Inspired by the AMC remake of the classic show, I recently rewatched the original The Prisoner, the trippy 1967 British series starring Patrick McGoohan. It was even weirder than I remembered.
I first watched it in the mid-80's, when my local PBS station played the entire series. I remember being somewhat baffled by it, and not understanding the ending at all, but on the rewatch I was blown away by how psychedelic it was. Much of it made little, if any, sense to me.
Oh, I get what it was about, the overarching themes. But the actual stories were just bizarre.
There were a lot of science fiction devices used in various episodes, and an uncannily prescient use of virtual reality in the western-themed episode that reminded me quite a bit of a similar episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Actually, come to think of it, there was a western-themed episode of the original Star Trek as well, which would have been contemporary with this show.
Definitely a product of its time, as well as ahead of its time in many ways, I can see why the remake had so much trouble finding itself. The world is a different place now; not the paranoid cold war atmosphere of the late 60's, but a paranoid post-9/11 corporate culture.
One thing it did do for me, though: I'd really love to visit Portmeirion, the Welsh seaside town where most of it was filmed. What a picturesque, lovely place!
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