The Therapy Zone

Prognosis Report On No.6

   A daily walk around the village at 6.30 in the morning might be one thing. No.6 then climbs the Bell Tower, well perhaps he does just like the view! The subject is eccentric, certainly watching, waiting, constantly aggressive. 7.30 am sees No.6 having a physical workout with the subjects home made apparatus. 8.15 am No.6 cools off water skiing. 9 o'clock it's coffee at the cafe. 9.20 am chess on the lawn of the Old People's Home with an elderly opponent, the game ending in an 11 move checkmate win for No.6.  He then humours another eccentric citizen by having his portrait painted.

    According to the prognosis No.6 will at 10.19 exactly, take a stroll around the village. At precisely 10.20 he will go to the kiosk where he will buy a copy of the newspaper, The tally Ho, a bar of soap, and a bag of sweets.

   Well this is all fine and dandy for a daily prognosis report on No.6, the emphasis being on daily. So just how many days of the weeks does No.6 buy a bar of soap?

The Prisoner – Nerve Gassed

    A friend's son, has come up with something which has never occurred to me in all my 40 years and more of Prisoner appreciation. During the opening sequence, as the Prisoner is busy gathering up his passport, visa papers, photographs, and two suitcases, an undertaker pumps nerve gas into the study, the Prisoner, standing at the window looks up confused. My friend's son noted that the show would have been a very different show, had the Prisoner not jerked his head up looking confused, but instead had opened the window.

    What is it they say "Out of the mouths of babes and suckling’s....." And this above only goes to confirm that which I have thought to be the case for many a year, that the Prisoner is better viewed through the eyes of a child rather than those of an adult. There is something about the logical mind of a child, their reasoning to behold. As Oscar Wilde once said "I wish I had thought of that!"

The Prisoner Reality  - Or Just A Dream?

   Well I suppose it all depends upon what the Prisoner means to you. The village, and indeed the whole series is open to interpretation. On the surface it's an exciting action adventure, visually stimulating, which you can simply sit back and enjoy without thinking about it at all, as watched as pure entertainment.

    On the next level there's the allegorical, I don't care for this too much, as it leaves nothing solid that you can pin down about the Prisoner, as being allegorical you can make something mean anything at all, and that means that there is no logical progression of incidents throughout the series. That there is no need for a credible solution, well that's right for sure!

   Then there is the symbolism, the social comment of it's time, the questions, all of which means that there is an enormous pool of thought, ideas and theories to dive into beneath the surface of the Prisoner.

   So, if the village is not reality, then the alternative is a dream. And if a dream, then possibly you’re worst nightmare and a recurring one at that, which makes the reality of the village just that bit more attractive.

Be seeing you