if I had a bluray player I'd be tempted to get it it, to upgrade from my dvd set. aside from improved picture quality and new bonus features, the old dvd set is rather bulky for 18 episodes or whatever it was
the bonus disc of selected Danger Man episodes, are they each considered somehow prototypical of The Prisoner? (View From The Villa, The Nurse, Fair Exchange, Colony Three, No Marks For Servility)
View From The Villa, in which John Drake is assigned to investigate the murder of the banker Frank Delroy was shot in Portmeirion, so that episode is linked with the Prisoner TV series.
Colony Three was the iconic episode that laid the foundations for the prisoner TV series.
I cannot think of any linkage of The Nurse, Fair Exchange and No Marks For Servility with the Prisoner TV series as of this moment.
On a positive note, the fact that they have remastered 5 episodes from Danger Man to HD, means we might get a fully remastered bluray version of Danger Man coming soon.
I would love to see Season 4's iconic episodes Shinda Shima and Koroshi get the HD treatment.
That would be a dream come true.
@caractacus potts You can watch a 720p version of the prisoner on YouTube.
good link @Sonero , especially since I cant remember which box I packed my Prisoner dvds in for my last move. Hopefully the same box has my Emma Peel "megaset" and my Mel Brooks boxset, since those two are also very important and nowhere in my usual piles of stuff
if No Marks For Servility is the one where Drake goes undercover as a butler, it kinda sorta anticipates the humiliating roleplaying games Number 6 would be subjected to as they tried to forcibly integrate him into Village society. Sometimes he'd play along just to gain the advantage in the final scene. and the butler was the only consistent recurring character in The Prisoner.
There was another one, with Desmond Llewelyn, that anticipated the sort of trippy mindgames Number 6 would be subjected to, I forget the title.
I always like the one where Number 6 wakes up and he's lefthanded. A perfect concise example of everyday life in The Village.
the Danger Man episode with Desmond Llewelyn was The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove, thats not one of the ones included in this new Prisoner set
looking at my notes upthread, in this episode we see the number on John Drakes apartment door. I'm not going to spoil it, but youve probably already guessed. and some reviews I just read on imdb agree this episode anticipates the surrealism of The Prisoner, so odd its not one of the ones included in the new set.
I was around when it first aired on TV but I didn't watch it. To the best of my knowledge the only thing I've seen PMG in is 'Hell Drivers' and - if you count it - a very small non-speaking role in 'The Dambusters'. If I can find it, I think I'll give it a go.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
@Sonero Hell Drivers is a superb film which stars, among others, a pre-Bond Sean Connery. PMG plays the lead baddie. Apparently, during the main fight scene between him and Stanley Baker, a few bumps and bruises were sustained by each man. I'm confident you'll enjoy it. Here it is on YouTube. Let us know what you think.
I watched the first episode of Danger Man last night on my streaming service, the quality was sharp, the episode contained scenes shot in Portmeirion, which was nice to see. Kind of negates the theory that John Drake is The Prisoner though, surely he would have remembered the village and mentioned at some point that it was the same as one he had visited before? The famous theme tune was missing - when did that start?
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I’ve seen the first two episodes of DangerMan, and they’re just about okay. There’s a decent fight in episode one and the great Derren Nesbitt is in episode two, which saves the day! Still, I will persevere for now and watch episode three.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
@CoolHandBond
You are most welcome.
That does look fabulous 🍸
if I had a bluray player I'd be tempted to get it it, to upgrade from my dvd set. aside from improved picture quality and new bonus features, the old dvd set is rather bulky for 18 episodes or whatever it was
the bonus disc of selected Danger Man episodes, are they each considered somehow prototypical of The Prisoner? (View From The Villa, The Nurse, Fair Exchange, Colony Three, No Marks For Servility)
@caractacus potts
View From The Villa, in which John Drake is assigned to investigate the murder of the banker Frank Delroy was shot in Portmeirion, so that episode is linked with the Prisoner TV series.
Colony Three was the iconic episode that laid the foundations for the prisoner TV series.
I cannot think of any linkage of The Nurse, Fair Exchange and No Marks For Servility with the Prisoner TV series as of this moment.
On a positive note, the fact that they have remastered 5 episodes from Danger Man to HD, means we might get a fully remastered bluray version of Danger Man coming soon.
I would love to see Season 4's iconic episodes Shinda Shima and Koroshi get the HD treatment.
That would be a dream come true.
@caractacus potts You can watch a 720p version of the prisoner on YouTube.
Please find the link below:
Thank you.
good link @Sonero , especially since I cant remember which box I packed my Prisoner dvds in for my last move. Hopefully the same box has my Emma Peel "megaset" and my Mel Brooks boxset, since those two are also very important and nowhere in my usual piles of stuff
if No Marks For Servility is the one where Drake goes undercover as a butler, it kinda sorta anticipates the humiliating roleplaying games Number 6 would be subjected to as they tried to forcibly integrate him into Village society. Sometimes he'd play along just to gain the advantage in the final scene. and the butler was the only consistent recurring character in The Prisoner.
There was another one, with Desmond Llewelyn, that anticipated the sort of trippy mindgames Number 6 would be subjected to, I forget the title.
I always like the one where Number 6 wakes up and he's lefthanded. A perfect concise example of everyday life in The Village.
He says it in the Intro:
"Who is Number One?"
"You are, Number Six!"
the Danger Man episode with Desmond Llewelyn was The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove, thats not one of the ones included in this new Prisoner set
looking at my notes upthread, in this episode we see the number on John Drakes apartment door. I'm not going to spoil it, but youve probably already guessed. and some reviews I just read on imdb agree this episode anticipates the surrealism of The Prisoner, so odd its not one of the ones included in the new set.
I was around when it first aired on TV but I didn't watch it. To the best of my knowledge the only thing I've seen PMG in is 'Hell Drivers' and - if you count it - a very small non-speaking role in 'The Dambusters'. If I can find it, I think I'll give it a go.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
@caractacus potts
Thank you for thematically interpreting the episode No Marks For Servility.
I think it makes perfect sense now when I look at it.
View From The Villa, introduces us to Portmeirion, the location which impressed Mr. McGoohan as a backdrop for the series.
The Nurse, deals with isolation and being trapped in a foreign land.
Fair Exchange, has themes of torture, mind control and psychological hospitalization.
Colony Three, as Mr Donovan says in the episode...all countries are countries of the mind. Themes of simulacra and simulation.
No Marks For Servility, submission and acceptance of authority.
I might also add Mr. Angelo Muscat plays the role of a servile butler to Number 2.
Another coincidence, Mr. André van Gyseghem plays a colonel in Fair Exchange and also Number 2 in Episode 11 "It's Your Funeral" in the Prisoner.
One thing I must point out is how much sharper and clearer the picture is in the remastered episodes.
I compared the visual quality of the remastered episodes to the ones available on Amazon Video (the DVD version).
A tack sharp image with inky blacks.
[Imprint] Television have done an outstanding job with the remastered episodes.
@Marker
Thank you for the suggestion. I did not know of 'Hell Drivers' and I am going to check it out.
Another great movie of Mr. McGoohan is Ice Station Zebra.
Starring Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine and Jim Brown...Ice Station Zebra is an excellent Cold war espionage thriller.
It was American billionaire Mr. Howard Hughes's favorite film.
A masterpiece.
@Sonero Hell Drivers is a superb film which stars, among others, a pre-Bond Sean Connery. PMG plays the lead baddie. Apparently, during the main fight scene between him and Stanley Baker, a few bumps and bruises were sustained by each man. I'm confident you'll enjoy it. Here it is on YouTube. Let us know what you think.
I'd forgotten about 'Ice Station Zebra' but it's a long time since I've seen it.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
@Marker
Thank you for the recommendation and the link.
I will definitely be watching this movie today.
Thank you.
PMG was also excellent in 4 episodes of Columbo, he also directed a further two episodes without starring in them.
Yes, Patrick McGoohan was great in Columbo and holds the record for the most guest star appearances as the killer.
@CoolHandBond @Silhouette Man
Mr. Patrick McGoohan was electric in every role he ever played.
He was absolutely diabolical as the sinister mortician Eric Prince in the Colombo mystery film "Ashes to Ashes".
One of the best episodes in the series.
@Marker
Sir on your kind recommendation, I saw the 'Hell Drivers' today and I was very impressed.
What an excellent film, finely acted and beautifully crafted.
A wonderful experience.
-----------------------------------
Coming back to the Prisoner bluray set by [Imprint] Television...
Here are the bluray slip covers for Disc Numbers 1-3 and 4-6.
As you can see, this bluray set is feature packed.
All in all, an excellent bluray set and truly a collector's item.
@Sonero I'm pleased that you liked 'Hell Drivers'. I was sure you would.
Author of 'An Ungentlemanly Act' and 'Execution of Duty'. The WW2 espionage series starring Harry Flynn.
I watched the first episode of Danger Man last night on my streaming service, the quality was sharp, the episode contained scenes shot in Portmeirion, which was nice to see. Kind of negates the theory that John Drake is The Prisoner though, surely he would have remembered the village and mentioned at some point that it was the same as one he had visited before? The famous theme tune was missing - when did that start?
@CoolHandBond
Here is a chronological order of various themes of the show.
Some of them were never used.
I think you are referring to the classic Secret Agent Man song by Johnny Rivers.
1961 – "Theme from Danger Man", The Red Price Combo
1964 – Danger Man "High Wire", The Bob Leaper Orchestra
1965 – Danger Man "High Wire", The Edwin Astley Orchestra
1965 – Danger Man "High Wire", The Ivor Slaney Orchestra
1966 - Secret Agent Man by Johnny Rivers
"they've given you a number and taken away your name", years before "I am not a number I am a free man"
so glad to see this thread bumped and thriving. @CoolHandBond you gonna watch the whole series?
@Sonero It was High Wire I was thinking of. Jools Holland did a fantastic cover of it.
@caractacus potts Yes, I will be watching two or three episodes a week 😁
@CoolHandBond
Thank you for the recommendation.
This version is excellent.
I’ve seen the first two episodes of Danger Man, and they’re just about okay. There’s a decent fight in episode one and the great Derren Nesbitt is in episode two, which saves the day! Still, I will persevere for now and watch episode three.