The Prisoner Is Dead. The Amazing Patrick McGoohan Passes Away

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We have just received this message from our friend Ziggy, in the UK:

(Thank you, Ziggy)

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Last summer somebody asked me what inspired me to be as libertarian as I am, & though I’ve given John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty a great deal of credit, what really ignited the individualist warrior in me was The Prisoner.

In its opening credits you hear the immortal phrase ‘I’M NOT A NUMBER I’M A FREE MAN!’ yelled & indeed it’s a mission statement as to the show’s agenda. The Prisoner is probably the most libertarian TV series ever & it’s my all time favourite series. Though on the surface this might seem a silly spy thriller heavily influenced by the 60’s counterculture, that’s merely a front, for this was a show more than any other about an individual’s struggle against coercive authority. It was a show that dealt with such issues as war, democracy, free choice, government-run education, government-run roads, rendition, and authoritarianism, & makes the point that we are our own prisoners & our own worse enemies.

When originally broadcasted in 1967 it was considered a landmark series & when I first watched it 25 years later the show still had relevance & resonance to the issues of the individual’s relationship with government. When I last watched the DVD box set a couple years back it still was a show that, if aired for the first time today, would be considered iconoclastic, and one that succeeds in pushing the envelope beyond anything ever made. Like not other, it had a lot to say about contemporary society.

Sadly, today I’ve a reason this weekend to sit down & watch The Prisoner on DVD again, for today the man who gave us The Prisoner died. Patrick McGoohan is remembered for his portrayal of Number Six in The Prisoner, which is considered as one of the all time great TV characters -- but what people might not know was the whole concept of The Prisoner was McGoohan’s idea.

I shed a tear for Patrick McGoohan’s death. ITV have announced there is to be a remake & I doubt it will have the power of the original series.

You can get a copy of the original series & I suggest everybody watch it if they haven’t.

Be Seeing You

Ziggy