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Thursday 19 September 2013

The Therapy Zone

   It's just like old times for No.6, as he and No.2 watch Nadia wake up in what she thinks is her own home. But as it was with No.6, and other new arrivals in the Village, Nadia was in for a shock. For she was as far away from home as it was possible to get.

   










 On the other hand pictures can be deceptive. As here it would appear that No.6 is close to No.2, possibly being his assistant. After all Nadia thought No.6 to be a charming man, as charming as No.2's assistant would be.
   And don't be dissuaded by that expression on No.6's face. Other assistant's to No.2 may have secretly despised his superior! Besides. "Do you remmeber your first day Number Six?" As if No.6 wants reminding on his first day in the Village!

Progress report On No.6
"He's not conventional"
"I sometimes thinks he's not human."
   { Pity No.2 underestimated No.6, or at the very least paid more attention!}

    You know I find it a very curious thing, that for a man like Patrick McGoohan, who has quite obviously got fed up with playing the role of Danger Man, leaves his pet project of the Prisoner to go off and play a secret agent, who is more akin to that of John Drake than any, David Jones!
   And writing of spies. I have enjoyed many spy series on television and film The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Riley Ace of Spies. the Ipcress File, Funeral In Berlin, The Billion Dollar Brain. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. Callan. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - that Smiley character played by Alec Guinness would have made a brilliant No.2 in the village. Smiley would have got the information out of No.6!
  Here is a brief list of spies who survived not being abducted to the Village;

Harry Palmer
James Bond
Callan
Marta Hari
Riley Ace of Spies
George Blake
Peter and Helen Kroger
Guy Burgess
McClain
Anthony Blunt
Pimpernel Smith
The spy in black!

    I like a good spy drama, but its a very dangerous game, and I have a very low pain threshold. Anyway tomorrow afternoon I'm off to the cinema to watch James Bond in Quantum of Solace. I like this new James Bond, he gets hurt and bleeds quite a bit. In fact this new James Bond puts me in mind of another agent, one who worked for M9 - John Drake!

Information And Observations
    During the escape attempt in Checkmate, No.6 found himself with a sudden choice, either to go back to his confederates in the Green Dome, or to take to the sea upon the pair of rubber lilos abandoned by the Rook. No.6 chose the latter to take to the sea, in order to bring the ship inshore himself. I wonder how the end of Checkmate would have worked out if No.6 had chosen the former?
    A risky business this escaping lark. I mean after surviving that perilous sea voyage of Many Happy Returns, he then hitches a ride in the back of a lorry. Then upon hearing a police siren he wakes up and leaps out of the back of that lorry into the road and London traffic in Park Lane. I mean to come all that way he could have been run over by a taxi, car, bus, or lorry! Not only could that have proven fatal for No.6, but someone would have to have paid for that. I wonder who - Mrs. Butterworth perhaps?
    The Prisoner politically correct? I don't think so, not with that Gollywog on full view in the children’s nursery!
    When it comes to "playing it according to Hoyle" with all cards on the table, Fred Hoyle doesn't come into it! Yes the Prisoner part work produced by De Agostini, with Robert Fairclough as a consultant on the matter of the Prisoner actually got the wrong Hoyle. Such is their misunderstanding the meaning of the situation at breakfast time in Free For All, brought about by the lack of research they're misleading their readers!
   The episode ‘The Girl Who Was Death’ is as light and distracting, as ‘Dance of the Dead’ is dark and dangerous!
   My favourite episodes of the Prisoner are those which contain that Italianate village of Portmeirion. So you can probably guess which ones they are.

Be seeing you

10 comments:

  1. > Yes the Prisoner part work produced by De Agostini, with Robert Fairclough as a consultant on the matter of the Prisoner actually got the wrong Hoyle. Such is their misunderstanding the meaning of the situation at breakfast time in Free For All, brought about by the lack of research they're misleading their readers!

    Why weren't you consultant, David? You clearly know it all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Anonymous,

      It's not "what" you know, it's "who" you know!

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
  2. I didn't bother this scene from "Free For All" until I became involved with the German script of it when the TV dubbing was made only in 2010 (one of 4 episodes that weren't in 1969). And I can say that the name Fred Hoyle was quite familiar to me from 2 of his SF books "The Black Cloud" and "A for Andromeda". I don't really remember them except of the titles, though. However, it never occurred to me that this Hoyle should have been involved in the making of The Prisoner.and his name would have been mentioned in the credits, wouldn't they. More so, it must have been to do with gaming cards. Eventually it wasn't too difficult to identify Edmond Hoyle as the inspiring source here. - BCNU!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Arno,

      An interesting comment. I was aware of Fred Hoyle being a science fiction writer, although not having read any of his books. And like yourself I had never attributed No.6 saying "Playing the game according to Hoyle" to Fred Hoyle. I thought what's Fred Hoyle got to do with the rules of card games? When it was crystal clear that it should have been Edmund Hoyle.

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
  3. It's a bit of nonsense what I wrote because Fred Hoyle of course wasn't "involved" in the series. But his name was known to me whereas Edmund's wasn't. - BCNU!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Arno,

      And that's where the confusion was created by the De Agostini Part work. People might have been aware of Fred Hoyle, and not Edmund.

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
  4. Did you consider someone like Jason Bourne? Most likely he'd have been abducted, too. But he didn't let them do it. Bourne isn't his real name as we get to know near the end of the 3rd film. The character has no memory of his past, or rather only fractions of it. And he is forced to maintain his identity or to rediscover it. For the thought of it. - BCNU!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Arno,

      As a matter fo fact I had not considered Jason Bourne. But certainly you put a good case for him. Your description makes it read as though Jason Bourne has undergone treatment in the Amnesia Room!

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete
  5. This is kind of true! However, Bourne (JB!) was a soldier, special forces member, not an intelligence man. And what THEY did to him was no less unscrupulous than with No. 6 regarding brain-washing and physically conditioning him. But I don't want to stretch the parallels too far. - BCNU!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Arno,

      Have you heard of the film "Source Code?" That's a film about Captain Colter Stevens, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot whose last awareness was a mission in Afghanistan, wakes up on a train to Chicargo at 7:40am. To the world around him – including his travelling partner Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) and the bathroom mirror – he appears to be Sean Fentress, a school teacher. As he comes to grips with this revelation, the train car explodes, killing everyone aboard. Steven has to live out the last few minutes of Sean Fentress' life in order to find a person on a train with a bomb. More than that, he has to relive those final few minutes over and over, time and time again, until he finds the person with the bomb.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Code

      The plot of the film, with a Colter Stevens appearing as another man, is Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlingesque. there is a parallel here as well, but one not to be taken too far.

      Have a good weekend.

      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU
      Very kind regards
      David
      BCNU

      Delete