Very rare vid showing what the opening credits would've looked like using Robert Farnons "big country" style composition as explained by music editor Robert Dearberg.
Sounds like the theme for a show where the characters from Dallas perform a corporate merger with the Beverly Hillbillies, who take in the Waltons as boarders, and open a Wild West theme park... all turned into a spoof done by The Young Ones.
I listen to this and expect to see a herd of cattle and cowboys riding the range going hee yah. Might have made a good secondary opening for the Harmony episode.
The theme music eventually chosen was by far the right choice. This first rejected theme certainly could have been used as incidental music during an episode.
I always tuned into repeats of 'The Prisoner' to hear Grainer's theme. It works as a combination spy theme/surreal, over the top theme that suits the show. The original theme here sounds like a cross between 'The Big Country' and a more conventional 1960's thriller show and the orchestration isn't well chosen.
I said to myself thats the music to Big Country! Then the editor said the same thing and I patted myself on the back, lol. Amazing how important a thing like music is to the success of a film, they did a great job with the theme music that was picked, it's awesome!
It definitely is 'different' than Ron Grainer's familiar theme. While I don't dislike it ((I DO dislike Wilfred Joseph's), it doesn't fit withe the 'menacing' undercurrent that Grainer's theme has. My favourite version of the Grainer theme has always been the FALLOUT theme, with the horns, which really give a foreboding quality to what had taken place in ONCE UPON A TIME, and, what will happen, in FALLOUT.
Oh, hey, I never thought about the percussion being bongos, but you're right (or might as well be). Wonder if that kind of arrangement would cross anyone's mind today, or would it all be Hans Zimmer and sweeping synthetic glissandos? (Not that I don't love Hans Zimmer, but I love Ron Grainer too.)
It is sooooo 60s! It's exactly what you would expect from a typical second-rate detective/adventure t.v. series, which the composer probably thought he was writing it for. Problem is that the Prisoner wasn't a typical series and couldn't use typical music. "The Age of Elegance" fit perfectly.
Don't be too harsh with Farnon, a genuinely talented composer and among the very few arrangers Frank Sinatra could work with. Paddy likely didn't give any of the candidate composers much to work with. The choice is always clearer in hindsight. Josephs' theme was (as only a German instructor could say it) "a little too weird," and even Grainer's was redone (search for his "Age of Elegance"). Suffice it to say this show kept a lot of folks guessing...and to its great credit still does!
Praise da Lawd it got rejected. That theme music would have done well for the Big Valley which was a 60's western show. I mean I expect the Indians to attack a fort full of soldiers.
the two rejected themes were used on other ITC shows this one on the Champions for the scenes introducing each of the agents voiced over by David Bauer but this one could still have been used on The Prisoner in the episode A Town Called Harmony
Didn't David Bauer play "Morton Slumber" of Slumber Mortuary in 1971's "Diamonds are Forever"? Where Bond almost gets burnt to a crisp in the crematorium?
If the Prisoner had used this it would be forgotten. Thankfully, Patrick fought for a better theme, tooth and nail :) Let's face it, he nailed the final version :)
Brilliant Upload! Didn't know ANY of this as a very casual Prisoner fan! Thank you. This just makes the show distinctly UNMENACING and makes me appreciate Grainer even more if that's possible. There is a subversive genius in this version too but it's just not right is it?
I kind of like the pause with the drums during the resignation scene...I wonder what affect that would have had using the origina theme? Other than that, I agree with others...the theme doesn't fit at all.
I'm going to be quite honest with you and you can ridicule me all you want, but I liked it. I mean the music, the beat and all, but I agree that it wouldn't have worked as the theme song for that show. Neither would the second one work, although it's pretty good too.
THE PRISONER :GREAT TV SHOW. SPY VS SPY . AND HOW TO BREAK DOWN A PROFESSIONAL.!!. AND MAKE HIM TALK ABOUT ALL HIS CASES. HE REFUSE TO GIVE IN . AND FIGHTS FOR HIS FREEDOM. !!!!.
Not bad as a theme, but this "Big Country" not right for the Prisoner. May have worked for a modern military-type movie how about M-CIS besides something like The Wild, Wild West. Ron Grainer's theme matched the mood, the tension, the atmosphere of the series, was truly inspired work! If this had been used, I don't believe the series would have been as popular, despite the excellent script work and performances.
The Little Prisoner On The Prairie.
I can't stop picturing a cowboy on a galloping horse for that theme, lol...
In a Lotus 7, you can actually go under those barriers...he was being very polite in taking a ticket considering he was resigning ;)
Yikes. I'm glad they rejected it! (It sounds like something better suited to Bonanza than The Prisoner)
Agreed! Number Six joins the Cartrights on the Ponderosa Ranch! lol
Could have used it for Living in Harmony perhaps.
i would have said more like the saint...
Agreed. I thought it was the start to The Big Country theme.
I agree, it's way more like a western theme than a spy/sci-fi theme.
Sounds like the theme for a show where the characters from Dallas perform a corporate merger with the Beverly Hillbillies, who take in the Waltons as boarders, and open a Wild West theme park... all turned into a spoof done by The Young Ones.
Get those wagons rolling.
Genius! 🤣
😂
This is not a number; it’s an abomination.
That could also tie in with Red Dwarf's Gunmen Of The Apocalypse episode!
Thanks for posting this bit of alternate history. They couldn't have gotten it any more wrong.
Whew! not dark enough. To lighthearted.
I listen to this and expect to see a herd of cattle and cowboys riding the range going hee yah.
Might have made a good secondary opening for the Harmony episode.
Ride 'em cowboy! The Magnificant One!
Thank God they saw sense. The chosen theme was often hummed amongst my class mates at school, as we were so much into the series, at the time.....
The theme music eventually chosen was by far the right choice.
This first rejected theme certainly could have been used as incidental music during an episode.
Funny- at first I hated it, but now I can't get it out of my head! There's something about it's energy that I like.
I agree. It works really well with the quick edits of the opening, much better than what they ended up using.
It's got a good melodic hook but it definitely sounds hopeful and horsey, not paranoid and modern
Too conventional, not sinister or off-beat enough. Totally different vibe. I can see why they rejected it..
That's actually a very enjoyable piece of music... but it's much too optimistic. Glad they changed it.
Heh it sounds like the Thunderbirds with all that percussion.
It would've been hilarious if they used this theme for Living in Harmony.
I'm so glad this was changed to the classic Ron Grainer theme!
Excellent choice of music, this is just plain, but the original theme chosen was definitely the right choice.
They missed a trick by not using this as the opening theme for "Living in Harmony"
This village ain't big enough for the both of us, hoss!
😅😅
I can imagine what McGoohan said when this was presented to him. "At what stage did I say cowboy?"
Fascinating bit of history. Thanks for posting!
I would have rejected that first theme myself. It belongs with a BBC situation comedy series.
Or Carry On Number Six?
@@Mishima505 Number 6 meets The Rumpo Kid in Stodge City!
I am so glad this was rejected. It sounds like a 60s western. It also is awkward.
Never mind Robert , you wrote a great theme for 'Colditz' !
I always tuned into repeats of 'The Prisoner' to hear Grainer's theme. It works as a combination spy theme/surreal, over the top theme that suits the show. The original theme here sounds like a cross between 'The Big Country' and a more conventional 1960's thriller show and the orchestration isn't well chosen.
I said to myself thats the music to Big Country! Then the editor said the same thing and I patted myself on the back, lol. Amazing how important a thing like music is to the success of a film, they did a great job with the theme music that was picked, it's awesome!
That theme would have worked for the episode that played in a wild west town.
I have to say, this is growing on me. I like it.
Amazing bit of history. The Prisoner was a great great show. The score, as chosen was superb. Thanks for posting this!
That would have worked better for Bonanza than The Prisoner.
It definitely is 'different' than Ron Grainer's familiar theme. While I don't dislike it ((I DO dislike Wilfred Joseph's), it doesn't fit withe the 'menacing' undercurrent that Grainer's theme has. My favourite version of the Grainer theme has always been the FALLOUT theme, with the horns, which really give a foreboding quality to what had taken place in ONCE UPON A TIME, and, what will happen, in FALLOUT.
There's a reason it was rejected, it's not nearly as effective as electric guitar, bongo's and horns wound up being.
Oh, hey, I never thought about the percussion being bongos, but you're right (or might as well be). Wonder if that kind of arrangement would cross anyone's mind today, or would it all be Hans Zimmer and sweeping synthetic glissandos? (Not that I don't love Hans Zimmer, but I love Ron Grainer too.)
It is sooooo 60s! It's exactly what you would expect from a typical second-rate detective/adventure t.v. series, which the composer probably thought he was writing it for. Problem is that the Prisoner wasn't a typical series and couldn't use typical music. "The Age of Elegance" fit perfectly.
This is good for "The Alamo" not for "The Prisoner"
Don't be too harsh with Farnon, a genuinely talented composer and among the very few arrangers Frank Sinatra could work with. Paddy likely didn't give any of the candidate composers much to work with. The choice is always clearer in hindsight. Josephs' theme was (as only a German instructor could say it) "a little too weird," and even Grainer's was redone (search for his "Age of Elegance"). Suffice it to say this show kept a lot of folks guessing...and to its great credit still does!
Thank goodness calmer heads prevailed
Praise da Lawd it got rejected. That theme music would have done well for the Big Valley which was a 60's western show. I mean I expect the Indians to attack a fort full of soldiers.
I love this alternate theme, and I think this should make this for western movies or TV series like Bonanza, etc. Hi Ho, Number 6!😊😇❤💯
It would have made a good theme for McCloud.
epic fail seems more like a western
+paul hunter true... and does not complement the editing of the visuals at all!
Yep, good song, but horrible match for The Prisoner!
paul hunter
the two rejected themes were used on other ITC shows this one on the Champions for the scenes introducing each of the agents voiced over by David Bauer but this one could still have been used on The Prisoner in the episode A Town Called Harmony
Didn't David Bauer play "Morton Slumber" of Slumber Mortuary in 1971's "Diamonds are Forever"? Where Bond almost gets burnt to a crisp in the crematorium?
@@MKIVWWI Yes, he did.
So glad they chose the other theme.
Cowboy film theme music definitely. Something the composer had lying around.
It's too light. Or it sounds like it belongs in a western.
Yee haw! Who is Number One? HOSS CARTWRIGHT!
😅😅
If the Prisoner had used this it would be forgotten. Thankfully, Patrick fought for a better theme, tooth and nail :) Let's face it, he nailed the final version :)
This music makes me think of cowboys and indians chasing each other in the prairies with lassos and bows.
I agree..... it reminds me of the music from the old Marlboro commercials.
It sounded like the film score The Big Country. Thank goodness it was rejected.
Get annnnn yer sports car and ride outta town boy
I instantly thought of the Big Country too
We are all very lucky that the 1st theme was rejected.
Wow! Who thought this show should sound like a Western during its opening credits? I keep looking for Marshall Matt Dillon to show up!
It sounds like the Big Country!
Thank god they didn't use this theme. It has echoes of The Magnificent Seven!
Thank God they binned it!
sounds like the theme to the Western Magnificent Seven
" I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM.... YEEEEHAAAAWWWWW!! "
Glad it was rejected ... sounds like the sound track to a US WESTERN /Cowboy TV SHOW 😨
This would’ve been a great theme if James Drury had played The Prisoner..
First one is like that sound track to The Big Country
Omg... we dodged a bullet there! ( by this NOT being the music used.) Thanks for posting.. very interesting.
If they stuck with that opening thing, we wouldn't be talking about the Prisoner now.
Such a good decision to reject this first introduction!
Very Western oriented piece of music - I am so glad they rejected it.. I don't think the show would have had the same feel about it if they hadn't.
Yee-haw!
I was shocked to see that you still had your notes, after all these years.
Did you have any sense of how good the show was going to be?
Great piece of music, just not right for The Prisoner's main theme. The one they finally chose is perfect for it.
The start is exactly the same as the Big Country theme!
That makes me think of a western!
reminds me of a westren for some reason .I see Yul Brynner on a back of a horse
Westworld!
That theme music would never have worked as a ringtone.
Yeeeeeehaw!! ride 'em Pat!
[ohghodthisisdross]
This was so "wrong".
The theme they ended up with was the best possible choice.
Brilliant Upload! Didn't know ANY of this as a very casual Prisoner fan!
Thank you.
This just makes the show distinctly UNMENACING and makes me appreciate Grainer even more if that's possible.
There is a subversive genius in this version too but it's just not right is it?
It sounds like the opening to The Big Country
rather light hearted and upbeat, missing horse hooves.
I kind of like the pause with the drums during the resignation scene...I wonder what affect that would have had using the origina theme? Other than that, I agree with others...the theme doesn't fit at all.
I'm going to be quite honest with you and you can ridicule me all you want, but I liked it. I mean the music, the beat and all, but I agree that it wouldn't have worked as the theme song for that show. Neither would the second one work, although it's pretty good too.
THE PRISONER :GREAT TV SHOW. SPY VS SPY . AND HOW TO BREAK DOWN A PROFESSIONAL.!!. AND MAKE HIM TALK ABOUT ALL HIS CASES. HE REFUSE TO GIVE IN . AND FIGHTS FOR HIS FREEDOM. !!!!.
I don't think I would have ever watched with this theme.
"I knew Pat was going to hate it". An understatement.
Rightly rejected.
Too funny. Would be good for a western or a one off action sequence.
@enemyofbohemia I agree. I was waiting for John Wayne to come riding down the tunnel on a horse.
'Get out your car and drink your milk!'
...and then they all realized that 'The Prisoner' isn't a western.
the one they used was much more "mod".😏
Ride `em, Number 6!😊😇💯❤
I thought it sounded more like a theme for a Western film before he mentioned it at the end of the video.
Oh dear!
it wasn't dark enough--too upbeat. it would make a good theme for another show
Rip off 'Big Country' theme what a mistake that would of been. Top guy making sure that was stopped.
Be seeing you...
Guess this could have been a one episode use for Living in Harmony.
It shows you how important music is. Had that been used, the series would probably have bombed.
It's like the opening theme for Dame Edna
Talk about dodging a bullet.
Sounds very much like Farnon' The Champions.
Not bad as a theme, but this "Big Country" not right for the Prisoner. May have worked for a modern military-type movie how about M-CIS besides something like The Wild, Wild West.
Ron Grainer's theme matched the mood, the tension, the atmosphere of the series, was truly inspired work!
If this had been used, I don't believe the series would have been as popular, despite the excellent script work and performances.
Remember this was the 60's. Check out other 60's prog theme tunes, this fits in. NEVER on the Prisoner though!
I can't even watch half of this vid. The music hurts.