Customer Reviews

The Prisoner - Set 4: A Change of Mind/Hammer Into Anvil/Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling/Living in Harmony

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Patrick McGoohan's `The Prisoner' TV series is perhaps one of the most intelligent and interesting programs ever created. The basic premise is that a British secret agent resigns for some reason. After turning in his notice, he is kidnapped and moved to a secret location called `The Village'. The series follows the efforts of his mysterious kidnappers to find out the reason why he quit and shows his repeated escape attempts.

The series is filled with nuances that need multiple viewings to enjoy all of them. The DVD transfer is first rate with the picture quality excellent. The "technicolor" sets are shown in their vivid color. Highly recommended.

This set continues to develop the series further and should only be viewed after seeing the first three.

It has always been hard for me to choose my favorite episodes of "The Prisoner". This is partly because we have relatively few episodes to choose from due to the series' short run, and partly because so many of the episodes we do have are so darned GOOD! This particular set contains some of the shows that stand a bit apart for me, and are a delight to get reaccquianted with.

"Do Not Forsake Me Oh, My Darling" is certainly one of the stranger segments in the series, putting our favorite Village resident's mind in another man's body! Everything is quite satisfactory, except for the ending (a bit too "pat", I think). It was interesting to note three things in this episode, however; the address in Scotland on the envelope sent to the scientist, the number on the door to the Prisoner's London flat, and the fact that we learn more about Number 6's past while Patrick McGoohan is hardly even featured!

"Living in Harmony" is certainly the most different, if not bizzare episode of "The Prisoner", outside of the final installment. The episode puts Number 6 in a completely fabricated environment. It was so different, it's no wonder the show did not air in the US, given that (other than the star's presence), we have no clue until the very end that this is actually an installment of "The Prisoner"!

The remaining two episodes in the set are more standard fare, but are quite possibly the best in the series. "Change of Mind" introduces several more samples of unique Village terminology; "unmutual", and "disharmonious". Number 6's unmutualism leads to yet another attempt to be broken by the new Number 2. It was very interesting to see the independent Number 6 react to being shunned by his fellow Villagers. It begs the question, has Number 6 grown a bit accustomed to living the Village, perhaps even started to fit in?

"Hammer Into Anvil" is just stellar. Number 6 takes control of his situation like never before. While Number 6 has often used the Village's own schemes against it, this time he is completely turning the tables on his captors. He destroys the sanity of a particularly ruthless Number 2 in the process, taking revenge for one of Number 2's victims.

This is an excellent set overall, although I naturally recommend buying and watching the sets in their proper order.

A & E has done a good job packaging the series for DVD. The transfers are really good (for the most part), and while the extras on these sets mysteriously do not include an interview with Mr. McGoohan, there is an extensive interview with production manager Bernie Williams included with Set Three.

What can be said about this wonderful series that has not been said already? Probably what is listed on the cover of the A & E sets sums it up best:

"Television's First Masterpiece".

I've always had a thing for 60s British TV shows. Of course, if you're reading this review, you probably do too, so you understand what I'm saying! Unfortunately, that love for those quirky shows has been exploited in the past with disappointing productions (see: "the Avengers" movie; what a tragedy).

Like the broken-hearted lover, I am now leery of committment; hesitant to let myself get excited about any new addition to the ranks of remakes/reissues of my favorite old shows. However, I let myself purchase this set. I was just too much of a fan of the old "Prisoner" show to let it slide by.

Honestly, I was expecting a mediocre quality disk with no interesting bonus materials, but I was amazed by the quality and amount of stuff on these disks! The quality of the shows is better than they ever looked on TV reruns, and the bonus materials are engaging and creative.

If you are a fan of "The Prisoner," you will not be disappointed by these DVDs; this is the one that restores your faith in the old classics!

"The Prisoner" remains to this day to be one of televisions most original series. Through it's short run, in England and then on CBS in the USA, this series captivated with it's mind-bending array of unanswered questions. And, the eerie feeling that this kind of thing could happen to you. If a well trained Secret Agent Man can't escape, what hope would you have?

Patrick McGoohan, who also co-created the series, stars as Number 6 a former government agent who won't reveal to anyone why he abruptly quit his position with the agency. Number 2 will stop at nothing to get his answers. Number 6 will stop at nothing to beat the bubble. (You'll have to see it.)

I strongly suggest you get the first edition so that you can see it from the beginning. Otherwise a lot of this won't make sense.

The prisoner series is one of the most innovative spy series ever. This is the best mind twisting convoluded roller coaster rides that a retired British Secret Agent has ever been on.
Hats off to Patrick McGoohan as #6, The whole The Prisonor series is his best work. If you like James Bond 007 and Man From Uncle you'll love this.

This is the coolest, most intelligent TV show ever. Sorta George Orwell meets A Clockwork Orange meets James Bond. As a kid, the scariest part for me was when this giant Beach Ball shows up and squashes people trying to leave the island.. OK sounds silly but it's really pretty terrifying. Basically, the premise is, this British secret service agent decides to resign from the service. Those in power think he knows something.... he is kidnapped and imprisoned on an island in a pseudo "perfect" little community where everyone has a number (our protagonist is number 6) He's watched all the time, and interrogated in each episode as to what he "knows." He regularly tries to escape, as those in control play mind games and use psychological control mechanisms in an attempt to "break" him...
Get the first episode of the series, and go all the way through. You won't be disappointed. Though very entertaining, this series has a serious message about how a totalitarian society fears independence of thought and personality. In fact, it has much to say to 21st century viewers.

My fiancé and I are slowly working our way through all five sets of Prisoner episodes; overall the show is amazing, but I didn't enjoy this collection quite as much as the first three. The first episode, "A Change of Mind," is somewhat difficult to follow, and the ending was dissatisfying (although, to be fair, it was certainly consistent with the style of the show!). "Hammer Into Anvil" is probably the best episode in this group, as it shows McGoohan's Number 6 battling and defeating the current Number 2, who comes to a bad end (of course!). "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" was the biggest disappointment, as McGoohan hardly appears in the episode, as Number 6's brain is transported into someone else. Thus, we watch a new actor take over the role of Number 6, and the effect is just not the same as McGoohan's riveting performances. Finally, the bonus episode, "Living in Harmony" is a real divergence from the usual format of the series, as it is done as a Western. The episode opens with no credits and no explanation for the old West setting; not until the end is the truth revealed. To me, this was an unneccessary gimmick that did not fit with the rest of the series, and I found myself missting The Village. If you are a Prisoner fan, there are defintely some good moments in these shows, but I much prefer the episodes on the first three boxed sets.

This classic miniseries concerns ex-secret agent "No. 6" (Patrick McGoohan), held captive in a strange prison camp called The Village. The head man is No. 2, who reports to an unidentified No. 1. What starts as an offbeat spy thriller ends as a surrealistic allegory.

In "Change of Mind," it looks like No. 6 might suffer permanent physical damage. "Mind" reminds me of the earlier "Free for All," partly because both episodes include formal confrontations in the Council Chamber*, but mostly because in both episodes, No. 6's enemy is the entire Village population, not just the authorities. (The two bullies still seem a bit out of place, because they appear not to subscribe to Village group mentality.) Another unsettling detail is the Village authorities literally playing God, with Villagers confessing their sins in a parody of a religious ceremony. One potentially offensive detail is the element of misogyny, present in several episodes, but strongest here, since the woman administering No. 6's "treatment" is portrayed as first evil, then foolish.

"Hammer Into Anvil, " reverses the main conflict, as No. 6 goes after No. 2. But No. 6's tactics aren't ultimately as effective as No. 2's paranoia. The idea of being oppressed by some part of your own personality is one that will figure prominently into THE PRISONER's final resolution. But I have two complaints about "Hammer." First, I feel the idea doesn't support a full hour-long story. I find myself saying, about halfway through, "Okay, I GET it." This problem is particularly annoying when contrasted with the extreme complexity of other episodes. Second, although No. 6 is avenging a friend's death, I lose sympathy for him when he actively seeks to hurt someone.

"Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling" resulted from a schedule change that required an episode to be filmed while McGoohan was away working on ICE STATION ZEBRA. The story puts No 6's mind in another man's body in hopes that he'll track down one Dr. Seltzman, the only person who can reverse the process. Of course, No. 6 is also being tracked, so that Seltzman can be captured and pressed into sharing his technology. As in several other episodes, it looks like No. 6's own people may be involved with The Village. The idea isn't terrible original, but it's done with enough style and class that it's still way above most commercial television.

Note the altered beginning, which includes a teaser in London and omits the dialog between No. 6 and No. 2. I'm guessing this is to emphasize the involvement of those outside The Village, and foreshadow No. 6's memories of The Village being wiped.

Unfortunately, there are various logical problems and inconsistencies with the rest of the series. There has been NO SUGGESTION thus far of No. 6 having a fiancée, and some of Janet's lines suggest No 6's apartment has been empty since he was abducted. What about Mrs. Butterworth from "Many Happy Returns"?

More importantly, although No. 6's memory of The Village has been wiped, he's still a trained secret agent and old friend of Seltzman -- and thus should know what in general is going on and be hesitant to locate Seltzman, however much he wants his own body back. And if No. 6's memory of the Village has been wiped, why doesn't he ask where he is at the end? It's been suggested that No. 6 should have located his body first, because Seltzman couldn't help him without it. However, he might have figured it would be easier to bring Seltzman along on the search for his body, rather than vice versa.

I also have a technical quibble, which I've had with other mind-switching stories as well. If you put Oscar's mind into Wold's body, the displaced Oscar -- assuming he doesn't WANT to step into Weldors shoes -- would speak with the TIMBRE of Weldors voice, while retaining all other vocal vocal characteristics of Oscar. If Oscar had an English accent, he would speak with one from inside Walled, even if Walled were American. If Oscar was a loudmouth, he would be one from inside Walled, even if Walled were soft-spoken. But the displaced No. 6 speaks with all the mannerisms of his new body's original owner. The problem manifest itself even more strongly in the twist ending.

"Living in Harmony" makes an interesting follow-up to "Forsake" for two reasons. First, if No. 6's memory of The Village was wiped, that would set him up for happens here. Second, both episodes alter the show's opening. "Harmony" features a radical alteration, omitting the regular opening sequence and series title -- although what we see instead is a reworking of the regular opening. I'm among those who suspect CBS refused to air this episode because viewers might think it wasn't THE PRISONER. The more popular theory is that "Harmony" looked too much like an allegory of the Vietnam war. (BTW, O.S. residents may be seeing the "Harmony" trailer for the first time on this DVD.)

I'm guessing the intention is to (a) show No. 6 completely submerged in the illusion of the Western town, Harmony, and (b) produce a similar effect in the viewer. You KNOW this is a PRISONER episode, but you're persuaded to forget you know, which keeps you from anticipating the ending too strongly. The episode includes a second twist at the end to offset the fact that the first twist isn't going to be a true surprise. That second twist also makes "Harmony" into a story that can be appreciated on its own, without an understanding of THE PRISONER as a whole.

But "Harmony" is also tied to the final episode by the presence of actor Alexis Kana in both. The official work is that there is no relationship between the two characters, but I like think that The Kid was somehow reincarnated.

*The Council Chamber appears in "The General," but the proceedings are much less formal.

This Prisoner set is action-packed and prepares the audience for the finale set. And, yes, it can be enjoyed on it's own without the other sets.

Though these episodes are terrific, they originally weren't intended for filming and so, in some way, that makes them technically "filler"- an episode spent in another person's body, an episode in the wild west, etc. They don't connect with the central plot insomuch as the Prisoner spends the first two episodes going after No. 2 and the community at large.

In A Change Of Mind, No. 6 pays the price for the constant disdain with which he treats his fellow villagers and the way they live. He has to deal with a public shunning, which you'd think would suit No. 6 just fine, right?

Hammer Into Anvil is a personal favorite of mine as No. 6 challenges a particularly angry No. 2 through phychological manipulation.

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling has a different actor playing No. 6 (there's a reason). And this fellow does a rather good job of capturing McGoohan's performance in a different body.

Living In Harmony is a curio episode. It's really fun to see the world of The Prisoner transplanted to the wild west. It shows the malleable nature of stories in general and proves a point about the underlying meanings of the series. My father loves those old western t.v. shows, and The Prisoner, so this episode is always a particular treat for him.

All four episodes are great, as long as you don't object to their lack of relation to the main plot. That actually makes this set ideally able to stand on its own. You get two intense conflicts between No. 6 and his captors, as well as a western oddity and a great episode without much McGoohan or village in it for a change of pace. After this, No. 6 is ready for things to come to a head- Be Seeing You!

Back in 1967, an allegorical television show emerged that has yet to be topped by any other English television series. The show: The Prisoner. Starring Patrick McGoohan, he plays the role of No. 6, a former secret service agent who resigned for unknown reasons and then finds himself knocked unconscious and trapped in a seemingly peaceful place called "the Village." Each episode features a new No. 2 (with a few exceptions), who watches his every move and strives to find out why he resigned. The only superior is the unseen No. 1, the supposed ruler of the Village. The only other characters that reoccur are The Supervisor (also called Controller), played by Peter Stanwick, and The Butler, played by Angelo Muscat.

In "A Change of Mind," Number Six is labeled "disharmonious" and "unmutual" and is therefore shunned by the other villagers. They perform yet another mind game on him to make him "harmonious" and accepted, hoping for him to fit in and reveal why he resigned. Of course, he knows better by now and has a trick up his sleeve...

In "Hammer Into Anvil" (one of my top favorites from the series), the new Number Two is an extremely paranoid official. Number Six starts to play his own mind game in which he utterly convinces the new Number Two that he is spying on him and ready to cause a rebellion. The message here is clear: when you have power, you don't have much trust for anyone.

In "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling," Number Six is switched with a special agent. He finds himself outside the Village and in search of a famous scientist known for the creation of switching minds, but is he still free?

In "Living in Harmony," Number Six finds himself in a Western-style Village... he originally a sheriff who resigns for unknown reasons. An interesting and actually downright creepy episode that is one of the most illogically pleasing episodes of the series. "The Kid" is silent throughout the episode (well, sort of, just watch it...) and his actions are louder than his words. Originally, this episode wasn't aired in America for two years, possibly because of its close connection to the Vietnam War.

By now, The Prisoner has prevailed. He has grown resiliant to the Village, which makes each Number Two even more desperate than before.

Overall, a fantastic series. While I give the series a high rating, I do recommend the megaset as opposed to the individual volumes.