Patrick McGoohan died yesterday (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7829267.stm). He was not only the star of, but also the creative and motive force behind, The Prisoner, a 1960s BBC program which makes Lost seem remarkably clear and straightforward by comparison. I discovered it on late night reruns on PBS back when I was in high school (that's right, children: there was a time before DVD box sets). I'm pretty sure the entire series was an allegory having to do with man's relationship to God, or maybe it was just a spy thriller. At any rate, it was, and continues to be, fascinating and challenging. I have no idea what was going on in McGoohan's head, but it was some kind of genius.
UPDATE: Neal Conan paid tribute to McGoohan's earlier series, Secret Agent (which provided the implied backstory to The Prisoner) on NPR's Talk of the Nation earlier today (listen to it at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99353056). He claims The Prisoner is "beloved by paranoids everywhere;" that characterization, in my sober opinion, is yet more proof the conspiracy continues. Still, we can all be grateful for another chance to hear the as-awesome-as-ever Secret Agent Man.
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