r/ThePrisoner May 04 '25

Well Come to the r/ThePrisoner Wiki

28 Upvotes

This is our take on a gathering of information, resources, media, links to shops, affiliate sites, fan organizations and much more! This page will grow with time, so stop-by periodically and peruse the new content.

If you wish to contribute or offer suggestions, please contact the moderators via Mod Mail, or leave a comment and we will be happy to assist you.

ACCESS THE WIKI HERE
or follow the instructions below

Desktop - Old Reddit : click on the “Wiki” tab on the menu bar (found below the home page header).

Desktop - New Reddit : click on “Wiki” in the Community Bookmarks (found in the side-bar).

Android/iOS : tap “See more” (found below the community description on the home page), then tap the “Menu” tab, then “Wiki”.

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r/ThePrisoner May 01 '25

Episode Viewing Orders

14 Upvotes

**6 Of 1**

Endorsed by Six of One, The Prisoner Appreciation Society, and used for the A&E DVDs. The UK Sci Fi Channel marathon used a similar order, but with "Dance of the Dead" preceding "Free for All", and "The General" preceding "A. B. and C.".

  1. Arrival

  2. Free For All

  3. Dance Of The Dead

  4. Checkmate

  5. The Chimes of Big Ben

  6. A. B. and C.

  7. The General

  8. The Schizoid Man

  9. Many Happy Returns

  10. It's Your Funeral

  11. A Change of Mind

  12. Hammer Into Anvil

  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


**'What Really Counts'**

The original scope imagined by series creator Patrick McGoohan.

  1. Arrival

  2. Free For All

  3. Dance of the Dead

  4. Checkmate

  5. The Chimes of Big Ben

  6. Once Upon A Time

  7. Fall Out


**KTEH**

Arranged by Scott Apel for KTEH channel 54, a PBS member station in San Jose, California.

  1. Arrival

  2. Dance Of The Dead

  3. Checkmate

  4. The Chimes of Big Ben

  5. Free For All

  6. Many Happy Returns

  7. The Schizoid Man

  8. The General

  9. A. B. and C.

  10. Living in Harmony

  11. It's Your Funeral

  12. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

  13. A Change Of Mind

  14. Hammer Into Anvil

  15. The Girl Who Was Death

  16. Once Upon A Time

  17. Fall Out


**US**

Original US Broadcast order, and ongoing since the first showing on CBS in 1968. The original broadcast omitted "Living in Harmony", but the episode was reinstated in following re-airings.

  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. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

  10. It's Your Funeral

  11. Checkmate

  12. Living in Harmony

  13. A Change of Mind

  14. Hammer into Anvil

  15. The Girl Who Was Death

  16. Once Upon A Time

  17. Fall Out


**ITC**

Original UK broadcast order, and for all UK DVD and Blu-ray releases including the 2007 official 40th anniversary and 2017 official 50th anniversary Network DVD and Blu-ray releases.

  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


**ITC 'storyinf'**

The episodes as listed with synopses in a period ITC booklet titled Story Information, archived as storyinf.pdf on disc 5 of the 2009 Blu-ray set. This also gives the first episode title as "The Arrival".

  1. (The) Arrival

  2. Many Happy Returns

  3. A. B. and C.

  4. The Schizoid Man

  5. Free For All

  6. Checkmate

  7. The Chimes of Big Ben

  8. The General

  9. It's Your Funeral

  10. Hammer Into Anvil

  11. A Change Of Mind

  12. Dance of The Dead

  13. The Girl Who Was Death

  14. Living in Harmony

  15. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

  16. Once Upon A Time

  17. Fall Out


**AV Club**

After viewing in the KTEH order, the personal arrangement of Zack Handlen of the website The A.V. Club.

  1. Arrival

  2. Dance Of The Dead

  3. Free For All

  4. Checkmate

  5. The Chimes of Big Ben

  6. The Schizoid Man

  7. The General

  8. A. B. and C.

  9. It's Your Funeral

  10. Many Happy Returns

  11. A Change of Mind

  12. Hammer into Anvil

  13. Living in Harmony

  14. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

  15. The Girl Who Was Death

  16. Once Upon a Time

  17. Fall Out


**Gigacorp**

The recommended viewing order from the fansite The Prisoner U.S. Home Page.

  1. Arrival

  2. Dance of The Dead

  3. Free For All

  4. The Chimes of Big Ben

  5. Checkmate

  6. The General

  7. A. B. and C.

  8. The Schizoid Man

  9. Many Happy Returns

  10. Living in Harmony

  11. A Change Of Mind

  12. Hammer Into Anvil

  13. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

  14. It's Your Funeral

  15. The Girl Who Was Death

  16. Once Upon A Time

  17. Fall Out


**Production**

The chronological studio production order. (This is not an intended viewing order)

  1. Arrival

  2. Free For All

  3. Checkmate

  4. Dance of the Dead

  5. The Chimes of Big Ben

  6. Once Upon A Time

  7. The Schizoid Man

  8. It's Your Funeral

  9. A Change Of Mind

  10. A. B. and C.

  11. The General

  12. Hammer Into Anvil

  13. Many Happy Returns

  14. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

  15. Living in Harmony

  16. The Girl Who Was Death

  17. Fall Out


CapForShort

Here’s where I am.

In my headcanon, MHR is a dream P has during TCOBB. It can be watched before TCOBB, during TCOBB (about 14:24 on the Blu Ray), or as a special feature apart from the other 16.

Here’s how I order the other 16:

Arrival
Dance of the Dead
Checkmate
Free for All
A Change of Mind
It’s Your Funeral
Hammer Into Anvil
The Chimes of Big Ben
The Girl Who Was Death
The Schizoid Man
The General
A. B. and C.
Living in Harmony
Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling
Once Upon a Time
Fall Out

r/ThePrisoner 1d ago

Recently Discovered Site Covering The Show In Detail

32 Upvotes

Have you seen this one? Some rather in depth discussion, or 'essays' that include quite a bit of background and possible insider information.

The Prisoner: Episode by Episode

Essays on Each Individual Episode Published on the 50th Anniversary

https://theprisonerepisodebyepisode.wordpress.com/


r/ThePrisoner 1d ago

Series 1, No. 14; Living In Harmony

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46 Upvotes

In what PMG has described as a 'filler' episode (more below), we have this oddball episode where the main character appears as a sheriff in a western town in the US. He does the same act or resigning and leaving, only to be captured and brought back to a town named Harmony.

A deal is reached for him to return as Sheriff, but when he refuses to wear a gun, the deal goes south.

Eventually, we find that Harmony is an annex of the Village, the Judge is Number 2, and his friend Kathy is Number 22.

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Living_in_Harmony_(1967_episode)

Two points.

One, this episode did not air in the original series on CBS. They refused to air it due to his refusal to carry a weapon thinking it was a protest against US involvement in Southeast Asia. At the time, late 1960s, protests against Viet Nam were at a fever pitch.

Second, this episode was apparently never intended to exist at all, along with 9 others. The story in this linked Fandom indicates PMG only intended for seven total episodes. Producers wanted a full 26 to go along with a typical US season. They settled on 17 which required 10 'filler' episodes.

Ture? Chime in below.


r/ThePrisoner 8d ago

Library Music from The Prisoner, Robert Farnon- Industrial Vortex 1956

44 Upvotes

I spend a lot of time exploring and listening to old library records. At first, I was just intrigued by the title of this track, so I looked into the music and discovered it was used in The Prisoner, Episode 1 – “Arrival.”

It’s an old 78rpm 10" record on Chappell Recorded Music, catalog number C.529. I thought the full-length version, taken directly from the 1956 vinyl release, might be of interest to this community, so I’ve shared a link below.

https://youtu.be/uhjOCpZ16W8

The recording is now catalogued on Discogs, along with a few other 10-inch 78rpm library records that featured music used in the series that i came across.


r/ThePrisoner 8d ago

Series 1, No. 13; Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

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50 Upvotes

Produced after Many Happy Returns and before Living in Harmony, while Patrick McGoohan was in America filming Ice Station Zebra, a workaround to McGoohan's absence was accomplished by the writers who contrived to have Number Six's mind implanted in the body of another man (Nigel Stock), who is then sent out of the Village to help capture a scientist


A man referred to only as "Colonel" arrives at the Village and only then learns from a new Number 2 that his mission is to trade bodies with Number Six, using Seltzman's system. Number Six had been the last agent to have contact with Seltzman. After the swap, Number Six (now in the Colonel's body, and retaining only his pre-Village memories) awakens in his old London apartment and soon sees an unfamiliar face in his mirror. His fiancée arrives and, of course, fails to recognise him. He prudently restrains himself from enlightening her. Despite the shock, he realises what has been done to him, maintains his cool, and sets about to regain his own body.

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Do_Not_Forsake_Me_Oh_My_Darling_(1967_episode)


With episodes being shot and aired out of sequence and fill ins used, I can see why there is a debate over episode order.


r/ThePrisoner 9d ago

'In My Mind' (2017) is streaming on Tubi.

41 Upvotes

A 50th anniversary celebration of the classic British mystery series The Prisoner and an award-winning director’s 1983 mission to interview its star.


r/ThePrisoner 9d ago

The Prisoner Trivia Challenge (ITC / D.K.Sansom 1994) - Update: Preserved!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

36 Upvotes

r/ThePrisoner 11d ago

The Prisoner Trivia Challenge for IBM PC, (c) D.K. Sansom. I do not recall how I got my hands on this one, probably in the 90s.

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81 Upvotes

Does anyone remember playing this on PC, or how it was made ? I could not get a good reference online, I guess I would need a floppy drive to preserve the game...


r/ThePrisoner 15d ago

Series 1, No. 12; A Change of Mind

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46 Upvotes

No.6 is declared 'Unmutual' for choosing to do things his own way and scheduled for a Social Conversion process.

What is No. 86's true intention? How does she become part of No.6's latest plan to discredit No. 2?

How does 'self criticism' play into the show and the real world.?

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/A_Change_of_Mind_(1967_episode)


r/ThePrisoner 20d ago

Does anything hold a candle to The Prisoner?

108 Upvotes

As someone who was born in the 90s, I was lucky enough to have a mother that introduced me to The Prisoner. Having seen a fair share of TV series and movies since, I'm left feeling that there's nothing that truly matches the creativity or vision of Patrick McGoohan's creation.

The closest I can think of is Twin Peaks - at least insofar as it follows a single visionary (Cooper) solving and rebelling against the world around him. Admittedly that's still a very limited comparison.

Is there anything out there that compares to The Prisoner as a piece of media that speaks to the issues of society, control, and selfhood in the same way The Prisoner does? Curious to hear what everyone's recommendations would be.


r/ThePrisoner 22d ago

Series 1, No. 11; It's Your Funeral

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82 Upvotes

Which No. 2 will prevail in an assassination plot?

Who are the Jammers? Is No. 6 considered to be one? Will his cautions be heeded?

No. 2 seems to be worried about a pension and if he'll be able to collect.

(Did someone on the production crew forget to remove the Welsh flag before filming?)

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_Your_Funeral_(1967_episode)


r/ThePrisoner 28d ago

Morning in The Village

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190 Upvotes

Morning in The Village. July. Leica M6, 35/2 Summicron, Kodak Ektachrome.


r/ThePrisoner 29d ago

[RESOURCE] The Prisoner: the complete screenplays for the cult sixties TV show

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48 Upvotes

r/ThePrisoner 29d ago

Series 1, No. 10; Hammer into Anvil

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83 Upvotes

After a frightened No. 73 leaps to her death as a result of No. 2's interrogation, No. 6 vows results.

A game of minds ensures. Who is leading who to where. Which is the hammer and which the anvil? Bits of nothing are left lying about, or are they something?

A clock or ?

Once No 2 is convinced things are not as they appear, what will be left for him to do?

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Hammer_into_Anvil_(1967_episode)


r/ThePrisoner 29d ago

Commentary by a University Professor

24 Upvotes

While in college several decades ago my friends and I watched ‘The Prisoner’ on PBS. Each episode was followed by a half-hour commentary by a college professor (university of Toronto, perhaps?). Does anyone else remember this? Are those segments still available for viewing?


r/ThePrisoner Jul 30 '26

Unwelcome news to Severance fans

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1 Upvotes

r/ThePrisoner Jul 27 '26

Alex Cox on THE PRISONER: The Genius of Patrick McGoohan

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134 Upvotes

Alex Cox, author of I Am (Not) a Number: Decoding The Prisoner discusses the show. This is the first of new YouTube-exclusive series of five introductions to The Prisoner on Criterion's YT Channel.


r/ThePrisoner Jul 27 '26

Series 1, No. 9; Checkmate

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65 Upvotes

As No. 6 is enticed to be a pawn in a game of chess, questions develop as to who is a prisoner, who is a guardian and who can tell which is which.

"Checkmate" received the highest viewership of any of the series' episodes on its first UK broadcast.

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Checkmate_(1967_episode)


r/ThePrisoner Jul 27 '26

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

41 Upvotes

Doing a rewatch on Criterion, it's great to be back in the village!

One really does forget how great a job McGoohan does until you get to Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.


r/ThePrisoner Jul 26 '26

Philip K Dick

34 Upvotes

Does anyone know if PKD watched the Prisoner or commented on it?

I know he wrote an episode proposal based on Mission Impossible, but the Prisoner with its themes of betrayal, subjective reality, and how imprisonment would seem exactly the type of show he’d respond to.


r/ThePrisoner Jul 23 '26

Can't unsee

25 Upvotes

Watching "The Girl Who Was Death" last night and thought..."Where have I seen those whiskers before???"

Given the numerous "Prisoner" references in "The Simpsons" and Conan O'Brien's "Old Time Baseball Sketch" there's no way this is a coincidence


r/ThePrisoner Jul 20 '26

Series 1, No. 8; Dance of the Dead

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75 Upvotes

A failed experiment with hypnosis, a black cat and a dead body play to be set adrift roles here. Added in are a Carnival, costumes, a court jester and kangaroo court, a teletype that thought to have been damaged comes to life again.

"Number Two wryly observes, "Then how very uncomfortable for you, old chap!""

https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Dance_of_the_Dead_(1967_episode)


r/ThePrisoner Jul 17 '26

Butchered Prisoner reference found in 4 year old Matt Rose video.

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74 Upvotes

The moment I saw it I knew it was a prisoner reference, but the way he read it.

Also they have it flipped anyway, it should be I am not a number on the top.

This was in his video "Misspelled protest signs". (The name says it all)


r/ThePrisoner Jul 16 '26

Re-re-rewatching my favorite episode.

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123 Upvotes

Fully half of it with no dialogue.