Among the 17 episodes of this legendary masterpiece of a series, this particular one stands out as the most original, the funniest, the quirkiest and the most fun to re-re-re-rewatch, even after 56 years! Fifty-six years, and this episode doesn't show its age, except for the general aspect of electronic panels, maybe. But as far as the plot's core, the masterful way to conduct the storyline of this episode to its logical conclusion, "Hammer into Anvil" remains at the very top of the series. It succeeds in all its approaches and in all aspects that make a series' episode riveting, unforgettable and entirely successful. Of course, one could only envision using that type of humour and plotline once in the whole series.
But this points to another factor that makes "The Prisoner" the stuff dreams are made of: the duration of the series. Indeed, "The Prisoner" encompasses the ideal number of episodes to avoid redundancy and to have the overall sensation that it moves ahead as a single consistent and coherent work. Of course, we know that the series ended up as it did for a wide range of reasons, but it wasn't designed to last that long (or for such a short stretch, depending on one's point of view). Only contingency acted to have "The Prisoner" ending as it did. What certainty there is is that "Once Upon a Time" was filmed in advance and was designed to be the penultimate episode of the series.
McGoohan pretty much confessed on many occasions that due to the series' relative popularity (or lack thereof in some places), and importantly, because he as an actor showed definite signs of a nervous breakdown around the time he had flown overseas to film his bits in "Ice Station Zebra", "The Prisoner" had more or less reached its non-destination (!!) and needed to end ... somehow. And OMG, did it end in style 😑!! See my (coming soon) review of "Fall Out" to appreciate the pros and cons of the final instalment of that absolute masterpiece series. If it had had at least half as much freshness of inspiration as the present episode, and hadn't ended up as the contrived, self-indulgent-beyond-the-conceivable piece of ....material "Fall Out" turned out to be, who knows what kind of career McGoohan would have enjoyed later, rather than the secluded, sour and misanthropic artist sadly sitting in a California's bar? As a man who had the world at his feet when he first undertook 'The Prisoner" 's adventure, he later managed to fire half of the production cast, which forced him to do the job of several competent individuals at the same time, just to deliver finished episodes, and to burn out all the fuel reserves and trust capital he had plenty of initially. The strong negative backlash "Fall Out" triggered in Britain - understandably to say the least - was the proverbial straw that broke Patrick's back. Hell, it even ruined his reputation in the eyes of mentors and patrons who had helped him since the beginning ", like Lew Grade and especially George Markstein.
Such was the sad ending that labeled McGoohan as a risky investment for the rest of his life that we tend to forget that "The Prisoner" was overall an extraordinary, exciting project and remains extremely relevant to this day. Perhaps more relevant now than ever before, I believe, with the constant exposure of the private aspects of our life, and the terrifying behavior of AI prototypes that would find a perfect environment in Orwell's 1984 dystopian "future".
And "Hammer into Anvil" is one of the prime examples of how engaging, entertaining and intriguing that TV series could be when all the right elements were in the right place. There are enough episodes that reach the quality level of this one to convey the overall appreciation of the series I am giving: it's a masterpiece weakened by only two very weak, late episodes (" Do Not Forsake Me, Oh my Darling" and "The Girl.... Who Was Death"), and a misguided finale that tries to leave a half-baked message - but a message nonetheless.
Did I mention that "Hammer or Anvil" is extremely funny and succeeds in a tongue-in-cheek, stoical type of humor that is most appropriate for " The Prisoner"? I won't reveal examples of the incredibly funny situations "Number 6" manages to create to mess up with "Number 2"'s mind (played by a perfectly sadistic, and absolutely perfect Patrick Cargill). No other episode makes me laugh as irresistibly as this one!
Don't skip it!
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