SENDETERMINE DEUTSCHE FERNSEHFASSUNG
TV SCREENING DATES: UK AND USA more...

Die Jupiter Film und Heimatdruck Ges. m.b.H. in Wien wurde vom Zweiten Deutschen Fernsehen, ZDF, mit der Herstellung der deutschen fassung von THE PRISONER beauftragt. Joachim Brinkmann sorgte für die übersetzung von 13 ausgewählten episoden ins deutsche und führte auch die regie bei den synchronaufnahmen. Ob er letztendlich für gerade diese episodenauswahl verantwortlich war, ist nicht bekannt.

Die episoden der bekannten "deutschen reihenfolge" tragen die produktionsnummern 6335/0584 bis 6335/0596. Die studioaufnahmen fanden in München statt, vermutlich bei der Fa. Beta Technik. Die folgenden angaben wurden vom ZDF zur verfügung gestellt. Die ZDF-lizenz für die ausstrahlung endete am 31.05.1973.

Zahl in (): britische standardreihenfolge; US-reihenfolge abweichend. Dank an Michael Brüne für die zusammenstellung dieser daten!

Die erstsendung im ZDF (mehr...) erfolgte samstagabends reichlich spät zwischen 23 und 23:25 uhr und in großen zeitlichen abständen. 1972 kam es zur wiederholung der sieben episoden 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 & 13 im zwei-tage-rhythmus als kontrastprogramm zu den olympischen sommerspielen in München.

Angegeben sind die erstsendetage, wiederholungen erfolgten unter der woche

DEUTSCHES SYNCHRONSPRECHERVERZEICHNIS - mehr...

Sendedaten der ZDF-fassung von 1969 im überblick (nur komplette ausstrahlungen):

Die SAT1-ausstrahlung fand ab Oktober 1986 mittwochabends um 22:45 uhr praktisch unter ausschluss der öffentlichkeit nur im kabelfernsehen statt und zu einem zeitpunkt, als die neuen stationen froh über jedes sendefähige material waren. 1989 und 1992 sendete PRO7 (nunmehr:) PROSIEBEN die komplette deutsche reihe, 1990/91 unvollständig die episoden 1 bis 9. Die sendezeiten der 92er ausstrahlung lagen um mitternacht plus-minus 30 minuten. 1990 und 1992 wurden die episoden meist in den frühen morgenstunden gegen 5 uhr wiederholt. Die sendezeiten des DF1-satellitenabo-kanals sind nicht bekannt.

NUMMER 6 FERNSEHPREMIERE AM 16.08.1969
"AUF DIE REIH GEBRACHT" - mehr...
FINAL CUT: FEHLENDE SZENEN
LARRY HALL: "WHAT IT MEANS, NOT WHAT IT SAYS" - mehr...
BERND RUMPF IM INTERVIEW MIT HARALD KELLER

Koch-Media hat 2006 die serie in Deutschland auf DVD erstmals vollständig herausgebracht. Dazu der verantwortliche redakteur, Moritz Peters, im gespräch, mehr...

BESPRECHUNG DER DEUTSCHEN DVD
"IM DORF" - ÜBER DIE DVD-UNTERTITELUNG

KEINE SCHRIFTTAFEL IM ABSPANN DER LETZTEN EPISODE "DEMASKIERUNG"
MIT HINWEIS AUF DEN SCHAUPLATZ DER DREHARBEITEN, STATTDESSEN SIEHT
MAN IN DER DEUTSCHEN VERSION ROVER AUF DEM MEER

TV SCREENING DATES: UK AND USA

INDEPENDENT TELEVISION - ITV - REGIONAL MAP 1964 - 1968 AND 1968 - 1974
MOVE YOUR CURSOR OVER THE IMAGE TO VIEW THE CHANGES

PUTTING THE PRISONER IN ORDER - more...
THE GERMAN DVD REVIEWED
LARRY HALL: "WHAT IT MEANS, NOT WHAT IT SAYS" - more..
LINGUISTICS ON DVD SUBTITLES: "IM DORF" (German language).

There has always been quite extensive discussion and coverage about the UK and USA screening order of THE PRISONER - whatever the "correct" or initially "intended" order may look like. But rather little attention has been paid to the very first screening dates, in fact. Eventually, what we have here on this particular page is a survey of the German (see above), the US and the UK screening dates.

As is known the UK screening didn't take place at one single date and simultaneously in the whole UK. According to Roger Langley of the PRISONER Appreciation Society SIX OF ONE the Internet Movie DataBase dates are wrong for the UK and are not the first screening. Not all ITV regions showed THE PRISONER during the first run and the regions changed during the 1967/8 run (see maps). The various regions showed episodes on different dates and sometimes weeks apart but on those dates, more than one ITV region showed the episode on that night.
The ITV regions which showed the first 15 episodes on the earliest date were ATV Midlands ITV and Grampian ITV. The region which showed the final 2 episodes first was Scottish ITV ("Once Upon a Time" and "Fall Out"). Both Grampian and Scottish ITV regions were in Scotland, which is a separate country from England of course, but is part of 'Britain'. So Scotland showed the last two episodes before England!

In the United States on the first run the episode "Living In Harmony" was not shown by CBS. One of the great debates among fans centers around the reason for the dropping. Many contend that this move by the TV station was an act of censorship. The fact that McGoohan/Number Six was playing a Sheriff in a "western"-style episode of THE PRISONER who had resigned from his post and was forced back into office (by the law: the Judge) but refused to use a gun in his job was deemed morally and politically unsuitable under the given circumstances. Because at this time the Vietnam war was reaching its climax with the Vietcong Tet offensive resulting in the war becoming more and more unpopular with the US media and the public.
CBS, of course, denied such allegations. They said it was the overt use of hallucinating drugs which couldn't be tolerated. This argument sounds a bit strange, though. THE PRISONER is full of use as well as misuse of drugs, mostly by the Village authorities against certain persons. According to this premise hardly any episode could have ever been screened. To be true, "Living In Harmony" does in no way feature drugs as such. As a matter of fact, later US screenings and syndicated reruns again did include "Living In Harmony".

Thanks to SIX OF ONE's Roger Langley for the UK screening details and the maps; also to US-based Bruce Clark and Chris Campbell for supplying the US dates!

Koch-Media has published the first ever complete version of NUMMER 6 on DVD in Germany. A talk with Moritz Peters, editor in charge, read more...

Information on the German TV screening of 1969/70:

The company Jupiter Film und Heimatdruck Ges. m.b.H. of Vienna was commissioned by the television station Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen ZDF to produce the German version of THE PRISONER.
Joachim Brinkmann was in charge to translate the scripts of 13 selected episodes into German (more...). It is not known as for why and by whom those very 13 episodes would be chosen. He also directed the dubbings.
The known "German order" was produced using the production nos. 6335/0584 to 6335/0596. Dubbing was accomplished presumably with Fa. Beta Technik in Munich. The above data listing was provided by ZDF. According to this the ZDF broadcasting licence expired on May 31st, 1973.

The epsiodes screened by ZDF in 1969/70 were shown rather late on saturday nights around 11 p.m and later. Gaps in between the episodes were large. In 1972 the seven episodes 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 & 13 were repeated during and as a contrast to the summer olympic games in Munich.

Private owned station SAT1 screenings in 1986 were at 10:45 p.m. every wednesday evening beginning in October. The complete German series was broadcast by PRO7 (now:) PROSIEBEN in march 1989, one episode daily at around 6 p.m., and in 1992 weekly from january till march. The november and december 1990 rerun on saturday morning at around 9 a.m. remained incomplete (episodes 1 – 9). Sunday midnight plus-minus half an hour were the 1992 screening times. Repeated screenings on the 1990/1992 broadcasts took place early in the morning around 5 a.m.

No details are known as for the satellite pay-TV DF1. The table above shows all known complete German screenings.

Thanks to Michael Brüne for supplying the above data!

NO INSERT OR MENTION IS MADE IN THE GERMAN TV VERSION OF THE SERIES AS TO THE LOCATION WHERE THE PRISONER WAS SHOT. INSTEAD ROVER IS SEEN ON THE WATER.