely hits the notion that combating evil may force men to adopt the methods of their enemies, no matter how brutal. Probably because the nation was confronting similar issues as it worked its way through the Vietnam War, Living in Harmony was not broadcast in The Prisoner's initial run in America.

Episode 15: The Girl Who Was Death


What the series needs here is a nice, soft spot to rest before experiencing the two-part finale. That’s exactly what The Girl Who Was Death delivers. It’s a farcical romp through swinging London complete with women in white leather cat suits, Jaguars, a trippy amusement park, Number Six drinking an ungodly amount of alcohol, Number Six dressed as Sherlock Holmes, a plot by Napoleon to launch a doomsday attack on London and a space ship disguised as a lighthouse. This is the only “filler” episode in the series and even it has one critical piece of information that seems to tie the entire Prisoner plot back to Danger Man.

Episode 16 & 17: Once Upon a Time and Fall Out


The final two episodes hit like an endorphin cocktail right to the pleasure center of the brain. Every mystery, every concept, every quirk of plot and personality comes crashing together in these final shows and the result is nothing short of mind altering. Will everything be revealed or will The Prisoner leave you wondering? If you’ve made it this far, you’re in for quite a ride no matter what happens. Once Upon a Time and Fall Out don’t disappoint, especially when you don’t know what’s coming next and I’ll leave it at that.

About the 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
The first thing you need to know about the new 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is that the discs are the same as the previous A&E two disc box sets. I mean they’re exactly the same. If you have a player that has a resume function and go back and forth between one of the new discs and one of the old ones, the player won’t be able to tell the difference. The menus, extras and transfers are exactly the same. The only thing that changed was the silk-screened design on the disc face.

Packaging and Presentation
The biggest upgrade here is in the packaging, and unless you’re really pressed for space, it won’t be worth a double dip if you already own the previous discs. The series now comes in ten, single disc slim-line cases that all fit snugly into a box that’s less than half the width of the old sets. The information on the disc jackets has been reset in a different font and new images are placed on the fronts and backs but it’s the exact same text as what you see on the older box sets.

One new item is a comprehensive, printed episode guide that gives a nice overview of the show’s history and meaning while offering reasonably extensive write-ups on each of the 17 episodes. You won’t find a lot of critical depth here but it is a nice addition for Prisoner neophytes. The other new feature is a cool fold-out reproduction of the village map from the show. It’s set up like a Michelin map complete with pleasant photos of The Village and an interesting short essay on the location used for the series and the map’s design.

Audio
The audio track sounds just fine for a 1960s TV program. You don’t get a whole lot of dynamic range but it is free from hiss and flutter. The dialogue is always front and center with music and sound effects blending in nicely. Most importantly, the volume is very consistent from scene to scene and from episode to episode. I didn’t notice any examples of dropouts or pops.

Video

The original film elements look like they’re in pretty good shape. You can spot some holes here and there, a few scratches on some shots and a hair or two passing through the gate but only if you look closely. The source for the transfer shows a fair amount of fading in the form of low contrast in some of the darker scenes and some frame-to-frame changes in brightness. Again, these are very minor issues for a forty-year-old series. The overall color saturation is very good as is the contrast in most scenes. I didn’t see any signs of over-sharpening of the image and I didn’t spot any compression artifacts. If they’re there they’re hidden by the slightly grainy look of the image.

The Extras
No new on-disc features have been added to the set since the last release. The set includes:

The Prisoner Video Companion – This is a spoiler filled episode-by-episode discussion of the series. It’s really interesting but don’t watch it before you seen the shows. It’s not intended for viewing unless you know the series already.

Interview with Series Production Manager Bernie Williams – I really enjoyed his interview with Williams, who talks at length about the selection of the location, the design of the sets and costumes and adds a few memorable anecdotes along the way.

The Alternate Version of The Chimes of Big Ben – Many years after The Prisoner aired and became a cult favorite an alternate version of The Chimes of Big Ben was discovered. This version was prepared for press briefings before the show premiered and features a slightly different cut than the final aired version. It also has different opening and closing sequences.

Original Broadcast Trailers – These are the teasers that ran each week promoting the next installment. They’re a nice addition to the set that really get you in the mood of the era.

The Prisoner Episode Guide - This 60 page printed supplement - new to the 40th Anniversary set - is a very enjoyable episode by episode guide with lots of great images from the show. It's packed with episode details, analysis and trivia. These days good printed supplements are few and far between but this one is one of the best. Be forewarned though; the booklet is filled with spoilers. Avoid it until after you've watched the shows.

Your Village Map - An exact reproduction of the map of The Village from the series. This is a nice new addition to the 40th Anniversary set.

Other Features – Also included on the set is an extensive gallery of promotional materials, trivia quizzes, a “textless” version of the opening credits, foreign language shots of the file cabinet used in the opening and a second gallery of behind the scenes production images.

Conclusion
By concocting an inspired mix of equal parts Ian Fleming, George Orwell, Freud, Jung, Andy Warhol, Star Trek and the psychedelic 60s, McGoohan and Markstein didn’t create a show inflected or influenced by pop art, they made a genuine artifact of the movement. The programs are endlessly rewarding and every viewing raises even more thought-provoking questions. As you begin your journey with The Prisoner I leave you with one thought: circles. Look for circles throughout the program. The concept of circularity, the closed loop, is just one of many key points of departure for a deeper consideration of the meaning and relevance of The Prisoner. And if critical analysis isn’t your bag, don’t worry. Just sit back and soak up the grooviest spy show ever to hit the small screen!