The Prisoner's Dilemma

A critical analysis of Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner, episode-by-episode: its creation, its themes, and its legacy. Hosted by Brendan McLeod and Matthew Guzdial.

Once Upon A Time 06/07/2025

Once Upon A Time Content warnings for: alcohol abuse, motor accidents, psychological manipulation, nervous breakdowns A clash of wills! A favorite Number Two returns to put the screws to Number Six. Will the secrets of the spy's resignation be revealed with regression therapy? What will reveal about Six's life - or McGoohan's? Who really IS Six in this scenario, anyway? Learn all this and more as we go back to school in ONCE UPON A TIME. Send your questions to ! Next time: FALL OUT. --- Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/36775295

The Girl Who was Death 05/24/2025

The Girl Who was Death Sometimes, when The Prisoner plays with the format of the show, it produces some interesting results - results that can give you a new lens with which to view the show. Sometimes it results in an episode like this one - a spy farce with uneven budget, odd performances, and even odder costume choices. Join us to find out how Number Six deals with THE GIRL WHO WAS DEATH Next time: ONCE UPON A TIME. --- Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/36664420

Living in Harmony 05/10/2025

Living in Harmony The Prisoner! You know, the show about spies. Right? Or is the spy story simply one context of many? A genre that serves to surround the tale, a medium that serves to surface the message - that any of us might be made prisoners at any time, any where? Maybe even in a place far from here, in the frontier, where the might made right at the end of a shiny revolver. Join us for a trip to the old West in LIVING IN HARMONY. Next time: THE GIRL WHO WAS DEATH. --- Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/36480175

BONUS - Ice Station Zebra 04/26/2025

BONUS - Ice Station Zebra An American nuclear sub... A sky full of Russian paratroopers... a race for the secrets buried in the Arctic! In 1968, McGoohan was already looking ahead to what would happen beyond the Prisoner. Would military thrillers of Hollywood lie in his future? Would the spy that he'd played so well for so long translate to the big screen? Judge with us as we watch ICE STATION ZEBRA. Next time: LIVING IN HARMONY --- Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/36012950

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling 04/12/2025

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling What happens to The Prisoner when you take Patrick McGoohan out of the equation? Has he used his power as auteur and leading man to create the scaffolding necessary to drive the show forward in his absence? Or does everything devolve into a form familiar for the era, where spies, ciphers, and sloppy kisses are the order of the day? Find out in the globe-trotting carnival that is DO NOT FORSAKE ME OH MY DARLING. Next time: ICE STATION ZEBRA --- Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/35917895

A Change of Mind 03/29/2025

A Change of Mind Content warnings for lobotomies, aversion therapy I can't stand a podcast that doesn't know how to make a decent description. A lesson: The premise, rinsed out. Tease the plot, always. Now, the details: one for me, one for thee, one for the SEO, one for luck. Boiling interest, let stand for one moment - pour the milk, won't you? - cup, saucer, sugar, pour: A CHANGE OF MIND. Next time: DO NOT FORSAKE ME OH MY DARLING --- Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/35844600

It's Your Funeral 03/15/2025

It's Your Funeral Someone's going to assassinate you! I know, it sounds crazy, but you must believe me! A stranger told me about it! Now, I know that doesn't sound super credible, but I had my hands on the bomb itself! What? No, I didn't do anything with the bomb. Why would I? Look, if you don't want to believe me, that's fine. After all .... IT'S YOUR FUNERAL. Next time: A CHANGE OF MIND. Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/35633680

BONUS - Columbo w/Nic Tringali 03/01/2025

BONUS - Columbo w/Nic Tringali We take a break from McGoohan's most iconic work to examine the television that he'd be most known for in his later career: playing murderous villains in the murder mystery series COLUMBO, opposite Peter Falk as the scruffy, awkward, eponymous detective. Nic Tringali ( @nictringali.bsky.social ) joins us to talk about what makes the show work, how McGoohan's touch can be felt, and the price of cheese. Episodes watched: Identity Crisis, Agenda for Murder, and Ashes to Ashes Next time: IT'S YOUR FUNERAL Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/35350540

Hammer into Anvil w/Michael Hansen 02/15/2025

Hammer into Anvil w/Michael Hansen We often joke that it's a Number 2's greatest ambition to get Number 6. You know, to REALLY get him. But what if ... just this once ... it was Number 6 who was doing the getting? What might that reveal about this strange little place we call the Village? Find out as Michael Hansen (@modality.bsky.social) joins for HAMMER INTO ANVIL. Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/35162255

Checkmate w/Em 02/01/2025

Checkmate w/Em This week, Number 6 gives up the solo-secret-agent act in favor of being a battlefield commander: a strategist who moves his pieces across the board, anticipates his enemy's moves, and lays traps to ensure victory. But who is he playing against, really? Em from Abnormal Mapping () join us to decide who's making moves in CHECKMATE! Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/35027735

No Episode This Week! 01/18/2025

No Episode This Week! Sorry for the last minute notice, but no episode this week, due to some sickness and conflicting schedule. We'll be back in two weeks with CHECKMATE! Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/34904720

Dance of the Dead 01/04/2025

Dance of the Dead Why must Number 6 always try and escape? Why don't we just get to see him sample the local culture, or some modern radio? Why not simply enjoy some tranche de vie? Or must there be the thunder of rebellion, the crash of conflict? No, no. Have a drink, relax, and get swept up in the DANCE OF THE DEAD. Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/34716935

Many Happy Returns 12/21/2024

Many Happy Returns Fellas, has this ever happened to you? You sail across the seas eating nothing but beans and you get to your home and a cool lady has moved in and bought your hand-built car? And she offers you tiny sandwiches and shows you her lease and offers your her dead husband's nice clothes? This happens to me all the time, and it will happen to Number 6 in MANY HAPPY RETURNS. Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/34559295

The General 12/07/2024

The General It's exam time. Have you studied? Ha ha, yes, of course, I studied too - by watching my television!! What kind of sick, twisted world is this? Find out as we enter a world of fast facts and puzzling paradoxes, domineered by ... THE GENERAL. Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/34318330

The Schizoid Man 11/23/2024

The Schizoid Man I'm not you, I'm me! I mean, wait - I'm you! Except you're me! Wait, no, you're not me! Wait, which one are you again? Well, whoever you are, join me as we tune in for Patrick McGoohan and his co-star, Patrick McGoohan, in THE SCHIZOID MAN. Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/34101391

BONUS - Danger Man 11/16/2024

BONUS - Danger Man We take a break from Number 6's plight in the Village to examine the entirely-unrelated career of John Drake, who is a... secret agent ... guy? Fellow? A man employed by ... government? To solve ... dangers? Look, who he is doesn't matter. What matters is: what to drink? Pour a glass and join us as we watch DANGER MAN. From S1: View from the Villa, Name Date and Place From S3: Are You Going to Be More Permanent? All of S4: Koroshi, Shinda Shima New regular episode next week! /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/33920807

Free for All w/Karla Zimonja 11/09/2024

Free for All w/Karla Zimonja It's election season, and you know what that means: it's time for some good old fashioned brainwashing. Just really scrub that thing down until it's as clean as a whistle. We're joined by Karla Zimonja (@zusty) to talk about the chaos of living in a democractic Village in FREE FOR ALL! http://the-prisoners-dilemma.com Music by Devin Nelson. http://devindecibel.bandcamp.com Art by Si Sweetman. https://sifsweetman.carrd.co/ /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/33723582

A, B, and C 10/26/2024

A, B, and C This is a dreamy party, baby! Just the sort of place for some classic Cold War cat-and-mouse. But why's the logic of this place feel a bit ... unnatural? Could this be a dream? A dream specifically architected to steal secrets from my MIND? Find out as we watch A, B, and C. http://the-prisoners-dilemma.com Music by Devin Nelson. http://devindecibel.bandcamp.com Art by Si Sweetman. https://sifsweetman.carrd.co/ /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/33509147

The Chimes of Big Ben 10/12/2024

The Chimes of Big Ben "The Chimes of Big Ben" shows us that Number 6 seems to have come around on being captured quite nicely! He's settling into the Village, getting along with everyone, doing some woodwork, and having a nice time with a cool lady. Or so it all just a farce to please his boyfriend, Number 2? Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/33346607

Arrival 09/29/2024

Arrival "Arrival" sets the stage for The Prisoner: a man, a secret, a village, and a rotating cast of overseers. We talk a little about who McGoohan is, what led him to create this show, and what happens in it. Music by Devin Nelson. Art by Si Sweetman. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/33249072

Trailer 09/18/2024

Trailer Coming soon - THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA. /episode/index/show/483f5213-6e68-4d22-b7cd-a5e74534fb2d/id/33116157

The Prisoner's Dilemma

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