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The Prisoner Resignation Mini-series

novalis

novalis

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I just completed a rough cut of a prequel mini-series for Patrick McGoohan's 1960s masterpiece The Prisoner (a spy attempts to resign and wakes up imprisoned in a beautiful place called The Village). By using episodes of McGohan's spy series Danger Man/Secret Agent with moments from The Prisoner, I have edited six episodes that tells John Drake's journey of disillusionment that led to his fateful resignation. This has been quite a labor of love as I always enjoyed the hints of The Prisoner that were already found in Danger Man/Secret Agent. Special thanks to asterixsmeagal and Cero for giving feedback on a couple of very rough first attempts. Here is a clip from the second episode:

Here are the Danger Man/Secret Agent episodes I used and the changes I made.
Episode 1: Yesterday's Enemies
Original length: 48.50
New length: 50
Changes:
  • Took out Drake's arrival to see the admiral in his Mini-Cooper.
  • Replaced it with the opening credits of The Prisoner when Number 6 drives in his Lotus 7.
  • Replaced the anger and resignation from the credits with Number 6's entrance from Many Happy Returns.
Episode 2: Colony Three
Original length: 51.39
New length: 49.00
Changes:
  • Took out Drake's surveillance.
  • Replaced it with Number 6 being tracked by the Undertaker (played by Peter Madden who also plays Hobbs) from Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.
  • Cut some of the burning on the ID picture and replaced it with the typewriter, and warehouse from the opening of The Prisoner. I also brought in Peter Madden as the Understake again from Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.
  • At the end overlapped the dialogue with Hobbs and Drake with the same shots as the former warehouse and Undertaker using gas.
Episode 3: The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove
Original length: 48.50
New length: 50
Changes:
  • Replaced Drake's driving in the country with the Lotus 7 from Many Happy Returns.
  • Took out Drake waking up from his nightmare to see that he is being taken care of by ambulance workers.
  • Replaced it with Number 6 waking up in his flat using footage from The Prisoner episode Arrival.
  • When Number 6 looks out his blinds in Arrival, replaced The Village with the hearse driving away outside of his flat from the opening credits of The Prisoner.
  • Ended with Number 6 getting connected and hooked up while asleep from The Prisoner episode A, B, and C.
  • Overlapped sound of Mr. Lovegrove and Drake laughing.
Episode 4: I'm Afraid You Have the Wrong Number
Original length: 48.50
New length: 48.50
Changes:
  • Mostly kept this one in tack. Just changed the credits to Village font like I did the rest of the episode.
  • Added Drake recognizing the police chief as a fellow agent named Cobb (as they are played by the same actor.) Took the whisper of Cobb's name from Arrival and added it when the police chief gets a surprised look.
  • Also added a small conversation between Cobb and Number 6 in Arrival to the moments when Drake is being shown surveillance footage.
Episode 5: Koroshi (feature film)
Original length: 48.50
New length: 90
Changes:
  • Blended Korshi and Shinda Shima into one feature-length picture. (I know that they were released this way, but I could only find them as two separate episodes.
  • Made them black and white.
  • Brought in the underwater cold open from Shinda Shima in as the beginning.
  • Added a hint of Rover under the water at the end of the cold open.
  • Trimmed long scene when the flowers were explained as the "humor" did not seem to work.
  • Brought in the airplane announcement from Shinda Shima into the end of Koroshi to blend these two episodes.
  • Brought in Rover as the reason John Drake needs to jump from a speed boat by using Rover from a speed boat scene in Free For All.
  • Have Drake look over when being taken to the enemy layer and notice two jukeboxes from Fall Out.
  • Have Kenneth Griffith see the strange moment when it appears like Rover is being worshiped from Free For All before he dies.
  • Ended with the flashing lights from Schizoid Man to imply that parts of this episode were induced.

Episode 6: The Man on the Beach
Original length: 49.50
New length: 57.26
Changes:
  • Opened with the same elements from Schizoid Man, this time showing Number Six in bed with flashes of Portmeirion.
  • Have Drake try to find Portmeirion through a painting that he finds. This is taken out of context from the pilot episode of Danger Man that takes place in Portmeirion called View from the Villa. (Drake has a transatlantic accent for these early episodes.)
  • Drake takes his own pictures of this village of his dream and shows them to his superior officers who question what side he is on and his potential to defect. This scene is taken from Many Happy Returns.
  • After Drake is ignored, dismissed, and almost killed by the lack of action of his superiors, Drake resigns. Of course, this is taken from the opening credits of The Prisoner.
  • Made his waking up in The Village in the original color (like a Wizard of Oz effect.)
 
Last edited:
I am close to finishing a rough cut of the first episode of The Prisoner prequel mini-series. It primarily uses "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove," which Alan Moore called almost a pilot episode of The Prisoner: "I’d already become intrigued by some of the later episodes of Dangerman — including a dream sequence with a giant syringe that, atmospherically, was almost a Prisoner pilot." https://paleymatters.org/alan-moore-remembers-patrick-mcgoohans-the-prisoner-part-1-c2d2daad0c33

The basic goal of this episode is to establish that The Village is both a physical and a psychological reality. John Drake "has been here before" as the Village is already established in his subconscious. Is used a small clip from the first episode from Danger Man where Drake looks at the clock tower of Portmeirion which is featured quite heavily in The Prisoner and makes this same explanation of "being here before."

So here is a basic outline of my cuts for this episode:
John Drake investigates a memory from his subconscious and sees the clock tower from Portmeirion. He recognizes this place and thinks he "has been there before." (From Danger Man "View from the Villa."

He is sent by a Mr. Lovegrove to deal with a gambling habit that he doesn't have and enters a place where everyone recognizes him and tells him that "he has been there before." (This is almost the entire episode of "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove.")

He is punctured by a needle and wakes up in the Village but it is empty. He sees the clock tower from "View from the Villa." Remembers it and rings it. (From The Prisoner episode many happy returns.)

The next episode will deal with his escape from the empty village and return to his service by investigating of another Village called Colony Three.

The last two episodes will be Drake's final mission which is the last straw before he quits. I used "Ice Station Zebra" for this. This will be split in two parts.
Unmutual makes this claim: " There is even a case to be made for Ice Station Zebra being Part 2 of a John Drake trilogy. He served with honours in the secret service in Part 1: Danger Man ... until being sent on special assignment to the North Pole in Part 2: Ice Station Zebra. There he more or less accomplishes his mission but mis-identifies the double agent and mistakenly kills the wrong man. In a rage at being sent on a virtually impossible, sabotaged mission he dramatically hands in his resignation at the start of Part 3: The Prisoner."
 
Here is a video I made to The Dead Can Dance song "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" using scenes from the episode of Danger Man/Secret Agent that this song is named after. "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" is the one I primarily focused on for the first episode of The Prisoner prequel mini-series and it is the one that Alan Moore refers to as "almost a Prisoner pilot."
 
I finished my first rough edit of my Prisoner prequel miniseries and would love some feedback. I am new at film editing and it probably shows. But I am pretty happy with the narrative that I was able to create in this fan mix.
Episode 1: Primarily uses "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove," which Alan Moore called almost a pilot episode of The Prisoner: "I’d already become intrigued by some of the later episodes of Dangerman — including a dream sequence with a giant syringe that, atmospherically, was almost a Prisoner pilot." https://paleymatters.org/alan-moore-remembers-patrick-mcgoohans-the-prisoner-part-1-c2d2daad0c33
The basic goal of this episode is to establish that The Village is both a physical and a psychological reality. John Drake "has been here before" as the Village is already established in his subconscious. Is used a small clip from the first episode from Danger Man where Drake looks at the clock tower of Portmeirion which is featured quite heavily in The Prisoner and makes this same explanation of "being here before."
So here is a basic outline of my cuts for this episode:John Drake investigates a memory from his subconscious and sees the clock tower from Portmeirion. He recognizes this place and thinks he "has been there before." (From Danger Man "View from the Villa."
He is sent by a Mr. Lovegrove to deal with a gambling habit that he doesn't have and enters a place where everyone recognizes him and tells him that "he has been there before." (This is almost the entire episode of "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove.")
He is punctured by a needle and wakes up in the Village but it is empty. He sees the clock tower from "View from the Villa." Remembers it and rings it. (From The Prisoner episode many happy returns.)

Episode 2: The next episode begins with scenes from "Many Happy Returns" as John Drake escapes from the empty village and reluctantly to his service by investigating of another Village called Colony Three. I used mostly The Danger Man/Secret Agent Man episode "Colony Three" for this. I added the hearse driver, the iconic Prisoner car, the gas spray, and the resignation card drop from "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" to better connect the worlds of Prisoner and Danger Man.

Episode 3: This is Drake's final mission which is the last straw before he quits. I used "Ice Station Zebra" for this. Unmutual makes this claim: " There is even a case to be made for Ice Station Zebra being Part 2 of a John Drake trilogy. He served with honours in the secret service in Part 1: Danger Man ... until being sent on special assignment to the North Pole in Part 2: Ice Station Zebra. There he more or less accomplishes his mission but mis-identifies the double agent and mistakenly kills the wrong man. In a rage at being sent on a virtually impossible, sabotaged mission he dramatically hands in his resignation at the start of Part 3: The Prisoner." I took out about an hour from Ice Station Zebra" to make this edit have stronger pacing. I also began with The Prisoner entrance from "Many Happy Returns" and concluded with the Prisoner opening.
 
novalis said:
Here is a video I made to The Dead Can Dance song "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" using scenes from the episode of Danger Man/Secret Agent that this song is named after. "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" is the one I primarily focused on for the first episode of The Prisoner prequel mini-series and it is the one that Alan Moore refers to as "almost a Prisoner pilot."
Click to expand...
I love it!!!!
 
I had some excellent feedback from Cera about my rough cut that I am working on applying. Using scenes from "Many Happy Returns" to connect the first two episodes does not really work as the Village has no motive for information until after "Drake" resigns. So I have made one decision. And then I have some options that I would like help with. (I also don't like that it makes Many Happy Returns unnecessary as this is one of my favorite Prisoner episodes.)
Decision:
The pilot episode will be Colony Three from Danger Man. I will continue using the Lotus 7 for the car that Drake drives using moments from "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling." I will also keep the hearse and the resignation file from the opening of the Prisoner. This pilot episode is almost complete. It just needs credits.

Thoughts and advice needed.
1. How much should these episodes connect? Do I need to find another connecting element now that I took out "Many Happy Returns"?
2. Cera noticed that I cut too much out of Ice Station Zebra, which I agree with. I probably did this because I don't love this movie. For those who have watched Danger Man is there a better episode that could be Drake's final straw?
3. I am feeling quite uncomfortable with the "yellow face" in Koroshi. I am not sure if I would use this episode, but for those who have worked with older movies and television shows, how did you handle stereotypical representations of cultures?

I did find this post (http://danger-man.co.uk/turningpoint.asp) that has this order to watch Danger Man before the Prisoner:
- Judgement day
- Are you going to be more permanent?
- The outcast
- To our best friend
- The man who wouldn't talk
- The man on the beach

I am going to check out these to see about a potential turning point episode (or episodes) from this list.
 
Here is a clip from the second episode based on the Danger Man/Secret Agent episode "Colony Three." The Prisoner clips are from "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling."
 
I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I haven’t given any feedback from what you had sent me a while ago. Work just got way busier than I had expected.

This idea is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to see what you come up with! So far it all looks so cool.
 
MusicEd921 said:
I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I haven’t given any feedback from what you had sent me a while ago. Work just got way busier than I had expected.

This idea is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to see what you come up with! So far it all looks so cool.
Click to expand...
Totally get it! I have made some major changes since. The process has been fun even though I cringe when I think of early drafts and even some of the rough spots in this current draft...
 
Here are the Danger Man/Secret Agent episodes I used and the changes I made.
Episode 1: Yesterday's Enemies
Original length: 48.50
New length: 50
Changes:
  • Took out Drake's arrival to see the admiral in him Mini-Cooper.
  • Replaced it with the opening credits of The Prisoner when Number 6 drives in his Lotus 7.
  • Replaced the anger and resignation from the credits with Number 6's entrance from Many Happy Returns.
Episode 2: Colony Three
Original length: 51.39
New length: 49.00
Changes:
  • Took out Drake's surveillance.
  • Replaced it with Number 6 being tracked by the Undertaker (played by Peter Madden who also plays Hobbs) from Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.
  • Cut some of the burning on the ID picture and replaced it with the typewriter, and warehouse from the opening of The Prisoner. I also brought in Peter Madden as the Understake again from Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.
  • At the end overlapped the dialogue with Hobbs and Drake with the same shots as the former warehouse and Undertaker using gas.
Episode 3: The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove
Original length: 48.50
New length: 50
Changes:
  • Replaced Drake's driving in the country with the Lotus 7 from Many Happy Returns.
  • Took out Drake waking up from his nightmare to see that he is being taken care of by ambulance workers.
  • Replaced it with Number 6 waking up in his flat using footage from The Prisoner episode Arrival.
  • When Number 6 looks out his blinds in Arrival, replaced The Village with the hearse driving away outside of his flat from the opening credits of The Prisoner.
  • Ended with Number 6 getting connected and hooked up while asleep from The Prisoner episode A, B, and C.
  • Overlapped sound of Mr. Lovegrove and Drake laughing.
Episode 4: I'm Afraid You Have the Wrong Number
Original length: 48.50
New length: 48.50
Changes:
  • Mostly kept this one in tack. Just changed the credits to Village font like I did the rest of the episode.
  • Added Drake recognizing the police chief as a fellow agent named Cobb (as they are played by the same actor.) Took the whisper of Cobb's name from Arrival and added it when the police chief gets a surprised look.
  • Also added a small conversation between Cobb and Number 6 in Arrival to the moments when Drake is being shown surveillance footage.
Episode 5: Koroshi (feature film)
Original length: 48.50
New length: 90
Changes:
  • Blended Korshi and Shinda Shima into one feature-length picture. (I know that they were released this way, but I could only find them as two separate episodes.
  • Made them black and white.
  • Brought in the underwater cold open from Shinda Shima in as the beginning.
  • Added a hint of Rover under the water at the end of the cold open.
  • Trimmed long scene when the flowers were explained as the "humor" did not seem to work.
  • Brought in the airplane announcement from Shinda Shima into the end of Koroshi to blend these two episodes.
  • Brought in Rover as the reason John Drake needs to jump from a speed boat by using Rover from a speed boat scene in Free For All.
  • Have Drake look over when being taken to the enemy layer and notice two jukeboxes from Fall Out.
  • Have Kenneth Griffith see the strange moment when it appears like Rover is being worshiped from Free For All before he dies.
  • Ended with the flashing lights from Schizoid Man to imply that parts of this episode were induced.

Episode 6: The Man on the Beach
Original length: 49.50
New length: 57.26
Changes:
  • Opened with the same elements from Schizoid Man, this time showing Number Six in bed with flashes of Portmeirion.
  • Have Drake try to find Portmeirion through a painting that he finds. This is taken out of context from the pilot episode of Danger Man that takes place in Portmeirion called View from the Villa. (Drake has a transatlantic accent for these early episodes.)
  • Drake takes his own pictures of this village of his dream and shows them to his superior officers who question what side he is on and his potential to defect. This scene is taken from Many Happy Returns.
  • After Drake is ignored, dismissed, and almost killed by the lack of action of his superiors, Drake resigns. Of course, this is taken from the opening creidts of The Prisoner.
 
@novalis has made the corrections necessary to attain Academy approval. @INIGHTMARES considers this edit approved. Congratulations, @novalis! Welcome to our family! Huge thanks to @INIGHTMARES for his expertise in Topaz and selfless generosity in sharing it! You are a legend!
 
ArtisDead said:
@novalis has made the corrections necessary to attain Academy approval. @INIGHTMARES considers this edit approved. Congratulations, @novalis! Welcome to our family! Huge thanks to @INIGHTMARES for his expertise in Topaz and selfless generosity in sharing it! You are a legend!
Click to expand...
I would like to echo how much I appreciate @INIGHTMARES and @ArtisDead . They definitely went above and beyond to help this rookie fan editor make his vision come alive. Having @INIGHTMARES upscaling unrestored DVD quality to HD with Topaz is a total game changer! Can't thank them both enough!
 
@asterixsmeagol also spent tons of time with my first "movie" draft of this project and was the first fan editor to reach out and help me move beyond talk. I feel a little bad that they had to sit through such a rough first effort but I so appreciate the encouragement to split the "movie" into more of a mini-series. In the same way, @Cero also reviewed the equally rough mini-series. They guided me in order to iron out some pretty major plot holes to tell a more cohesive story. (I was trying to force Ice Station Zero and a connecting plot that didn't work in an early miniseries.) Both of you helped craft a story out of a pretty rough starting place. I am so very thankful to you both!
 
Does anyone know what has happened to Novalis? Last DM I got from him regarding Resignation: Part 2, he had mentioned he was not well, and I fear he may have passed?
 
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