Product Description

Though it ran for a mere 17 episodes the British sci-fi spy drama THE PRISONER is one of television's biggest cult hits. The brainchild of star Patrick McGoohan the series followed the adventures of No. 6 (McGoohan) a former secret agent who is being held captive in a highly secured village the location of which remains a mystery throughout the series. This groundbreaking and innovative show reached an unfortunate end when British TV bosses got cold feet following low ratings and increasingly strange story lines. But McGoohan himself took control and steered the show to an ending that continues to cause great debate among THE PRISONER's faithful fans. This release includes the entire series of the show.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 733961758580 Manufacturer No: AAE-75858

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2091 in DVD
• Brand: A&E
• Released on: 2006-07-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 10
• Dimensions: 2.35 pounds
• Running time: 884 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
If a top-level spy decided he didn't want to be a spy anymore, could he just walk into HQ and hand in his resignation? With all that classified knowledge in his head, would he be allowed to become a civilian again, free to go about his life? The answer, according to the stylish, brilliantly conceived 1960s British TV series The Prisoner, is a resounding no. In fact, instead of receiving a gold watch for his years of faithful service, our hero (played by Patrick McGoohan) is followed home to his London flat and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he finds himself in a picturesque village where everyone is known by a number. Where is it? Why was he brought here? And, most important, how does he leave?

As we learn in Episode 1, Number 6 can't leave. The Village's "citizens" might dress colorfully and stroll around its manicured gardens while a band plays bouncy Strauss marches, but the place is actually a prison. Surveillance is near total, and if all else fails, there's always the large, mysterious white ball that subdues potential escapees by temporarily smothering them. Who runs the Village? An ever-changing Number 2, who wants to know why Number 6 resigned. If he'd only cooperate, he's told, life can be made very pleasant. "I've resigned," he fumes. "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own." So sets the stage for the ultimate battle of wills: Number 6's struggle to retain his privacy, sanity, and individuality against the array of psychological and physical methods the Village uses to break him.

So does he ever escape? And does he ever find out who Number 1 is? "Questions are a burden to others," the Village saying goes. "Answers, a prison for oneself." Within this complete 17-episode set (which contains the entire series), all is revealed. Or is it? --Steve Landau

On the DVD
The new elements of The Prisoner's 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition are a 60-page episode guide by Roger Langley and a fold-out map Langley created in 2000. The guide collects a lot of helpful information for Prisoner novices, including synopses, trivia, and "hidden mysteries" from each episode. Prisoner devotees are probably well-versed in series lore, and Langley is a somewhat controversial figure among the fan base, so for them the chief attraction might be the 10-Thinpak packaging, which takes up about half the shelf space of the 2001 megaset. The DVD content is the same on both sets. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Love it
I loved the shows so I'm delighted to have them all on dvd. If you like extremely long show openings, totally bizarre plot lines, various psychotic mind control and manipulation techniques, as well as killer balloons, this show is for you. :)

Watch this show
I bought this set for my mother, who forced me to watch it when I was young. I have the older box sets, but this one has easier navigation menu.

If you don't know about the show it's the continuation of the series Secret Agent.

Don't buy this set, get the British set from Amazon UK instead
This is a good box set, but a FAR superior 40th anniversary set was released in the UK last year. That set has new, remastered transfers from the original film negatives that are much better than the ones in this set. It has better packaging, 5.1 sound, many more extras and a 288 page book included with the set. You will need a multi region DVD player to watch it but it's worth it. The set is released by Network and you can get it on the Amazon UK site for around 60 dollars.