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When most people think of Patrick McGoohan, they think of The Prisoner, the British TV show of the 1960's. For whatever reason I don't, although I enjoyed the show, I always think of him as Judge Noose in A Time to Kill. Be that as it may... One of the key elements in any work of science fiction- if in fact that's what the prisoner is- is the feeling of displacement... such as when the POV character awakens in "the Village." In reality, however, and the village is a reflection of reality, it's a metaphor for self- the village within which we all exist is one of our own creation... there is in fact no displacement.
The show itself was the creation of Patrick McGoohan who was becoming burned out on the Secret Agent series and wanted to do something different. He wrote several episodes both as himself and under pseudonyms such as Archibald Schwartz. A cult immediately arose, mostly of intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals who began to dissect the show on many levels looking for hidden meanings. According to McGoohan himself the aim of the show was to showcase the evils of materialism and consumerism and a rejection of progress. McGoohan believes it will be progress that causes the downfall of civilization... faceless, nameless bureaucrats driven by technology- or a technocracy if you prefer.
Everyone in the Village has a number instead of a name- just as we are all becoming numbers, with Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, etc., all designed to destroy identities and individuality, as anyone with experience in the military can attest. Our existence mirrors life in the Village... a prison that we ourselves craft and facilitate. By indulging in the materialistic, consumerist world we trade our souls for conformity... a prison that even McGoohan admits we are incapable of escaping. Progress is our enemy. Not because it is inherently bad, but because we race headlong into newer and better technologies before thinking through the ramifications of what we already have. As we succumb to the allure of technology, Technocrats are given more and more power over our lives- individuality is destroyed... for evidence one need look no further than China.
The elusive # 1 as it turns out is none other than ourselves. We all live in a little Village- externally a symbol for the milieu in which we live. Symbolism is a big part of the subplot- the bicycle, which I always found silly, is a symbol for progress. The monkey mask in the last episode, a symbol for humanity... monkey see, monkey do. Perhaps most profound is the door of McGoohan's former residence opening on its own... it tells us that no matter where we are, we are all still trapped in the Village. The Village is actually internal, we carry it with us no matter where we are... "Freedom is a myth."
