The Prisoner in popular culture

The Prisoner is referenced in a range of other media.

Books

• Grant Morrison's graphic novel, The Invisibles, about a group of revolutionaries rebelling against a secret world-controlling authority, contains several references to The Prisoner. Most notably, in the collection Entropy in the UK, Invisibles leader King Mob has been captured by government agent Sir Miles Delacourt, who exchange the show's famous opening lines: "What do you want?" "Information." "You won't get it." "By hook or by crook, we will."
• In Terry Pratchett's novel, Eric, the character Death utters the words, "Be seeing you" before departing from the company of the wizards.
• In the graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore, The Village is referenced to as an instrument of the Big Brother regime, the government having put out a contract for "dream inducers and killer balloons for some Welsh set-up", alluding to the series real-life location.
• In Charles Stross's SF novel Glasshouse one short scene takes place at a venue called the Village Cafe where an automated public address system, which cannot be turned off, makes regular loud announcements. The one reported in the text begins 'Good afternoon! It's another beautiful day ..." and then goes on to inform listeners of the day's ice cream flavours and ends with a weather forecast.

Computer games

• In the point-and-click adventure computer game Simon the Sorcerer II, when Simon is registering to enter the contest for Court Wizard, Simon quotes the "I am not a number" line. When he is told that he is number nine, his response is "I am not a number, I am a free man!", prompting the official who is helping him to remark "I hate people who can shamelessly quote in public".
• MMORPG RuneScape, includes a random event where the player is taken to an island, where several The Prisoner references are made, including I am not a number, I am a free man!
• In the first-person shooter computer game The Operative: No One Lives Forever, it is possible to overhear two guards discussing their favorite spy TV shows and movies, including The Prisoner. Other works mentioned include Mission Impossible, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the Matt Helm films The Silencers (film) and The Ambushers (film).

Movies

• The 1994 film Killing Zoe includes a scene where the bankrobbers discuss the episode "A. B. and C." philosophically.

• In the 2009 film "Watchmen", Rorschach says "Be Seeing You" to several characters.

Music

• "The Prisoner" is an Iron Maiden song from their classic album The Number of the Beast and was inspired by the British TV show of the same name, and features dialogue from its title sequence. Rod Smallwood had to telephone Patrick McGoohan to ask permission to use the dialogue for the song. According to witnesses, the usually calm Smallwood was completely star struck during the conversation. McGoohan was reported to have said "What did you say the name was? Iron Maiden? Do it." Iron Maiden later made another song based on the series, "Back in the Village" on the album Powerslave.

Radio

• In the radio version of impressionist show Dead Ringers, a version of The Prisoner is set within the radio soap opera The Archers. In it, Ambridge is the Village, Joe Grundy is Number 2, and Ruth Archer is Number 1.

Television

• In the "Krusty Gets Busted" episode of The Simpsons, the "Krusty Gets Busted" animation played on the TV news at the start of Act II recalls The Prisoner's tag (as well as the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies opening titles). In another episode, "The Joy of Sect", Marge flees the "Movementarians" by avoiding various traps. One of these traps is Rover (and a version of the Prisoner Theme plays while she runs). In "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes", Homer is kidnapped after accidentally finding out about a vast conspiracy and placed on "The Island"; Patrick McGoohan provides the voice of a caricature of himself as Number Six, and the reason given as to why he is on "The Island" is because he invented the bottomless peanut bag and asks Homer what number he is to which Homer repiles "I am not a number, I am a man and don't you ever... Oh wait I'm number 5"
• ReBoot episode "Number 7" makes a number of references to the Prisoner series, including visual references such as Number 2's oval chair, quotes such as McGoohan's line "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered!" and a scene that recreates part of the final episode of the Prisoner series, "Fall Out".
• Several mysterious characters on the TV series Babylon 5 use the phrase "Be seeing you" while doing the salutation gesture from this series. Writer/producer J. Michael Straczynski is a fan of the series, and indeed had (unsuccessful) plans for McGoohan to play a guest role in the series.
• The British sitcom 2point4 children featured a lengthy tribute to The Prisoner in the episode "Seven Dials", where one of the central characters is imprisoned in Portmeirion by an opponent.
• In part of the 3-part episodes "Brainwashed" in the animated series Pinky and the Brain, there is a large segmented based on The Prisoner, in which the main characters are sent to a village where the residents are only identified by the hats their wear, in addition to other homages to the original series.
• In the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series (2003–2009), the character of Number Six — a beautiful Cylon infiltrator played by model Tricia Helfer — is named as an homage to The Prisoner, according to writer/ producer Ronald D. Moore.
• The Nowhere Man TV series was heavily influenced by The Prisoner. Creator Lawrence Hertzog speaks at length in the DVD commentaries about how The Prisoner was his favorite show. The protagonist of the series, photojournalist Thomas Veil, is relentlessly pursued for a set of negatives, as The Prisoner's Number Six is relentlessly pursued to find out the cause of his resignation. Veil finds himself transported to a strange village in episode 105, "Paradise on your Doorstep," where he is forcibly detained. In episode 119, "Doppelganger," Veil tracks information to a town where a doppelganger Thomas Veil exists, who also works as a photojournalist; this references the Prisoner episode, "The Schizoid Man," where there are two identical Number 6 characters.
• In the episode "Night Lines" of the BBC comedy series Coupling, the opening sequence of The Prisoner is parodied in a dream sequence of Ben Miles' character, Patrick.
• In "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" the second season episode "Halloween" ends with Ethan Rayne leaving a message and deliberate Prisoner reference to old pal Rupert Giles and Buffy's Scooby Gang: "Be seeing you."