"Director: Patrick McGoohan Don Chaffey Pat Jackson"

• The Prisoner | DVD | (25/09/2017) from £39.92   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Part action series, part psychedelic fantasy, part allegory, Patrick McGoohan's masterpiece, The Prisoner, was initially touted as a sequel to his earlier spy series, Danger Man. But when it was first broadcast in 1967 TV audiences were puzzled; when the show was cancelled 17 episodes later due to declining viewing figures, no one was any the wiser. Shot in the picturesque surroundings of Portmeirion in North Wales, whose architectural fantasies provided an ideal backdrop for the show's surrealism, The Prisoner has subsequently been recognised as one of the most innovative and thought-provoking series ever to be broadcast. Despite the primary-coloured flower-power look, the show's bold ideas haven't dated at all, proving that The Prisoner was simply years ahead of its time.McGoohan is Number 6, a man whose resignation from the secret service (seen every week in a montage title sequence--itself an impressionistic TV landmark) triggers his abduction and imprisonment in "The Village", a sort of open prison for spies where everyone has a number not a name. It's a pretty comfortable place and the other inhabitants all seem passively to accept the situation, allowing the Village authorities to control and limit their actions without protest (escape attempts are thwarted by mysterious bubble-shaped guards called "Rovers"). Number 6, however, is an indomitable freedom fighter whose refusal to accept the status quo is a metaphor for the individual ego struggling against the forces of social conformity: "I am not a number I am a free man" is the series' most resonant catchphrase. The Village's allegorical microcosm of society is presided over by Number 2, played by a different actor every week, with whom Number 6 clashes repeatedly in a battle of wills as he continually questions the authority that has imprisoned him ("Who is Number 1?"). In turn the Kafkaesque authorities try to discover the reason why he resigned. His trenchant refusal to provide any reason at all is itself a powerful assertion of individual freedom. The series culminates in perhaps the most bizarre and psychedelic TV episode ever made, "Fallout", in which Number 6's revelatory discovery of the real power that keeps him imprisoned raises more questions than it answers. --Mark Walker

• Amazon Add: The Prisoner | DVD | (13/10/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Thanks to Network's fresh and vastly improved edition 'The Prisoner' can journey happily into the future.

• The Prisoner | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £92.99   |  Saving you £-34.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £58.99

  The Prisoner is an extraordinary TV series that not only entertains but also offers you the chance to philosphise or ponder the human condition. It is highly regarded as one of the most famous the most acclaimed and most of intriguing of British cult TV adventure series. Staring Emmy award winner Patrick McGoohan as Number Six. A man removed from his position in a secret organisation and trapped in a nightmare village where his thoughts and movements are controlled by an unknown force- represented by the ever changing Number Two. A taut psycho-thriller The Prisoner was highly influential when aired on ITV in 1967 and 1968 and it remains as relevant and intriguing as ever. This box set includes the complete series with all 17 episodes as well as the 35th Anniversary companion disc (an essential addition with a whole host of informative and fun features) packed with hours of extras all packaged together for the first time in one definitive set! Episodes comprise: 1. Arrival 2. The Chimes Of Big Ben 3. A. B. And C. 4. Free For All 5. The Schizoid Man 6. The General 7. Many Happy Returns 8. Dance Of The Dead 9. Checkmate 10. Hammer Into Anvil 11. It's Your Funeral 12. A Change Of Mind 13. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling 14. Living In Harmony 15. The Girl Who Was Death 16. Once Upon A Time 17. Fall Out

• The Prisoner | DVD | (21/08/2000) from £69.99   |  Saving you £-10.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  Part action series, part psychedelic fantasy, part allegory, Patrick McGoohan's masterpiece, The Prisoner, was initially touted as a sequel to his earlier spy series, Danger Man. But when it was first broadcast in 1967 TV audiences were puzzled; when the show was cancelled 17 episodes later due to declining viewing figures, no one was any the wiser. Shot in the picturesque surroundings of Portmeirion in North Wales, whose architectural fantasies provided an ideal backdrop for the show's surrealism, The Prisoner has subsequently been recognised as one of the most innovative and thought-provoking series ever to be broadcast. Despite the primary-coloured flower-power look, the show's bold ideas haven't dated at all, proving that The Prisoner was simply years ahead of its time.McGoohan is Number 6, a man whose resignation from the secret service (seen every week in a montage title sequence--itself an impressionistic TV landmark) triggers his abduction and imprisonment in "The Village", a sort of open prison for spies where everyone has a number not a name. It's a pretty comfortable place and the other inhabitants all seem passively to accept the situation, allowing the Village authorities to control and limit their actions without protest (escape attempts are thwarted by mysterious bubble-shaped guards called "Rovers"). Number 6, however, is an indomitable freedom fighter whose refusal to accept the status quo is a metaphor for the individual ego struggling against the forces of social conformity: "I am not a number I am a free man" is the series' most resonant catchphrase. The Village's allegorical microcosm of society is presided over by Number 2, played by a different actor every week, with whom Number 6 clashes repeatedly in a battle of wills as he continually questions the authority that has imprisoned him ("Who is Number 1?"). In turn the Kafkaesque authorities try to discover the reason why he resigned. His trenchant refusal to provide any reason at all is itself a powerful assertion of individual freedom. The series culminates in perhaps the most bizarre and psychedelic TV episode ever made, "Fallout", in which Number 6's revelatory discovery of the real power that keeps him imprisoned raises more questions than it answers. --Mark Walker