This was a great discussion. I am very much looking forward to the episodes to come. Purely by coincidence we happen to be watching Reilly, Ace of Spies. If the series and the book on which it is based are in any way an accurate depiction of the time and events it seems that there was a tension between notions of espionage, one being the dedicated patriot who would only go so far and was somewhat restricted by notions of morality and fair play and that represented by Reilly (or Rosenblum), a bastard (in every conceivable meaning of the word) who was a former pimp, who bedded his own sister and was willing to play anyone against anyone else in order to achieve his goals, the most import of which were self enrichment. He may be the only person who Dzerzhinsky executed who really and truly deserved it. The series producers obviously try to put the audience on Riley’s side, unsuccessfully in our case. I have read that most successful spies are very ordinary looking people. If I recall Reilly’s image correctly from the book he was an extraordinarily ugly man.
I remember seeing re-runs of this show back in the 70’s. I don’t know if it was the funny clothes worn by the crowd or their behaviour, but I remember finding the show a little disturbing. Children can’t grasp the implications, or perhaps I did? Either way, now it seems like the village he is trapped in is just the world we live in today, all the way down to strange people wearing weird clothes (stranger people wearing weirder clothes than any seen in the show).
There seems to be disagreement among aficionados of the show as to the correct order of most of the episodes. I was watching a you tube channel which had all the episodes, numbered as if in order, then couldn’t find that channel the next day. I found another channel with all the episodes in better video quality, also numbered but with a completely different ordering of the episodes.
The Reign of Love, a sequel to The Morality of Everyday Life, proposes a constructive alternative to the abstract ideologies that dominate both Left and Right. Now available from the TFF Store. Hardcover now available!
This was a great discussion. I am very much looking forward to the episodes to come. Purely by coincidence we happen to be watching Reilly, Ace of Spies. If the series and the book on which it is based are in any way an accurate depiction of the time and events it seems that there was a tension between notions of espionage, one being the dedicated patriot who would only go so far and was somewhat restricted by notions of morality and fair play and that represented by Reilly (or Rosenblum), a bastard (in every conceivable meaning of the word) who was a former pimp, who bedded his own sister and was willing to play anyone against anyone else in order to achieve his goals, the most import of which were self enrichment. He may be the only person who Dzerzhinsky executed who really and truly deserved it. The series producers obviously try to put the audience on Riley’s side, unsuccessfully in our case. I have read that most successful spies are very ordinary looking people. If I recall Reilly’s image correctly from the book he was an extraordinarily ugly man.
jphanna 6/10 recently watching have gun- will travel paladin played by richard boone seems acut above tv western fare moral knight 1870s
When I was growing, Have Gun Will Travel was my favorite television show, ahead of Gunsmoke and Maverick.
I remember seeing re-runs of this show back in the 70’s. I don’t know if it was the funny clothes worn by the crowd or their behaviour, but I remember finding the show a little disturbing. Children can’t grasp the implications, or perhaps I did? Either way, now it seems like the village he is trapped in is just the world we live in today, all the way down to strange people wearing weird clothes (stranger people wearing weirder clothes than any seen in the show).
There seems to be disagreement among aficionados of the show as to the correct order of most of the episodes. I was watching a you tube channel which had all the episodes, numbered as if in order, then couldn’t find that channel the next day. I found another channel with all the episodes in better video quality, also numbered but with a completely different ordering of the episodes.
This really is a show worth watching.
Prisoner is on the IMDB channel.
“Free with commercials” only?
Yes. A throwback experience.
Does one need to watch Danger Man before watching The Prisoner?