WE'RE ALL PAWNS, M'DEAR.
Behind the cut, a tl;dr post about the similarities between LOST and The Prisoner and what it all means. (Yeah, right. :P) Includes spoilers for the LOST finale, but I'm trying not to spoil the Prisoner for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, and I hope no one else does that in the comments either.
"'The Prisoner' was a huge influence on 'Lost' and is ultimately what the show aspires to be."
That quote about above is from 2006, and it's not the only time Abrams, Lindelof or Cuse have mentioned that "the Prisoner" was a huge influence on LOST. Curiously, except for a few bloggers, it doesn't seem to have attracted a lot of attention from LOST fans. Even a site like lostpedia, where *everything* is taken to have another meaning, only includes the quote on their "influences" page, but doesn't go any further analysing it, or listing any references.
So, what is "The Prisoner"? It's a 17 episodes long UK series from the 60's about a secret agent who, after resigning from his job, is captured and taken to a weird place called the Village where the people who brought him there want to know why he quit his job. They refer to everyone in the Village as a number only - this prisoner, our protagonist, is Number Six and his everchanging nemesis is simply Number Two. Six of course tries to escape - by helicopter, boat, raft and any other means possible, but he also tries to find out who runs the place, that is - who is Number One.
Got your attention? Good. Let's see what else LOST and the Prisoner have in common.
the Smoke Monster / Rover
Instead of BLACK smoke, the Village is guarded by a WHITE balloon (nicknamed "Rover"). Both are self-aware or semi-intelligent but not entirely err... human. No one seems to control this "guard system", but it can be released by the authorities when needed. Both Rover and Smokey do something scary to your mind/memories, and sometimes kill you.
The Island / The Village
A remote and isolated place with an unknown and secret location where people are brought against their will for a purpose. Almost impossible to escape unless you're one of the authorities.
Egyptians, Romans, Hanso, Dharma etc / whichever intelligence service runs the Village
Both the Island and the Village are inhabited by an outside agency/group that is trying to control the lives and destinies of the losties/Number 6. It's unsure which side is good and which side is evil. In both shows, this group also does a lot of research/human experiments and uses surveillance to spy on the losties/prisoners.
Catchphrases
Everyone in the Village uses "Be seeing you" as a greeting. I believe it's more a reference than coincidence that Charles Widmore (Dead Is Dead) and Sawyer (The End) both say "(I'll) be seeing you" at critical moments. There are other quotes and themes that are common, but I don't want to spoil all the joy of discovery. ;)
Numbers
There's a very clear hierarchy on the Island, where the man who seems to be in charge is actually Number Two, and answers to someone we never see until very late in the show. Without giving away major spoilers, this mirrors very strongly what happens in the Prisoner, where almost every episode introduces a new Number Two, but keeps number One's identity hidden. In LOST, the position of what we used to consider the leader but what we later learned was actually number two, is very shaky as well.
I also believe there's a reason we had Oceanic Six in LOST, and why it's Hurley who is Number One when LOST ends, but I won't discuss the latter here because it's, like a huge spoiler, dude.
The Prisoner opening sequence
If you're in the US, you can watch all the 17 episodes of the Prisoner for free & completely legally HERE.
If you're not in the US, try using a proxy, buy or rent the dvds or something. I honestly believe watching the Prisoner will enrich your LOST experience and help you see the End in a slightly different light. If nothing else, I guarantee that watching the Prisoner will make LOST seem really not confusing at all. ;)
Anyone still reading? I hope so, because I've arrived back to the premise of this post. :P That quote that The Prisoner is what LOST "aspires to be". Well what does that mean? Sure there's lots of references and parallels and cool stuff, but what I think is most important is The Prisoner's legacy to TV and how I believe LOST is now doing the same. The thing about the Prisoner is that 40 years on, we're still debating what the ****** it was all about. Both shows changed the concept of what can be done in a television series, angered a lot of fans by not answering all the questions and having a plot/ending that is open to interpretation - which means that we'll keep discussing the themes and mysteries of LOST long after the current "reality" show stars have faded into oblivion.
One more pair of screencaps for your consideration.
IDK. This is my first time posting here. Do you need like, sources or something?
Oh. If "The Prisoner" sounds familiar although you could swear you've never seen it - there was a miniseries "remake" of it last year, starring Jim Caviezel and sir Ian McKellen. It's really not the same thing at all, even though I admit it has its own merits. It's the original series you want to watch for LOST. :)
Hurley and Charlie thank you for your time!
"'The Prisoner' was a huge influence on 'Lost' and is ultimately what the show aspires to be."
That quote about above is from 2006, and it's not the only time Abrams, Lindelof or Cuse have mentioned that "the Prisoner" was a huge influence on LOST. Curiously, except for a few bloggers, it doesn't seem to have attracted a lot of attention from LOST fans. Even a site like lostpedia, where *everything* is taken to have another meaning, only includes the quote on their "influences" page, but doesn't go any further analysing it, or listing any references.
So, what is "The Prisoner"? It's a 17 episodes long UK series from the 60's about a secret agent who, after resigning from his job, is captured and taken to a weird place called the Village where the people who brought him there want to know why he quit his job. They refer to everyone in the Village as a number only - this prisoner, our protagonist, is Number Six and his everchanging nemesis is simply Number Two. Six of course tries to escape - by helicopter, boat, raft and any other means possible, but he also tries to find out who runs the place, that is - who is Number One.
Got your attention? Good. Let's see what else LOST and the Prisoner have in common.
the Smoke Monster / Rover
Instead of BLACK smoke, the Village is guarded by a WHITE balloon (nicknamed "Rover"). Both are self-aware or semi-intelligent but not entirely err... human. No one seems to control this "guard system", but it can be released by the authorities when needed. Both Rover and Smokey do something scary to your mind/memories, and sometimes kill you.
The Island / The Village
A remote and isolated place with an unknown and secret location where people are brought against their will for a purpose. Almost impossible to escape unless you're one of the authorities.
Egyptians, Romans, Hanso, Dharma etc / whichever intelligence service runs the Village
Both the Island and the Village are inhabited by an outside agency/group that is trying to control the lives and destinies of the losties/Number 6. It's unsure which side is good and which side is evil. In both shows, this group also does a lot of research/human experiments and uses surveillance to spy on the losties/prisoners.
Catchphrases
Everyone in the Village uses "Be seeing you" as a greeting. I believe it's more a reference than coincidence that Charles Widmore (Dead Is Dead) and Sawyer (The End) both say "(I'll) be seeing you" at critical moments. There are other quotes and themes that are common, but I don't want to spoil all the joy of discovery. ;)
Numbers
There's a very clear hierarchy on the Island, where the man who seems to be in charge is actually Number Two, and answers to someone we never see until very late in the show. Without giving away major spoilers, this mirrors very strongly what happens in the Prisoner, where almost every episode introduces a new Number Two, but keeps number One's identity hidden. In LOST, the position of what we used to consider the leader but what we later learned was actually number two, is very shaky as well.
I also believe there's a reason we had Oceanic Six in LOST, and why it's Hurley who is Number One when LOST ends, but I won't discuss the latter here because it's, like a huge spoiler, dude.
The Prisoner opening sequence
Click to viewIf you're in the US, you can watch all the 17 episodes of the Prisoner for free & completely legally HERE.
If you're not in the US, try using a proxy, buy or rent the dvds or something. I honestly believe watching the Prisoner will enrich your LOST experience and help you see the End in a slightly different light. If nothing else, I guarantee that watching the Prisoner will make LOST seem really not confusing at all. ;)
Anyone still reading? I hope so, because I've arrived back to the premise of this post. :P That quote that The Prisoner is what LOST "aspires to be". Well what does that mean? Sure there's lots of references and parallels and cool stuff, but what I think is most important is The Prisoner's legacy to TV and how I believe LOST is now doing the same. The thing about the Prisoner is that 40 years on, we're still debating what the ****** it was all about. Both shows changed the concept of what can be done in a television series, angered a lot of fans by not answering all the questions and having a plot/ending that is open to interpretation - which means that we'll keep discussing the themes and mysteries of LOST long after the current "reality" show stars have faded into oblivion.
One more pair of screencaps for your consideration.
IDK. This is my first time posting here. Do you need like, sources or something?
Oh. If "The Prisoner" sounds familiar although you could swear you've never seen it - there was a miniseries "remake" of it last year, starring Jim Caviezel and sir Ian McKellen. It's really not the same thing at all, even though I admit it has its own merits. It's the original series you want to watch for LOST. :)
Hurley and Charlie thank you for your time!