[skiwi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'A') strange and spooky notion, suppose we wind up living under some sort of sinister authoritarian rule without ever even knowing who the leader is. Reminds me of that old TV show The Prisoner. Anybody see that? Patrick McGoohan is trapped on an island where everybody has a number. Whenever he tries to escape this big white flexible ball chases him and brings him back. Nobody really knows who No. 1 is. Whatever is going to go down, or is already going down, will not follow the patterns used in the 20th century. It'll be unexpected and strange, something we won't really understand. Forget about 1984, or Nazis and Fascists and Stalinists. Expect the Unexpected....

[PenultimateManStanding]

wow, I think I know what I'm going to watch this weekend! thanks skiwi.

[Aaron]

Great Freakin Show

[mmasters]

Wow, probably been 10 years since I last saw it on PBS.

Be interesting to see the series again from an "unplugged" paradigm.

Thanks for posting these - definitely gonna check it out again.

[sparkylab]

Absolute classic. Way ahead of its time.

Number 6 - "I am not a number.......I am a free man!"

Number 2 - <laughs>

Ages ago, I visited the location where the majority of it was shot. A planned village in wales called Portmeirion. Very cool place that really hasn't changed from the 60's.

And yes I did that whole running bit on the beach......

http://www.portmeirion-village.com/

Finally - interesting pop culture fact - McGoohan rose to fame by starring in a proto-secret agent UK tv show called Dangerman. After it folded, McGoohan developed the whole concept of the Prisoner and turned down the lead a wee secret agent film called 'Dr. No' to get the Prisoner made.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('skiwi', 'D')irect links to download the files.

[PenultimateManStanding]

interesting that these various characters keep saying 'I did nothing wrong, all I did was resign' Reminds me of Timothy Leary: 'tune in, turn on, drop out'. Other interesting lines, number 2 says 'I don't care who number 1 is, I am an optimist. This is the perfect form for the new world order' The sense of paranoia is quite pronounced. The huge plastic white ball is a fascinating emblem for modern anxiety.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Episode 2, 'Big Ben', a fantastically elaborate scheme to get number 6 to tell them what they want to know, 'why did you resign'. Very 60s, heh heh.

[PenultimateManStanding]

This was a masterful rendition of Cold War paranoia. 24 is doing the current rendition of this feeling. The cuteness of it was the delicate British etiquette. I'm sure I don't know what lies behind it. But they sure did screw up with the recent hostage situation, which they could have prevented. I wonder about Brits nowadays. Raxozanne's neurosis comes to mind. In fact, I wonder how Europe as a whole will fare with the coming crisis.

[Aaron]

The website declined to show this webpage
HTTP 403
Most likely causes:
This website requires you to log in.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'T')he website declined to show this webpage
HTTP 403
Most likely causes:
This website requires you to log in.

[Aaron]

Won't work for me

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('skiwi', '
')[url=http://www.realradioarchives.com/The_Prisoner.htm]
The Prisoner[/url]

[mmasters]

Me neither

[edit] oops that other link just posted does work.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mmasters', 'M')e neither

[edit] oops that other link just posted does work.

[TheDude]

Rented a couple of the DVDs about three years back and wound up buying the whole set. Some of the greatest TV ever, not that it's been exactly a dynamite medium of course. The DVDs have good docs with them, info like how in episode 9 McGoohan and Leo McKern got so far into their roles McKern had a breakdown.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('skiwi', '
')[url=http://www.realradioarchives.com/The_Prisoner.htm]
The Prisoner[/url]

[da23]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'T')his is the one I'm using. Works fine for me, even if I have watch on small screen.

[Zardoz]

I downloaded episodes 2 through 17 with no problem whatsoever. I just right-clicked each of the original links posted and clicked "Save target as". I now have all those episodes safely esconced on two of our many hard drives.

However, I can't get Episode 1 to save my soul. When I use the above method on it, I get this:

"Internet Explorer cannot download ...e_Prisoner-01-The_Arrival.wmv from www.realradioarchives.com

Internet Explorer was not able to open this Internet site. The requested site is either unavailable or cannot be found. Please try again later."

This link works for viewing it, which is great, but, when I right-click on the link, I get this: "Internet Explorer cannot download. No such interface supported."

Pretty frustrating to have all the others, but not the all-important opening episode. Any ideas or suggestions?

(By the way, the series really has held up well after all these years, hasn't it? It's as great as I remember it was in its first run.)

EDIT - Just noticed that note in the "Select Media Player" window when I click "Open" on the links in the site: "Currently, movies are not available for download to your hard drive, but will be in the future."

Well, 2 through 17 are certainly available...

[skiwi]

Edited original post to fix dud 'arrival' link - There's no The before Arrival

Luckily I'm hooked and up at 3am watching episode 8