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Number Six in “The Prisoner”

Posted September 5, 2009 @ 5:32 pm In Numbers,Six | No Comments

“Number Six ^[1]” is the new identity given to the former secret agent, played by Patrick McGoohan ^[2], in the 1960′s ITV series, “The Prisoner ^[3].” The beginning of all 17 episodes ^[4] of the series begins with the following exchange between the Prisoner and Number Two, the official in charge of breaking him, giving him his new “name”:

Prisoner: Where am I?

Number Two: In The Village.

Prisoner: What do you want?

Number Two: Information.

Prisoner: Which side are you on?

Number Two: That would be telling. We want information, information, information…

Prisoner: You won’t get it.

Number Two: By hook or by crook we will.

Prisoner: Who are you?

Number Two: The new Number Two.

Prisoner: Who is Number One?

Number Two: You are Number Six.

Prisoner: I am not a number. I am a free man.

Number Two: Ha, ha, ha, ha….

There is a remake ^[5] of the series scheduled to be aired in November 2009 on AMC ^[6] in the United States and on ITV ^[7] in the United Kingdom.

How It's Used

"But Sundance's celebration of independent filmmaking was filled with people who mourned the death last week of Patrick McGoohan, the 80-year-old actor who both created and starred in the quirky story of Prisoner Number Six, a spy trying to escape a remote seaside "village" where everyone is known only by a number and where he is told that "by hook or by crook" the reasons for his sudden resignation as an agent will be extracted from him. No wonder Mr. McGoohan will be missed -- he was a truly independent artist."

—John Fund, "Why 'The Prisoner' Endures," The Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2009.

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URLs in this post:

[1] Number Six: http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0026473/

[2] Patrick McGoohan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_McGoohan

[3] The Prisoner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner

[4] all 17 episodes: http://www.amctv.com/videos/the-prisoner-1960s-video/

[5] remake: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043714/

[6] AMC: http://www.amctv.com/

[7] ITV: http://www.itv.com/

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