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Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: MicromaryMessage: QUOTE – Originally posted by Fatguy: Yes Trini T, I watched Lost In Space and had the usual crush on Angela C. I also watched U.F.O., Dr Who, Space 1999, Land OF The Giants, The Time Tunnel, etc..
END QUOTEFatguy, you didn’t mention The Prisoner.
You DID watch The Prisoner, didn’t you???
(Micro’s having her own little Prisoner marathon with the DVD collection)——Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: FatguyMessage: QUOTE – Originally posted by Micromary:
Fatguy, you didn’t mention The Prisoner.
You DID watch The Prisoner, didn’t you???
(Micro’s having her own little Prisoner marathon with the DVD collection) END QUOTEYes you are right. Another Sci-fi show never mentioned on LEXX.com (even in off topic threads) because of the youner audience. I am a loner, so I loved that series (I also know off camera stuff like Patrick M. writing the last episode and people wanting to beat him up on the street because of that ending…..). “I will not be pushed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered…..my life is my own.”
——-Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: Trini_TMessage: Fatguy! Dragon Con would have been of great interest to you! No doubt, if you’re here you have seen all the hoopla about it(and well-deserved hoopla indeed!) But there is a whole, vast side to it that I need to let people know about. Of particular interest to you would have been the forum on, yes…The Prisoner! It was billed as…”one of the most underappreciated, but brilliant British television series ever.” It was held at 10:00 am Saturday morning: the same time slot as the big costume parade thru Atlanta.The room it was held in was packed- at least 40 peeps were in attendance. How do I know? I was attending a writing class nearby (also packed to capacity).The Con ran Friday thru Monday, and everyday, from 10:00am until 11:30pm forums, workshops, hands-on classrooms were going on. There were several Dr.Who forums, Space 1999, and I even saw Tunnels somewhere. It is a most excellant event for sci-fi fans to attend! And let me tell you- I arrived Friday afternoon an!
d stayed until Monday, and didn’t get to attend everything I wanted to. My God! I initially went to meet thefrey and The Lexx contingent, and I only spent late Saturday night with them…from the 10:00pm Lexx forum until 2 0r 3am, I think. And after they all split up, we were dancing until…sun came up! There is something for everyone…but especially for true sci-fiers! You would have loved it! Please consider comming with us next year! : D T_T—–Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: elmeyMessage: More Prisoner fans!
I had also heard somewhere that McGoohan had written the last episode himself–the first time I saw it I wasn’t quite sure if he was on something or if I was (it must have been him: D); what a great show! And one of the few that went out on its own terms.elmey
——-Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: AleckMessage: QUOTE – Originally posted by Fatguy: I believe that nobody producing the show knew how it was supposed to end (especially with regard to number one), not even Patrick. So with 48 hours left to go before his deadline, Patrick started to write the final episode; and this is when he came up with the idea of who was to be number one, etc. END QUOTE
Well, McGoohan (as reported in Alain Carraze and Helene Oswald’s The Prisoner: A Televisionary Masterpiece) has always claimed that he knew the answers to all the questions and how the series would wrap up from the beginning. He did write the final episode, “Fall Out,” (and the segue from the penultimate episode, “Once Upon a Time”) in a weekend under extreme time constraints (the episode was completed a mere 2 weeks prior to airing) — in fact, the script was so incomplete that Kenneth Griffith improvised his own role as the President.
QUOTE – I think he said something to the effect that The Prisoner was being produced by an American network (correct me if I am wrong here) and the final episode was one of the most widely watched episodes in the history of television. END QUOTE
Indeed it was. However, it was produced by ITC for British television. It was quickly picked up by ABC in the States, but its finale was seen first in the UK, and only shown here approx. 8 months afterward.
QUOTE – Patrick’s idea of the show’s sureal ending and plot seemed to really rackle a lot of common viewers who had felt they were cheated; however I quite liked it. END QUOTE
Ditto here. I thought that it was really the only sensible way to bring the show to an end. The Prisoner, from its first episode, was extremely surreal (in a very Magritte kind of way) and it made sense that it explode in exponentially increasing chaos as it came to an end — as McGoohan put it, “revolution time.”
QUOTE – He also talked about the weather ballons being used as a last minute substitute (for a robot?) as the protectors of the village.END QUOTE
Ah, Rover. Perhaps one of the more indelible images of the series: that white balloon bobbing menacingly around the village while everyone remains completely still, or rising out of the sea. Yes, the original plan was to have a motorized sentinel that would pursue those in need of “correction,” and it worked fine on land. However, the first time they tried to get it in the water, it sank like a stone. Fortuitous, really, because the Rover became so remembered, and is so out-there that it’s timeless — a mechanized thing would have dated very badly (especially within the confines of the anachronistic dress and architecture of the Village).
QUOTE – The village itself is real and was made as a think tank community for the world’s elite minds. END QUOTE
Actually, it was designed by renowned architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who was inspired by the sterility of then-current design. He planned it as an “ideal village” in which he could prove that ideas and inspiration from disparate areas of art and design could be presented as a harmonious whole. Opened to the public in 1926, he soon realized that in order to keep the village in existence, he’d have to turn a profit on it. He then opened a hotel and began charging admission to the village. While it has never been sealed off enough for it to be considered a “think tank,” it has attracted great minds to reside there such as Aldous Huxley and Ernest Hemingway (and currently attracts somewhere around 100 thousand people a year).
–Aleck
—-Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: MicromaryMessage: WOW!! So many Prisoner fans!!
Fatguy, I e-mailed you with the info but I’ll say it here for all to see: you HAVE to get the 10-disc DVD collection. It’s got so much great stuff on it, including footage of the original concept for Rover in action. (That weather balloon Rover always scared the hell out of me!!!) There’s also an interview with the production manager Bernie Williams, as well as information on the real Village – Portmeirion.Oh, and anyone who understands “Fallout”…. please explain it to me…
Be seeing you,
MM—–Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: LoganMessage: I am also a big Prisoner fan, if you haven’t already done so, perhaps we should set up a “Prisoner” topic in the “General TV Sci-Fi Stuff” forum. But while I’m mentioning it, if the Village were pitted against the Lexx, who do you think would win? What about 790 vs. Rover? Okay to be fair, 791 vs. Rover. And what about No. 2’s Butler vs. Kai? ; )
—–Subject: Lexx.com Board – Prisoner.
Posted By: FatguyMessage: QUOTE – But while I’m mentioning it, if the Village were pitted against the Lexx, who do you think would win? What about 790 vs. Rover? Okay to be fair, 791 vs. Rover. And what about No. 2’s Butler vs. Kai? END QUOTE
Yipes Logan…..not here! I get enough of that dribble “over there”. Good thing about Sadgeezer is that I am actually starting to pay more attention to how I write and having to correct mistakes for a more discerning/articulate crowd (I may actually have to be more discerning of my posts before I post…..). Next time LEXX.com comes back on line, someone please get an official explanation of what is going on there.
As for suggestions on improving this site; I personally am to new at this place to say anything that could possibly carry any authority, so this member will keep his mouth shut.
——
I don’t ever remember seeing this show, but it does seem to have it’s fans. : D Enjoy
http://theonion.com/onion3833/i_regret_to_say.html
Check this out quick, ’cause the onion has lousy archives.
There is too much for me to read through here, but I will say that The Prisoner was one of my favorite shows. I remember watching it when it was “new”; I’m dating myself now.
Back in ’92 we were crammed up with relatives waiting for our house to get completed. Had a toddler and one one the way and we were all in one little room. Thankfully PBS replayed the series and it gave me something to look forward to. I taped all 17 eps.
I realize some of the eps were pieced together from others. In anycase, the one I remember enjoying the most was Once Upon A Time (I think).
Am looking forward to eventually getting them on DVD – I cheaped out in ’92 and taped them at SLP speed: not very good quality
Hi Marty!!! Welcome to Sad’s.
I’ve been noticing they reused a lot of footage in the episodes. I guess they had to do it to save time and money. Sometimes it makes for glaring continuity errors, which I was too young to notice when the show first aired, but I’m noticing now.
Thanks for that link, Frey. That was VERY funny. Talk about a fan obsessed!!! Still, I’d better tape it just to see the order they show the episodes, and that interview with Patrick McGoohan….
Be seeing you,
MM
(ummm, what was my number again???)hi micro! hope hubbyEd is doing well. say ‘hey’ to him for me. seeing ‘the prisoner’ mentioned really piqued an interest for me to pull out those old tapes. i’m in san antonio for work but will get home next week. will have to get them lined up for a review. that was such a great show. you know, i could even cut sci-fi some slack for their non-sci-fi programming if they showed it…
HubbyEd’s doing fine. He’s allowed to start driving again, so getting him out of the house and back to work is getting closer and closer.
If Scifi shows The Prisoner, I could ALMOST forgive them for John Edwards…. almost.
MM
(What’s my number!! My button fell off!)I taped them all from the recent SCi Fi channel (UK) showing.
It was funny watching them with NewKAte (a Rooskie). I think she was quite taken aback by the show and didn’t know what to make of it. I don’t think she quite believed me when I told her it was made in the sixties.
It’s prolly the most Cult TV sci fi show I’ve ever seen. Totally whacky and great fun. I’m just not sure if I could watch it again without waiting for another 10 years 🙂
Does anyone know what happened to the series of Prisoner trading cards that was supposed to be issued earlier this year? There was an ad for it in my Non-Sport Update dated April/May 2002 (the issue with LEXX on the cover), but I’m not finding anything on e-bay.
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