The Prisoner
The General
TV Flash files “The General” as hour 6 of 17 in the TV Flash guide — The Prisoner (1967–1968) on ITV, season 1, episode 6, aired 1967-11-05, 50 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E06: listed hour 6 of 17 in the The Prisoner guide, hour 6 of 17 in season 1. It aired 1967-11-05 (50 min). The listed hour before it is “The Schizoid Man” (S01E05). Next is “Many Happy Returns” (S01E07).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
"Speedlearn" is a subliminal process for educating the population of The Village, developed by a Professor with the aid of an unseen "General". However, the Professor realises that his creation has the ability to be abused by Number Two and with the help of Number Six intends to destroy the General. After their attempt fails Number Two takes Number Six to meet the General.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The General sit in the The Prisoner guide?
S01E06 is listed hour 6 of 17 — hour 6 of 17 in season 1, season 1 episode 6.
When did The Prisoner S01E06 air?
The General aired 1967-11-05 and is listed at 50 minutes.
Where should I start?
Episode one is the resignation-and-Village contract. The series is only 17 hours; starting at the beginning is the point, not a sample platter.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A secret agent resigns; a Village claims him. Patrick McGoohan's Number Six spends seventeen episodes demanding identity in a pastel prison of surveillance and untrustworthy faces. Stylish, stubborn, endlessly rewatchable spy-allegory — and a finale that still starts arguments. Be seeing you.
A secret agent resigns; a Village claims him. Patrick McGoohan's Number Six spends **seventeen episodes** (ITV, 1967–1968) demanding identity in a pastel prison of surveillance, mind games, and untrustworthy faces. George Markstein co-shaped the thing with him. Angelo Muscat's Butler and Leo McKern's Number Two orbit the refusal to be numbered. Each escape fails differently. *Arrival* is the capture. *Fall Out* is the closer that still starts fights. On the palate: penny-farthings, Rovers, and a greeting that is…
Filed against
- Patrick McGoohan as Number Six
Patrick McGoohan’s Number Six spends The Prisoner demanding identity in a pastel Village of surveillance — seventeen stylish, stubborn episodes, a finale that still starts arguments — after Danger Man’s John Drake practiced spy craft with…
- Angelo Muscat as The Butler
Angelo Muscat’s Butler haunted The Prisoner in silence — a secret agent resigns, a Village claims him, Patrick McGoohan’s Number Six spends seventeen episodes demanding identity in a pastel prison of surveillance. Stylish, stubborn…
- Leo McKern as Number Two
Leo McKern occupied the Village as Number Two on The Prisoner — not a single villain so much as the job title that kept asking Patrick McGoohan’s Number Six who he was. Pastel prison, untrustworthy faces, a finale still starting…