3 out of 5

Here’s my cute review of Alex Cox’s ‘I Am Not a Number:’ What did we learn? Not much.

Ya see, I Am Not A Number, being a study of the show The Prisoner, offers an episode-by-episode breakdown, with a What did we learn? section for each, leading up to Cox’s ultimate conclusions regarding the show’s general mysteries. And as the summaries move beyond some of the more pivotal episodes, you see that particular phrase – Not much – start to pop up. I know: soul of wit am I.

And while you’re no doubt musing over my cleverness, let me clarify: I Am Not a Number may not offer anything especially earth shattering for an already-invested Prisoner fan – which I’d say is likely the crowd checking this book out, and not the casual viewer – but it’s still an entertaining read.

Cox’s main advancement in the field of Prisoner study (an obsessive pursuit for many, I assure you) is to propose watching the series’ 17 episodes in the order in which they were filmed, and not broadcast, his reasoning being that the series, with its intentions possibly split between producer George Markstein and oft-writer/director and star Patrick McGoohan, was a work in progress, and by watching that work in the sequence in which it progressed, you can more clearly pick out themes as they developed, and derive possible conclusions thereafter.

Yes: possible. Despite some marketing-friendly claims of ‘answering it all,’ the book still – of course, as after 50 years there isn’t likely to be some sudden discovery regarding the show – is presenting one man’s theory in things. And it’s a pretty fun one, and mostly earned by the ‘proof’ offered up via those episodic summaries. Which, to be fair, are written lightly – informative, so if you haven’t watched these in a while, you won’t feel lost, but certainly not exhaustive, so if you did watch these recently, it’s not a sludge. Cox also peppers in some additional observations from the shooting scripts, or possible effects of off-camera events from the time, so no single chapter is just a dry rehash of what’s on screen.

Cox’s viewing suggestion is proposed in the intro; recaps follow; then his conclusion. In the spirit of this revisionist watching order, and befitting Alex’s conversational tone with the text, I’d almost rearrange the reading experience as though it’s a debate with a fellow Prisoner fan: presenting the conclusion first, followed by the intro as explanation for how to achieve that conclusion, punctuated by certain episode reviews to rebuke the inevitable “but that contradicts THIS…!” type debates. If that sounds like a fun conversation to have, then you’ll enjoy reading the book. It’s not indispensable, sure, and doesn’t change that it’s all down to interpretation, but it’s sure to reincite interest in putting your DVDs or blurays on for another spin…