The 50th Anniversary Screening of The Prisoner

    And so my 50^th anniversary screening of ‘the Prisoner’ comes to an end tonight with ‘Fall Out’ and it couldn’t be happening on a more appropriate date, February 10^th, this being the only date used in The Village. But for Number 6 his immediate future appears to be as his recent past, in his end is his beginning. Certainly for Number 6 he was shown his future in that crystal ball, which he let slip from his fingers and smash into a thousand splinters on the floor. Such is his refusal to accept that future.
   I have thoroughly enjoyed this screening. However back in 1968 for those living in ITV’s network Scottish region it was Feb 1^st, ATV Midlands and Grampian it was Feb 2^nd. While on Feb 4^th it was ATV London – Southern Television – Tyne Tees – Westward, and Channel. In the Border region ‘Fall Out’ was on the 9^th of February. For myself living in the Anglia region, it was Feb 10^th 1968 exact to the day today, and by chance a significant date in ‘the Prisoner.’ And yet those watching in the Granada region they had to wait until March the 1^st to watch ‘Fall Out.’ So many people having watched ‘the Prisoner’ knew how the series concluded a month before others. It makes me wonder exactly when, and by whom, those ATV telephone lines were jammed by angry callers about ‘Fall Out?’ Depending on when it was, it means that the majority of viewers didn’t complain. Otherwise complaints would have lasted a whole month! For myself at the time, I thought ‘Fall Out’ would answer, if not all the questions I had, then at least some of them. But no, it was more confusing than ever. And there was no watching the episode, nay the whole series again on catch-up, I-player etc. Nor did I have a way of recording it, so there it was, ‘Fall Out’ and indeed ‘the Prisoner’ was gone, and with no way of knowing when, or if ever, I would be able to watch it again. All I was left with was what I could remember of ‘Fall Out.’ At the time the episode was over all too quickly, too quickly for me to take it all in really. In later years of course ‘Fall Out’ became easy to understand, seeing as it has all the attributes of a finale to a James Bond film, looking at it as action and adventure. The word Prisoner seen on the screen has been misinterpreted as the man still being a prisoner, when it was a credit to Patrick McGoohan, he didn’t want his name credited for some reason. But the two film editors felt he should be credited so they inserted the word “Prisoner.” But there was a mistake, the fact that the clash of thunder and sound of a jet plane has been inserted into the episode too soon, when the late Number 2 is on his way back to the Houses of Parliament in fact. Then of course there’s the last few moments of ‘Fall Out,’ the long deserted runway, a green yellow nosed Lotus 7 looming out of the distance, and the man’s face set in an expression of determination suggests ‘the Prisoner’ is about to begin………. Just a minute, I’ve just had a thought about another way to watch ‘the Prisoner’ but I’ve some calculations to make regarding the screening order first before next October!

Be seeing you