SIGN OF THE TIMES
The Prisoner Nummer 6
The
sediments at the bottom of television: series and serials, omnipresent
and almost as infinite as the medium itself. Few only were successfull
in touching the underside of our attentiveness.
UNWAHRSCHEINLICHE GESCHICHTEN ("Improbable Stories") was one
that did, the classic TWILIGHT ZONE.
Anything associated with the expression TV-magic
applies to this.
Phantastic
television of the sixties, among other things, is one conjuring formula:
"Be
seeing you!" or
L'année dernière
au Village:
Contributing
authors:
(German knowledge required)
|
FRANK
T. BITTERHOF |
In
Germany little is known about the series which originally was shown in
1969. Especially the generation between forty and fifty will probably
remember best seeing the show "first hand".
For the clarity of expressions and names, within this website the series
is referred to as NUMMER 6 or THE PRISONER, written in capital letters.
The principal character, played by Patrick McGoohan, is referred to as
"Number Six" or "Nummer Sechs" and somtimes as "The
Prisoner".
In
the pulldown menus German language texts are marked (D).
Spoiler alert! To all of you who haven't seen the show, get a VHS or DVD copy first, watch it and then come back and read this text. Just keep following the signposts!
"The sky is the limit. Be seeing you!" . Wir sehen uns! Patrick McGoohan
The space craze and cold war phenomena made up the main ingredients of some adventureous, utopic stuff. Intelligence duo Emma Peel and John Steed british-elegantly saved the day in MIT SCHIRM, CHARME UND MELONE (THE AVENGERS) and won the hearts of millions of viewers as did Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin in SOLO FÜR O.N.C.E.L. (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.) on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. Because of their sympathetic kinkyness and futuristic looking weaponry these shows scored the big points.
It was much harder for David Vincent whom nobody would believe that he'd actually seen the INVASION VON DER WEGA (THE INVADERS). This series was rather formulaic and quickly faded away. But in 1974 creator Larry Cohen provided some furor releasing a fang-fitted killer baby from the WIEGE DES BÖSEN (IT'S ALIVE!).
Let's not forget RAUMPATROUILLE ("Space Patrol"), German pearl of the age of flat-iron technology. Dietmar Schönherr played Commander Cliff Alister McLane. He commanded the fast space cruiser Orion with a smile on his face barely hidden against the orders always delivered by the Supreme Space Authority in a creaky tone. This 7-parts mini series was much more popular than STAR TREK would ever be in this country. One of the actresses provided the German voice of Nadja in "The Chimes Of Big Ben".
Shortly after the first walk on the moon one British show came across the Channel under the equally vague as well as vaguely significant title: NUMMER 6.
