[Phantom_Lagger]

I was first introduced to Prisoner as a teenager (I'm now 36). As I recall, I was babysitting for a couple up the road. They had blank VHS tapes lying around which I checked through for something to watch. I thought I'd struck gold, when I found some porn to watch. The porn was cool, but among their tapes was some episodes of Prisoner, which of course was more interesting (when you've seen one sex scene, you've seen them all).

Anyway, this got me into the soap, and I eventually watched it at home. I lived in an area that was covered by both Central and Anglia (and if the wind was blowing in the right direction, Yorkshire). I settled on Central as my channel of choice. This meant I saw at least the last year of the show. I still remember sitting, literally, on the edge of my bed, watching the final episodes (didn't Central show the last two as a double bill?). Without trying to spoil it, it felt like the ending I deserved for being a loyal fan.

When it came on Channel 5, I was able to watch it while being paid for a while which was nice. I also loved very much the end announcements by Bill Buckley etc, who involved the viewer in making fun of the show. At the risk of getting trolled by Prisoner fans, I have to say that I love the show for as much as what is terrible about it, as much as what is fantastic about it.

Basically, I haven't seen most of the show. I do love it. However, I'm not in denial about much that is wrong with the show. A lot of the criticisms are cliched and misplaced. We all know the bars were real and very heavy, but also there are those moments about the show that are laughable.

As I've said elsewhere, there are moments of great pathos in the show, as well as moments of hilarity. Over 692 episodes, there are bound to be some slip ups, but overall, this is a show that has aged extremely well.