The Prisoner

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OrsonWelles
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The Prisoner

Post by OrsonWelles »

I did see The Prisoner (1967 series) mentioned in the "What to watch while waiting for Twin Peaks"-topic but didn't find a topic to discuss the series itself. It's definitely one of my favourite series. People often say that Twin Peaks opened up possibilities for series and storytelling, but isn't The Prisoner equally or more of a gamechanger? Perhaps not in the amount of influence, but perhaps it was more unconvential compared to series in the 60's than Twin Peaks compared to those in the 90's/late 80's?

Is there an influence on Twin Peaks? I think I read somewhere that Frost is a huge fan, but how about Lynch?
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Adolphus
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Re: The Prisoner

Post by Adolphus »

OrsonWelles wrote:I did see The Prisoner (1967 series) mentioned in the "What to watch while waiting for Twin Peaks"-topic but didn't find a topic to discuss the series itself. It's definitely one of my favourite series. People often say that Twin Peaks opened up possibilities for series and storytelling, but isn't The Prisoner equally or more of a gamechanger? Perhaps not in the amount of influence, but perhaps it was more unconvential compared to series in the 60's than Twin Peaks compared to those in the 90's/late 80's?

Is there an influence on Twin Peaks? I think I read somewhere that Frost is a huge fan, but how about Lynch?
Yes, I think " The Prisoner " influenced TP ( the original series ) in how you could open up the potential of a TV series into a more mysterious and bizarre territory. I think it was Mark Frost who mentioned how much he enjoyed The Prisoner. To be honest I think of both series belonging to the " seminal " camp- and they both have an enduring quality to them that make them eminently watchable over most current fare.
If you compare The Prisoner to films that were being made around the same time, then you could make the case the series was part of an unconventional creativity that was in the air in the 60's ( especially European art films )- whereas Twin Peaks was aired during a pretty conservative period in American culture in the late 80's ( compared to the 60's anyway ). Remember that Monty Python's Flying Circus came shortly after The Prisoner in Britain- whereas in the US in the late 80's The Cosby Show and Roseanne were the crapola being shoveled out to the public.
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Mr. Reindeer
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Re: The Prisoner

Post by Mr. Reindeer »

Definitely seen Frost mention being a fan, although I forget where. Hope it gets a name-drop in The Final Dossier as so many other influences did in TSHoTP (Body Heat, Close Encounters, etc.). Funny that Mark and the writers never name-check The Prisoner as an influence on TP when they always mention The Fugitive and less seminal shows like Mayberry RFD. I think the only fictional TV shows I can ever recall DKL mentioning are The Fugitive, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. I don't get the sense that he watches (or ever watched) much TV, but I bet he'd love The Prisoner if he saw it, given its Kafkaesque nature.

Hopefully not too OT, but did anyone see the penultimate Leftovers episode? It felt VERY influenced by the Prisoner finale --
Spoiler:
Theroux's character confronting his own duality by facing another version of himself, a group of sycophantic white-clad people cultishly following our main character, iconic '60s pop rock (Beach Boys) being ironically used over a scene of violence, nuclear warfare being used to destroy the main character's "prison," which is really a metaphor for his own self-imprisonment.
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