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The Prisoner

TV·1967–1968·1 season, 17 episodes·ITV1·Drama, Science-Fiction, Mystery·50m·8.0·Created by Patrick McGoohan, George Markstein

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A British secret agent retires from his position... and is whisked away to a mysterious Village where people who know too much but can't be killed are kept for the security of the State. Which State? No one knows. The unnamed agent, dubbed "Number Six" since everyone in the Village, is only known by a number, defies the Village authorities and alternates between trying to escape and undermining his captors.

Highest-rated episodes all ranked

  1. 01The Prisoner S01E03A. B. and C.S01E03 · 8.3The new Number Two uses a new wonder drug to tap into Number Six's subconscious to try to discover why he resigned. Over a period of three nights he encounters A, B and C in separate circumstances. Unknown to Number Two, Number Six has realised what has happened and gets his dreams to prove that he was not selling out.
  2. 02The Prisoner S01E01ArrivalS01E01 · 8.2A British secret agent resigns from his job and prepares to go on holiday. However, when he wakes up, he finds himself in the Village: a mysterious place on the coast where retired agents are sent to spend the rest of their lives... whether they want to or not.
  3. 03The Prisoner S01E02The Chimes of Big BenS01E02 · 7.8Number Six has a new next door neighbour, Nadia. She befriends Number Six and tells him that The Village is situated on the Baltic. To cover their plans of escape Number Six enters The Village arts and crafts exhibition competition. His entry entitled "Escape" is the inspiration for their plan to get back to London.

Cast

Episodes by season

Season01Episode ratings across the season — the gold bar is its best episode17Episodes1967–68Aired 7.4Season avg
  1. S01E01The Prisoner S01E01ArrivalOctober 1, 1967 8.2A British secret agent resigns from his job and prepares to go on holiday. However, when he wakes up, he finds himself in the Village: a mys
  2. S01E02The Prisoner S01E02The Chimes of Big BenOctober 8, 1967 7.8Number Six has a new next door neighbour, Nadia. She befriends Number Six and tells him that The Village is situated on the Baltic. To cover
  3. S01E03The Prisoner S01E03Season's bestA. B. and C.October 15, 1967 8.3The new Number Two uses a new wonder drug to tap into Number Six's subconscious to try to discover why he resigned. Over a period of three n
  4. S01E04The Prisoner S01E04Free for AllOctober 22, 1967 5.8It's election time in The Village. A new Number Two needs to be elected and Number Six is persuaded to stand. While attending a meeting of t
  5. S01E05The Prisoner S01E05The Schizoid ManOctober 29, 1967 7.3Number Six awakes one morning in a different Village and discovers things have changed. He has a new appearance, has become left-handed and
  6. S01E06The Prisoner S01E06The GeneralNovember 5, 1967 7.0"Speedlearn" is a subliminal process for educating the population of The Village, developed by a Professor with the aid of an unseen "Genera
  7. S01E07The Prisoner S01E07Many Happy ReturnsNovember 12, 1967Number Six awakes to a deserted Village. He realises that he has the perfect opportunity to escape his captors. He builds a raft and sets sa
  8. S01E08The Prisoner S01E08Dance of the DeadNovember 26, 1967Number Six discovers a dead man washed up on The Village beach. He finds a wallet and a radio set in the dead man's jacket. He hides the bod
  9. S01E09The Prisoner S01E09CheckmateDecember 3, 1967Number Six takes the position of Queen's Pawn in a human game of chess. An illegal move by the Rook leads to his withdrawal and he is taken
  10. S01E10The Prisoner S01E10Hammer Into AnvilDecember 10, 1967When a young woman is driven to her death by Number Two, Number Six swears his revenge. Number Two tells Number Six that he is going to hamm
  11. S01E11The Prisoner S01E11It's Your FuneralDecember 17, 1967The Prisoner is tricked into discovering an assassination plot - but who is going to be killed? Number Two knows that Number Six is the only
  12. S01E12The Prisoner S01E12A Change of MindDecember 31, 1967After becoming involved in a fight with two thugs, Number Six is declared "unmutual" by The Village committee and recommend he undergoes "in
  13. S01E13The Prisoner S01E13Do Not Forsake Me Oh My DarlingJanuary 7, 1968Number Six is not himself. The Prisoner's mind is transformed in another man's body by The Village authorities in an attempt to track down a
  14. S01E14The Prisoner S01E14Living in HarmonyJanuary 14, 1968The Prisoner finds himself a stranger in a Western town called "Harmony". He reluctantly takes on the job of the Sheriff in order to release
  15. S01E15The Prisoner S01E15The Girl Who Was DeathJanuary 21, 1968The Prisoner is back in his old job as he tries to track down the murderer of Colonel Hawke-Englishe, who was looking for a crazy scientist
  16. S01E16The Prisoner S01E16Once Upon a TimeJanuary 28, 1968After all previous attempts to break Number Six have failed, Number Two decides the only way to obtain the information wanted is by using a
  17. S01E17The Prisoner S01E17Fall OutFebruary 4, 1968The Prisoner is presented to the President of the Assembly. He watches the trials of Number Forty Eight and the resuscitated Number Two. It

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

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