3. The Prisoner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uX508P-FUs The Prisoner was an extremely popular show during its original airing, and its with good reason that people were so outraged by its bonkers finale, which caused series creator and lead Patrick McGoohan to have to run into hiding after a press and fan campaign against him for delivering such an infuriating ending. The endlessly complex finale is miles away from its relatively simple premise, which has a British agent be kidnapped and held in a strange village, where he is named "Number 6", and despite being unable to leave, is free to venture around. Number 6's quest to escape the village rests with finding out who Number 1 is, the leader of the island. He eventually catches a glimpse to see that he's wearing a monkey mask, and under this appears to be a replication of Number 6. Number 6, totally freaked out by this, decides to fire a missile, causing everyone to leave the village. No real context or explanation is given for what we see, and the common belief is that McGoohan just couldn't think of a way to end his show, so decided to bask in how anticipated it was and then deliver a definitive "f**k you!" ending.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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