Friday 15 March 2024

1969: The PLEASURE of PORTMEIRION | Bird's Eye View | Weird and Wonderfu...



The Prisoner is a 1967 British television series created by and starring Patrick McGoohan, with possible contributions from George Markstein.[2] McGoohan portrays Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village after resigning from his position.[3] The allegorical plotlines of the series contain elements of science fictionpsychological drama, and spy fiction.[4] It was produced by Everyman Films for distribution by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.[4]

A single series of 17 episodes was filmed between September 1966 and January 1968, with exterior location filming primarily taking place in the Welsh seaside village of Portmeirion. Interior scenes were filmed at MGM-British Studios in BorehamwoodHertfordshire. The series was first broadcast in Canada beginning on 5 September 1967, in the UK on 29 September 1967, and in the US on 1 June 1968.[5] Although the show was sold as a thriller in the mould of Danger Man, McGoohan's previous series, its surreal and Kafkaesque setting and reflection of concerns of the 1960s counterculture have had a far-reaching influence on popular culture and cultivated a cult following.



Portmeirion (/pɔːtˈmeriən/;[1] Welsh pronunciation: [pɔrtˈmei̯rjɔn]) is a folly[2] tourist village in GwyneddNorth Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, 2 miles (3.2 km) from Porthmadog and 1 mile (1.6 km) from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the Baroque style and is now owned by a charitable trust. It has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as "The Village" in the 1960s television show The Prisoner.

Many of the buildings within the village are listed by Cadw, the Welsh historic environment service, for their architectural and historical importance, and the gardens are listed, at Grade II*, on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.



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