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Number Six is free at last.


F-ZeroOne

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GODAMMIT! I just finished writing a little bit about the death of Ricardo Montalbán, and then I see that THIS has happened. Not good, not good.

Patrick Joseph McGoohan (March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) Born in Queens, New York City, but his family moved back to Ireland soon after his birth. (A lot of people don't know that.)

Another great legend. He did a lot of work but its The Prisoner that he will rightfully be remembered for. Not only was he the star of the show, he was also the creative force behind it. I'm not going to go on here about how good it was because that would be repeating the correct opinion of others.

I will simply say this. If you have not seen the Prisoner series, go and hire it/buy it whatever. It is just brilliant.

A cool quote from Patrick:

"Mel Gibson will always be Mad Max, and me, I will always be a Number,"

(Check him out with Mel in Braveheart, another outstanding performance.)

RIP Patrick McGoohan. He will be missed.

Taksraven

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People die when they get old. Little sad but hardly a tragedy.

Made me think this was some interesting BSG topic. :unsure:

If the words "Number Six" and "free" used together in the same sentence DON'T automatically make you think of the Prisoner, you need to go back to pop culture school.

You'll be missed, Mr McGoohan.

Be seeing you.

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People die when they get old. Little sad but hardly a tragedy.

Made me think this was some interesting BSG topic. :unsure:

Only a person who had never seen the prisoner could make such a flippant remark about this legends tragic death! Get thyself to a videoshop & get up to date with this classic series. It did more with 17 episodes than bsg did with 4 seasons!

Taksraven

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The Prisoner is my all time favourite TV show and Patrick McGoohan was a fantastic actor.

R.I.P Number 6, you will be greatly missed.

I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own.

Graham

So who do you think number one really was?

Taksraven

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Number Six: "Who is Number One?"

Number Two: "You are Number Six."

Graham

Yeah, i always thought that statement at the start of nearly every episode was a very big & cool clue.

Taksraven

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Yeah, i always thought that statement at the start of nearly every episode was a very big & cool clue.

Taksraven

What, as in:

"Who is Number One?"

"You are, Number Six."

Well...that's certainly the implication in the final episode, but I think that was probably a staged mindfvck on the part of the Village authorities as well.

That said, I think he DID get out at the end...but he's clearly in no state to go around spilling secrets, so...score one for the Village.

The conundrum I've always wondered about: Was Number Six really John Drake?

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That said, I think he DID get out at the end

The question is "Get out into what?" In the second episode, Number Two said that The Village is what the world would become one day. Then, in the final episode, while Number Six drove in his roadster away from his flat, the door to his flat opened and closed by itself, like the doors in The Village :ph34r:

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What, as in:

"Who is Number One?"

"You are, Number Six."

Yes, exactly right......

Well...that's certainly the implication in the final episode, but I think that was probably a staged mindfvck on the part of the Village authorities as well.

That said, I think he DID get out at the end...but he's clearly in no state to go around spilling secrets, so...score one for the Village.

The conundrum I've always wondered about: Was Number Six really John Drake?

A-HA! The OTHER big mystery of the series. Not having seen Danger Man I don't know if I am that qualified to give an answer myself but I think that I read somewhere that there certainly were some clues to suggest that he WAS John Drake. The fact that he was never really given a proper name other than Number Six would seem to indicate that was the case too.

Taksraven

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The question is "Get out into what?" In the second episode, Number Two said that The Village is what the world would become one day. Then, in the final episode, while Number Six drove in his roadster away from his flat, the door to his flat opened and closed by itself, like the doors in The Village :ph34r:

Man...I never noticed that...

*head explodes*

(I think I was too preoccupied wondering about frogmen with machine guns and "All You Need Is Love" to pay attention to that.)

We never found out exactly how long Number Six was gone, did we? A lot could have changed in that time...

YA-HA! The OTHER big mystery of the series. Not having seen Danger Man I don't know if I am that qualified to give an answer myself but I think that I read somewhere that there certainly were some clues to suggest that he WAS John Drake. The fact that he was never really given a proper name other than Number Six would seem to indicate that was the case too.

Taksraven

It seems like a natural fit...Patrick McGoohan plays a secret agent on one show, and then when it ends it's immediately replaced with another show where he plays an apparent secret agent, albeit one trying to retire.

I've only seen a handful of episodes of Danger Man myself, but Drake does seem to be the same rock-jawed individualist that Number Six is...but maybe McGoohan just lacked dramatic range.

I have to say that in the latest "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" book, I appreciated the Prisoner references the best.

"Johnny...he'd had a few...said he'd landed an MI5 contract designing kit for some Welsh set-up. D-Dream inducers. Killer balloons. Yarooh, eh?"

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Back in the year 2002 I was lucky enough to get a chance to visit Port Merion. Fantastic place. Had great fun looking around and pretending I was No.6.

Will scan and post some of the pics later.

Graham

Please do post some. Want to get there myself some day.

Taksraven

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While I think of it, ITV are due to show a remake of The Prisoner, I believe a mini-series, later this year. It will star Sir Ian McKellen as Number Two, and apparently they found an ex-German colony in Africa a slightly more hospitable climate than Wales... :)

I've just remembered that The Prisoner helped me get a handle on Utena. I was really struggling with that series (sure, it was pretty, but WTF was going on?!) until I realised that, in its set-up of someone possibly trapped in a cage of their own making, it was essentially the same premise. Few more roses, though.

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Only a person who had never seen the prisoner could make such a flippant remark about this legends tragic death! Get thyself to a videoshop & get up to date with this classic series. It did more with 17 episodes than bsg did with 4 seasons!

Taksraven

You underestimate my contempt for mankind sir.

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