This 1967 British TV show is revered as a cult classic that was radical and countercultural, while symbolizing philosophical arguments about individualism vs. collectivism. We take a deeper look at star Patrick McGoohan and the commercial interests behind the show to ask if it’s ultimately more conservative than pop culture likes to remember.
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Additional Resources:
- A Spy Trapped in a Nightmare of Psychedelia
- GEORGE MARKSTEIN interviewed by Chris Rodley
- Number Six At 50: The 50th Anniversary Of ‘The Prisoner’
- How did The Prisoner ever get made?
- Patrick McGoohan Explains The Meaning Of The Prisoner, A TV Cult Classic
- Alan Moore Remembers Patrick McGoohan’s “The Prisoner”: Part 1
- What on earth was The Prisoner all about?
- McGuire, J. T. (2014). A Mentor-Protégé Relationship?: Orson Welles, Patrick McGoohan, and The Prisoner Television Series. Quarterly Review of Film & Video, 31(7), 647.
- Hanna, E. (2014). Be Selling You: The Prisoner As Cult and Commodity. Television & New Media, 15(5), 433.
- Woodman BJ. Escaping Genre’s Village: Fluidity and Genre Mixing in Television’s The Prisoner. Journal of Popular Culture. 2005;38(5):939