The Prisoner

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Transmitted:	October 1967 - February 1968
Country of origin:	UK
Genre:	Surrealism, Paranoia, Cult classic
Starring:	Patrick McGoohan
Rating:	4/5
No. of seasons:	1

"Where am I?"
"In the Village."
"What do you want?"
"Information."
"Whose side are you on?"
"That would be telling.... We want information. Information! INFORMATION!"
"You won't get it."
"By hook or by crook, we will."
"Who are you?"
"The new Number Two."
"Who is Number One?"
"You are Number Six."
"I am not a number — I am a free man!"

Ground breaking and highly influential series from the 60's that is surreal, thought provoking and innovative.
Patrick McGoohan plays a character referred to only as Number 6 who, judging by the opening title sequence, is some sort of government agent. He wakes up at the start of the first episode in a strange village, where everyone dresses alike, is awfully polite, and seems to be run as a cross between a holiday camp and a communist township. Problem is, he can't find a way out of the damn place. As time progresses, Number 6 gets to meet a succession of people referred to simply as Number 2, and he is determined to find out who is running the show, who is Number 1.
The village is guarded by bizarre, large, white balloons, which roll towards you and smother if an attempt to escape is made, and Number 6 encounters them frequently.
Distinctly surreal in places, with a paranoid edge that was most unusual for the day, this really was well ahead of its time.
Still gripping today, and still much loved, this has become something of a British institution.
Excellent.

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