‘The Prisoner’ escapes to Blu-ray

The ’60s spy series “The Prisoner” feels more relevant than ever yet remains very much a product of its time. The show has just been released on Blu-ray, a highly anticipated event among the many “Prisoner” fans still out there.

On Blu-ray, the eye-popping visuals have considerably more punch than on previous video versions, making A&E’s “The Prisoner: The Complete Series” the definitive collection. This has to be one of the best presentation of a ’60s television show to date.

This one’s a must-buy gift for fans of ’60s spy adventures and sci-fi oddities.

“The Prisoner” burst from the imagination of actor Patrick McGoohan, who previously starred in Britain’s “Danger Man” (”Secret Agent” to the Yanks.) The series tells of a government agent who resigns in anger, only to find himself kidnapped and placed in a seemingly pleasant and colorful retirement home for ex-agents called the Village.

The series covers his attempts to escape and the bizarre wranglings of the bureaucrats assigned to get secrets out of the agent (”No. 6″). Nothing like it has been seen since on a major broadcast network, except perhaps for “Twin Peaks.”

Fans’ hopes for the Blu-ray were high, given the show’s imaginative, odd and colorful sets and costumes, as well as its gorgeous seaside locations. In HD, the op art/pop art imagery of “The Prisoner” leaps from the screen. Colors are bold and vivid. The audio is solid but no match for the visuals.

There are extra features not previously available in the U.S. (but in Britain). They include “Don’t Knock Yourself Out,” a fascinating movie-length documentary about the making of the series.

Creator-star McGoohan, who was in his final years, did not participate, but had this to say:

“If whatever we wanted to say is not already contained within the episodes of the series then I failed in the production of them and any amount of chit-chat now will not make good that omission.”

Indeed, all the drama and excitement are to be found in the 17 episodes, including the controversial series finale.

Here are more of the extra features:

• Two new featurettes, "The Pink Prisoner" and "You Make Sure It Fits!"
• Feature length documentary "Don't Knock Yourself Out," featuring most of the key players in the production. (McGoohan died early this year.)
• A newly restored original edit of the first episode, "Arrival," with an optional music-only track featuring "Wilfred Josephs' complete and abandoned score."
• The original edit of "The Chimes of Big Ben" (The previous box set had a "rare alternate" version of the episode.)
• Commentaries from production veterans on seven episodes.
• Image archive with more than 1,200 stills.