THE OCCULT WORLD OF PATRICK McGOOHAN'S 'THE PRISONER'

Back in the seventies, I worked at my friend's father's office machines store just a few blocks from the beach in Santa Monica, CA. "Office machines" in those days meant typewriters and calculators. It was my first sales job and I was eager to please.

My very first customer was on one fine Saturday, when in walked a gentlemen whom I instantly recognized. I spent the next hour or so trying my best to sell this man a portable typewriter that he wanted to take with him "on safari". It was well past lunchtime, my blood sugar was dropping, and I was trying desperately to maintain my poise.

I finally closed the deal, when my customer decided on a Royal portable. I believe the bill came to $100 and change, and he walked away a (I'd hoped) a satisfied customer. The customer's name? Patrick McGoohan!

One of the quirkiest, but engaging television series of all time remains THE PRISONER. The brainchild of actor the aforementioned Patrick McGoohan, each episode of the 17-episode series, shot in the quaint little resort town of Portmeirion Village, Wales, built upon the other to create, by the end, a head-spinning, psychedelic narrative that served up more questions than answers.

In the October 2017 issue of FORTEAN TIMES, author Brian J. Robb "opens up the secret world" that was under the surface of the series. Mr. Robb explores the occult elements of the show that were ever-present but not always recognizable.