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Following is a list of the episodes of The Prisoner, along with descriptions of their content and context.

Debate over logical episode order[edit]

Whilst everyone agrees on the first and the last three episodes of the 17 produced shows, extensive debate has taken place among dedicated fans trying to determine a "correct" order for the intermediate 13 episodes. The order in which the episodes were originally broadcast in Britain differs from the order in which they were produced. Even the broadcast order is not that originally intended by series star and co-creator Patrick McGoohan. Many have analyzed the series line-by-line for time references, which in many cases provide different—sometimes radically different—episode orders compared to the broadcast order.^[1]

Ian Rakoff (assistant editor on two episodes and co-writer of "Living in Harmony") authored a book in 1998 on his experience working on the series,^[2] wherein the appendices include a numbered episode guide which reflects the original UK broadcast order, as do the nine-volume Laserdisc releases of the series, also released in 1998. However, the 2006 40th Anniversary DVD Boxed Set released in association with American television's Arts & Entertainment Channel (A&E) uses a different order. The set goes so far as to include a guidebook with justifications for their version, citing—among other reasons—the aforementioned "time references", such as Number Six telling other members of the Village that he is "new here". Given that Number Six is pitted against myriad psychological tricks and mind-altering drugs throughout the series, many^[who?] do not think that such references are a proper way to postulate answers to such questions as time, while still others^[who?] feel that such statements represent Number Six's constant sarcastic, adversarial and wry attitude towards his captors.^{[clarification needed]}

The first UK transmission of each of the first 14 episodes was made by ATV (Midlands) and Grampian Television. The final three episodes were first shown in the UK by Scottish Television.

Episode list [edit]

Episode orders

• 
  Prod: The studio production order. This is not an intended viewing order.^[3]


• 
  ITC: "Official" ITC sequence. This is the sequence in which the episodes were originally scheduled to be broadcast in the UK, and—aside from the exclusion of "Living in Harmony"—the sequence in which they were originally aired in the USA. This is the order used in the 2009 A&E Blu-ray release.^[4]


• 
  KTEH: Arranged by Scott Apel for KTEH channel 54 (PBS affiliate in San Jose, California)


• 
  6 of 1: Endorsed by Six of One, The Prisoner Appreciation Society, and used in the A&E DVDs.^[5] The UK Sci Fi Channel marathon used a similar order, but with "Dance of the Dead" preceding "Free for All", and "The General" preceding "A. B. and C.".


• 
  AV Club: After viewing in the KTEH order, the personal arrangement of Zack Handlen of the website The A.V. Club.^[6]

The list below follows the ITC ordering, but can be sorted into any of the other orders.

Alternative versions[edit]

Alternative versions of two episodes exist and have been commercially released. An early edit of "Arrival", with a different music score and additional dialogue and scenes not in the broadcast version, was located in the 2000s and released to DVD in the UK and in 2009 in the A&E Home Video DVD and Blu-ray box sets. This alternative version was located on a near-pristine 35mm print and has been transferred in high-definition along with the 17 episodes for the Blu-ray release. An early edit of "The Chimes of Big Ben", again with an unbroadcast music score and additional scenes and dialogue not in the broadcast version, was located in the 1980s and initially released on VHS videotape by MPI Home Video. It was later included as a bonus feature on the A&E Home Video DVD release of the series in the early 2000s. In 2009 it was also included in the expanded A&E Home Video box set, but owing to the low quality of the print it was not upgraded to high definition as was "Arrival", and was instead included as a bonus on the set's standard DVD extras disc, which was included in both the DVD and Blu-ray editions.

Unproduced episodes[edit]

Unproduced storylines and scripts for the series are known to exist, several of which were published in a two-volume collection of Prisoner scripts edited by Robert Fairclough and published by Reynolds and Hearn in 2005 and 2006. The scripts and story outlines were also included in PDF form as a DVD-ROM bonus feature on the 2009 DVD and Blu-ray box set issue of The Prisoner by A&E Home Video.

• "The Outsider" by Moris Farhi (complete script included in Volume 1)


• "Ticket to Eternity" by Eric Mival (synopsis included in Volume 1)


• "Friend or Foe" by Mival (synopsis included in Volume 1)


• "Don't Get Yourself Killed" by Gerald Kelsey (complete script included in Volume 2)

Documentary[edit]

In 2007 a documentary entitled Don't Knock Yourself Out was produced containing behind-the-scenes footage, and archival and newly recorded interviews with the cast and production staff. It is narrated by Neil Pearson^[8] and runs approximately 90 minutes.

References[edit]