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Friday 6 January 2012

The Therapy Zone

     Over the past decades there has been something called "Whys and Wherefores", question and answer if you prefer, regarding the Prisoner. The only thing is, for every one question you might receive five different answers or interpretations, But then if you will ask questions......
   Why is Fotheringay so excited at news of No.6's return in the Chimes of Big Ben?  
    Perhaps Fotheringay was speaking on the phone before being sent to the village as part of the set-up. Presumably the office where Colonel J questions the Prisoner is an exact replica of the one in London. Fotheringay may have expressed pleasure at being told he would be joining the others on the trip to the village.
    Why is No.2 so surprised that Nadia is an Olympic Bronze medalist, or is it that he's impressed?
    Even though Nadia is on the side of the village, it is possible that No.2 would know every detail about her. To keep the set-up as authentic as possible, she may not have told No.2 the actual means of her staged escape attempt.
    Who speaks to No.2 on the phone in A AB and C to inform him of No.6's arrival?
    An unseen aide, {such as No.100 in It's Your Funeral} could have made the call from outside the chamber. Or maybe it was the Butler. Just because he never speaks on screen, it doesn't prove he is mute.
    Are Thorpe and the Colonel working for the village in Many Happy Returns?
    We know that one of their men questions Mrs. Butterworth. However, this man is the same man who, {Tally Ho note: no he's not!}disguised as the milkman, replaces the Group Captain as pilot of the aircraft. Even if Thorpe and the Colonel are not working for the village, it is obvious some of their men are. I believe the Colonel is on the side of the village, but Thorpe is not. Notice the way the Colonel readily accepts the Prisoners story while Thorpe remains sceptical.
    In Many Happy Returns why didn't the Prisoner try to escape by land using the Mini-Moke? With no guards, surveillance or Rover to stop him, surely he would have stood a good chance of driving to freedom.
    Alternatively, having decided to escape by sea, why didn't he use the fuel from the Moke and others he could have found to destroy the village by fire without loss of innocent life?
  

 A FEW POINTS RAISED

    The changing No.2's. I think that if one No.2 had been used for the entire series, it would have become a drawn out, head to head confrontation between No.2 and No.6. the constant changes showed that No.2's were expendable, and that the village seemed to have an unlimited supply of back ups {each with a different style} ready to take control at any time.
Forthingay. Prehaps he believed the set-up to be real. having been brought to the village himself, his mind could be under village control
Nadia. No.2's "surprised" tone was actually an "impressed" tone. Perhaps only No.2 knew of the plan at that moment and had to treat her as just another prisoner until the escape.
1 When No.6 referred to somebody by name{eg Cobb and Nadia}, why did the rest of the vilage do the same? Very early on we are told that names are never used in the village.
2 During Arrival, when No.6 visits the Bell Tower, the continuity of the shot is questionable. No.6 looks out to sea, turns 270 degrees clockwise and looks down at his new house. After such a turn, he should have his back to his new home, shouldn't he?
3 Could someone provide a rough conversion betwen Credit Units and Pounds Sterling?
   In the opening sequence of Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling No.6's would-be father-in-law asks what slide No.6 shows, thereby apparently revealing that he knows something of the fate of No.6. Doesn't this revelation contradict one of the major themes of the series - that we do not know which side runs he village?
    {You should be wary of interpreting scenes of the Prisoner too literally. Surely the reference to slide No.6 in this scene is just a neat twist by scriptwriter Vincent Tilsley - an in-joke at the viewers expense}.
   In Arrival, when No.6 goes in the helicopter for an aerial tour of the village, a few cars can be seen parked below. Were these meant to be there?
    {Obviously this is sloppiness on the part of the production team. the cars should have been cleared from the village for this scene, or the cameras should have avoided the spot where they were parked. Presumably, it was hoped that no one would notice them? Incidentally, in one aerial shot of the village, Villa Winch cottage behind Chantry can be seen still under construction.

{Tally Ho note: The Supervisor-No.28 would like it to be known, that any such qustion and answers here are not those posed and answered by any of The Tally Ho editorial team, although we might be in agreement with a number of them.}

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