Memorium

It was just announced that Patrick McGoohan has died, and television is just a little bit dimmer for it.

McGoohan did many things (including the movie Silver Streak, with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor) but he will be most fondly remembered for the series The Prisoner. It was an amazing achievement at the time, and remains thought-provoking and relevant. Overall, the series deals with the rights of an individual versus the government. In the late sixties, it reflected the growing social unrest. It showed automatic doors, wireless telephones, forced medication, and constant surveillance. Once outrageous, these are becoming more common.

That he had specific parameters in mind is obvious; there are only seventeen episodes. Neither the protagonist or antagonist were ever named, and things got increasingly symbolic as the series went along. The last two episodes remain one of the densest, most mind-twisting finales ever.

Rather than drag things out to satisfy advertisers (see the X-Files), everything led to a conclusion.

Here's to making a grand exit.