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Patrick McGoohan Interview from 1977

Patrick McGoohan passed away recently and although his film career included such diverse roles as  Ice Station ZebraEscape from Alcatraz and Braveheart, for me he will always stand for his work on 1960s TV series The Prisoner.

This is the classic intro:

 

If you have never seen it, then you should buy the DVD boxset for it is one of the most inventive and distinctive TV shows of its era.

It follows a former British spy who, after resigning, is held captive in a mysterious small village by the sea by an unidentified organisation.

Each of the 17 episodes saw the unnamed prisoner, labelled Number Six, trying to escape or challenge the authority of ‘the Village’ and its chief administrator, a person usually called Number Two.

Although he was the star McGoohan also created the series with George Markstein and deserves great credit for fashioning such an unusual and groundbreaking show.

It has influenced many films and TV shows, most notably LostThe Truman Show and even Big Brother.

Check out this interview from 1977 where Magoohan discusses the show with Warner Troyer:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

You can also check out a documentary called Be Seeing You and Part 1 is here.

> Patrick McGoohan at the IMDb
> Buy The Prisoner on DVD from Amazon