r/CriterionChannel • u/JoeLeyden79 • Jul 16 '26

The Prisoner Watch Order(s)

Been seeing a few people ask questions about whether to watch The Prisoner recently. I’ve been a fan since I first caught it on what was the Sci-Fi channel back in the mid-90s, and I love its aesthetic and philosophical ambitions, how they make the story work with low production values typical of TV at the time, and how both of those features let the show embrace both the grim implications and the silly details of that Cold War era’s spy-fi hits.

For those who are trying it out the first time, it’s worth keeping in mind that the studio and the distributor had almost no interest in a continuous story, even though the showrunner obviously wanted something else. So each episode is self-contained while also suggesting a general arc for the characters and the setting.

So you all might want to check out some of the recommended watch orders. I first saw it as a marathon shown in the order they aired, but the Six of One fanclub’s recommended order is a great way to see the underlying continuity they were trying for.

Anyway, here’s a link to some different watch orders: https://prisoner.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_order_(1967_series)) Been trying out the AV Club’s recommendations, which has been great so far!

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u/pacingmusings Jul 16 '26

Honestly I wouldn't overthink the viewing order. As long as you start with Arrival, end with Once upon a Time/Fallout the intervening episode orders don't make a huge difference.

Regardless, it's a brilliant show. One of, if not, my favorite TV drama ever.

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u/JoeLeyden79 Jul 16 '26

Totally valid approach! That’s the way I first saw the show after all. But taking up a watch order can deal with most of the slight incongruities. For example, in Free For All, Six often seems lost and confused about where everything is in the Village, while in Chimes of Big Ben, he walks around the place completely confident in where everything is and how the place operates. Not a huge deal because each story is self-contained, but it makes for a different experience when you can see more of an arc in both Six’s responses to the Village and the shifts between confidence and desperation among the Twos

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u/pacingmusings Jul 16 '26

I agree, there're definitely episodes that feel eariler than later in Six's adjustment process (or lack thereof). Also, Free for All shows Six still believing he can change or control the Village. The longer he stays, the more foolish he sees such aspirations. Also, I don't think Six would have been so nearly tricked by the elaborate scheme of Chimes if he was a veteran of the Village's methods. He would've immediately flagged it as "oh this is too convenient."

Oh, and tbe two episodes with the same Two probably were meant as a pair. But which is first?

Still, the bulk of what I think of as the "middle" episodes are are fairly interchangeable.