Back in the sixties, as a young child, I remember my sister and I being driven to North Wales for a day at the seaside. Part of the trip was to see a very special Italianate village. After a couple of hours in the car (my dad's work vehicle) we arrived to discover that the village was closed... people were 'making a film'. It was The Prisoner.
When the show finally aired on UK TV for the first time, my parents hated it. "What was this rubbish about? There's no story!" I can remember my father saying. But at age 10 I was hooked... I'd loved Danger Man (Patrick McGoohan's previous TV show) and this was even better. The clothes, the place, the music... even the typeface. Yes, the typeface. A special version of Albertus created for the show (look those 'e's).
Later on I became a designer. I'd like to think in part due to the show. It had a profound impact on me... and many of my friends too. I had a chum called Dennis, whose mother made him jacket with white bias around the edges. I knew others that had these too.
The show had style, elan, pace, heart, surprise, pathos, tears. Every emotion an actor is supposed to be able to display was brought to the fore. The strange woman that makes ticking noises. The 'be seeing you' salute. The rover balloons. The Mini Mokes. The umbrellas. The colours. The straw hats. This isn't just TV, it is art. This is groundbreaking art.
Does it look staid? Perhaps there are some elements that date it. The electronics, the computer that types out 'why'. The telephones, although ultra modern then, are retro now, and then only to those who have a taste for such things. But the spirit is indomitable. A show about the human condition. The struggle against all that is unfathomable, all that is against us. No 6 is the person we all want to be. Human, strong, empathetic, intelligent, able, self assured yet never arrogant. He isn't Bond, he can't be categorised.
This show was conceived and constructed by Patrick McGoohan. I believe he got the go-ahead from Sir Lew Grade at a private meeting with only the briefest of outlines. Grade clearly knew that McGoohan was capable of brilliant things.
Cut to the 80s and I'm at college in Coventry. One of my tutors (Mike Felmingham) tells me he painted a lot of the murals on the walls for Sir Clough Williams Ellis, the creator of Portmeirion. Then, in the late 90s, early 2000s, I'm a member of a small sailing club in Porthmadog, just across the Cob from Portmeirion. I visited many it times. It's a truly wonderful place.
The show has followed me it seems, just as much as I have followed it. It is brilliant. If you haven't seen it... do.
When the show finally aired on UK TV for the first time, my parents hated it. "What was this rubbish about? There's no story!" I can remember my father saying. But at age 10 I was hooked... I'd loved Danger Man (Patrick McGoohan's previous TV show) and this was even better. The clothes, the place, the music... even the typeface. Yes, the typeface. A special version of Albertus created for the show (look those 'e's).
Later on I became a designer. I'd like to think in part due to the show. It had a profound impact on me... and many of my friends too. I had a chum called Dennis, whose mother made him jacket with white bias around the edges. I knew others that had these too.
The show had style, elan, pace, heart, surprise, pathos, tears. Every emotion an actor is supposed to be able to display was brought to the fore. The strange woman that makes ticking noises. The 'be seeing you' salute. The rover balloons. The Mini Mokes. The umbrellas. The colours. The straw hats. This isn't just TV, it is art. This is groundbreaking art.
Does it look staid? Perhaps there are some elements that date it. The electronics, the computer that types out 'why'. The telephones, although ultra modern then, are retro now, and then only to those who have a taste for such things. But the spirit is indomitable. A show about the human condition. The struggle against all that is unfathomable, all that is against us. No 6 is the person we all want to be. Human, strong, empathetic, intelligent, able, self assured yet never arrogant. He isn't Bond, he can't be categorised.
This show was conceived and constructed by Patrick McGoohan. I believe he got the go-ahead from Sir Lew Grade at a private meeting with only the briefest of outlines. Grade clearly knew that McGoohan was capable of brilliant things.
Cut to the 80s and I'm at college in Coventry. One of my tutors (Mike Felmingham) tells me he painted a lot of the murals on the walls for Sir Clough Williams Ellis, the creator of Portmeirion. Then, in the late 90s, early 2000s, I'm a member of a small sailing club in Porthmadog, just across the Cob from Portmeirion. I visited many it times. It's a truly wonderful place.
The show has followed me it seems, just as much as I have followed it. It is brilliant. If you haven't seen it... do.