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The Prisoner/The Village
The Village is the name of the town from The Prisoner on which those who know too much are interred as prisoners. The main character of the series, Number Six, spends most of his time attempting to escape from the village, but is often shut down by the administration or by the village's security system.
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Location
In Fall Out, the final episode, it is heavily suggested that the village is within driving distance of London, as the Butler was able to drive Number Six and his allies directly to the city without use of a ferry. Also, at this point, the chunnel between France and Britain hadn't been completed so that would be out of the question as well.
The actual filming location for the series was in a Welsh resort village called Portmeiron. The resort was designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis using an Italianate style, although Italian architecture was only a piece of Ellis' vision for the resort. The strange architecture is a result of Ellis piecing together fragments of demolished buildings, many by well known architects. This amalgamation of design and the strange Mediterranean yet not feel of the resort is likely why it was chosen for the series. Although many of the sets were identical from their Portmeiron counterparts, additional filming was shot in the nearby village of Penrhyndeudraeth and the Borehamwood Studios back lot.
Portmeiron was not listed in the credits as the filming location until the last episode by request of Ellis so that he could establish a "reasonable entrance fee" and thereby prevent overcrowding. The resort has been profoundly impact by its use on The Prisoner and caused the establishment of a Prisoner gift shop where Number Six's flat was.
Infrastructure
The village is completely self-sustaining. It has its own printing press and form of money, among other accommodations which make the village inhabitable. The village newspaper is titled The Tally Ho and seems to write stories within seconds of them breaking. This suggests that the newspaper is a function of government propaganda, not unlike Soviet control of Pravda, and is directly controlled by Number 2's underlings. There is also evidence of village magazines, although they aren't as prominent as the paper. In addition to print media, the village also has a stranglehold over broadcast media. It has its own radio station (which can never be turned off in homes) and television station, which is often used to broadcast propaganda and educational programming. In order to pay for goods and services, work credits are used instead of paper or coin currency. These credits function like a punch card and are universally accepted among the village.
The village has its own hospital, which is typically featured in the show as both a place of healing and a mental institution. Patients are often admitted in an attempt to torture or otherwise break them by forcing information out of them. One room that has been of particular interest to Number Six is the sensory deprivation room, which he never enters but marvels at how inhumane it appears from the outside. Whether or not health care is socialized or not is unknown, but no reference to a billing system for hospitalization is made in the series.
On the coast side of the village is a retirement community in which elderly villagers live out their days playing chess and strolling around the stone boat, which seems to be a point of irony for the administrators. These are all people who have given up their secrets, according to Number Two in Arrival, and is a promise that Number Six would be treated well if he were to give up what he knew.
Although the village is fairly condensed, transportation is offered in the form of taxis which offer local service and the occasional personal transport given to hospitals, government workers and other important people. Number Six was given such a tram when he ran for the office of Number Two in Free for All. Helicopters and boats are also used for official business and are remote controlled by the administration in case of escape attempts.
Administration & Security
The governing system which rules The Village falls in line with the central theme of the series, in that power is an illusion. The village is thoroughly autocratic with Number Two at the head. Although elections give the appearance of a democracy, the actual leader of the village is likely hand-picked by the clandestine organization which runs the program, if not "Number One" himself. The episode Free for All showed Number Six running for the position of Number Two with the power ultimately returning to the original holder of the title.
Number Two, in any case, oversees the day to day operation of the island and its governmental facilities, particularly surveillance and security. The main job of Number Two, however, seems to be to follow any directions he or she receives from the red telephone, typically directives on breaking the most valuable prisoners (i.e. Number Six). Number Twos are notoriously short lived and are frequently replaced. There have only been a handful of Number Twos who lasted beyond their initial episode, most notably of which being the Number Two played by Leo McKern.
Beyond the head position, the judicial system works much like a military tribunal, rather than a jury trial. A committee of people judge the accused quickly and levy punishment which typically involves ostracizing the defendant from the rest of the village through a public apology, as well as medical therapy which resembles lobotomy or shock therapy. Similarly, tribunal committees also gather for bureaucratic development of the village, although this could easily be a ploy to keep up the democratic appearance.
There is no formal police, except for those loyal to Number Two, making anyone in the village a possible employee of the law. These thugs are used as a first line against escape attempts and generally can be seen wearing striped shirts. But, the popular salute of the island (thumb and forefinger making a circle over the eye and a sharp waving motion) complimented with the popular farewell of "Be seeing you," reminds prisoners that anyone and everyone could be a stooge for the administration. Frequently, the people Number Six becomes closest to are agents working against him.
The second and last line of defense is "Rover," a security drone which resembles a large white balloon. Rover is generated from the bottom of the sea off the coast of the village's beach. The drone typically stuns the victim, but is also capable of murdering whomever it targets, most likely by suffocation. There was an original version of the drone which resembled a Dalek, but the prototype vehicle failed to work properly and a replacement creation was used when the crew (generally assumed to by McGoohan himself) became inspired by a weather balloon.
