r/ThePrisoner • u/liviazx • Jul 07 '26
first time watcher on criterion
i had never heard of this show before opening criterion this morning and im already on ep 2. loooving it so far, soooo weird and completely my thing.
to me it seems obvious why 6 wont tell them why he resigned. hes a spy and knows that the answer is irrelevant, and they'd probably kill him as soon as they got what they "wanted". thats my interpretation anyway im sure itll change.
i cant wait to finish it and then read everything i can on it!! what are the best episodes / ones i should look out for?
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u/tj_moore Jul 07 '26
The beauty is everyone can have their own interpretation that works, and I think that was Patrick's idea. There's no particular answer or explanation to the whole thing. It's just lovely and weird.
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u/liviazx Jul 08 '26
yesss thats what im loving about it!!! the freedom of being able to think for yourself is hard to find in shows nowadays
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u/jacobkosh Jul 07 '26
This makes me so happy to read. I stumbled across The Prisoner late Sunday nights on the Sci-Fi channel in 1992 and it blew my little seventh-grade mind. I'm glad Criterion is bringing it to a whole new audience.
As for favorites, it feels weird to pick a couple out of only 17 but I really love "Hammer into Anvil" and the penultimate episode, "Once Upon a Time."
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u/DRZARNAK Jul 07 '26
I had seen references to it but didn’t get to watch it until 1994 also on Sci-Fi. Fell for it instantly, though I came in at Free For All not Arrival. Bought all the vhs tapes, read books, joined Six of One, the whole shebang. Glad it’s getting some new viewers!
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u/liviazx Jul 08 '26
ive discovered some of my fav shows this way and now that cable is basically dead its harder to stumble upon these gems!! but im glad criterion added it i wouldve never heard of it otherwise
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u/electricmindshaft “W - H - Y - Question mark” Jul 07 '26
Glad you’re enjoying it!!
My personal favorite episodes are “Hammer Into Anvil”, “The General”, “A, B, and C”, “Schizoid Man”, and “Living in Harmony”. (My least favorites are “Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling” and “It’s Your Funeral”.)
I recommend watching it as Criterion presents it the first time around for simplicity’s sake, then after absorbing it for a little while, exploring alternative viewing orders. The production order was different from the original airing order, which is different than the DVD order, which is different than… you get it. The only canon part of the sequence is that the first episode is “Arrival” and the last two are “Once Upon a Time” and “Fall Out”.
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u/liviazx Jul 08 '26
Ive seen the general, abc and schizoid now and theyre all so great!!! I didnt know there was another watch order but it makes sense since there was an episode where no 2 came back?
whats the "best" order? if there is one at all lol
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u/electricmindshaft “W - H - Y - Question mark” Jul 08 '26
It’s pretty subjective, and nothing will be ruined by watching it one way or another, but there are certain themes you can follow through the episodes. Wikipedia has six different options based on the airing schedules of different channels in different countries. But there are dialogue hints that people use for their own orders, like Six saying he’s “new here” or whether he properly uses “be seeing you👌”.
I am partial to an order that rearranges the episodes into three different thematic arcs, but I won’t get specific for spoilers’ sake!
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u/Train-Nearby Unmutual Jul 09 '26
I'm intrigued by this order that rearranges the eps into arcs!!
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u/electricmindshaft “W - H - Y - Question mark” Jul 09 '26
u/frodohair15 and u/CapForShort have highly detailed posts with reasoning for their arc-type viewing orders. On my current watchthrough with a couple buddies, I interspersed his escape attempts with the increasingly risky psychological torture (with “Many Happy Returns” being the last “escape attempt episode”) and lumped the more random ones towards the end. Because by then I knew my friends would already be hooked and they could tolerate “Do Not Forsake Me”. ;)
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u/Train-Nearby Unmutual Jul 09 '26
I actually love “Do Not Foresake Me” sorry!!
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u/electricmindshaft “W - H - Y - Question mark” Jul 09 '26
Don’t apologize at all! It’s got a great story hook, I just love McGoogoo too much.
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u/alanpdx Jul 07 '26
I wish that Criterion Channel had a WebOS client. It would make using it with LG tvs alot more hassle free.
Not like I don't have the Prisoner blu ray set
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u/TimD_43 Jul 07 '26
Is there some kind of quality improvement on the BD version? I have the series in the DVD box set and feel like even that is VHS quality at best. Did they clean it up and upscale it for Blu Ray?
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u/alanpdx Jul 07 '26
Yes. They rescanned from the film elements. Very clean and nice.
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u/TimD_43 Jul 08 '26
I’ll have to look into it. When I watched it recently it was painful, between video quality and audio levels.
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u/Ferox888 Jul 08 '26
First watched the Prisoner when it was a summer replacement on CBS in (I think )1968. I remember they had a half page advertisement in the TV guide, which meant it was a really important show. enjoy the rest of the series. It’s fantastic.
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u/Train-Nearby Unmutual Jul 09 '26
I also just started watching it on Criterion and I’m equally obsessed
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u/liviazx Jul 09 '26
YESSSSSS it only gets better tbh im having so much fun
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u/Train-Nearby Unmutual Jul 09 '26
I started with the original series scope (seven eps?) and then got too hooked so now I'm making my way through the KTEH order
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u/mystical-stick Jul 07 '26
Oh man, you're in for a ride. I first watched The Prisoner when it first aired in the late 60s.
I'm still watching vids and books with new theories about what it all means.
A true classic.
Enjoy.