The Prisoner: Difference between revisions

'''No.2:''' [[You Are Number Six|You are Number Six.]]

'''Prisoner:''' I am not a number, I am a free man!

 

 

''[[The Prisoner]]'' is known for its obscure, confusing, yet intricate subtexts and plot twists, which culminated in the most notorious (and most beloved) [[Gainax Ending]] in British television history. Patrick McGoohan had almost complete creative control, a budget 40% larger than that of most other series, and ''no idea'' where the show was going from episode to episode. After what was broadcast as episode 11, the script editor, George Markstein, quit the series and was not replaced. Scripts and story ideas from that point on came from random people and places: a Western-themed episode was suggested by a video editor, and the infamous episode "The Girl Who Was Death" was an unused script from ''[[Danger Man]]'' (featuring characters, props and locations from said series). Finally, the series' infamous ending takes a turn for the surreal, fueled by McGoohan's wish to have "controversy, arguments, fights, discussions, people in anger waving fists in my face saying, ''how dare you?''". Let's just say the [[Gainax Ending]] could easily have been called the "Prisoner Ending" and leave it at that.

 

* '''Number 6''': A nameless former spy who has resigned as "a matter of conscience". The only character to appear in each of the 17 episodes.

* '''The Butler''': A silent dwarf played by Angelo Muscat who serves Number 2. He appears in all but a few of the episodes.

* '''The Supervisor''': A nearly-emotionless balding gentleman with thick square glasses who runs the security room. He appears in many but not all episodes (and in a few of them his appearances are [[Stock Footage]]).

* [[Bad Boss]]: While the various Numbers 2 are like this, apparently not caring if their underlings die, it's apparent that Number One is a [[Complete Monster]] who is this to them. When some Numbers 2 fail, it's clear they're in utter dread of his wrath.

* [[Bavarian Fire Drill]]: In "Checkmate," Number Six impersonates a guard simply by acting imperious. The other prisoners, who have been conditioned to be subservient, buy it without question.

* [[Becoming the Mask]]: The real threat represented by the Village. Yes, the people running it might torture or brainwash you, but eventually, they may not need to: the prisoners and jailers appear interchangeable, and the setting idyllic, with some prisoners eventually liking the place and choosing to serve it. {{spoiler|1=Leo McKern's No. 2 is eventually revealed to be a former inmate.}}

** Leo McKern apparently got very, very into the role as No. 2 in "Once Upon a Time", to the point where the on-screen stress No. 2 was enduring caused either a real heart attack or nervous breakdown for the actor (the accounts differ).

** The end of "Living in Harmony" reveals that {{spoiler|the whole thing was a hallucination in a fake town, in which Number 2 and his assistant played the main villain and the psychotic "kid." However, the assistant has genuinely been driven insane by the experience.}}

* [[Bond One-Liner]]: Subverted. On the surface, Six is a [[Deadpan Snarker]] like Bond, but his "jokes" are always deadly serious.

** It has been said that if the show had been given a second season, it would have been given a new format based on this where Number Six would be sent out on missions, but always pulled back in.

* [[The Butler Did It]]: As good a guess as any. (No, really. The show's production assistant literally said this. It's as good a guess as any.)

** Another episode plays out as a Western with the same [[The Reveal|Reveal]], but in this case it was [[All Just a Dream]].

* [[Calvin Ball]]: Kosho, a game involving trampolines, padding, martial arts, and a pool of water that Number Six apparently plays twice a week. The rules can be guessed at somewhat, but it's mainly there to contribute to the general [[Mind Screw]] of the series.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: Several. "Be seeing you!", "Why did you resign?", "I am not a number, I am a free man!", "Who is Number One?", etc.

* [[Celibate Hero]]: Number Six is {{spoiler|engaged}}.

* [[Cold War]]: Subverted. See [[Government Conspiracy]] below.

* [[Common Knowledge]]: When the character of the Prisoner is referenced in other works, it is common to see him placed in his black vest with white piping and the number six lapel pin. This may make serve to make the reference clear, but the original Prisoner took the No. 6 pin off practically as soon as he was given it; he ''never'' wore his number willingly, except under extreme duress (like being brainwashed into campaigning enthusiastically for himself in "Free For All").

* [[Cool Car]]: The Lotus Seven, even though it's rarely used outside the intro.

* {{spoiler|[[Dance Party Ending]]}}

** DEM BONES, DEM BONES.

** And after that, everything [[It Gets Worse|goes to hell]], [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|although some fans feel it happens in the best possible way.]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: With The Village being an overpowering, Orwellian superpower, Number 6 does most of his fighting with words. Needless to say, he's very, very good at it.

* [[Depending on the Writer]]: How independent and self-aware the other villagers are is determined by the needs of each episode's plot. In some, they're little more than lemmings, jumping to act ''en masse'' in whatever way their captors tell them. In others, they seem to be free-thinking individuals capable of resistance of against Number Two and his/her goons.

* [[Determinator]]: Number 6. He ''does not give up''.

* [[Different in Every Episode]]: A subtle aural example: the section of the opening theme tune accompanying the scene where the future Number 6 confronts his boss is remixed to emphasize different instruments in each episode.

* [[Dramatic Unmask]]: Inverted in the final episode. {{spoiler|Twice}}.

** In the episode "The General" {{spoiler|Number 12 - who controls Security that episode - immediately aids Number Six's efforts to stop the Instant-Learning program. No explanation for 12's turn is ever given.}}

* [[Hero Ball]] / [[What an Idiot!]]: Although No. 6 is the show's [[Only Sane Man]] ''most'' of the time, it's hard not to facepalm once he {{spoiler|ends up at Beachy Head with its famous lighthouse and ''doesn't recognise it'', falls asleep on a truck without even bothering to hide himself, and subsequently goes straight back to his own home, even though he already ''knows'' from previous episodes that his former friends are after him.}}

** In "A Change of Mind," Number Six turns the villagers against Number Two with the same tactics Number Two used on him throughout the rest of the episode.

* [[Human Chess]]: "Checkmate"

** McGoohan in the unbroadcast (but later released on DVD) early edit of the first episode, which shows him giving a somewhat more "animated" reaction to seeing the Village out his window for the first time.

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: In "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling", Number 6's memory of the Village is wiped completely. He gets it back by the end of the episode without much explanation.

* [[Life Imitates Art]]: The official Prisoner fanclub's leadership dissolved in a heady mix of paranoia, backstabbing, and accusations of people spying on each other in real life. Several tertiary members mentioned this trope when they heard of what happened.

* [[Lighthouse Point]]: "The Girl Who Was Death."

* [[Little People Are Surreal]]: The Butler.

* [[Logic Bomb]]: how the Prisoner defeats the General. {{spoiler|It turns out that the General is a room-sized computer which can answer any question. The Prisoner asks it "Why?". The General overheats and explodes trying to come up with an answer. This is probably the [[Trope Codifier]] for the "ask the AI an open-ended philosophical question" version of the trope.}}

* [[Loners Are Freaks]]: Subverted since in the Village, the fact that Number 6 is a stubborn loner is his greatest strength. Doubly subverted in the episode "Checkmate".

** Many of the Village minders don't actually give a flying fuck about the answer -- what's important is that Number 6 surrenders by telling them.

*** This is supported in the very first episode where the first No. 2 encountered states outright that they know why he resigned, and proceeds to characterize the interrogation of No. 6 as "a double check".

** Others, like the Number 2 in "A, B and C", set off the plot of the episode in question because they think they'll learn the true reason Number 6 resigned. They never do.

* [[Mind Probe]]: There are ''several'' different machines that can at least partially tap into Number Six's mind and tell what he's thinking (or force him to think what they want him to think), but they can't seem to dig out the one specific response they need of him.

* [[Mind Rape]]: Lots of episodes, probably most notably "The Schizoid Man," in which Number Six is brainwashed into believing that he is merely someone impersonating Number Six, and "Once Upon a Time," in which he is brainwashed into mentally regressing to childhood.

* [[Mind Screwdriver]] - The ''Shattered Visage'' comic. As stated before, however, it's canonicity is uncertain.

* [[The Mole]]: A lot of the [[Failure Is the Only Option|drama]] that arises is because either No. 6 believes someone to be this trope, or someone else believes No. 6 to be this.