The Prisoner

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 31. Chapters: Portmeirion, The Prisoner in popular culture, Danger Man, Shattered Visage, The Village, Patrick McGoohan, Opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner, The Prisoner in other media, The Computer Wore Menace Shoes, George Markstein, Rover, John Drake, List of The Prisoner cast members. Excerpt: The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama. The series follows a British former secret agent who is held prisoner in a mysterious seaside village where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job. Although sold as a thriller in the mould of McGoohan's previous series, Danger Man (called Secret Agent in its U.S. release), the show's combination of 1960s countercultural themes and surreal setting had a far-reaching effect on science fiction/fantasy programming, and on popular culture in general. A TV miniseries remake aired on the U.S. cable channel AMC 15-17 November 2009. Additionally, Christopher Nolan has been widely reported to be considering a film version. The show was created while Patrick McGoohan and George Markstein were working on Danger Man, an espionage show produced by Incorporated Television Company (also called ITC Entertainment). The exact details of who created which aspects of the show are disputed. Some sources indicate that McGoohan was the sole or primary creator of the show. McGoohan stated in a 1977 interview (broadcast as part of a Canadian documentary about The Prisoner called The Prisoner Puzzle) that during the filming of the third season of Danger Man he told Lew Grade then chairman of ITC Entertainment, that he wanted to quit working on Danger Man after the filming of the proposed fourth series. Grade was unhappy with the decision, but when McGoohan insisted upon quitting, Grade asked if McGoohan had any other possible projects; McGoohan later pitched The Prisoner. However, in a 1988 article from British Telefantasy magazine Time Screen, McGoohan indicated that he had planned to pitch The Prisoner prior to speaking to Grade. In both accounts, McGoohan pitched the idea verbally, rather than having Grade