The Prisoner

The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the United Kingdom in February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory, and psychological drama. The series follows a British former secret agent who is abducted and held prisoner in a mysterious coastal village resort where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job. Although sold as a thriller in the mold of the previous series starring McGoohan, Danger Man (1960–68) [retitled as "Secret Agent" in the US], the show's combination of 1960s countercultural themes and surreal setting had a far-reaching effect on science fiction/fantasy programming, and on popular culture in general.