THE PRISONER, PATRICK MCGOOHAN SPEAKS Part two.

[CliffTheMeerkat]

Incidentally, can I mention in passing The Man Who Was Thursday? I've no idea if Mr Mcgoohan was familiar with it or not, but for those who've read it, the parallels between No 1 and Sunday are surely obvious?

[CliffTheMeerkat]

It's ironic that the series ended up making a kind of prisoner out of Mcgoohan himself. It's obvious from his interviews that he was a hugely creative and original thinker, with the potential to have spent decades creating compelling, thought provoking drama. But instead, all anyone wanted to talk to him about, or saw him as, was The Prisoner.

[ThePaulaLeigh]

Awesome how he got it back then...and we still don't "get it" now... "When they are walking around not thinking...not feeling..." Loss of Free Will... Awesome show! Thanks for sharing this interview!

[gadzodilo]

This is awesome. Patrick McGoohan is so amazing. He's totally, totally bullshitting his way through this interview because he just made a bunch of stuff up for the last episode and he knows it, all these years later. But that was what was so incredible about it. He doesn't have to explain anything --- if you got something out of that episode, great, and if you didn't, you were the fool who watched it.

[NicoletteOlivier]

Be seeing you...

[NicoletteOlivier]

So funny, I love this man.

[LindaUKRose]

does anyone know where this was filmed? a wonderful man!

[Pmg6portmeirion]

@LindaUKRose I would think just outside L.A. where he lived.

[PaleHearse]

Brilliant.. just brilliant.

~Be seeing you~

[MrThompsonpj]

Thanks Elephants Child ... the best secrets seem to hide in plain sight ...

[MrThompsonpj]

The most wonderful piece of TV ever ... could never be remade either, no point ... Interesting that the No. 1 issue was always hinted in the opening talkover credit, where P asks 'Who is number 1', then we hear the voice of No. 2 replying, 'You are number 6' (if you slip a comma after 'are', you get, "You are, number 6") ... just a speculation .... Every time I watch any episode, I always get something new out of it, and I saw it the first time around. "The sky is the limit, be seeing you" Wow

[AnElephantsChild]

@MrThompsonpj

OMG - You're right !

I'd never thought of that before, one comma in the script explains everything. All the times I've seen The Prisoner & I've never noticed that before. You really can watch it forever & still find something new every time.

[theviker]

after watching the complete season of LOST, its incredible how much was taken from the Prisoner. Incredible series

[NoZenIsZen]

It's very simple. Number one is the reflection of our inner-life, which is mostly abused because much of it is unconscious. If you like to give away your freedom by trading it for external motives one is an prisoner. Number 6 sees trough the lies and stick with his attitudinal freedom which is in your own mind and can BE taken away,only if you choose to.

[TheMasterNo6]

The real No.1 was The State....No.6 see's his own face because HE was his own imprisoner...If he hadn't resigned, he wouldn't have been imprisoned in The Village....thats how I see it. But McGOOHANs allegorical stance on it is as true too.

[paisleybabee]

I've never seen it!

[jodyusa]

The ending was sublime...perfection.

What's baffling is that there are so many today imprecating the evil allegorized in "The Prisoner", as if apprenticing for Hell.

[theviker]

@jodyusa series like LOST and Twin Peaks have so much to thank to the Prisoner, genius TV

[AnElephantsChild]

Fasinating !

Thanks for putting it on here - never seen it before.

I've come to the conclusion that if you need an explanation of the ending - you don't really NEED to know what it means.

[elfyboy]

@AnElephantsChild Best analysis I have ever heard, bar none! However, isn't it precisely those people who don't understand who NEED to know what it means for the sake of those who do know? ;)

[MrCrispian]

no1 / myself

be seeing you / be looking at you

[betoian]

Funny, cause for this video, he is still number 6 :) .

I always wondered why he was always trying to escape. Because that would only confirm that he had something to hide! Besides, it was not as bad to be there...

I thought that he was forced to end the serial. An ugly ending...

[brabon1]

he wasnt forced...he wanted to end it

originally, he only wanted 7 epis...he was forced into expanding the series, because itc didnt know how to sell a mini series

and he wanted to escape because, despite the comforts of the villiage, one could only enjoy them if one was willing to conform...and number 6 was not a conformist

[betoian]

Well, to own a part of the truth is never enough to sustain a fight! (just to escape) If secret agents knew the complete story they would'nt ever help anybody... That is why the have to obey rules. They are trained to escape as soon as they can...

Today, millions of people have the feeling that there has to be a better way of living. But as Marcus Aurelius once said: Teach them (to change them) or suffer them (and learn)!

[orangehorse]

@betoian

What is that Marcus Aurelius quote that you are referencing, and where is it from? I really like it.

[JAG312]

The Prisoner was a masterpiece. I will never understand why people never understood the meaning of the last two episodes. The last episode explained the entire seies. My friends and I felt that we understood the series, but I supposed people with bubblegum minds expected something different. For us, a Salvador Dali ending was preferable to a Norman Rockwell ending. We did debate the role of The Butler. Was he the Number 0 who pulled the strings above Number 1?

[brabon1]

good question about the butler

remember, other than number 6, he is the only character that appears in every episode

[Danimal77]

But he WASN'T free. That was the WHOLE POINT of the last episode. He wasn't free. He was still a prisoner, because he was ALWAYS a prisoner. HIS door opened on it's own, meaning it didn't end. It was just beginning (continuing).

[tubian323]

I personally think that the last episode of " The Prisoner" should have ended with the graphic of the prison bars opening in front of Number 6's face instead of slamming shut to signify that he was free.

[Crimedog6]

His "Prisoner" is still the masterpiece of "original" television. Thanks Mr. McGoohan and RIP.

Be Seeing You, I hope!

[mahler7]

It looks like Pat had a vodka for this interview, thats probably why it wasnt shown in the 1st place!

[sidensvans54]

Britain under EU control.

We are all prisoners now.

[lezvarthok]

many suggest the britain are under control of the banks who in the shell of britain control EU and someone is there and there and there and its a big fucking clockwork. And "we" all participate in it being a clog. One way or the other. All "roles" are thought of the last centuries. what new shall come up ? Ordo ad/ab Chao is already conceived. Now we are slaves ? "We" is enslavery in basic. Every revolt is contributing to the mass already. every new idea ends in new limits. and its still needed

[Teabonesteak]

from 6:08-6:32 he really summed up how I feel is the dangerous trend of anti intellectualism nowadays in Television and film and it scares me.

[Pulsar205]

Sorry, I first saw it in '77 but only one episode. I was only eight then so couldn't really form deep opinions on it and only saw I think one episode. It was on late and my dad wanted to watch it in peace!

[Pulsar205]

...would have been good too.

Something was working through Patrick's subconscious, that knew this truth about how evil works through the human form. It was brilliant it was him, but maybe some kind of evil android, encapsulating everyone's identity and even DNA as some kind of monster image of humanity, could be a good idea for a film and/or new series...

[Pulsar205]

I felt cheated when I first watched it in 83/4 at 15. Really cheated. But taken with the whole series, it's a perfect ending. What his problem is, is his own dark side. He is a part of the very thing he's struggling with and we are all the same.

To have that ape mask come off first is really saying it's the evil that Man has become; when Adam in the Bible fell from Paradise, into an animal realm-personified by our present form.

I wanted No.1 to be some kind of android at first and that...

[syd450]

Rest in peace, Mr.McGoohan. "Be seeing you."

[CarterdeMars]

I was always glad he decided to end it in a unconventional way. This show makes people think and most shows don't make people think. That was what I loved about it. He never handed the viewer the meaning. He made the viewer find it.

[kfalcon77]

Bless Mel Gibsons heart for casting him in Braveheart. I always thought he should have been nominated and won an oscar for that performance.

[Pulsar205]

He was brilliantly evil in that!

[Allthingsmartial]

He was spot on and totally ahead of his time. He clearly described the group think that has imprisoned my wonderful American people for the last 8 years.

[siralexandergibson]

ha! for a lot longer than the last 8 years.

[AriesTRam]

I love how this documentary mimics the omniscient, baleful gaze of Number Two and his minions -- an excellent framing mechanism. "The Prisoner" means what you think it means, frankly, and that was the brilliance of the show -- it made you think about what is the meaning of freedom and individuality.

[593OLYMPUS]

So sorry to hear the news of Pat's death today. His Prisoner work was groundbreaking then, and it is still now. A very watchable programme,which is after all what Pat and all the crew strived for! My favourite quote? "Are you hammer or anvil"?!

RIP Pat. You will be missed but never forgotten.

[betoian]

Was he working on the new version when he passed away?

[brabon1]

not really

he had ideas for a sequel, but they never came to fruition

up until his death, he was basically helping others by script rewrites

apparently he was the best in the biz at fixing scripts

[XboxXXX]

According to Patrick McGoohan's widow, producers of the new series hoped that McGoohan would play a part in bringing the revival to the air. "They wanted Patrick to have some part in it, but he adamantly didn't want to be involved. He had already done it," she said in an interview shortly after McGoohan's death.

[bbdupon]

O.K.,now that we know who Number one is---but not a damn word about Number 3.

[glassine]

i always think the paddy's had a few before this interview. he seems in his cups. in a very charming way.

[wowcrap]

I've never even heard of this interview. Compared to the one he did in 1977 for Canadian T.V. he seems much more at ease. Almost bizarrely so. I guess with mr. McGoohan, always expect the unexpected.