And that is why the Prisoner-No.6 is too perfect, he won't bend, and if you don't bend a little, you'll break! But No.6 doesn't break, if he would only bend just a little, that would make him more human.
It was suggested by the doctor-No.22 in Checkmate that No.6 had a negative reaction to pain, that would take super-human will power. No, No.6 is just too perfect. He might be a trained agent, if his previous job was as an agent for M9, but even the best of agents eventually give in when undergoing long continuous interrogations, coercion, and manipulation. If there is one chink in No.6's armour, it is that he cannot resist a damesl in distress, and No.2 plays on this on more than one occasion, starting with Nadia Rakovsky, and ending in the death of Cathy-No.22.
It is always possible that the Prisoner-No.6 is a symbolc hero figure. But heroes always have faults. As No.6 goes, he is quite rigid. It might have been better if No.6 showed some signs of breaking up, in the way he did during The Schizoid Man. Then I feel No.6 was showing signs that he is human after all. Anyone who is trained not the break, not to crack up, is sub-human. And in No.6 perhaps something human in him is lost, because he is the hero, and heroes never lose. They never break, or show signs of cracking up. No-one could exist day after day in the Village like No.6 did, having to be on ones guard 24/7, 365 days a year for fifteen months. Now that would take super-human will power!
BCNU
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Lotus Seven
Once upon a time, I thought how wonderful it would be to own a Lotus, now Caterham Super 7, and of course in the Prisoner livery. But as the years went by then I had another thought, that Caterham Sevens, especially in the Prisoner livery, are ten a penny these days! Too many people driving about in such a car, no longer makes the Caterham Seven a kar for the individual, as Patrick McGoohan saw it. If ever I did happen to buy a Caterham Seven, it certainly wouldn't be in the Prisoner livery. Be seeing you.
Caught on Camera
BCNU
School Days
Those were the days, the days that are gone. The Faces forgotten, the memories linger on......Southminster.
No.6 "Well I certainly shoot better than you do!"
No.6 "That's because I'm lefthanded!"
"Well why didn't you shoot with your left hand?"
"Because I'm supposed to be you."
"Oh I see. You're supposed to be me, am I'm supposed to be the baddie?"
"There's no supposed about it!"
"Come to think of it, your fencing was off as well."
"I was Captain of the school boxing team."
"Oh! How is your boxing these days?"
"You'll find out in a minute."
"Oh that's very good, and really worthy of me."
"Shall we sing the old school song before I beat the living daylights out of you?"
"If you like, but it's been a while........
{No.6 begins to sing the old school song, and Curtis does his best to join in}
Those were the days, the days that are gone. The faces forgotten, the memories....linger on........Southminster.
No.6 "That's because I'm lefthanded!"
"Well why didn't you shoot with your left hand?"
"Because I'm supposed to be you."
"Oh I see. You're supposed to be me, am I'm supposed to be the baddie?"
"There's no supposed about it!"
"Come to think of it, your fencing was off as well."
"I was Captain of the school boxing team."
"Oh! How is your boxing these days?"
"You'll find out in a minute."
"Oh that's very good, and really worthy of me."
"Shall we sing the old school song before I beat the living daylights out of you?"
"If you like, but it's been a while........
{No.6 begins to sing the old school song, and Curtis does his best to join in}
Those were the days, the days that are gone. The faces forgotten, the memories....linger on........Southminster.
Thought For The Day
During their, what shall we call it, role-playing between No.6 and No.2 in Once Upon A Time, I was wondering if the Butler actually gave No.6 six-of-the-best, a good caning? I mean the Butler was swishing that cane about pretty realistically, what's more No.6, as the pupil, had asked for twelve, so that he could remember. And as the headmaster was closing the door, No.6 can just be seen, bending over the organ stool!
BCNU
BCNU
Friday, 29 April 2011
Thought For The Day
I wonder why No.2 of Hammer Into Anvil, felt the need to smuggle a sword shooting stick into the Village? Surely such a weapon was well outside the pail of the law, as No.2 of The Chimes of Big Ben would put it. You will observe that it is a plain shooting stick that No.2 has, not the regular, yet unusual umbrella shooting stick. Perhaps it was for self preservation, that No.2 felt the need to have the weapon to hand. Having been recruited to the Village, but not knowing what he would have to face after his arrival!
BCNU
BCNU
A Favourite Moment In The Prisoner Comes When
In Fall Out, the late No.2 descends into a vapour filled abyss. He looks up and speaks into the camera Be seeing you.
Postcard From The Village
Imaginative you might say. Produced by 6of1 The Prisoner Appreciation Society in the late 1980's to early 90's. The society does still exist today, but the heyday of 6of1 was from 1979 into the early 80's. Then the society went through a brief troubled time, before gaining momentum once more to enjoy a real renaissance between the late 1980's and the late 1990's. But since 2002 6of1 has fallen into the doldrums once again, not that it's members would admit that. But many, many members left the society in the early part of this decade, and so 6of1 is not as it once was, but does still function as an appreciation society. BCNU
Village Pin-Up
Sheila Allen of both Danger Man and the Prisoner. In the former she is Diane Eglington in the episode Don't Nail Him Yet. In the later she is No.14, a doctor who has developed a new drug, which is tested on No.6 in the episode A B & C.
In fact there is evidence of an extremely strong link between Danger Man and the Prisoner at the core of which is Sheila Allen, of which the vast majority of fans are not aware. In fact I only discovered the link quite recently myself, and is something other than A B & C.
BCNU
Thursday, 28 April 2011
It's Your Funeral
By assassinating the retiring No.2, the new No.2 could then oversee an organised purge of the Village, ridding the community of several malcontents, of which No.6 is top of the list. So, would No.6 then be purged from the Village, it seems unlikely. Nothing would be gained by carrying out such a reprisal on the commuity, save for merely removing trouble makers they don't have any further use for. And what would be the point if No.6 was excluded from the purge of malcontents?
But I suppose a purge of the Village might at some point be necessary, or at least a control put on the number of people brought into the Village. Because seeing as so few people are actually allowed to leave the Village, and if there is a steady incoming of new arrivals, then the Village would eventually out-grow itself, and quickly become a Town!
Back in the 1990's there was much talk and rumour of a Hollywood remake of the Prisoner, one idea was to have the Village as the City. And when you think about it, the Village of the 2009 series of THEPRISONER, is actually the size of a City!
BCNU
But I suppose a purge of the Village might at some point be necessary, or at least a control put on the number of people brought into the Village. Because seeing as so few people are actually allowed to leave the Village, and if there is a steady incoming of new arrivals, then the Village would eventually out-grow itself, and quickly become a Town!
Back in the 1990's there was much talk and rumour of a Hollywood remake of the Prisoner, one idea was to have the Village as the City. And when you think about it, the Village of the 2009 series of THEPRISONER, is actually the size of a City!
BCNU
Pictorial PRISONER
This is an anomaly, a nothing. It is an abomination, it is beyond all hope! 823, the daughter of 147 and 21-12 falls into the hole, and so returned to her 'other' life, as does 4-15 who commits suicide in the Village, but at the same time returns to her 'other' life in New York. Be seeing you
Thought For The Day
As the episode of The General draws to a conclusion, No.6 asks the question WHY? A computer explodes, and two people are electrocuted to death. WHY? Why indeed!
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BCNU
Many Happy Returns
It's good to see others interpreting scenes within the Prisoner, such as when No.6 had returned to the Village, and looking out of the window he espies the citizens parading around the central Piazza. This has been suggested to be a birthday parade in honour of No.6. I beg your pardon! Citizens are always parading around the central Piazza, I shouldn't think it's got anything to do with No.6 at all. I'd be very surprised that the good citizens of the Village were even aware that No.6 had been away!
BCNU
BCNU
Caught On Camera!
"Mister Carmichael?"
"Yes, the gentleman who brought in his errr....if you'll excuse me Sir, brought in his funny photos for developing."
"Do I look like mister Carmichael?"
"Come to think of it Sir, no."
"Do I look like someone who would indulge in funny photos?
"No Sir, but it take all kinds!"
"Look, all I want are my transparencies."
"Saucy are they Sir?"
"No, they are pricturesque landscapes."
"If you say so Sir."
"I do say."
Oh, I see Sir. I won't keep you a moment."
The proprietor of the camera shop goes into the back of the shop, then after a few moments returns with a small box.
"There you are Sir, your transparences."
"I need a photogarph taken."
"Oh I see Sir."
"You take photographs here presumably?"
"Oh yes Sir, we've several satisfied customers. If you just go through into the back room, you'll find Annette waiting. She is very experienced in such matters. Perhaps Sir would like the school girl touch, or something continental."
"I am going on the continent."
"Well there you are Sir, why didn't you say. Fifi will tend to your every need. Although, Tom, our regular photographer is on his lunch hour."
"He would be!"
"I'm not an expreienced photogrpaher myself Sir, but I think I can take some satisfactory studies of yourself with Fifi."
"Look, I don't want anything like that!"
"Oh!"
"All I want is a passport photograph."
"Oh I see Sir. Fifi will be disappointed!"
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Thought For The Day
Here in the United Kingdom, we have a little lion stamped on our eggs to indicate that they are fresh. I wonder if the eggs sold in the General Store in the Village, has a little Penny Farthing bicycle stamped on them in the same way?
BCNU
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Village Observation
Badges worn in the village can be fascinating. Take these two No.6 badges, which are as different from one another as chalk and cheese. The one has the Penny Farthing facing towards the right, and the other to the left. But that is not the only difference. One has the red numeral six printed over the pedals and wheel strut. The other has the red number printed behind the pedals and strut. But in both cases, the single digit 6 is set in the centre of the penny wheel, but not in all cases.
Be seeing you
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Questions Are A Burden To Others - Answers A Prisoner For Onself
What is wrong with this picture?
BCNU
Pictorial PRISONER
Even Two's sofa reflects his number of authority, the number Two. But if one side of the sofa is Two, then it is likely that the other side must be Un-Two! those who have seen the series will know where I'm coming from. Those who haven't, or gave up long before the episode Darling came along - won't! BCNU
It's Inexplicable!
At the end of the election of Free For All, the candidate No.6 was proven to have won the election by a landslide majority. Outside the Town Hall the gathered electorate shouted out for No.2 "We want Number two, Number Two, Number Two, Number Two, Number Two." But when the new No.2 appeared on the steps of the Town Hall, the crowd fell silent, some even look upon No.6 with suspicion. And when the out-going No.2 takes the new No.2 to the Green Dome, the good citizens of the Village simply disperse, so to them it's as though there had never been an election! So it makes me wonder why anyone voted for No.6 in the first palce! But they are clever, damned clever. Because 'they' had conditioned almost every citizen to vote for No.6, even though 'they' knew it would count for absolutely nothing in the end. The election period of Free For All seems to have been something of a pointless exercise, but I suppose someone learned something from the experience.
BCNU
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Good Old Fashioned Brute Force
But it is not always effective, good old fashioned brute force, as No.6 found out on the day of his arrival in the village. Having become annoyed with the music emitting from the black loudspeaker, he trampled it to bits under foot. Yet the music continues to play! In Dance of the Dead, No.6 rips out the paper and electrical wiring of the telepype, which No.6 thinks has put the machine beyond usage. Yet all of a sudden the teletype whirs back into life, and continues to type out the message it had been typing before No.6's attempt at sabotage! It appears that so called, old fashioned brute force, will avail No.6 nothing!
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School Days
"Those are the days, the days that are gone. The faces forgotten, the memories linger on.....Southminster."
No.6 "Well I'm pleased to say I don't shoot like you!"
No.6 ""I hit the target."
"Yes, but only in the arm old boy."
Look, I'm getting a bit fed up with all this. What are you trying to prove?"
"That I'm you, and that you are somebody else."
"Who?"
"Oh I don't know."
"Yes, but you must have some idea of who I am?"
"You claim to be Number Six."
"Yes, yes that's right. Number Six."
"But I'm Number Six old boy."
"Just a minute!"
"What?"
"Number Six wears a dark blazer with off-white piping."
"Does he?"
"Yes. And which one of us is wearing a dark blazer with off-white piping?"
"You are."
"So, case proven. Because since when did Number Six go about the Village wearing a cream blazer with black piping?"
"About a month ago. I needed a new blazer. Besides it makes a nice change, don't you think?"
No.6 "Just a minute! Who the devil are you supposed to be now?"
"Let me be Frank...."
"If you like. Just as long as you stop pretending to be me."
"Why should I pretend to be you, do I look like you?"
"Well you certainly look more like you than I do!"
"Yes, but from the back we're hardly indistiguishable from one another."
"Is that why you are only filmed from the back view?"
"Well it helps maintain the illusion."
"Illuison, illusion of what?"
"That you do all your own stunts, when all the time it's me! Remember that time when I was carrying that Cuckcoo clock in Hammer Into Anvil....."
"Yes, I had to carry it across the street for you, a particullarly dangerous stunt that. Call yourself a stunt- man!"
"Look, lets not fall out. Shall we sing the old school song?"
"If you like."
"Those were the days, the days that are...."
"Just a minute. Didn't you go to Narkover school?"
"That's where I learned to box. Captain of the boxing team I was."
"And I was Captain of the Ratcliffe boxing team........I'll get the gloves!"
"Good. I can't wait to give you a thoroughly good dusting down!"
BCNU
No.6 ""I hit the target."
"Yes, but only in the arm old boy."
Look, I'm getting a bit fed up with all this. What are you trying to prove?"
"That I'm you, and that you are somebody else."
"Who?"
"Oh I don't know."
"Yes, but you must have some idea of who I am?"
"You claim to be Number Six."
"Yes, yes that's right. Number Six."
"But I'm Number Six old boy."
"Just a minute!"
"What?"
"Number Six wears a dark blazer with off-white piping."
"Does he?"
"Yes. And which one of us is wearing a dark blazer with off-white piping?"
"You are."
"So, case proven. Because since when did Number Six go about the Village wearing a cream blazer with black piping?"
"About a month ago. I needed a new blazer. Besides it makes a nice change, don't you think?"
"Let me be Frank...."
"If you like. Just as long as you stop pretending to be me."
"Why should I pretend to be you, do I look like you?"
"Well you certainly look more like you than I do!"
"Yes, but from the back we're hardly indistiguishable from one another."
"Is that why you are only filmed from the back view?"
"Well it helps maintain the illusion."
"Illuison, illusion of what?"
"That you do all your own stunts, when all the time it's me! Remember that time when I was carrying that Cuckcoo clock in Hammer Into Anvil....."
"Yes, I had to carry it across the street for you, a particullarly dangerous stunt that. Call yourself a stunt- man!"
"Look, lets not fall out. Shall we sing the old school song?"
"If you like."
"Those were the days, the days that are...."
"Just a minute. Didn't you go to Narkover school?"
"That's where I learned to box. Captain of the boxing team I was."
"And I was Captain of the Ratcliffe boxing team........I'll get the gloves!"
"Good. I can't wait to give you a thoroughly good dusting down!"
BCNU
Monday, 25 April 2011
Oops!
Arrival, when No.6 is attempting to escape by helicopter, the rotor blades are not turning!
A B & C, when No,.6 kicks in the grill when he is breaking into the secret laboratory, his socks change colour!
Free For All, No.6 attempts to escape the village by boat at high tide, he is also over powered by the village Guardian at high tide. But when the ambulance collects No.6 it is at low tide!
Checkmate, in the opening few moments of the episode there is the lush green lawn minus a chessboard, yet moments later the white squares of a chessboard have been laid out!
BCNU
A B & C, when No,.6 kicks in the grill when he is breaking into the secret laboratory, his socks change colour!
Free For All, No.6 attempts to escape the village by boat at high tide, he is also over powered by the village Guardian at high tide. But when the ambulance collects No.6 it is at low tide!
Checkmate, in the opening few moments of the episode there is the lush green lawn minus a chessboard, yet moments later the white squares of a chessboard have been laid out!
BCNU
Thought For The Day
In his opening speech of No.6's election of Free For All, he states that he intends to discover who are the prisoners and who the warders. In Checkmate No.6 is told a way of doing just that, by judging people's attitude towards him, which ultimately backfires on him!
BCNU
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Milchmann - Milkman!
The 1964 film Carry On Spying has an agent by the name of Milchmann - Milkman, get it? Who steals a secret formula from a military laboratory.
During Many Happy Returns also has a Milkman, an agent working for the village, who arrives at the aerodrome, and having made his way into the Kitting out Room, overpowers the RAF Group Captain, and takes his place as pilot of the Gloster Meteor jet.
Mind you
I'm surpirsed that the Milkman was not discovered when they refuelled at Gibraltar. Indeed the Milkman did well to get away with it, I mean he could not have uttered one single word, otherwise the game would have been up, when No.6 realised that it wasn't the Group Captain speaking to him over the radio! Be seeing you.
Postcard From The Village
The whole Earth as the Village! Well they say we live in a Global Village, and in a world where surveillance is second nature to us, judging by the number of surveillance cameras there are in any given city around the world. And we are all numbers, of one kind or another. And despite what some people might tell you, you cannot beat the system - but you can bend the system, so that it works for you! Be seeing you
Caught On Camera
Who says that No.6 dosen't smoke? He smokes Senior Service cigarettes, or at least Patrick McGoohan did. But where is No.14's bunch of flowers? BCNU
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Arts And Crafts
The Tower and Canopied Penny Farthing, fused together in a darkened fog, that pervades and pollutes the good Village.
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Chambers Late Of The Foreign Office
It was a very important day for the Prisoner, he was getting ready to meet Chambers who was about to become late of the Foreign Office, and the Prisoner was about to try and get Chambers to change his mind before the 'big boys' found out. Either Chambers was about to resign, or defect. So the Prisoner waited and waited, but Chambers never turned up!
Well he wouldn't, would he? Because he had already been abducted to the Village. A nice guy Chambers, and so talkative! It is a wonder that No.6 never met up with Chambers in the Village, like he did with so many of his old colleagues - Cobb, the Colonel, Fotheringay, and Roland Walter Dutton. And why should we be surprised, after all No.2 did warn the Prisoner that he might even meet people he knew!
BCNU
Well he wouldn't, would he? Because he had already been abducted to the Village. A nice guy Chambers, and so talkative! It is a wonder that No.6 never met up with Chambers in the Village, like he did with so many of his old colleagues - Cobb, the Colonel, Fotheringay, and Roland Walter Dutton. And why should we be surprised, after all No.2 did warn the Prisoner that he might even meet people he knew!
BCNU
This Week I Am Mostly Watching
The episode of Darling, in which Micheal falls in love with Lucy in New York, and Six fall in love with 415 in the Village. The name and number may be different, but the woman is the same, Lucy having been brought to the Village by Two to break Six's heart. But there is irony too, the irony of using pigs in the village! Holes begin to appear in the Village, holes which Two describes as a nothing. They are oblivion, and beyond all hope. So pigs are brought into the Village their breath to be employed to help stabilize the atmosphere. But pigs ruttle about, they nuzzle into the ground and dig holes, so there is the irony. What's more, 313 is in love with Six, and 11-12 takes three pills to the clinic, of the type Two gives to his wife M2, and asks 313 to have the pills analyzed. There is a moment in THEPRISONER which mirrors one in the original series. The woman behind the Dating Agency in the Village talks to Six through his television set. Six punches the television and the screen goes blank. Moments later that same woman is standing at the door of Six's apartment, just like No.2 in Free For All. Be seeing you
Village Observation
The number code which No.6 uses in Hammer Into Anvil, is the same type of code used by John Drake in the Danger Man episode Day of Judgement.
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Village Pin-Up
Rachel Herbert, who had two roles in the Prisoner, the pretty and amiable No.58, and mean, possible brutal new No.2 in Free For All.
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Saturday, 23 April 2011
So Which Is It?
In an introduction to one of the Professor's lectures during The General, the Professor claims that he was introduced to The General. However, later in the Boardroom, No.2 tells No.6 that the Professor gave birth to the General, implying that it was he who created the computer. So which is it?
Be seeing you.
Be seeing you.
Arts And Crafts
This is from my 'Fused' period, mixed with my 'Variations' period. You've got to admit it's different, if not striking!
BCNU
Electrifying The Prisoner
Have you ever thought how electrifying the Prisoner can be? Well it was Nadia-No.8 who was the first to find that out during her interrogation during The Chimes of Big Ben, when you will recall how the floor of the interogation room had an electrical current running through it every four seconds. This No.8 discovered by sprinkling water on the floor.
No.6 discovered the power of electricity, when he was electrified to the chair in the Labour Exchange Managers office in Free For All, this to stop No.6 getting out of his chair, as he underwent 'The Test!'
The Schizoid Man saw No.6 undergoing electrical threapy, this to condition him to be left handed. Yet it was through an electric shock, via a short circuiting table lamp, that saw the reversal of the electrical therapy.
There was an act of sabotage in The General, the sabotage of the electrical kind, by the hand of No.12 of Administration. And later in this episode, No.6 encountered an electrical force-field along one of the underground corridors of the Town Hall.
In Dance of the Dead No.6 followed his observer-No.240 to the Town Hall, in fact No.6 tried to follow No.240 into the Town Hall. But he was sudddenly cut short on the steps of the Town Hall, by the unexpected experience of an electrical force-field!
But electrification can be a deadly thing, as both the Professor and No.12 of Adminstration found out in The General. The Professor was electrocuted to dead trying to save his creation. No.12 tried to save the Professor, but was electrocuted in the attempt, although No.12 might have committed suicide, depending on how you look at it.
There is the electrification of the clocks, over seen by the retiring No.2 in Its Your Funeral.
And arcs of electricity abound as Professor Jacob Seltzman in Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, not only changes the mind of two subjects, but three!
Be seeing you
No.6 discovered the power of electricity, when he was electrified to the chair in the Labour Exchange Managers office in Free For All, this to stop No.6 getting out of his chair, as he underwent 'The Test!'
The Schizoid Man saw No.6 undergoing electrical threapy, this to condition him to be left handed. Yet it was through an electric shock, via a short circuiting table lamp, that saw the reversal of the electrical therapy.
There was an act of sabotage in The General, the sabotage of the electrical kind, by the hand of No.12 of Administration. And later in this episode, No.6 encountered an electrical force-field along one of the underground corridors of the Town Hall.
In Dance of the Dead No.6 followed his observer-No.240 to the Town Hall, in fact No.6 tried to follow No.240 into the Town Hall. But he was sudddenly cut short on the steps of the Town Hall, by the unexpected experience of an electrical force-field!
But electrification can be a deadly thing, as both the Professor and No.12 of Adminstration found out in The General. The Professor was electrocuted to dead trying to save his creation. No.12 tried to save the Professor, but was electrocuted in the attempt, although No.12 might have committed suicide, depending on how you look at it.
There is the electrification of the clocks, over seen by the retiring No.2 in Its Your Funeral.
And arcs of electricity abound as Professor Jacob Seltzman in Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, not only changes the mind of two subjects, but three!
Be seeing you
Caught On Camera
The newer No.2 of Free For All, I say newer because No.6 was the new No.6 in that particular episode, even if it was the shortest term of office in Village history!
Pictured here, we see No.2 reporting to No.1 via a red telephone. Unlike one of her predecessors, of A B & C, and one successor yet to come in Hammer Into Anvil, she is not forced to undergo the humiliation of having to use that over-sized red telephone!
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Pictorial PRISONER
The Village Guardian usually was duly activated by the command 'Oranger Alert' by the Supervisor in the Control Room. But now, the Village Guardian appears to be conjured up by Six! BCNU
Friday, 22 April 2011
Thought For The Day
Why doesn't the Butler wear a numbered badge? Perhaps the Village administration doesn't work in fractions!
Be seeing you
Be seeing you
How Many Cats In The Village?
I only ask, and this is quite a trivial matter, because on one evening during Dance of the Dead No.6 is showing signs of restlessness - obviously he has not drunk his drugged nightcap! On the bed is the black cat, No.6 is obviously a cat lover, as it's bed time, and he chooses not to disturb the cat and lies back on the leather recliner. Then as the lights go out, and the female voice is trying to lull No.6 to sleep with soothing words, he departs the cottage via the French door. Then moments later No.2 enters her office of the Green Dome, and there is the black cat! If it is the same cat, how did it get to the Green Dome so quickly? And why didn't anyone spot the continuity error? And if it isn't the same cat, how many black cats are there in the Village?
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Caught On Camera
Here he is, the Prisoner behind the wheel of his Lotus 7, turning into Buckingham Place, Westminster, London. Not an unusual occurance you might think, and of course you would be right. Except that this is taking place during the episode Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.
It would seem that Paddy boy is in the episode more than one might at first think! It's not deliberate of course, as this is a frame from stock footage from the opening sequence to the series. Unused so inserted into Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling for part of the driving scene with Nigel Stock in the episode. I expect that no-one in the Cutting Room thought that anyone would notice! BCNU
Postcard From The Village
Dance of the Dead and No.2 asks No.6 if the's thinking of jumping. "Never," No.6 replies. You see No.2's concern was for the high suicide rate which the Village has to endure. At least two that we know of, Cobb, yes I know that never happened, and No.73 early on in Hammer Into Anvil.
Death might be an escape, but it would seem that No.6 is in no rush to do so!
I have stood where Pat McGoohan has stood, acted the role of No.6 in the scene between No.2 and the Observer-No.240 of Dance of the Dead. You can't do it now though, standing where Paddy is standing, because there are railings all round that cliff outlook. For those who do not know Portmeirion, there is a sheer drop of some 100 feet down to the beach from the toip of that round outlook.
BCNU
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Mind The Fall Out!
But there wasn't going to be any fallout was there, well perhaps only from the television viewers in the aftermath of the Prisoner episode Fall Out. You see the rocket launched by No.6 in Fall Out wasn't an ICBM {Intercontinetal Ballistic Missile} carrying a nuclear warhead, it was a rocket meant to carry four people. They being the 'late' No.2, No.48, No.6, and No.1, well there are four 'Orbit Tubes. So the question is, where was the rocket destined for? No.6, when setting the countdown in motion set a switch at 'low orbit,' so that means the rocket would not have got that far into space. In fact I'm not so sure that the single stage rocket would have made it a quarter of the way to the moon, let alone deep space! Perhaps it was destined for a space station which was in an orbit around the Earth, or a larger space ship which orbited the Earth. Other than that, I can only suggest that once having attained a low orbit around the Earth, that orbit would eventually deteriorate, and the rocket would either be burnt up in Earths atmosphere, or crash to the ground, or into Sea or Ocean. Either way those four individuals inside the rocket would have perished.......and that may very well have been the fate of No.1. Unless of course it is an allegorical rocket, and in that case it didn't even exist in the first place! Be seeing you
Thought For The Day
There would be a day book, a cash book, an accounts book, and the credit card clippings taken when citizens paid for something with their credit cards. This in much the same way as Ration Coupons were clipped during rationing in Great Britain during, and after World War II. BCNU
Pictorial PRISONER
These are two pictures of the inertior of 93's apartment.
Rovers Controlling Influence
It's not just No.2 who has a controlling influence over the citizens of the Village. There's that white membranic mass of the Village Guardian which oversees, patrols, protects, and which first demonstrates it's perculiar style of controlling influence in Arrival, when No.2 gives the order to "Be still!" One young man doesn't! He ignores the order to "Be still," and runs about in circles, and then once the Village Guardian has put in an appearence it homes in on the movement of the individual in question, then suffocates it's prey into unconciousness or to death.
Again it is during the opening moves of Checkmate that the Village Guardian demonstrates further, it's controlling influence over the citizens. As it gives out that blood curdling roar, bounds, and rolls along the streets of the Village, pedestrians automatically stand to the side of the road, and cyclists dismount their bicycles until the Guardian has passed by. Even the fountain of the pool in the central Piazza stops functioning as the Village Guardian passes by!
During The Chimes of Big Ben when Nadia is attempting to swim away from the Village, she is brought back to the beach by no fewer than three Village Guardians......how do they do that? Likewise after No.6's failed escape attempt during the electoral period of Free For All, he too is brought back to the village by three Guardians, and I still don't know how they are able to do it.
Apart from controlling the citizens, rounding up any possible escapee like some sheep dog, as it does when the Prisoner-No.6 is brought back to the Village by remote control, aboard the helicopter in Arrival. The Village Guardian acts as a type of guard dog, protecting the Village, from both escapees and intruders alike.
You cannot attack the Village Guardian, why? Because it offers no resistance {after all that is what balloons do}. This can be observed during Arrival during the Prisoner-No.6's first escape attempt by taxi. The Prisoner is suddenly thrown from the vehicle, and as the Village Guardian comes at him, he tries to lay into the white membranic 'thing,' with his fists. But the Village Guardian offers no resitance to the Prisoner's punches. Thereby tiring himself out, who is then overwhelmed by the Guardian, and suffocated into unconciousness.
Can the Village Guardian think for itself? Well I'm not sure it can think for itself, but it can certainly make choices, and distinctions. Look at what happened that night outside '6 Private,' on the night of The Schizoid Man. The Village Gaurdian was suddenly faced with two No.6's, both of whom give the correct password Schizoid Man, but No.6 gives the password with authority, and once only. Whereas Curtis is nervous state, and gives the password in a hurried manner, which he repeats a couple of times. The Village Guardian, or 'Rover' as No.6 and No.2 calls it, had to make a choice between the two 6's, and made the distinction between the two No.6's on the basis of how the password was delivered. The only trouble was,'it' made the wrong choice, by selecting the wrong man. But one lesson is learned by the observer in The Schizoid Man, it's possible name, and the fact that the Village Guardian can hear!
At the start of the penultimate episode Once Upon A Time, the Village Guardian demonstrates more than it's controlling influence, 'it' has ambitious tendencies! Look how it arrives in No.2's office, fixed in the globe chair as it rises up through the floor!
During Fall Out the Village Guardian, or rather a segment of the Village Guardian, dies in the after heat of the rocket that has just been launched. The death of 'Rover' it has been termed. But as I say, only a segment. Because don't forget that the Village Gaudian was originally released from a containment area somewhere on the Seabed. And seeing as during two epsidoes three Village Guardians are seen, one can assume that there is one huge mass, somewhere at the bottom of the Sea, from which individual segments are released.
So what is this Village Guardian? Some alien being from another planet? Well that's the impression that can be derived from the dying scene of the Village Guardian. That it is on some alien planet, rocky, and very hot, or Volcano. Possibly it is the result of some genetic experiment, a genetically engineered being. But I think, to put it quite simply, the Village Guardian is a balloon with attitude!
BCNU
Again it is during the opening moves of Checkmate that the Village Guardian demonstrates further, it's controlling influence over the citizens. As it gives out that blood curdling roar, bounds, and rolls along the streets of the Village, pedestrians automatically stand to the side of the road, and cyclists dismount their bicycles until the Guardian has passed by. Even the fountain of the pool in the central Piazza stops functioning as the Village Guardian passes by!
During The Chimes of Big Ben when Nadia is attempting to swim away from the Village, she is brought back to the beach by no fewer than three Village Guardians......how do they do that? Likewise after No.6's failed escape attempt during the electoral period of Free For All, he too is brought back to the village by three Guardians, and I still don't know how they are able to do it.
Apart from controlling the citizens, rounding up any possible escapee like some sheep dog, as it does when the Prisoner-No.6 is brought back to the Village by remote control, aboard the helicopter in Arrival. The Village Guardian acts as a type of guard dog, protecting the Village, from both escapees and intruders alike.
You cannot attack the Village Guardian, why? Because it offers no resistance {after all that is what balloons do}. This can be observed during Arrival during the Prisoner-No.6's first escape attempt by taxi. The Prisoner is suddenly thrown from the vehicle, and as the Village Guardian comes at him, he tries to lay into the white membranic 'thing,' with his fists. But the Village Guardian offers no resitance to the Prisoner's punches. Thereby tiring himself out, who is then overwhelmed by the Guardian, and suffocated into unconciousness.
Can the Village Guardian think for itself? Well I'm not sure it can think for itself, but it can certainly make choices, and distinctions. Look at what happened that night outside '6 Private,' on the night of The Schizoid Man. The Village Gaurdian was suddenly faced with two No.6's, both of whom give the correct password Schizoid Man, but No.6 gives the password with authority, and once only. Whereas Curtis is nervous state, and gives the password in a hurried manner, which he repeats a couple of times. The Village Guardian, or 'Rover' as No.6 and No.2 calls it, had to make a choice between the two 6's, and made the distinction between the two No.6's on the basis of how the password was delivered. The only trouble was,'it' made the wrong choice, by selecting the wrong man. But one lesson is learned by the observer in The Schizoid Man, it's possible name, and the fact that the Village Guardian can hear!
At the start of the penultimate episode Once Upon A Time, the Village Guardian demonstrates more than it's controlling influence, 'it' has ambitious tendencies! Look how it arrives in No.2's office, fixed in the globe chair as it rises up through the floor!
During Fall Out the Village Guardian, or rather a segment of the Village Guardian, dies in the after heat of the rocket that has just been launched. The death of 'Rover' it has been termed. But as I say, only a segment. Because don't forget that the Village Gaudian was originally released from a containment area somewhere on the Seabed. And seeing as during two epsidoes three Village Guardians are seen, one can assume that there is one huge mass, somewhere at the bottom of the Sea, from which individual segments are released.
So what is this Village Guardian? Some alien being from another planet? Well that's the impression that can be derived from the dying scene of the Village Guardian. That it is on some alien planet, rocky, and very hot, or Volcano. Possibly it is the result of some genetic experiment, a genetically engineered being. But I think, to put it quite simply, the Village Guardian is a balloon with attitude!
BCNU
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
It Could Be Imprisonment - It Could Be A Fine!
So No.6 opted for the fine! This during the evening of the village Mardi Gras as students celebrate the joys of Speedlearn. It was an act of sabotage which made both the lights in No.6's cottage go out, No.12 of administration come calling, quickly followed by an electrician. No.6 was blamed for the act of sabotage, the deliberate destruction of official property, a most serious offence. Which could arise in imprisonment, or it could be a fine.
Well let us pause and consider for a moment. What kind of imprisonment could it be in the village? No.6 was already confined, imprisoned, and the only further prison within a prison would be solitary confinement, house arrest. What hardship would that be? I'd have thought No.6 might have gone for that, after all he does, at variable times, perfer his own company to that of others.
A fine, well it has been confirmed that creduit units in the village have no value. you will recall how the Prisoner was caught speeding in Once Upon A Time, and when faced with the judge he was fined 20 units. The Prisoner pleaded with the judge that he couldn't pay, to which the Judge replied "Twenty units, nothing!"
So it was, that the fine was nothing, and even if it wasn't................. So it was, the full punishment which No.12 was recommending............my foot! BCNU
Well let us pause and consider for a moment. What kind of imprisonment could it be in the village? No.6 was already confined, imprisoned, and the only further prison within a prison would be solitary confinement, house arrest. What hardship would that be? I'd have thought No.6 might have gone for that, after all he does, at variable times, perfer his own company to that of others.
A fine, well it has been confirmed that creduit units in the village have no value. you will recall how the Prisoner was caught speeding in Once Upon A Time, and when faced with the judge he was fined 20 units. The Prisoner pleaded with the judge that he couldn't pay, to which the Judge replied "Twenty units, nothing!"
So it was, that the fine was nothing, and even if it wasn't................. So it was, the full punishment which No.12 was recommending............my foot! BCNU
Village Pin Up
Taxi Driver-No.18 Barbara Yu Ling from the Prisoner episode Arrival, pictured here posing on the Stone Boat. BCNU
Caught On Camera
Flapjack Charlie!
"You didn't think I'd forgotten we used to call you Flapjack Charlie"
{No.2 The Schizoid Man}
{No.2 The Schizoid Man}
No.6 is conditioned to like Flapjacks, indeed they are his favourite dish. Except, except these are not Flapjacks, they are Pancakes, as is the dish served up to him in No.2's office in the Green Dome. Flapjacks are baked thick bisuit made from oats, syrup, and butter. These are Pancakes made from batter. Flapjack Charlie indeed, more like Pancake Bertie! Be seeing you