The Prisoner
I am not a Number! I am a free man...
Who remembers Patrick McGoohan in "The Prisoner"? What an amazing TV show - my Dad and I used to watch it together - we were mesmerized by every episode!
- The Prisoner: “Where am I?”
- Number Two: “In the Village.”
- The Prisoner: “What do you want?”
- Number Two: “Information.”
- The Prisoner: “Whose side are you on?”
- Number Two: “That would be telling. We want information. Information! Information!!!”
- The Prisoner: “You won’t get it!”
- Number Two : “By hook or by crook, we will!”
- The Prisoner: “Who are you?”
- Number Two: “The new number two.”
- The Prisoner: “Who is number one?”
- Number Two: “You are number six.”
- The Prisoner: “I am not a Number! I am a free man!
About the Music
My original tune bearing the same title is a far cry from the music of the 60s TV series but it does use spoken snippets from the famous opening sequence. There's a synth solo in the middle and the Ron Grainer theme (that was heavy on trombones!) is rearranged for strings at the coda.
That thunder-like noise at the end is the sound of Rover - the ominous white balloon always lurking out of sight but suddenly appearing to prevent escape from the Village...
Instrumentation:
- Casio PX-3000 - Drums, Percussion, Wah-Wah Guitar, Strings
- Roland D-50 - Synth Brass
- Roland TX-880 - Funk Bass, Synth Lead Solo
© Richard Coffey - All Rights Reserved
Further Info
The title character, the otherwise-unnamed "Number Six", spends the entire series (1) trying to escape from a mysterious prison community called "The Village", and (2) attempting to learn the identity of his nemesis, Number One. The Village's administrators try just as hard to force or trick him into revealing why he resigned as a spy, which he refuses to divulge. The filming location was the bizarre village of Portmeirion in North Wales.
The bad guys of the show, Number One (who is never seen) and Number Two (who changes actors every episode) are constantly interrogating Number Six to find out why he retired. They use advance techniques to try and break him including hallucinogenic drugs, mind control, dream manipulation, social pressure from the other residents and unrelenting badgering. The individual episodes revolve around McGoohan resisting the interrogations, trying to escape and helping other detainees in The Village.
Opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner
The opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner have become iconic and cited as "one of the great set-ups of genre drama" by establishing the Orwellian and postmodern themes of the series.The high production values of the opening sequence have been described as more like a feature film than a television program.