The Prisoner

The Prisoner (1967)

194 mistakes in season 1 - chronological order

(3 votes)

Checkmate - S1-E9

Continuity mistake: At the end of the chess match, the player wearing blue comes down off his platform, descending the ladder and walking onto the field. In the very next shot, as his opponent approaches Number 6, the man in blue is in the background, once again coming down the same ladder. He didn't have time to climb it again.

Jean G

Checkmate - S1-E9

Continuity mistake: In the opening shots, the Village center is shown without the giant chessboard set up. In the very next shot, it is suddenly fully laid out on the green.

Jean G

Checkmate - S1-E9

Continuity mistake: When the command "Knight to Queen's Bishop Three" is given, it's not a knight that moves, but a pawn. In the next long shot, though, Queen's Bishop Three isn't occupied by anyone, pawn or otherwise.

Jean G

Checkmate - S1-E9

Factual error: Several of the chess moves called out over the loudspeaker are not possible with the players in their current positions. The Queen, for instance, is ordered to King three while in her starting position (can't be done). The "Knight to Knight's Bishop three" move is also impossible. When she is free to move to King three, though, the Queen goes there twice - without moving anywhere else in between.

Jean G

Checkmate - S1-E9

Continuity mistake: When Number 6 is setting up his antenna, there's a woman on the beach in the background in a blue bathing suit. Between takes, her beach umbrella disappears.

Jean G

Hammer into Anvil - S1-E10

Visible crew/equipment: When Number 6 is listening to classical music in the listening booth, each time he puts his head into the booth (after switching records) there is a specific shot behind his shoulder where you can see the heads of two crew members reflected in the glass of the listening booth. This happens 3 times and is very visible on Blu-ray. (00:10:33)

Jack Vaughan

Hammer into Anvil - S1-E10

Continuity mistake: When Number 2 is shouting at Number 14, calling him a traitor, Number 2's long strands of hair are flying all over his head. In the very next shot, though, his hair has nicely combed itself and he's well-groomed again.

Jean G

Hammer into Anvil - S1-E10

Continuity mistake: Number 6 points the mirror out to sea and tries to send a signal. But when we see him from the POV of the security camera, he's pointing the signal mirror toward the Village instead. When the shot cuts back to him on the beach, the buildings are again behind him and he's facing seaward again.

Jean G

Hammer into Anvil - S1-E10

Continuity mistake: When he's standing against the wall of the kosho chamber, Number 6 is holding onto the rail, but when the camera reverses angles, he isn't. This goes back and forth several times.

Jean G

It's Your Funeral - S1-E11

Audio problem: During the scene when Number 6 warns Number 2 of a potential assassination attempt on him Number 2 brushes it off and says "it's the little watchmaker that concerns you" but his mouth does not match this. (00:29:43)

Jack Vaughan

It's Your Funeral - S1-E11

Visible crew/equipment: Just before Number 6 and the woman break into her father's watch shop there is a shot of the shop's front door, as the camera moves in on the door you can see the face of the cameraman reflected in the door glass in the bottom right. (00:32:01)

Jack Vaughan

Number 6: Be seeing you.

More quotes from The Prisoner

Free for All - S1-E4

Trivia: This episode's writing credit reads "Paddy Fitz." This was one of many pseudonyms Patrick McGoohan used in writing, directing and producing most of the series himself. "Fitz" was borrowed from his mother's maiden name, Fitzpatrick.

Jean G

More trivia for The Prisoner

Chosen answer: 1) It's never made entirely clear, but it seems that the government, Six's employers, are involved. 2) Because they wanted to know why he resigned. 3) It's never revealed, although many fans assume that Six is really John Drake, McGoohan's character from the prior show Danger Man. McGoohan has, however, denied that this was the intent and there are some notable differences between the characters. 4) It's never revealed, although, as, in the final episode, Six and his companions are able to drive to London, it must logically be located within the British Isles. 5) No details are ever given as to who has ultimate authority over the Village.

Tailkinker

Answer: Hope I am not going on too much, but I was watching bits of "The Prisoner" on YouTube, and have some information in response to question three "What was Number Six's name?" In the opening sequence of "The Prisoner" Patrick McGoohan/The Prisoner/Number Six walks into an office and throws a resignation letter on the table. He then drives to his house and hurriedly packs a suitcase. You can see him throw a UK passport into the suitcase. Seconds later, knockout gas is pumped into his house. He falls unconscious, then revives in "The Village." If he has a UK passport this must give his name, so it can be inferred that his name might be known to, or available to, anybody who really wants to know. After all, it seems plausible that the people or organisation who ordered his removal to "The Village" would have made at least a rudimentary search of his house and found the passport. Subsequently, in "Arrival" the first episode of the series, Patrick McGoohan/The Prisoner/Number Six meets "Number Two" who shows him a series of photographs illustrating his life from his schooldays up till his resignation. I find it inconceivable that Number Two could have acquired such a comprehensive amount of information about Patrick McGoohan/The Prisoner/Number Six, and not known his name. Yet Number Two never once mentions his name. Occasionally, in later episodes, characters mention that they knew Number Six in the time before they were transported to "The Village." But, during all seventeen episodes of the series, neither Patrick McGoohan/The Prisoner/Number Six, nor anybody else, ever mentions his name. From all this, it is clear that it was deliberately intended that viewers of "The Prisoner" would never know his real name.

Rob Halliday

Answer: Patrick McGoohan was often asked these, and many other questions about The Prisoner. He always refused to answer. He said the programme contained the answers. But you might want to try reading "I Am (Not) A Number, Decoding The Prisoner" written by Alex Cox and published in the UK in 2017. I regret that I, personally, was not wholly convinced by everything in this book. However, Alex Cox makes a dedicated and conscientious effort to deal with some questions asked about this very enigmatic television series. Alex Cox argues that Patrick McGoohan intended that the 17 episodes of The Prisoner should be watched in the order in which they were filmed, as these fill in details along the way. Even so, many questions about The Prisoner may always remain unanswered. One obvious paradox is that Patrick McGoohan/The Prisoner/Number 6 always says "I am not a number", and it is quite clear that much of his life before he arrived in "The Village" is well known to everybody, but he never, not even once, ever mentions his real name.

More questions & answers from The Prisoner

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.