The Prisoner: The Official Companion [Paperback]

Robert Fairclough (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

It's 35 years since Patrick McGoohan's thriller series The Prisoner, a strange blend of espionage, psychodrama and fantasy, first entranced the British public. Every week, viewers watched as the eponymous prisoner, Number 6, imprisonedin a hi-tech Shangri-La-style village, was subjected to bizarre interrogation techniques and sinister scientific experiments. In turn, the Prisoner would try to escape his captors and, although always frustrated in his bids for freedom, he would sometimes be the moral victor by turning the tables on his anonymous persecutors.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-A "commercial failure" when it debuted 35 years ago, The Prisoner was an immediate cult hit and its 17 episodes still have the power to stun new viewers. The hero is an intelligence operative who, attempting to resign, finds himself in the clutches of an unnamed and futuristic organization. It holds him prisoner in a bizarrely cheerful European setting known only as "The Village"; he grimly fights to escape while attempts are made to brainwash him. This richly illustrated book is a gold mine of insight and information on technical details of production, literary aspects of scripts, myriad in-jokes and hidden references, filmed and unfilmed episodes, the life and career of series creator and star Patrick McGoohan, the 1960s cultural context in which this groundbreaking series was created, and more. An accompanying DVD contains the first episode, "The Arrival," which provides an excellent introduction to newbies, while those who know the TV series will appreciate the excellent visual qualities and soundtrack.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library,
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: I Books; Pap/DVD edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743452569
• ISBN-13: 978-0743452564
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,180,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive look at cult series, January 3, 2003

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Prisoner: The Official Companion (Paperback)

Every artist starts out with a cult following, Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner turned out to be no exception. While the series hasn't blossomed into mass market appeal, it has clearly reached an appreciative audience. The Prisoner exhibited all the best traits of great theater or film: the writing and direction was top notch; the material has transcended its era capturing the imagination of sucessive generations.

Fairclough's book is THE book to pick up on the series. Unlike The Prisoner Companion (different book and author(s)), The Offical Companion documents each episode with authority. It also has the plots for a number of scripts that co-creator George Markstein solicited but were rejected by McGoohan. One can see why McGoohan rejected them; his vision of the series ultimately turned out to be quite different from Markstein's.

The series plays like a variation on many of Kafka's themes. In this age of post X-Files paranoia, it's hard to appreciate just how groundbreaking The Prisoner was. Unlike a series like The X-Files, The Prisoner has stood the test of time because it's view of conspiracy is less a us vs. them approach and much more of the individual vs. the rest of society.

The book also gives compelling and interesting background on McGoohan. It raises his deep religious conviction as an important part to understanding the series. Born in the US but raised in Ireland, McGoohan, like No. 6, had his feet in two different worlds but didn't belong to either of them. The sense of alienation exhibited by the character and moral strength make No. 6 an anti-antihero.

The book is generously illustrated and is in a large format. Additionally, if you haven't purchased the series on DVD yet wait on picking up Arrival/The Chimes of Big Ben as the version included is identical to A&E's box set from two years ago. Be seeing you.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Prisoner Companion, October 23, 2002

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D. Smolinsky "smo66" (A Blue State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Prisoner: The Official Companion (Paperback)

Some good "behind the scenes" stories and photos.
Has quite a few spelling errors and a couple of sentences that just end in mid thought. Map has errors with missing location numbers and some mismatched descriptions of the location numbers.
The included DVD is a disappointment. It contains 2 episodes: "Arrival" and the alternate "Chimes of Big Ben". Any Prisoner fan that would be buying this book already has these. Something new would have been nice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a well-written,comprehensive guide to "The Prisoner", July 17, 2007

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bOoKwOrM (usa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Prisoner: The Official Companion (Paperback)

One of the more recently published guides on the show. The book includes a bonus DVD, containing two episodes of the show("The Arrival" and the alternate version of "The Chimes of Big Ben"),both of which are readily available on the DVD boxset collection. Definitely recommended for fans of The Prisoner. :)