By Chris Bainbridge & Cai Ross
We basically
became friends because we both loved The Prisoner. They were showing the
series on Channel 4 for its 25th anniversary; we were both hooked and stayed
hooked, too. As with a lot of people, the tedium and restrictions of lockdown
led us to consider the idea of a podcast. There were a few Prisoner
podcasts already out there, but they were either a bit dry and professorial or
strangely dismissive. One frustrating aspect was the apocryphal information
that had cemented itself as part of Prisoner lore, we really wanted to
set the record straight where we could.
The ‘Free For
All’ podcast was an absolute hoot to make, and it brought us into contact with
loads of Prisoner devotees from around the world. We’d expected a bit of
pushback from a certain type of social media gatekeeper, but there was
absolutely none. Plus, we got to interview Prisoner stars Derren Nesbitt
and Jane Merrow, which was a thrill.
The problem with
making a podcast about something as finite as a 17-episode TV series is that
once it’s done, it’s done. We’ve made some specials (a Columbo episode
and a look at Danger Man aka Secret Agent) and have more in the
works, but ultimately, we were Prisoner-ed out.
We thought that
what we’d recorded had the makings of an entertaining book. It had to be more
than just a transcription of what we’d said in the podcast, but we did
incorporate some of that element into the text to give it a conversational
feel. With the book, as well as the podcast, we wanted readers to feel that
they were hanging out with like-minded friends. This was also an opportunity to
create an entry point for new viewers by injecting contemporary connections and
a lot of humour, making it accessible to everyone.
We also felt that
we’d uncovered things about The Prisoner that didn’t seem to be covered
in any of the literature or ongoing discussions. We have some theories about
the controversial final episode ‘Fall Out’, that we think, are quite unique and
stand up to scrutiny better than many of the tired 1960s drug culture theories.
As much as the book is a deliberately fun and entertaining read (even if your
memory of The Prisoner is a bit rusty), it holds its own as critical
analysis of a much-discussed series.
There were a few
obstacles to overcome, mainly in the form of rights issues. Necessity being the
mother of invention, we created a Prisoner-ish original, with the
invaluable help of Alan Hayes, the book’s designer, Prisoner expert Rick
Davy and talented graphic artist Jemima Duncalf, who illustrated it.
I hope that it
will sit snugly on the shelf in amongst the grand tomes that make up The
Prisoner library. It’s a testament to the enduring fascination of Patrick
McGoohan’s extraordinary series that the number of books written about it is
still growing nearly sixty years after it first appeared.
Click here to order