Regarding Patrick McGoohan

1. I appreciate creative genius in all forms, and consider The Prisoner to be a creative work, like a well-orchestrated symphony, that does not lose appeal or relevancy with the passage of time.

2. The character portrayed as "No.6" successfully inspires the best qualities of being a conscious human being, while retaining the ability to hold the attention of the general audience with the mystique of "spy intrigue and appeal."

3. Attention to detail is evident in both the acting and the directing of this show, showing me that there was exacting purpose with each character and choice of actor fitted into the plot (all the co-actors, male and female, that interacted with the protagonist/star of the show).

4. When an actor gives full intent and focus, an extra dimension of meaning is also transmitted to those in an audience who are open to it, and that is exactly what Mr McGoohan has achieved in his delivery.

5. No-one likes to be labelled, and the Prisoner was labelled, not even with a name or a description but with a NUMBER - the antithesis of being an individual - and as numbers go, it wasn't even a very desirable number at that! By choosing this number, he inspires us to realize that it doesn't matter what the label is, it's still an arbitrary label designed to cover and belittle the essence within - the real stuff of an individual. (There's too much of this going on in society, from my own personal perspective.)

6. The "eye of perception" was at the fore of the character, an ingenious way to pull in one's attention and to actually identify strongly with the character, thus bringing in all of one's own perceptions of one's own "village" scenario and related characters in "real life" (or what is popularly regarded as such - ha). Because of this, The Prisoner has the ability to "evolve" in meaning by the actual active mental participation of the audience! Thus it continues to be an active, LIVING work of art!

7. 90% or more of prime time television targets the common denominator of humanity, obviously to attract quantity rather than quality of viewers, most likely for the purpose of exposing the maximum number of viewers (possible customers) to the commercials (required viewing).

Unfortunately, the majority of these shows (primarily sitcoms) are meant to entertain with as little intellectual demand as possible, and usually with only an occasional string or two of quasi-emotional sentiment thrown in here and there to keep interest from completely fizzling out before the next commercial.

Hmmm...

This is not unlike the simile given in The Prisoner - the subtle coercion of the minds of the inhabitants of "the village" by the controlling media (No. 2 and his gang). Once, when "No. 6" expressed to a fellow inmate something to the effect, "Your thoughts interest me. You are an individual, and there are so few of us left....", this could also apply to the dearth of intellectually stimulating and unique television shows. For example, If I could address the television series called The Prisoner as if it were a person, I would also say: "Your thoughts interest me. You are an individual, and there are so few of us left...." It behoves us to support such shows if for no other reason than to appeal to the networks to provide more quality shows of this calibre (Stand up for the rights of your minority, thinking individuals! - ha)

8. One more comment on the previous quote, �You are an individual, and there are so few of us left....". This message drove an impact by virtue of the fact that Patrick McGoohan is one. Only one can play one as convincingly as he did, as evidenced in his portrayal of "No. 6" - the epitome of individuality fighting for survival amidst the trumped-up (fabricated and controlled) environment of "The Village." It is a powerful call to all the "individuals" in the audience to be true to themselves - to be a fully integrated living human being, and not just another consumer, a non-thinking advocate of current popular thought (which changes constantly with time).

9. I could go on ...but one thing I believe about the series The Prisoner is that it requires those "non-labelled spaces" so prevalent throughout. People can write books or stories inspired by the series, but the series itself cannot be translated into concretized words as if there are no others. For that reason, binding these (or any) thoughts, however insightful or noble, about the series into book form is too constricting.

Words... can be wonderfully enlightening, but if everything is explained away, it is too easy to digest the "information" for the sole purpose of fitting it nicely into one's own preset library of labels, so that one does not have to think about it anymore. It becomes dead meat, no longer useful as a living parable with the ability to trigger the viewer's own ability to decipher meaning that is relevant to him or her now.

10. Plus, I just like him, darn it.

I'm still holding back a lot of stuff, but I think I better stop here. Otherwise I might become guilty of writing the very book I want to avoid (ha!). Just tell Patrick that he is eternally relevant to me, thus voiding the myth about "time relevancy" - I would not change (or add to) anything in the work he has done!

- Vivien Marie Purmort, US

Wishing you a glorious 75th Birthday.

Thank you for all your great performances over the years from theatre, to TV to film. I guess the most famous of these performances will be The Prisoner, which, lets face it, is as relevant today as it was in the �60s, perhaps even more so! Hope you have a great day.

All best wishes for now and the future

- Deb McDougall, England

Dear Mr. McGoohan,
Your birthday is a good occasion to finally express to you my sincerest thanks for your great work as an artist. Your Prisoner series deserves, in my opinion, to be considered one of the few true masterpieces of speculative fiction and of television in general. All these years never diminished the force of your vision, and I believe that it will remain a real classic, in a category of its own, for many years to come.
Once again, thank you.
- Federico De Gennaro, Italy

Dear Mr. McGoohan:

Happy 75th Birthday from very cold Austin, TX! All best wishes from a tough-cookie Texas lady!!!

I've simply loved your performances in Danger Man, The Prisoner, and your various roles in the Columbo series!!! Especially The Prisoner - I must admit that I emotionally "came down" from a very hard time with my PhD qualifying exams 5 years ago with the series on video and a box of a dozen doughnuts - I shut myself up at home for a weekend and watched The Prisoner until I'd returned to humanity. Metaphorically it was a good fit.

And, to make things more magical, the day I successfully defended my [almost 300-page] PhD dissertation about a year ago, the TV offering that night was Identity Crisis, the Columbo episode with all the Prisoner allusions (the one where most of the action took place at the amusement park). How magical, and how special!!

Thank you so much for your (unknown, inadvertent, and unplanned) help in getting me back to humanity after a long, hard, ugly graduate school experience - I truly appreciate your accepting such complex roles that portray tough, intelligent characters making tough decisions...where everything finally works out well and justice finally happens...even if he's the villain...

But most of all, I truly appreciate your integrity in choosing your roles to align with your faith - I'd recently read about your turning down the James Bond role years ago, and it made me appreciate you so much more as a solid, skilled professional. I've given up various professional and personal opportunities in order to stay true to my Christian faith - and one more example, especially from an actor I already admired and respected, greatly increased my sense of solidarity with the saints and comfort with my decisions.

All best wishes for your birthday!! God bless you greatly!!!

- "name withheld upon request", US

To those who appreciated The Prisoner and the rest of the man's remarkable body of work on stage and in front of and behind the camera; if you want to acknowledge his work, accept nothing without question and (above all) don't let the buggers get you down.
- Brian Watson, UK