Channel Four's broadcast of The Prisoner in late 1983 was an absolutely pivotal moment in my, ahem, cultural development.
Along with the same channel's runs of The Avengers, it ran an electric charge through my imagination and opened my eyes to what telly could do.
The image of 'P' (as he was described in the scripts) stomping grumpily round the Village and never resting in his struggle against the authorities utterly captivated me.
I and a few fellow acolytes at school would trot out memorable lines the following day, and before long I joined Six of One.
Immersing myself totally in the series, I began to realise what a remarkable production it had been and what an extraordinary man its star (and driving force) had been.
When Janie bought me the complete box set for Christmas a few years ago, I wished I could send a message back to Tom '83 and let him know that someday he'd own the complete series on handy little discs and be able to watch it whenever he wanted.
Even now, the peel of thunder and the thrum of bongos at the start gets my heart beating a little faster.
And we'll always have that voice:
“I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered! My life is my own.”
1 comment:
The Prisoner was a great show. i was always surprised it didn't get developed into a full-season series.
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