Few TV shows have been subject to as much analysis as The Prisoner(ITC, 1967). There have been many books and learned treatises written about the core themes of the show such as individualism, rebellion, collectivism, conformity, freedom and control, surveillance, indoctrination, unfettered technological progress, welfare and so on. In some ways it is a Rorschach test , how we interpret it says more about ourselves.

An intelligence agent (in a promotion McGoohan states that the protagonist is a scientist) resigns, soon after he is drugged and taken to a remote island. He wakes in a perfect recreation of his former living room in an apartment. Leaving the apartment he discovers he has been taken to “The Village”. The inhabitants of the Village are referred to by numbers not names. In the first episode the protagonist is assigned the number 6.

The villagers include both prisoners and guards. Often the distinction between guard and prisoner is unclear(checkmate, free for all, the chimes of big ben). We never know for certain who operates the Village but we do see that it includes at least the intelligence service of the protagonist’s nation. In the first episode (Arrival) one of the protagonist’s former colleagues is shown as acting as an auditor for the Village’s processes.

Most of the other prisoners are there, like the protagonist because they have some valuable information. Through the main story arc many attempts are made to extract information from Number 6, including why he resigned. These attempts include induced hallucinations and dream manipulation (Living in Harmony, A,B and C) , a faked escape (The Chimes of Big Ben) , an identity crisis (Schizoid Man), Imaginary surgery (A Change of Mind), crude electrical brain manipulation and hypnosis (Dance of the dead) Psychodrama/brainwashing (Once upon a time), emotional blackmail (checkmate) and making Number six (temporarily) a figure of authority (Free for all).

Number 6 makes many attempts to escape (Arrival, The chimes of big ben, Free for all, Schizoid man, many happy returns) some are carefully planned others more ad hoc. Number 6 is even allowed to actually escape once (Many Happy Returns) but is later returned to the Village.

We learn that those who operate the village do not have infinite patience. We are informed chillingly that the village has a large graveyard and we know that some villagers under interrogation have been driven to suicide (Hammer into Anvil).