Orange Alert!

orange_alert

It is my considered opinion that I have never seen, and never will see, a television programme better than The Prisoner.

Here is the opening title sequence, but without the titles - it sets the scene rather well, I think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv813f2Xtrg

The impact of the series at the time and it's legacy since are both huge. It's anti-establishment themes and surreality were very 1960s but it's fundamental messages of the danger of unchecked progress and of an individual resisting conformity are still relevant now. The creator, chief writer and star Patrick McGoohan summed it up like this:

"I think progress is the biggest enemy on earth, apart from oneself… I think we're gonna take good care of this planet shortly… there's never been a weapon created yet on the face of the Earth that hadn't been used…

…We're run by the Pentagon, we're run by Madison Avenue, we're run by television, and as long as we accept those things and don't revolt we'll have to go along with the stream to the eventual avalanche… As long as we go out and buy stuff, we're at their mercy. We're at the mercy of the advertiser and of course there are certain things that we need, but a lot of the stuff that is bought is not needed…

…We all live in a little Village… Your village may be different from other people's villages but we are all prisoners."

Many readings of the series are possible and it can be analysed and analysed deeper and deeper and still it doesn't all become clear-cut. It was an astonishing achievement for the time and is highly worth trying to see, if you haven't seen it. If you lived near me, I'd lend you the dvds.

It managed to reach beyond television into popular culture and few series have managed that. There is a reasonably detailed and accurate description of the series at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner

Be Seeing You!