Mysticism and "The Prisoner" (video and video series): gratis post
"Cult television" that is classic fantasy
I have considered writing a Substack post about the classic television series The Prisoner for quite some time, and following on the heels of my previous article, it seemed the time had arrived. I thought my perspective on the series differed enough from interpretations advanced by others that such a post might — just possibly — be worthwhile. Also, I considered my interpretation as close as one might get to what Patrick McGoohan had in mind as his 17-part “text” unfolded in 1967/68. But then I found this video on YouTube, which I have posted directly below, where I discovered, to my surprise, that the interpretation almost entirely matches my own. Who could have thought?
For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the series, you can read about it here. Don’t worry if you’re among those in the dark; all the episodes are available in a playlist on YouTube, and I’ve added the links to them below. I recommend watching them, if you never have, before reading on or watching this half-hour video:
I differ only slightly from the views expressed in the video above. For instance, I am a bit doubtful about the brewer/distiller's association with Albertus Magnus, and I rather doubt that McGoohan — given his deeply held Catholic beliefs — connected the implied psychological/spiritual “cycle” in the final episode with recurring births and rebirths. More likely, he saw in the ambiguities of the ending the fact that each of us must, again and again, come to terms with our selves or psyches, confronted as they constantly are by a society bent on eradicating them. The “Village” is, quite simply, what was called in that period “mass man,” and the nameless protagonist (portrayed by McGoohan) — Number Six — is “Everyman,” which was also the name given to the film company he co-founded and that produced the series. (Unnoticed in the video is the biblical numerology of the number 6, which would have been familiar to McGoohan, who at one time in his life considered the priesthood as a vocation: man was created on the sixth day in Genesis 1. He shows a similar awareness of Bible-related numbers when he has “Number 48” sing “Dem Bones” in the final episode — a reference to Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones in chapter 37 of the book bearing that prophet’s name, and the book of Ezekiel has 48 chapters in all.) That Number 1 in the Village is also “I” — the ego — is vital in understanding that, by the end of the series, we are meant to recognize that the classical struggle between the person — the soul — and “the world” is essentially an interior one. The video also reveals how Ibsen’s Brand played a significant part in shaping McGoohan’s vision for The Prisoner.
The Village is a surveillance state, its real ideology obscure (perhaps like China’s, America’s, or the UK’s), and its aim — as the words of Number Two in an early episode make clear — is to make the whole world over in its image. It’s also an utterly mad society, with the last episode revealing just how lunatic it is. The Prisoner ranks as one of those brilliantly prescient dystopian “prophecies” that first appeared in the mid-twentieth century; it stands alongside Orwell and Huxley, and it might not be all that far removed from Golding. In other words, despite its mid-1960s production values, spy thriller moments, old-fashioned sci-fi elements, and overall enjoyability as high-quality entertainment, it’s a fantasy that — at its best — is still worth our attention and reflection.
There has been talk of Christopher Nolan making a feature film based on the series. I, for one, hope he never does (there was a miniseries made more than a decade ago, attempting to “re-vision” it, which happily has been all but forgotten). The original cannot be bettered, and McGoohan is no longer with us. It’s enough that we have what, in fact, simply cannot be remade.
Here are the links to all 17 episodes:
I loved the Prisoner! That and the Avengers,Fugitive, and Twilight Zone were my favorites as a kid. Throw in the Addams Family too, although I wasn't a big TV watcher, except for Met and Knick games.