"We Want Information... Information... Information!"

The cult sixties TV show The Prisoner (1967-1968) might be the earliest example of toxic fandom as it resulted in its creator and main star Patrick McGoohan going into hiding with his family when the finale aired and the fans were none too happy. The reason: they felt cheated with the answers they got to the various mystery box questions introduced as the crux of the show. Why did McGoohan's Number Six angrily resign from his job? Did Number Two and Number Forty-Eight symbolise the authoritarian establishment and the carefree youth, respectively? Are we prisoners of ourselves? How did Rover, the terrifying weather balloon, work exactly?

With the bright and colourful veneer of an eccentric, secret agent themed show, typical of the 1960s, The Prisoner revealed itself as an allegory of individualism versus collectivism. The ever defiant McGoohan would yell the forever quotable "I am not a number; I am a free man!" at the start of the show. The Orwellian series became increasingly bizarre once its script editor, George Markstein, left the show and McGoohan was veering towards a nervous breakdown. Thus, when Fall Out, the film's utterly surreal final episode, had aired it was a head scratcher for many viewers.

Decades later, the avant-garde finale is still theorised by various fans and scholars in various media. No surprise then, that McGoohan would feel awkwardly uncomfortable and fed up every time he was asked to explain The Prisoner's ending during the remainder of his years. Ironically, his inquisitors had become like the ever changing Number Two in that respect.