Well, if Mari is going to mourn Ricardo, I’ll have to note the passing of Patrick McGoohan, who had numerous notable roles. The one that will always stick in my mind, though, is his turn as the indomitable Number 6, kidnapped away to the Village in the way-out series The Prisoner. McGoohan not only starred but also played a big role behind the scenes in crafting the series, which blew my young mind when I first watched it. McGoohan’s message of individuality and authenticity was powerful stuff, especially when it was first broadcast. And the Rover was pretty damn cool, too.
If you’ve never seen it, you’re in luck; AMC is streaming the original episodes as it prepares to show a remake later this year.
One of these days, I’d love to get to the Hotel Portmeirion.
This article appears in Jan 15-21, 2009.
Thanks Nintz for putting this up. I spent a few formative childhood years in the Canal Zone – TV was often made up of reruns from old TV series, like The Fugitive, but for me, I never missed a night of The Prisoner. Something had to save my hide – General Hospital came on at 6:30 p.m. and was the most the highest rated show. Thank you McGoohan!
Danger Man (Secret Agent Man in the US) and The Prisoner are timeless. It’s kind of astonishing to watch early sixties episodes of Danger Man and realize how many of them were based in the Mid-East. I don’t know if they had ex-MI-5 and MI-6 people writing their scripts, but if they didn’t, the writers had really good sources. A couple of episodes really stand out – the one where the assassin is sent by the British government and one highly critical of the Official Secrets Act.
As for The Prisoner – wow! It blew my little mind, too. It still does. I can’t be the only one who is reminded of Rover every time Dick Cheney appears.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones…