Fall Out

And so after 17 episodes I got to the end of Patrick McGoohan's idiosyncratic, often brilliant series "The Prisoner". A contemporary Kafka-esque take on individuality, identity, free-will and the intrusion of privacy spiced up with sci-fi and secret agent tropes, it must have seemed way out there back in 1967 and if truth be told, comes across as not much less baffling today.

Unsurprisingly, reading up on the show's chequered production history, there are occasional lapses in continuity and consistency with one or two episodes bypassing me completely, but at its best, with brilliant episodes like "Arrival", "A B + C", "Living In Harmony", "The Chimes Of Big Ben", "Many Happy Returns", "Hammer Into Anvil" "The Schizoid Man" and "Once Upon A Time" to name but eight, this was an intriguing, challenging series which has deservedly become even more revered as time has gone by.

For this climactic episode, having won his psychological war of wits with Leo McKern's vanquished No. 2, McGoohan's ("Don't call me) No. 6" gets taken to meet the seemingly omnipotent No. 1. What follows next is an absurdist finale with a resurrected McKern and Alexis Kanner both put forward as rebels of the community, before a presiding McGoohan, playing out bizarre scenes in front of a president of proceedings and a seated but highly suggestible audience wearing black drapes and masks.

Finally, McGoohan unmasks No. 1 in a shocking moment and in a crazy finale which sees a rocket go up, a gunplay shootout to the background of The Beatles "All You Need Is Love" and the three rebels jiving to "Dem Bones" in the back cage of an articulated truck, finally he returns to his London flat (or has he?), now accompanied by the impassive dwarf butler.

The whole series could be the subject of a college thesis and still I don't think you'd get to the bottom of it. I certainly didn't but what a strange and immersive experience it was.

Although I agree with most of what "steve 3285" said in his insightful and comprehensive discussion of Fall Out, that fascinating ultimate episode of my favourite series ever, I have one quibble. I do not think Angelo Muscat, the Butler, was meant to be taking #6's place when he entered the door of his house at the end. I think he was just about to become his Butler. Yes, it was clever that the door opened and closed electronically - one last clue to the multiple meanings in this fabulous series.

I just wonder one thing, out of curiosity. Although I "got" the various allusions to different concepts of "1," and "I" as Steve mentioned, I must confess that I missed the relationship to the word "Aye." I DID see all the others, and I wonder if he noted one more. People often refer to themselves as #1. I could not be sure if Steve meant that, too, when he said #1 in his review. The self as #1, meaning "I'm the most important person in my opinion," or "looking out for #1," that sort of thing, was my first clue to the puns all those years ago when I watched The Prisoner for the first time in stunned admiration.

It was always one of the sadnesses of my life that I never got to meet the brilliant Mr. McGoohan, although we both lived in Southern California at the same time; and another that I have not yet been able to visit Portmeirion - although I have some of the eponymous dishes designed so beautifully by Ms. Susan WIlliams-Ellis.

The Prisoner, and this episode in particular, still stands alone as the most intriguingly surreal television program ever.

My father who in the 1960's worked on a number of film studio productions in the art and engineering Dept, as well as briefly on screen, corroborated the story linked to the final episode of the Prisoner.

He was on good terms with Patrick McGoohan who would take breaks between shoots by snoozing on a table in Shepperton. Turned out to be the same place that I many years later would be having quick nap when I was acting at Shepperton in Inkheart! For the final episode Patrick hadn't written much, and the deadline was getting closer and closer. Finally he and a co writer had to stay up all night to complete the script. This rush explains why there are some even more surreal scenes than usual. The piece with all the singing been a case in point.

Number 6 has a disturbing problem which skews this episode away from Number 5's eternal struggle to showing that the System may be about to crumble.

Then the episode goes into even greater flights as one of the most psychedelic works of the decade. Just remember it wasn't planned. More of a case of stream of consciousness to complete a script that was urgently needed.

McGoohan pulls out all the stops in his writing and directing this allegorical conclusion to the groundbreaking TV series. Though there were many hints scattered throughout the series that #6 was essentially dealing with his own demons—that point is made abundantly clear in this outrageously inventive episode. We are all locked in our cells, both the cells of our material bodies and the cells of our past, our reputations, our egos. When #6 begins to address the forces of society his word "I" gets repeated to the point of drowning out his message (it also is the word "aye" meaning yes and a pun for the all seeing "eye" of number one). The ego and ego worship appears as a mad god (#1 or eye). Though many would revere freedom in the abstract, there is a great internal fear of true freedom. McGoohan's character is very controlled and emotionally tight, thus his shadow side (#1) is a complete loon (for example, playing the Beatles tune "All you need is love" over a blazing gun fight). When McGoohan launches #1 into space, a chain of events occur leading the four escapees toward various illusions of freedom within the outside world (hitching a ride to nowhere in particular, joining the halls of political power or racing a sports car). The silent butler appears to take McGoohan place in his home which opens by itself as an extension of the Village.

Though many dislike the episode for its unabashed symbolism, it stands as a fitting and provocatively ambiguous end to the series. Along with "Free for All," it's my personal favorite episode.

After killing Number Two, Number Six is granted his wish to meet Number One. However, first he must meet the Assembly and sit in as the President of the Assembly presides on cases of errant behaviour. The proceedings don't go very smoothly.

For the first 12 episodes The Prisoner was great, an intense, intriguing, intelligent battle of wits and wills between Number Six and a variety of Number Twos and their minions. Then came the 13th episode - Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling - and the quality of the show took a sharp downturn with a plot that was threadbare and didn't make much sense.

The 14th and 15th episodes - Living In Harmony and The Girl Who Was Death - were even worse, suddenly moving the setting to another time and place. Anytime a show suddenly is set in a new location and/or time period (especially) you know the writers have run out of ideas and this exactly what happened there. These two episodes weren't really The Prisoner but rather out-of-place, haphazard stories jammed into the show.

With the 16th episode I was hoping that normal transmission would be resumed and we would again see a Number 6 vs Number 2 battle of wits and wills. Plus, being the penultimate episode I was expecting an indication of how Number 6's predicament would be resolved.

Well, we have the duel and some progress toward a solution but it's not done in a good way. The writing here is all over the place, with random detours, plot developments that make no sense and all sorts of trippy images and scenes that are just there to paper over the lack of genuine plot.

This, the final episode, follows in the same vein. Plot is all over the place, random trippy scenes, stuff that's really in there just to kill time, action scenes that seem very out of place. The resolution is also pretty lacklustre: hardly the clever, gripping conclusion I was hoping for every episode of the show. Quite sad as after the first 12 episodes this was set up for a brilliant, intelligent climax.

Very disappointing.