He died yesterday? Man...

I think The Prisoner was popular because of the controversial nature of the episodes. They really hit upon some edgy themes (for the time).

I think the bizarre/strange/confusing/art aspect is also attractive. When people are confused, some people seemed to be more drawn to it (ie, art).
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It was the first show of its type. Before that all TV was "safe" and mild. The Prisoner proved that you could explore storytelling on TV at a level that could challenge theater and movies.
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It was popular for me because (1) it was a logical follow-on for the spy series (I forget its name) of several seasons, I had watched, also starring him, and (2) it was the only series I EVER saw that had a plot with a logical start AND ending! Yes, it actually had an ending, instead of dragging on, and on. And it had meaning, like a novel, instead of being just "entertainment." It was very appropriate to the times, and reminded me of the Camus book, L'Etranger
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It had the same appeal as shows like Lost, Twin Peaks and 24 -- a mystery, with suspense and a narrative arc. Most shows of the time were episodic, not continuing stories. It had a popular handsome star, who had played a secret agent on British TV. It came at the height of the Bond movie era. People were just getting a hint of technological change, the loss of privacy, surveillance, and so forth. The Cold War era, like this one, was a time of great paranoia in the culture. It also had an odd psychedelic flavor and seemed hip for the time. More here:
Source(s):
http://palafo.com/2009/01/15/be-seeing-you-patrick-mcgoohan/

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Good plots, futuristic hardware, unique concept and one scary incarceration with tempting freedoms
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