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Checkmate (The Prisoner)
"Checkmate" is an episode of the allegorical British science fiction TV series, ''The Prisoner''. It was written by Gerald Kelsey and directed by Don Chaffey and third to be produced. It was the ninth episode to be broadcast in the UK on ITV (ATV Midlands and Grampian) on Friday 24 November 1967 and first aired in the United States on CBS on Saturday 17 August 1968. The episode stars Patrick McGoohan as Number Six and features Peter Wyngarde as Number Two. Plot summary Number Six is persuaded to participate, as the white queen's pawn, in an oversized game of chess using people as pieces. A rebellious rook (Number Fifty-eight) is taken to the hospital for "evaluation". After the game is completed, Number Six talks with the Chess Master (Number Fourteen), who comments that one can tell who is a prisoner and who a guardian " their disposition. By the moves they make." Number Six is later invited to visit the hospital to observe the fate of Number Fifty-eight (the rook), and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Chess
Human chess, living chess or live chess is a form of chess in which people take the place of pieces. Human chess is typically played outdoors, either on a large chessboard or on the ground, and is often played at Renaissance fairs. Forms Many human chess games are choreographed stage shows performed by actors trained in stage combat. When this is the case, piece captures are represented by choreographed fights that determine whether the piece is actually taken or not. Alternatively, the pieces may spar, following rules similar to those used by the Society for Creative Anachronism. Instances A costumed human chess game has been staged every two years on the second week in September in the Italian city of Marostica, near Venice, since 1923. The game commemorates a legendary chess game played in 1454 by two young knights in order to settle which of them would court the lady that both had fallen in love with. The event lasts 3 days. The participants of the game dress in histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Prisoner
''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job. Patrick McGoohan played the lead role as Number Six. The series was created by McGoohan with possible contributions from George Markstein. Episode plots have elements of science fiction, allegory, and psychological drama, as well as spy fiction. It was produced by Everyman Films for distribution by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. A single series of 17 episodes was filmed between September 1966 and January 1968, with exterior location filming in Portmeirion, Wales. Interior scenes were filmed at MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, north of London. The series was first broadcast in Canada beginning on 5 September 1967, in the UK on 29 September 1967, and in the US on 1 June 1968. Although the show was sold as a th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westward Television
Westward Television was the first ITV franchise-holder for the South West of England. It held the franchise from 29 April 1961 until 31 December 1981. After a difficult start, Westward Television provided a popular, distinctive and highly regarded service to its region, until public boardroom squabbles led to its franchise not being renewed by the IBA. Westward launched the career of many broadcasters who became well known nationally, won numerous awards for its programming, and heavily influenced its successor, TSW. History The company's first chairman was Peter Cadbury, who had left the board of Tyne Tees Television to set up the company and bid for the south-west franchise, which he won against 11 competing bids. Cadbury named the company after the golf course at Westward Ho! in north Devon, where he played. Ironically, Westward Ho! was part of the region that found reception of the television signal most difficult, until the construction of the Huntshaw Cross relay tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Television
Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was consistently used on-air throughout its life. However, in 1966, during the application process for contracts running from 1968, the company renamed itself 'Southern Independent Television Limited', a title which was used until 1980 when the company reverted to its original corporate name. Southern Television ceased broadcasting on the morning of 1 January 1982 at 12:43am, after a review during the 1980 franchise round gave the contract to Television South. Launch When the Independent Television Authority (ITA) advertised for applicants to run the south of England station in 1958, Southern Television beat eight other applicants for the contract. Its initial shareholders were Associated Newspapers, the Rank Organisation and the Amalgamat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ATV London
Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the " Big Four" until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television, under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands. ATV was awarded its first franchise by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide the Independent Television service at weekends for the London region. This service started on Saturday, 24 September 1955, the second ITA franchise to go on air, and was extended until Sunday, 28 July 1968. ATV was also awarded the franchise to provide the weekdays Independent Television service for the Midlands region. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV Anglia
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licence name of ITV Broadcasting Limited. ITV Anglia broadcasts to Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, northern Hertfordshire, northern Buckinghamshire and the southeastern fringes of Lincolnshire. Its principal programme nowadays is ITV News Anglia which is split into two regional editions, both airing at 18:00 on weekdays and various times at weekends. History Anglia Television launched on 27 October 1959 as an independent company serving the East of England, the eleventh ITA station to go on air. At its launch, Anglia broadcast from the Mendlesham Transmitter and was soon joined by Sandy Heath and then Belmont. Under the chairmanship of Aubrey Buxton the station soon estab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portmeirion
Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village, and is now owned by a charitable trust. The village is located in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, on the estuary of the River Dwyryd, south east of Porthmadog, and from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as "The Village" in the 1960s television show '' The Prisoner''. History Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, Portmeirion's architect, denied repeated claims that the design was based on the fishing village of Portofino on the Italian Riviera. He stated only that he wanted to pay tribute to the atmosphere of the Mediterranean. He did, however, draw on a love of the Italian village stating, "How should I not have fallen for Portofino? Indeed, its image remained with me as an almost perfect example of the man-made adornment and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Village (The Prisoner)
The Village is the fictional setting of the 1960s UK television series '' The Prisoner'' where the main character, Number Six, is held with other former spies and operatives from various countries. The theme of the series is his captors' attempts to find out why Number Six resigned from his job and his attempts to escape from the Village and learn the identity of Number One. Ostensibly, those running the Villagethought by many to be countries around the worldbelieve that once Number Six is coerced into explaining the behind his resignation, all the state secrets he knows will come tumbling out. However, the ultimate use of these secrets is only intimated, but not overtly explored. Beyond its explicit physical setting, the Village is also viewed as an allegory for humanity and society during the Cold War era. Patrick McGoohan notes in various post-show interviews that the Village is "within all of us...we all live in a little Village...Your village may be different from other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free For All (The Prisoner)
"Free for All" is an episode of the allegorical British science fiction TV series, ''The Prisoner''. It was written and directed by Patrick McGoohan (though he used the pseudonym "Paddy Fitz" for the writer credit) and the second episode to be produced. It was the fourth episode to be broadcast in the UK on ITV (ATV Midlands and Grampian) on Friday 20 October 1967 and first aired in the United States on CBS on Saturday 29 June 1968. The episode stars Patrick McGoohan as Number Six and features Eric Portman as Number Two . The central theme of the episode is corruption and fraud in elections. Plot summary Number Six is persuaded to run for election to the post of Number Two when it is suggested to him by the new incumbent that, should he win, he will finally meet Number One. Number Fifty-Eight, a newly arrived young woman who speaks only an unidentified Slavic-sounding foreign language (really "a meaningless linguistic pastiche specially invented by the scriptwriters") is ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terence Donovan (actor)
Terence Donovan (born 28 October 1942), also billed as Terence J. Donovan and Terry Donovan, is an English-Australian actor of stage and television, and the father of fellow actor and singer Jason Donovan (from his marriage to actress and journalist Sue McIntosh). Donovan is best known to audiences for his roles in soap opera including '' Neighbours'' as patriarch Doug Willis and in ''Home and Away'' as Al Simpson''. ''He has appeared in Australian TV drama series since the 1960s, including police drama series ''Division 4'' and ''Cop Shop'', as well as minor parts in numerous serials including ''The Prisoner'', '' Sons and Daughters'', ''A Country Practice'' and '' E Street.'' Career Donovan, who was born in Staines, England, United Kingdom, has been a staple of Australian television since the early 1960s, when he had minor roles in episodes of the court-room drama series ''Consider Your Verdict'', several ABC drama plays, and the children's series '' The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denis Shaw
Denis Shaw (7 February 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich as Douglas Findlay Shaw, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would often be found troubling countless heroes of the 1950s and 1960s on film and television, most memorably as the German guard Priem in '' The Colditz Story'' (1955). Alternatively, he could also be found propping up the tavern bar in a number of British horror films. These include ''Jack the Ripper'' (1959), '' The Mummy'' (1959) and '' The Curse of the Werewolf'' (1961). He was cast in the leading role of ''The Great Van Robbery'' (1959) as the judo-throwing Interpol detective Caesar Smith. In the film he travels to Rio de Janeiro, Rome, and Paris, tracking the robbers of a Royal Mint van. Shaw's many television credits include, ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'', ''The Avengers'', ''Danger Man'', ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''The Prisoner'', ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Dignam
Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor. Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and television between 1948 and 1978. He often appeared as an authority figure, such as Mr Justice Poynter in ''Crown Court,'' as a police officer, army general or peer. Television appearances include ''The Prisoner'': ''Checkmate'' (1967) and ''The Champions'' (1968), as Sir Frederick in episode 2 "The Invisible Man". Personal life He was married to actress Mona Washbourne from 1940 until his death in 1979. His brother Mark Dignam was also a professional actor. Basil Dignam died, aged 73, in Westminster, London. Selected filmography * '' Maytime in Mayfair'' (1949) – Commissionaire (uncredited) * '' Smart Alec'' (1951) – Defending Counsel * '' Two on the Tiles'' (1951) – Ship's Captain * '' The Lady with a Lamp'' (1951) * '' Appointm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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