The Land of Cerpts and Honey

FAREWELL TO No. 6. I was very saddened to learn of the death of Patrick McGoohan on Tuesday at the age of 80. While many "know-nothing tots" may know him solely from his admittedly superb performance as King Edward Longshanks in BRAVEHEART, those more knowledgeable folks who read this here blog will probably always remember him as the star and creative force behind one of the most interesting and innovative TV shows in the history of television: 1967's THE PRISONER. Any fan of the current TV series LOST worth his salt should already know the extreme debt that show owes to THE PRISONER; from the apparently government agency-run island "Village" to the balloon-like security system "Rover" which more than resembles a certain smoke monster or even to the fact that the island appears to be run by Number 2 (or LOST's Ben) while an unseen Number 1 (or LOST'S Jacob) is the true boss. Before THE PRISONER, McGoohan was the star of DANGER MAN aka SECRET AGENT. We all know that famous theme song about "a man who lives a life of danger": "Secret Agent Man, Secret Agent Man, they've given you a number and taken away your name." Of course, many believe that this very character was the same fellow who appeared in the later PRISONER series. McGoohan's character in THE PRISONER, of course, was apparently an agent who tried to get out of the life and was spirited away to a mysterious island of secrets. He was, as the SECRET AGENT MAN theme famously said, given a number in place of his name. He was rechristened Number 6. "I am not a number!", he famously repeated each week on THE PRISONER, "I am a free man!" And it is as this character for which I will always remember Patrick McGoohan most fondly. Also every week during the opening credits, Number 6 would always try to find out who was secretly in charge of the island's "Village" by asking "Who is Number One?". He would always be answered with the phrase: "That would be telling!" Well, in my mind Patrick McGoohan will always rank as Number 1 for the remarkable achievement of his series THE PRISONER.