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The Prisoner #1
The Prisoner: Volume 1
‘I’m not a number. I’m a free man!’
January 16th, 1967...
A secret agent resigns, then wakes up to find himself imprisoned in ‘The Village’ — a bizarre community with a cheery veneer, but an underbelly of mystery and threat. All occupants of The Village have numbers instead of names, with our secret agent forced to accept the mantel of Number Six.
The authorities running this Village are intent on discovering why Number Six resigned — but it’s a secret he steadfastly refuses to divulge. As the drama unfolds, the authorities, in the guise of the sinister Number Two, try ever more ingenious and aggressive means to bend Number Six to their will. All the while, Number Six is intent on two aims: to escape and to find out ‘Who is Number One?’.
Episode One: Departure and Arrival
A failed meeting in Belgium catalyses Agent ZM-73 to resign from his top secret post, but when he wakes the following morning everything has changed — even his name. Trapped in a bizarre coastal village, and with his every move monitored by the mysterious Number Two, the man now known as Number Six struggles to make sense of it all.
Episode Two: The Schizoid Man
Six finds himself fascinated by a strange bond which has suddenly developed between himself and Number Nine. But the next morning, Six wakes to find himself changed. A moustache, different hair, and… a new name. Number Twelve.
Episode Three: Your Beautiful Village
Something is very wrong, as Six experiences the most disturbing sense deprivation. Almost complete darkness, filled with haunting sounds, fragments of conversations, and a desperate call from Nine start to test his reason.
Episode Four: The Chimes of Big Ben
A new prisoner arrives in The Village. The woman is strong-minded, independent, and refuses to accept her new number — Eight. She is not a number, she is Nadia. And Six is convinced that she is his ticket out of The Village.
This set contains four episodes (two 78-minute, feature-length and two hour-long episodes), a Behind-the-Scenes audio documentary, and a lavish colour booklet.
January 16th, 1967...
A secret agent resigns, then wakes up to find himself imprisoned in ‘The Village’ — a bizarre community with a cheery veneer, but an underbelly of mystery and threat. All occupants of The Village have numbers instead of names, with our secret agent forced to accept the mantel of Number Six.
The authorities running this Village are intent on discovering why Number Six resigned — but it’s a secret he steadfastly refuses to divulge. As the drama unfolds, the authorities, in the guise of the sinister Number Two, try ever more ingenious and aggressive means to bend Number Six to their will. All the while, Number Six is intent on two aims: to escape and to find out ‘Who is Number One?’.
Episode One: Departure and Arrival
A failed meeting in Belgium catalyses Agent ZM-73 to resign from his top secret post, but when he wakes the following morning everything has changed — even his name. Trapped in a bizarre coastal village, and with his every move monitored by the mysterious Number Two, the man now known as Number Six struggles to make sense of it all.
Episode Two: The Schizoid Man
Six finds himself fascinated by a strange bond which has suddenly developed between himself and Number Nine. But the next morning, Six wakes to find himself changed. A moustache, different hair, and… a new name. Number Twelve.
Episode Three: Your Beautiful Village
Something is very wrong, as Six experiences the most disturbing sense deprivation. Almost complete darkness, filled with haunting sounds, fragments of conversations, and a desperate call from Nine start to test his reason.
Episode Four: The Chimes of Big Ben
A new prisoner arrives in The Village. The woman is strong-minded, independent, and refuses to accept her new number — Eight. She is not a number, she is Nadia. And Six is convinced that she is his ticket out of The Village.
This set contains four episodes (two 78-minute, feature-length and two hour-long episodes), a Behind-the-Scenes audio documentary, and a lavish colour booklet.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
Audio CD
First published January 31, 2016
24 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Briggs
375 books133 followersNicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs. Some of Briggs' earliest Doctor Who-related work was as host of The Myth Makers, a series of made-for-video documentaries produced in the 1980s and 1990s by Reeltime Pictures in which Briggs interviews many of the actors and writers involved in the series. When Reeltime expanded into producing original dramas, Briggs wrote some stories and acted in others, beginning with War Time, the first unofficial Doctor Who spin-off, and Myth Runner, a parody of Blade Runner showcasing bloopers from the Myth Makers series built around a loose storyline featuring Briggs as a down on his luck private detective in the near future.
He wrote and appeared in several made-for-video dramas by BBV, including the third of the Stranger stories, In Memory Alone opposite former Doctor Who stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. He also wrote and appeared in a non-Stranger BBV production called The Airzone Solution (1993) and directed a documentary film, Stranger than Fiction (1994).
Briggs has directed many of the Big Finish Productions audio plays, and has provided Dalek, Cybermen, and other alien voices in several of those as well. He has also written and directed the Dalek Empire and Cyberman audio plays for Big Finish. In 2006, Briggs took over from Gary Russell as executive producer of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio range.
Briggs co-wrote a Doctor Who book called The Dalek Survival Guide.
Since Doctor Who returned to television in 2005, Briggs has provided the voices for several monsters, most notably the Daleks and the Cybermen. Briggs also voiced the Nestene Consciousness in the 2005 episode "Rose", and recorded a voice for the Jagrafess in the 2005 episode "The Long Game"; however, this was not used in the final episode because it was too similar to the voice of the Nestene Consciousness. He also provided the voices for the Judoon in both the 2007 and 2008 series. On 9 July 2009, Briggs made his first appearance in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood in the serial Children of Earth, playing Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Rick Yates.
He wrote and appeared in several made-for-video dramas by BBV, including the third of the Stranger stories, In Memory Alone opposite former Doctor Who stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. He also wrote and appeared in a non-Stranger BBV production called The Airzone Solution (1993) and directed a documentary film, Stranger than Fiction (1994).
Briggs has directed many of the Big Finish Productions audio plays, and has provided Dalek, Cybermen, and other alien voices in several of those as well. He has also written and directed the Dalek Empire and Cyberman audio plays for Big Finish. In 2006, Briggs took over from Gary Russell as executive producer of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio range.
Briggs co-wrote a Doctor Who book called The Dalek Survival Guide.
Since Doctor Who returned to television in 2005, Briggs has provided the voices for several monsters, most notably the Daleks and the Cybermen. Briggs also voiced the Nestene Consciousness in the 2005 episode "Rose", and recorded a voice for the Jagrafess in the 2005 episode "The Long Game"; however, this was not used in the final episode because it was too similar to the voice of the Nestene Consciousness. He also provided the voices for the Judoon in both the 2007 and 2008 series. On 9 July 2009, Briggs made his first appearance in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood in the serial Children of Earth, playing Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Rick Yates.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 1, 2025
I recently completed a long drive which put me in the car for an extended period and so I used it as an excuse to catch-up on a bunch of audio. As I discussed in my review of The Night Whispers, while I'm a big fan of audio drama in general, and respect the hard work companies like Big Finish put into their productions of classic IPs, I generally have avoided them, as I have a love for things in their original format, and with their original actors (or, in this case, their original voices) - so the prospect of listening to a modern audio drama version of, say, THE AVENGERS (Steed & Mrs. Peel, natch) or KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, proves to be both tantalizing and frustrating to me - and so I just "opt out"....
But here we have a Big Finish "re-imagining" of the classic TV series THE PRISONER (I call it a reimagining because they change certain things, add details and eliminate others, but are retelling the classic episodes of the show with some original story additions). And make no mistake, THE PRISONER is one of my favorite television shows ever (I could easily rank it in my top 3 tv shows), and faced with the prospect of a non-McGoohan PRISONER (as he himself escaped The Village, and this earthly existence, in 2009), and my reactions to previous attempts at wrestling with the series legacy (such as The Prisoner: Shattered Visage), well, I probably would have opted out yet again.
But, in listening to the first installment of this ("Departure and Arrival"), I have to admit they did a very good job. Mark Elstob does marvelous work as Number Six, capturing both the acerbic, clipped, sardonic/ironic tone of McGoohan's voice and character (you can almost see the self-satisfied, dryly puckish facial expressions) and the character's boiling anger. John Standing, as the Number Two of the first half, has a nicely jovial, jesterish attitude towards the familiar proceedings. I didn't realize at first that this was a "reimagining" of the show (presuming that it was a new character and new stories and that the repeats of familiar scenarios and lines from the original were just a way of showing that The Village had a routine assimilation for bringing in new "citizens"), but I like the various tweaks (most specifically, although the story is ostensibly set in 1967, The Village has what we consider "modern" technology and it is intriguing and evocative to see Number Six struggle with concepts like "software" and a computer "tablet") and the way they've integrated the presentation of the Rovers (in the sense that they are part of The Village, but also something specifically odd and singular) with Number Six describing them as "glowing white" and "blinding" as nice touches. The writing also does a good job capturing the tone of the show, part British low-key twee oddness and surrealism, and part espionage action. Also, the music work by Jamie Robertson is exceptionally good, capturing the feel of the original while being its own thing.
"The Schizoid Man" continues on from the ending of the first story, then launches Number Six into the plot of the televised episode, in which he awakens to find himself physically unchanged (except for a mustache and left-handedness) but now referred to as "Number 12," a confidant of the new Number Two (brash, wily) who has ostensibly been brought in on the expectation of breaking Number Six by making him question his own identity. This tricky little scenario is a bit difficult to pull off in audio (Mark Elstob voices both Number Six and Number 12, obviously) but they do a reasonable job of not making it too confusing (in fact, one could argue that confusing the players, at specific points, is part of the story's intent) - and keeping with the updated technology, here you get a reference to "clones" grown in vats. Nicely done.
"Your Beautiful Village" is the first non-TV adaptation, and the one in which a general sense of pattern begins to emerge. Number Six awakes to complete darkness and inconsistent ability to communicate with Number Nine (his female touchstone and confederate, but can she be trusted?) Seemingly, there has been some kind of accident or emergency breakdown in the Village (or in reality? Or in the reality of The Village?), and the New Number 2 (this time, chummy and gracious) needs Number 6's help, as the problem seems to be focused on his mind - but is he being told the truth? This story is probably the closest they've come to breaking him so far, and the audio production on this episode, focused on the senses, is excellent! That pattern I mentioned? Well, the previous episode indirectly forced Number Six to identify with his Number (despite his reluctance to do so) by "remaking" him as Number 12, and here we have him forced to identify with his cage, The Village, through selective sensory deprivation which forces him to desire the return of things like sight, sound and feeling. A really excellent episode!
And then we have "Chimes Of Big Ben" -which is fairly close to the broadcast episode, as Number Six takes a new Village "recruit" (Number 8) under his wing and makes a deal with the New Number 2 (avuncular, bumbling) to enter the Village Arts & Crafts fair... Not bad, they tweak the ending slightly for audio, and to take advantage of the new level of technology available to The Village. I especially liked how they carry over small details from previous episode - so here, Six having learned about the possibilities of "cloning" in "The Schizoid Man", accuses the nurses at the infirmary of "not even being people" and later, when a worker is mistreated by Number Two, he asks her "what it like? For you, I mean?" - trying to establish whether he has guessed right that all the incidental, non-numbers in The Village may not actually be people at all. A solid entry.
But here we have a Big Finish "re-imagining" of the classic TV series THE PRISONER (I call it a reimagining because they change certain things, add details and eliminate others, but are retelling the classic episodes of the show with some original story additions). And make no mistake, THE PRISONER is one of my favorite television shows ever (I could easily rank it in my top 3 tv shows), and faced with the prospect of a non-McGoohan PRISONER (as he himself escaped The Village, and this earthly existence, in 2009), and my reactions to previous attempts at wrestling with the series legacy (such as The Prisoner: Shattered Visage), well, I probably would have opted out yet again.
But, in listening to the first installment of this ("Departure and Arrival"), I have to admit they did a very good job. Mark Elstob does marvelous work as Number Six, capturing both the acerbic, clipped, sardonic/ironic tone of McGoohan's voice and character (you can almost see the self-satisfied, dryly puckish facial expressions) and the character's boiling anger. John Standing, as the Number Two of the first half, has a nicely jovial, jesterish attitude towards the familiar proceedings. I didn't realize at first that this was a "reimagining" of the show (presuming that it was a new character and new stories and that the repeats of familiar scenarios and lines from the original were just a way of showing that The Village had a routine assimilation for bringing in new "citizens"), but I like the various tweaks (most specifically, although the story is ostensibly set in 1967, The Village has what we consider "modern" technology and it is intriguing and evocative to see Number Six struggle with concepts like "software" and a computer "tablet") and the way they've integrated the presentation of the Rovers (in the sense that they are part of The Village, but also something specifically odd and singular) with Number Six describing them as "glowing white" and "blinding" as nice touches. The writing also does a good job capturing the tone of the show, part British low-key twee oddness and surrealism, and part espionage action. Also, the music work by Jamie Robertson is exceptionally good, capturing the feel of the original while being its own thing.
"The Schizoid Man" continues on from the ending of the first story, then launches Number Six into the plot of the televised episode, in which he awakens to find himself physically unchanged (except for a mustache and left-handedness) but now referred to as "Number 12," a confidant of the new Number Two (brash, wily) who has ostensibly been brought in on the expectation of breaking Number Six by making him question his own identity. This tricky little scenario is a bit difficult to pull off in audio (Mark Elstob voices both Number Six and Number 12, obviously) but they do a reasonable job of not making it too confusing (in fact, one could argue that confusing the players, at specific points, is part of the story's intent) - and keeping with the updated technology, here you get a reference to "clones" grown in vats. Nicely done.
"Your Beautiful Village" is the first non-TV adaptation, and the one in which a general sense of pattern begins to emerge. Number Six awakes to complete darkness and inconsistent ability to communicate with Number Nine (his female touchstone and confederate, but can she be trusted?) Seemingly, there has been some kind of accident or emergency breakdown in the Village (or in reality? Or in the reality of The Village?), and the New Number 2 (this time, chummy and gracious) needs Number 6's help, as the problem seems to be focused on his mind - but is he being told the truth? This story is probably the closest they've come to breaking him so far, and the audio production on this episode, focused on the senses, is excellent! That pattern I mentioned? Well, the previous episode indirectly forced Number Six to identify with his Number (despite his reluctance to do so) by "remaking" him as Number 12, and here we have him forced to identify with his cage, The Village, through selective sensory deprivation which forces him to desire the return of things like sight, sound and feeling. A really excellent episode!
And then we have "Chimes Of Big Ben" -which is fairly close to the broadcast episode, as Number Six takes a new Village "recruit" (Number 8) under his wing and makes a deal with the New Number 2 (avuncular, bumbling) to enter the Village Arts & Crafts fair... Not bad, they tweak the ending slightly for audio, and to take advantage of the new level of technology available to The Village. I especially liked how they carry over small details from previous episode - so here, Six having learned about the possibilities of "cloning" in "The Schizoid Man", accuses the nurses at the infirmary of "not even being people" and later, when a worker is mistreated by Number Two, he asks her "what it like? For you, I mean?" - trying to establish whether he has guessed right that all the incidental, non-numbers in The Village may not actually be people at all. A solid entry.
May 16, 2022
What happens to secret agents that want to retire? Do they resign? Can they resign? Do they just get assassinated? Is there a retirement home for Secret Agents? Well, the cult-classic TV series upon which this is based, offered that very idea as the premise: a sort of retirement village for secret agents. There was probably no other TV series that presented such a weird amalgamation of espionage suspense and surreal mind games … not only among the characters, but the audience ended up being brought into the mind games forced upon the protagonist. This audio-drama presents an updated version of that original concept.
1.1 Episode One: Departure and Arrival ~ Sets up the concept and the characters. A totally functional adaptation of the original episodes that open the series (3/5).
1.2 Episode Two: The Schizoid Man ~ An updated adaptation of the episode of the same title from the original series. Although there are some aspects about this episode that work even better than the original not everything is improved. Some aspects don’t quite work as well (3/5).
1.3 Episode Three: Your Beautiful Village ~ Mixed feelings about this one. This one is not an adaptation, but it also plays with the format of this being an audio-drama. Basically it’s a kind a phone-tag mind-game. Overall this one was pretty weak (2/5).
1.4 Episode Four: The Chimes of Big Ben ~ A completely serviceable adaptation of the episode from the classic series. Some changes and updates. It was fine. (3/5).
Overall I wasn’t overly impressed. I have a lot of fondness for the original series and I was a bit apprehensive about this update, as it could far too easily be turned into farce or camp, once all the surreal elements get folded in. But based on how well I enjoyed the Big Finish Production of Space: 1999 (see Space 1999: Breakaway, Space 1999 Volume 1 & Space 1999 Volume 02 Earthbound so far), I felt it would be in good hands. There’s nothing bad really, maybe it will grow on me at some point when I go back and listen to these again. Which I will. At some point. Maybe after I’ve rewatched the original series the next time (3/5).
1.1 Episode One: Departure and Arrival ~ Sets up the concept and the characters. A totally functional adaptation of the original episodes that open the series (3/5).
1.2 Episode Two: The Schizoid Man ~ An updated adaptation of the episode of the same title from the original series. Although there are some aspects about this episode that work even better than the original not everything is improved. Some aspects don’t quite work as well (3/5).
1.3 Episode Three: Your Beautiful Village ~ Mixed feelings about this one. This one is not an adaptation, but it also plays with the format of this being an audio-drama. Basically it’s a kind a phone-tag mind-game. Overall this one was pretty weak (2/5).
1.4 Episode Four: The Chimes of Big Ben ~ A completely serviceable adaptation of the episode from the classic series. Some changes and updates. It was fine. (3/5).
Overall I wasn’t overly impressed. I have a lot of fondness for the original series and I was a bit apprehensive about this update, as it could far too easily be turned into farce or camp, once all the surreal elements get folded in. But based on how well I enjoyed the Big Finish Production of Space: 1999 (see Space 1999: Breakaway, Space 1999 Volume 1 & Space 1999 Volume 02 Earthbound so far), I felt it would be in good hands. There’s nothing bad really, maybe it will grow on me at some point when I go back and listen to these again. Which I will. At some point. Maybe after I’ve rewatched the original series the next time (3/5).
April 2, 2021
In a word: Amazing! Being a fan of the original series I was delighted to discover this production by Big Finish. Included are four episodes and a behind the scenes making of diary that was entertaining on its own. The actors are bang on as is the ambience of the 60s when the show was first made. this is not a modern remake, but rather a period piece with the same mystic that was present in McGoohan's masterpiece.
Yes, I binged the entire volume in one sitting, but will be revisiting for a more discerning listen. Some of the episodes are reimagining of the TV Series and others are original. The effects, voices, and music are all spot on. What I also enjoyed was Briggs throwing caution to the wind and going places where the show did not. In other words, do not get too attached to characters because bad things can happen to good people! I also enjoyed how Rover is portrayed and what the loathsome orb can get up to.
Trust me on this, if you liked the original you will welcome this addition to the universe. If you have never seen The Prisoner, the opposite is true. If this whets your whistle, then go find the discs or a streaming service that has it. Prepare to be amazed!
Yes, I binged the entire volume in one sitting, but will be revisiting for a more discerning listen. Some of the episodes are reimagining of the TV Series and others are original. The effects, voices, and music are all spot on. What I also enjoyed was Briggs throwing caution to the wind and going places where the show did not. In other words, do not get too attached to characters because bad things can happen to good people! I also enjoyed how Rover is portrayed and what the loathsome orb can get up to.
Trust me on this, if you liked the original you will welcome this addition to the universe. If you have never seen The Prisoner, the opposite is true. If this whets your whistle, then go find the discs or a streaming service that has it. Prepare to be amazed!
April 28, 2021
The Prisoner-Volume one.
i'm glad I relistened to this as it's been a while.
I'm a fan of the original show on ITV though have yet to see Danger Man. Mark Elstobb nails Patrick McGhoohan's eccentrics and madness very well on audio though I wish there was a bit more action. A few more punches here and there.
I loved the castings of Number Two and Ceila Imerie was very good. I think my favourite story out of this boxset was Your Beautiful Village, then The Chimes of Big Ben (homage to the original), Departure and arrival and the Schizoid man. The latter is certainly difficult to do on audio if anybody has watched the original, they'll know why but they did a decent job.
i'm glad I relistened to this as it's been a while.
I'm a fan of the original show on ITV though have yet to see Danger Man. Mark Elstobb nails Patrick McGhoohan's eccentrics and madness very well on audio though I wish there was a bit more action. A few more punches here and there.
I loved the castings of Number Two and Ceila Imerie was very good. I think my favourite story out of this boxset was Your Beautiful Village, then The Chimes of Big Ben (homage to the original), Departure and arrival and the Schizoid man. The latter is certainly difficult to do on audio if anybody has watched the original, they'll know why but they did a decent job.
October 2, 2017
I listened to this on a long-haul flight, with barely a pause. Riveting stuff - possibly the best thing Big Finish has ever done.
February 12, 2018
Number 6 cries a lot more in this radio adaptation than you might expect.
March 7, 2017
Always nervous when someone remakes or reboots a classic series but this audio series is note-perfect. Casting, writing, sound design are all magnificent
February 15, 2017
A brilliant recreation of the 1960s TV classic, this time for your ears! The script, acting, and sound effects are all top notch. I look forward to my next visit to The Village. Be seeing you.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews