Project Village

  It all began with a file, which I saw for a few seconds only, but it was enough to seal my fate. Ordinarily I didn't have access to the important stuff. Mostly all I did was to make the tea, until they brought in that new fangled vending machine, you know the sort of thing, they make tea taste like tomato soup, and coffee like dish water, but I quite liked the hot chocolate.
   But there was this file you see, it landed on my desk one morning, which in itself was a mistake, I tried to tell Mrs Blakeworth but she would insist the file was meant for me. So I opended the plain brown cardboard file, marked 'Projest Village.'
   So here I am in the Village. Number Two is a decent enough chap, but he's never the same three days running. The other day I was summoned to his office in the Green Dome, and he was a stoutish man with a goatee beard. Two days later he was an American who treid to convince me I was a gunslinger. Me, a gunslinger, well I ask you. I did try though, and eventually I could throw that gun a good twenty feet! A week later when I met up with Number Two and he was a woman for gods sake!
   How long have I been here in the Village? Well it's difficult to tell really, a week, weeks, months. I was going home you see, from the office, when I got knocked off my bicycle. I remember an ambulace and a tall gaunt looking man bending over me, saying something about it being alright, that I was in safe hands......I was here! Did I talk? Well to be perfectly honest I'd not a great deal to tell them, but I told them what I knew. Yes, I collaborated, well I'm not like that Number Six you know, It's alright for him, they see him as being important, they see him as having a future with them. But what of my future?
   Number Two told me that I wasn't that important, and was surprised that they'd even bothered to send me here in the first place. But seeing as I was here, perhaps I could be of some use in the Village. She took out my file, and spoke to me through that ridiculous goatee beard, I wish she would shave it off! You used to be an office boy, and that you made the tea. I said if it's in my file it must be right, I felt strong then, offering what witty repartee I could in response. "You brought in the biscuits?" I said that sometimes I brought in the biscuits. "Proper biscuits?" Proper biscuits, I didn't know what she meant. "Proper biscuits, you know, the one's with cream inside." Oh those, no we didn't have any of those. Rich Tea, Shortbread, or Digestives I told her.
   So the days went on, weeks, months, a year passed by and I lived in the hope that one day I would be given a position of authority, but generally all I did was make the tea, and made sure Number Two always had "proper" biscuits. Then one day a file landed on my desk. I said to Number Eight that the file could not possibly be meant for me, as I've no access to the important stuff. But Number Eight assured me that the file was meant for me. So I opened the plain brown cardboard file marked 'Project Village,' there was nothing in it. The file was empty, devoid of one single sheet of paper, and I only saw it for a few seconds but it was enough to seal my fate...............
   There was a sudden thud as something struck me on the head.....it was the blackboard duster! "Wake up boy. Asleep were you Stimpson?" "No sir" I said. "No sir, no sir. You were dreaming boy" Mister Woods insisted "I wasn't sir." "It's that damned Prisoner you keep waffling on about Stimpson, and take that piped blazer off this minute. You know your not entitled to wear it. Only Captains of the sports teams are permitted to wear piped blazers." "I, I, I........" "Yes Stimpson, get it out." "I play chess sir." "What of it." Well you see playing chess was one thing I was good at, and I thought I could be the Captain of the school chess team, and that way I would be entitled to wear a piped blazer. But Mister Woods, the English teacher said that it was not the same thing. Then I was sent along to the Head Masters office for my nerve, and there I was bent over the Head Masters desk and given a stout twelve of the best. I said it should be six of the best, but the Head Master thought it best be twelve, so that I can remember!
   The Prisoner has been very impessionable on me, but if ever I see that damned plain brown cardboard file 'Project Village' again even for only a few seconds, I'll tear it up, shred it, even burn it, anything to destroy it!

Be seeing you

Thought For The Day

     Number 2 during The Chimes of Big Ben told Number 6 that he knows too much, and that's they are both lifers. Well the Village administration certainly placed Number 2 in his cage, as we peer through the bars of the Green Dome.

BCNU

Postcard From The Village

    If you are in Portmeirion today you'll be aware that there's a Prisoner convention on this weekend. An old, old friend of mine paid a visit for a couple of days, Chris who is a fellow  fan of the Prisoner just like myself and my wife. He said that someone asked him if he was going to the convention, he shook his head and said no, and I agreed that neither was I.
    We had a good couple of days, watching Prisoner related videos, and an episode of THEPRIS6NER-09 which he doesn't mind watching. What's more my wife and I took Chris round on the McGoohan tour of Loughborough. It was rather like a two day convention of our own, as we talked of many things Prisoner. You don't have to go to Portmeirion you know, to hold a Prisoner convention, and I've always been of that opinion.

I'll be seeing you

Escape

   Wanting to escape is all very well, but it all depends upon that which you are escaping from, and to!

   It's surprising is it not, how many times No.6 attempts to escape the village, once on the day of his arrival in the village along the beach in a village taxi, and once again the following day by helicopter. The next time would not be until The Chimes of Big Ben when he was betrayed by Nadia-No.8. And instead of being taken on a long journey to London via Danzig and Copenhagen, when in reality it was merely a short boat trip back to the village...... but No.6 didn't know that of course, and neither did the viewers, not the first time of viewing anyway!

   The next escape attempt was some little time away for No.6, and that was by boat during that episode of Free For All, and we know how that ended, don't we readers. And No.6 wasn't any more successful posing as The Schizoid Man either. Well how was he to know that Susan had died a year ago!

   In The General No.6 was still as keen to leave the village, but there came no opportunity, the next opportunity for escape came on the morning of Many Happy Returns, when No.6 woke up to find the village deserted! So instead of hanging around to find out where all the citizens had gone, or to see what would happen next, our hero built himself a sea-going raft, and ended up washed ashore at Beachy Head. But the village has tentacles, agents and operatives everywhere, and so there is no place No.6 could go without the long arm of the village reaching out to bring him back for Many Happy Returns and a birthday cake specially baked for him by Mrs. Butterworth - the new No.2.

   Checkmate saw No.6 take a different attitude to escape. Not on his own this time, he looked for reliable men upon whom he could depend. and we know how that all ended don't we readers. There had been one almighty cock-up on the part of the Rook who put to No.6 his own test. And because of No.6's own authorities manner the Rook took him to be on of them... a Guardian!

   And so Checkmate saw the final escape attempt to be made by No.6, until Fall Out, when he escaped with three confederates, the diminutive Butler, an ex-No.2 and No.48 who they dropped off somewhere along the A20.

   Well after the episode of Checkmate there was no natural chance for No.6 to attempt an escape I suppose an outside chance might have been at the end of its Your Funeral, but who could No.6 have trusted enough to hold the explosive detonator for him, as he had for the retired No.2 so that he could escape?..... There was no-one, so if No.6 had tried to escape using the explosive detonator as a bargaining chip, well once the new No.2 had removed the Great Seal of Office from about his neck and shoulders, the detonator device no longer remains a bargaining chip, and No.6 escape attempt could only end in failure. And besides, No.6 was thinking of the good people of the community... just for once.

    Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling could have turned out as an escape attempt by No.6, and could have been one of his more successful attempts, just as long as he disappeared and had not gone running back to his ex-colleagues as he had twice done before. But then he'd have had his mind trapped in a body not at all to his liking.... the Colonels. And where would he have been then? Possibly in a worse situation than being back in the village. I mean, what would you have done in No.6's situation?........Exactly!

    So all told is was a mere 7 escape attempts out of 17. But of course that is what we see during the Prisoners time in the village. That which we do not, what occurs between the 17 episodes, we cannot account for but that is what I find to be the most interesting these days.

BcNu

The Therapy Zone

Second Only To One

   Leo Mckern on first sight is a dramatic change from that of his two predecessors. Large and cheerful with a Goatee beard, his laugh seems to reverberate around the village. There is humour in his interviews with No.6, and seen the humour in No.6's deal with him to do some wood work for him! And at times he seems quite unconcerned as to why he is in the village.

    However it is not long before this No.2 demonstrates certain strains of his previous counterparts, after Nadia Rakovski has arrived in the village who has been planted in the village. No.2 takes delight in bringing No.6 and No.8 together, and that delight seems to be extended in enjoying playing on No.8's fears as she is being interrogated at the hospital after her swim.

   Soft and gentle is his apparent exterior, but inside there is a core of solid steel. He needs to know why No.6 resigned, but doesn't want him broken, he doesn't want him broken one piece at a time, a man of fragments! In one recorded report on No.6, No.2 states that No.6's humour is strong and unimpaired. I think the same could be said of No.2, who enjoys a rapport with No.6, which none of his contempories are able to forge. Not that they are supposed to of course, but then you know what human nature is.

    Despite the need to know why no.6 resigned, this particular No.2 seems more concerned with seeing No.6 being to settle down, as he gently coerces No.6 into doing some woodwork for him. And don't be fooled, because when No.6 is carving the hull of his boat out of that tree trunk, No.2 is well aware of what No.6 is up to, and this he even finds humorous. If he cannot see that with his own eyes, then he has No.8 to keep him advised on the situation with No.6.

    At the end, the plans fails and No.2 doesn't seem unduly surprised by the result. In fact he did tell Nadia. So this particular plan of The Chimes of Big Ben was not the idea of No.2 at all. At least he will not have to pay for this failure, "It was a good plan - you did your best. I'll stress it in my report" Nadia tells him. Perhaps that is the reason that this particular No.2 is later brought back to the village for a second bite of the cherry!

    Rachel Herbert ranks as one of the nastier No.2's, she says at the end that they have means and ways, but they do not wish to damage No.6 permanently. However one gets the idea from her chilling words at the end that this No.2 would do physical and lasting harm to No.6 if she could get away with it. And remember, this new No.2's term of office has only just begun!

    This No.2, like Nadia, has been planted in the village as a maid-No.58, with a photographic memory, of Eastern European extraction, who seems not to be able to speak one solitary word of English, but who isn't expected to be with them long, No.58 that is. But who at the end speaks perfect English and without the trace of a foreign accent. One could describe No.58 as being a master undercover agent, a brilliant actress and spy, for she was totally unsuspected and who was spying on No.6! She helps guide No.6 through the so called "Election Period," never far from his side, as in her guise as No.58 she takes No.6 to the Therapy Zone for a "real" drink, but who is drugged enough to see him through the election period. Yet the change over witnessed in the foyer of the Green Dome, is merely a pretence, and not one formed through any such village elections. The new, new No.2 wasn't elected at all. Well No.6 was, but not the new, new No.2 if you see what I mean.

    This No.2 is a very astute and confident woman, who assures her predecessor that "All will be satisfactory in the end." She may not have uncovered the reason behind No.6's resignation, better briefed to break No.6's spirit "Will you never learn. This is only the beginning!" And so it was, because I remind that this was only the beginning of this No.2's term of office. What she might have planned for No.6 once he has recovered from his beating in that cave at the fists of the two mechanics doesn’t bear thinking about! Because this new, new No.2 has something of a sadistic streak, because it is she who attacks No.6 first. This in slapping No.6 several times, okay to bring him out of his drugged, and hypnotised state of mind, but who will be the first to say she did not enjoy slapping No.6 around?

Be seeing you

Pictorial PRIS6NER

    "Breathe in, breathe out, Village life goes on."
   And next month being April, will be a time for me to rescreen THEPRIS6NER-09 and for the fifth time since it's premier in 2009.
   "There's no escape, because there nothing to escape from!"

Be seeing you

Vicious Circle

    John Mills stars Dr. Howard Latimer, a Harley Street specialist who becomes the prime suspect in a murder hunt when a German film actress Freda Velda, who he has been asked to meet at London Airport by film producer Charles Caufmann, is found dead in Latimer's flat. Dr. Latimer is left to solve the mystery himself in order to prove his innocence.

    There are a couple of distinctive parallels to be drawn between this 1958 film Vicious Circle and the Prisoner. Firstly the Prisoner begins and ends with a clap of thunder and the grimaced face of the Prisoner behind the wheel of his Lotus 7. Vicious Circle ends and begins with a telephone call for Dr. Howard Latimer from Charles Caufmann, wanting Latimer to meet a film actress at London Airport. Also during The Chimes of Big Ben No.6 discovers that the London traffic noise, he thinks is outside, is actually being played on a tape recorder which he finds hidden in a cupboard. And when No.6 pulls the plug the sounds of the London traffic falls silent!

     Again in Vicious Circle when Dr. Howard Latimer pays a call on a friend to return his latch key, he hears the noise of a party going on inside the flat. Using the for said latch key, Latimer lets himself in on the party going on in the flat. Only when he closes the door and strolls into the lounge, there is no party, the flat is empty, save for the disembodied voices of the party goers and the pianist playing the piano! Latimer goes over to the radiogram and sliding the door open, he discovers that both the voices he hears and pianist are being played on the record. Lifting the tone arm reduces the flat to absolute silence!

I'll be seeing you

Arts And Crafts

    It's "Street Art" but probably not as you know it!

BcNu

The Therapy Zone

Second Only To One!

    Guy Doleman is the first No.2 we meet and is as indicative as all the others which we will encounter. This No.2 has all the characteristics of a typical administrator and front man to the village. He is affable and charming, however we see little of this particular No.2 yet he does set the pattern for the Prisoners future, as he is the first to debrief him, dotting the "I's" and crossing the "t's" in the Prisoners file. After which he introduces this new arrival - the Prisoner who has yet to be issued with his number 6 - to the village. This by both an aerial and ground tour of the village, after which he takes the Prisoner to the Labour Exchange. Astute is this No.2, as he sees they have a challenge in this new arrival.

    Yet this No.2 is plotting behind the scenes since the very beginning, sending his so called "personal maid" to try and trick the Prisoner into giving away the reason why he resigned, which of course the Prisoner saw right through, and told the maid that her services were no longer required.

    The Prisoner makes an attempt to escape, and the next morning while he's having his medical, No.2 is on the telephone talking to No.1. "He's having his medical. Mmmm no, course I don't mind. One has to make sure of these things." "Make sure of these things" meaning that there is no escape from the village, or that the Prisoner has suffered no ill effects from his encounter with the village guardian?

    With setting the wheels of betrayal in motion, his introduction of the Prisoner to the village, his final act was to make sure of these things! After that there is an unseen changeover, and this No.2 goes on to better things it might be believe although we never know the future of this the perfect administrator and public figure.

   George Baker is the new No.2, his arrival and changeover has gone unseen. And his term of office is so short we are left wondering why they even bothered!

    However this new No.2 loses no time in taking up his term of office, by assigning No.9, previously assigned to Cobb, now to No.6. The new No.2 bears many characteristics of those of his predecessor, charming and genial, yet there is a hint more of menace about this man. there is a cruel streak running through this No.2, he enjoys seeing the Prisoner struggle to escape in the helicopter, the controls of which are taken over by an operative in the control room, and who flies the helicopter back to the village by remote control. He  enjoys making No.6 think that there is a way out of the village, and positively enjoys the pleasure at seeing how easily No.6 has been tricked. And is gratified that there are no loopholes, and that there is positively no escape from the village.

    This new No.2 issues the Prisoner with his number - 6. This character is all the more unpleasant for his constant smile on his face, as he deals out treachery from behind his desk, a sign of that which is yet to come. Yet he has a sense of humour, and a touch of irony, as he hopes that Cobb’s stay had its light moments!

   Just how long this new No.2's term of office was is err unknown. His term of office, that we do not see beyond Arrival, would depend on the time between the end of Arrival and the commencement of The Chimes of Big Ben.

Be seeing you

This is from my "Surreal" quirky Penny Farthing Period.

BcNu

The citizen on the left is Number 250 a Guardian who Number 6 comes across when he's playing truant down on the beach during The General, The citizen on the right is Number 93, an Unmutual who is forced to stand on a rostrum, and confess to the whole community.

  Such is the fall from grace for Number 250, having been a stout member of the community, to an inadequate, disharmonious individual! But in once being 250, later to be given a new number, that of 93, is that demotion or promotion {depending on how you look at the number system}? Number 1's the boss, Number 2 is next to One as Chairman of the Village, or is it simply that both are the same character played by Michael Miller, but simply with a different badge pinned to his jersey! In that case it certainly was a fall from grace for this character, no matter his number!

I'll be seeing you

A Favourite Moment In The Prisoner Comes When.....

The realisation hits Number Two that he has failed. But as the Doctor-Number Fourteen put it "He succeeded," what's more Number Fourteen seemed just a little pleased by that. Poor old Number Two, I mean it's not a favourite moment because Number Two has been beaten, but that he failed. He put both his faith in, and put his future on the line, in Number Fourteen and her new drug. But he'll get a second chance, and there are only second chances for the lucky ones. And seeing as Number Two went to all that trouble in researching and computing the Prisoner's whole life, it might be a good idea for Number Two to programme the General with all that information, and then ask the computer why Number Six resigned. In fact Number Two could have done that in the first place, in the Cipher Room, when he was having the Prisoner's whole life computed and save himself all the bother of A B and C!

Be 'C'ing you

The Therapy Zone

For A Fistful of Work Units

    It has been the case that comparisons have been drawn between the Prisoner episode Living In Harmony and the two Spaghetti westerns directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "The Man With No Name," A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More. In this the two central characters of both films has no name, although in A Fistful of Dollars the stranger played by Clint Eastwood is referred to as "Joe", but this could be due to the fact that the character is an American!

   Both the stranger "The Man With No Name" in Harmony,    and "the man with no name" as "loners", but they have a very different attitude towards violence and bloodshed. The character of the stranger-No.6 of Harmony has more in common with the 1950's western character of Shane. A man who knows how to use a gun, is fast on the draw, but only takes up the gun when there is absolutely no other alternative. As for "The Man With No Name" it has been written that he has but one ethic, and that's money, and lives by the gun. However in A Fistful of Dollars we did see the more compassionate side to "the man with no name" as he reunites a Mexican wife to her husband and young son, giving them the American dollars he seems to value so highly in a bid to help them escape the clutches of the Ramon Rojo. This is the compassionate side to his character which "the man with no name" shares with the stranger in Harmony, in the way he tries to help Cathy escape the clutches of both the Kid and the Judge!

   In both A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More “The Man With No Name” wears a very distinctive poncho, which is all fine and dandy, except…….”The Man with No Name” first acquires the said Poncho from a dead man in what is seen to be the third in the series The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

Fancy living in Harmony stranger?

A Change of Mind

    Sees the most unsympathetic portrayal of the common citizens of the village, they not only witlessly obey authority, but they appear to take up the authorities line on their own behalf and are quick to condemn those who do not conform, those who are seen to be "Unmutual." There is a mob mentality to this episode which is distinctly absent from any other predeceasing episode. In fact how unmutuals are treated in the village is a reflecton of the Communist witch hunts in America during the 1950's, such was the state of mistrust and paranoia of the time and an easy parallel to draw between Unmutuals and Communism. And in so being one could so easily exchange the word Unmutual for that of Communist!

   No.6 is pronounced as being unmutual, this after the fight with No.2's bully boys in the woods. They report him to the committee and we all know what happens after that. But the character of No.6 is somewhat changed. Previously during the episode of It’s Your Funeral No.6 cares for the community, he does his utmost to save the citizens from mass reprisals, a never to be forgotten deterrent which the new No.2 would see to be carried out against the citizens of the community and without question!

    But now it seems No.6 has turned his back on the community, the "keep fit" freak that he is has jury-rigged his own private gymnasium in the woods, where once upon a time he would have enjoyed all the amenities of the villages own gymnasium. This indeed could be seen as being antisocial behaviour in itself. But what exactly it was that happened between the episodes of It’s your Funeral and A Change of Mind to make No.6 turn away from the community in the way he did we shall never know. And any such reasons there may be can only be speculative on the part of the observer.

   No.6 does not attempt to escape in this episode, but instead engages in his second favourite amusement, turning the tables on his enemy No.2, and believe me it is No.2 who is behind the committee, you may rely upon that. But No.6 does not undergo the full "Instant Social Conversion" process, he is simply being kept heavily tranquillised. unlike the other poor souls who like No.46 did undergo the full process of "Instant Social Conversion", but who does not see himself as not being odd, different maybe. But also as being one of the lucky ones. If that is the case, then what did they do to the unlucky ones?

    But it was all a fix as far as No.6 is concerned, after all they mustn’t damage the tissue! But such is the confidence of No.2 that all has been prearranged before the commencement of the episode of A Change of oind, so much so that The Tally Ho articles on No.6 have all been previously written and printed in the newspaper. How otherwise could it have been, for as soon as No.6 leaves the Town Hall after his first confrontation with the committee he takes a copy of The Tally Ho and so is able read about himself so soon!

   No.2 might be a passed master in the art of manipulation, but No.6 is far from slow in coming forward in that department. This in the way No.6 turned the tables on No.86 in giving her the drug meant for him, then later on in her tranquillised state of mind he hypnotises her into doing his bidding!

    With the question of lobotomies, one has to question the ethical ramifications which were a hot topic in the late 1960's, and the practice of which was condemned in episodes such as this and such books as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Lobotomies were most often performed on mentally ill patients who exhibited criminal or antisocial behaviour and such operations were conducted until the mid 1970's.

BCNU........ If I don't have a change of mind between now and then!

A Sceptic With A Devious Mind

   Thorpe is very sceptical about his ex-colleagues report about the Village, but is there more to this man than first meets the eye? Is it possible that he already knows of the existence of the village before his ex-colleague divulges the information about the village to him and the Colonel? If so, then Thorpe would be ideally placed to keep an eye on this former citizen of the Village, and be influential in seeing his ex-colleagues return there!

   Thorpe might have been an influential agent in Many Happy Returns, who used the information to have himself brought to the Village and placed in a position only to Number One in the episode of Hammer Into Anvil

  And it is now that we see the darker side to Thorpe {does he have a lighter side} a darker side which we knew was there. A professional sadist, who takes enjoyment from tormenting others, but especially taking enjoyment in tormenting his ex-colleague. But who as it turned out, was merely a weak link in the chain of command waiting to be broken!

   Fictionally, Thorpe was brought to the Village, and having been so, was determined to show that he could manage without any help, not even from his appointed assistant No.14. This No.2 would not be allowed to leave the village, as soon he would be residing in the psychiatric ward of the hospital!

Be seeing you..... I might even take him some flowers.... daffodils!

Thought For The Day

  In The Schizoid Man, when Number Six picked up Number Two's copy of The Tally Ho and took note of the date Feb 10th, why did he not also recognise the headline 'Is No.2 Fit For Further Term?' as being the same as The Tally Ho read by Number Fourteen in A B and C? After all they are both the same issue!

BCNU

Caught On Camera

    Alison-Number Twenty-four was manoeuvering to take a photograph of Number Six when she accidentally knocked over a soda siphon, bruising Number Six' finger nail. I have to say that the bruise was almost instant, bruising doesn't work that quickly. But what was Number Six doing with a soda siphon anyway? Diluting the already non-alcoholic Gin, Whisky, or Vodka perhaps?

Be seeing you

The Therapy Zone

Information & Observation

    The Brass Band hold regular brass band concerts. However seen in various episodes of the Prisoner is actually silent. The music, such as the Redetski March which we hear the band play after the Prisoner and No.2 alight from the taxi during Arrival, the music actually having been added to the soundtrack later. All that can be heard when the Brass Band is marching along is the beating of the big bass drum!

    The undertaker must surely have had a key to the front door of

No.1 Buckingham Place

, otherwise it would not have been possible for the undertaker to enter the Prisoners house. And then having walked along the hallway, pump nerve gas into the study through the keyhole of the study door.

    The voice of the man seen to be wearing the Prisoners clothes in the 'aversion therapy' room in the hospital in Arrival, is actually that of Patrick McGoohan.

    We see two sets of twins in the village. In Arrival there is the bald-headed electrician "Sorry for the intrusion sir," and his twin the gardener ""Careful of plants sir, they're new." And during the election period of Free For All, there is No.113b, the photographer "Smile." And his twin who operates the Tally Ho newspaper dispenser outside the Town Hall, they even dress alike, as often the case with twins. And then there is the improbability of doppelgangers, No.6 and Curtis-No.12 of The Schizoid Man for example. Then more probable in doppelganger terms, is No.1 and No.6 of Fall Out.

    The question of dress, as far as the colourful capes worn by many of the village citizens are concerned, both the Butler and the observer-No.240 of Dance of the Dead wear their capes inside out! The colourful stripes inside, and the brown inside lining outside. Perhaps it is a personal thing, that neither want to look ridiculous! Or it could be a demonstration of individuality, to be different to other citizens in appearance, to make them stand out, although the Butler does dress differently to other citizens. On the other hand it could be a more serious matter which has not thus far been picked up on, as they could be showing a form of defiance. After all, in the case of the Butler, he like No.6 doesn't wear his numbered badge either!

    Tied to the front of the taxis during the election period of Free for All, are brightly coloured balloons. Upon the balloons is one word "Vote" the word having been printed on the said balloons - upside down!

    No.1

Buckingham Place

, upon which there was still 6 months to run on the lease, came complete with furnishings, fixtures, fittings and decorations. Because when Mrs. Butterworth had taken vacant possession, the house, or at least the study hadn't changed since the Prisoner lived there. Save for the photographs of the late Mr. Butterworth of course.

    Could No.48 have once been a 'Top Hat' official? After all the only citizens of the village to be seen wearing top hats are those 'Top Hat' officials, and undertakers, who might all be one and the same. But then the Kid wears a top hat in the episode of Living In Harmony! But then, if the No.8, and No.48 are one and the same.......well the President did say that No.48 was with them but then he “went and gone.”

Be seeing you

Caught On Camera

   No, Patrick McGoohan's not explaining to everyone about the crosspiece! He's on his knees doing some diercting. But who's the chap sat in the chair of honour? What's more he seems to be talking into the Butlers ear!
   Seeing as how he's dressed as the Prisoner in his own clothes, he can only be Patrick McGoohan's stunt double, no, it's not Frank Maher, I don't think he was involved with Fall Out.
   I wonder what he was saying to Angerlo Muscat? Something terribly mundane I should imagine.

BCNU

Progressing To The Future

    By the end of Fall Out No.6, or Sir as he had become known, had returned to the society of London after having received a taste of a possible future. For in the village there have been some technological predictions, the cordless telephone - the credit card - a cashless society - the International Community of the village, a blueprint for world order, that would become the European Community of today - the idea of the penny farthing is to be a symbol of man's progress and the speed at which he is progressing technological wise, and that perhaps we should slow down, before it all goes pear shaped.

   Well I hardly think man is prepared to slow down, and that some technology actually has much to pay for. Take that Wii game thing. I watch the commercials on television for Wii and there they are, a group of people with a games controller in their hand, linked up to a game being played on television, as they seem to be playing musical instruments in a band on the television screen. If you look at the players in the room, waving about a white game controller around in their hands as though playing a guitar, banjo, or holding that game control to their lips as though playing the flute, or clarinet, take a step back and see just how ridiculous they look!

  I mean, if people want to play a musical instrument, why don't they go and actually learn to play the flute, clarinet, or guitar for real? Or go the tennis club, cricket club and play real games, instead of “reality” games!

   Now I can see the point Patrick McGoohan was trying to make in the Prisoner, with his penny farthing and man's technological progression - but I fear it is already long too late!

Be seeing you.

Village Library

  For those who have been to Portmeirion, who visit, or stay there as a guest from time to time, and have a fondness for the Italianate Village, here is a book you might be intersted in.

Fear in the Sunlight

'Fear of the dark is natural, we all have it, but fear in the sunlight...where it is so unexpected - that is interesting.' Alfred Hitchcock*

Summer, 1936. Josephine Tey joins her friends in the holiday village of Portmeirion to celebrate her fortieth birthday. Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, are there to sign a deal to film Josephine's novel, A Shilling for Candles, and Hitchcock has one or two tricks up his sleeve to keep the holiday party entertained - and expose their deepest fears. But things get out of hand when one of Hollywood's leading actresses is brutally slashed to death in a cemetery near the village. The following day, as fear and suspicion take over in a setting where nothing - and no one - is quite what it seems, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose becomes increasingly unsatisfied with the way the investigation is ultimately resolved. Several years later, another horrific murder, again linked to a Hitchcock movie, drives Penrose back to the scene of the original crime to uncover the shocking truth.

Be seeing you

Thought For The Day

   On Radio Four this morning, there was a discussion about scientists and biologists creating completely new life, artificial life and the fact that that could be dangerous. Well I instantly thought of that white membranic mass of the Village Guardian. I once saw it as being  representing ones fears, well I still do to some extent. But in more recent times I've come to understand the Guadian as artificial life, genetically engineered by biologists and scientists in the Village laboratories.

BCNU

The Therapy Zone

     "Call the substitue, call the subsitute, the subsitute, the substitute, call the substitute."

   That's what happened during the human chess match during the episode of Checkmate, when the Rook-No.53 made an independent move on the chessboard. "The cult of the individual" as the white Queen-No.8 put it.

    However it was not only the Supervisor-No.56 who called for the Rook to be substituted, for another Rook it has to be said. Because the late world chess champion and Grand Master Bobby Fischer, also had the notion of substituting the Rook! Not for another Rook it has to be said, but by a new and different chesspiece all together, and one making a very different move to the Rook altogether. Bobby Fischer is pictured here, a Grand Master playing in New York in 1962.

 Arrival

    In the conversation between the new No.2 and the Prisoner he says "We do here what has to be done. It's the law of survival. It's either them or us." Imprison people, steal their minds, destroy them! "Depends on whose side you're on, doesn't it?" To which the Prisoner replies "I'm on our side." What the side of the village? If his own people put him here, there cannot be any question of which side runs the village. And if the village is set up to gather information, as suggested in Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, it's not just the reason behind the Prisoner's resignation that they want - but all the information inside his head! The Prisoner has been put in the village for the protection of National security, and to be thoroughly debriefed at their leisure! And it might have worked, had they offered him something in return. Oh but of course they did, or at least No.2 did. It was during the aerial tour of the village when No.2 suggested to the Prisoner "You might even be given a position of authority." Well No.2’s words did actually come true, that offer that position of authority, in Fall Out, they offered No.6, or Sir as he became to be addressed as, the offer of ultimate power!

Be seeing you

Thought For The Day

   Mrs Butterworth, true to her word, appears to have baked Number Six a cake. But not for his birthday, but for his unhappy return to the Village, seeing as there are only six candles on the cake.
   I have to say that Mrs Butterworth was well organised, well prepared, as she only had a day to get to the Village before the arrival of Number Six. What's more she found time to bake a cake along the way!
   So did Mrs Butterworth actually bake this cake herself, or did she communicate with a cook or chef in the Village ahead of her arrival to order the baking of the cake? And why is Mrs Butterworth the only Number Two to wear a 'negative' badge, and the only 'negative' badge to have a 'white' '2' when all the others are 'red?'

Be seeing you

Arts And Crafts

    This is a particular favourite of mine, and of course it was done during my "Landscape" period.

BcNu

The Village Mardi Gras by your own reporter

   Last night the village went crazy! Everyone was out and about the village celebrating the joys of "Speedlearn." It was Mardi Gras, with citizens wearing all manner of masks, all out for a good time. I interviewed several people who were out and about for Mardi Gras. But not everyone seemed to be enjoing themselves into the spirit of the thing "Number Six."                                                                                     

    “Ah Number Six. Enjoying the carnival atmosphere of Mardi Gras?”

    "I think it's ridiculous!"

    "What Mardi Gras?"

    "Everyone dashing about in masks. Screaming and shouting about!"

    "You're just a party pooper Number Six. Why shouldn't people enjoy themselves?"

    "Here, in this place?"

    "When was the last time Arsenal won the FA Cup?"

    "1949-50 season."

    "Correct. You're coming along nicely Number Six."

Your own reporter

Photographs from The Deparment of Visual records

The Therapy Zone

Playing It By Numbers

   Georgina Cookson enjoyed a cameo role in the episode A B & C, then came more to the fore during Many Happy Returns as Mrs. Butterworth-the new No.2.

   The seductive mature blonde player has her sights firmly set on No.6, before reeling him in and vanquishing him. She oozes charm, courtesy and hospitality. Baking cakes is her hobby, and keeps her promise by baking the Prisoner a birthday cake, but with only 6 candles upon it. It trifles a woman who knows she has succeeded in what has taken place, and probably offers as though to rub salt into the prisoners wound! He the man who has been outwitted by a woman!

   She is feminine, right down to the wearing of an ordinary patterned dress at the end of Many Happy Returns rather than the stark village uniform.

   Peter Wyngarde of Checkmatee, portrays a smooth, but cold and calculating No.2 who keeps himself under control. The only form of aggression we witness by this man is when he splits a piece of balsa wood with a deft Karate blow whilst sitting on the floor of his office wearing his judo outfit.

   The village chairman with the old school scarf draped round his neck and across his shoulders, gives the impression of a college Professor. He is well spoken, well mannered, and well bred. He is full of charm, but appears capable of applying whatever degree of force might be needed, on the advice of the doctor-No.22 that is.

   Wyngarde capably brings off a performance of a man who will use his own disciplined methods to exert power over those who would conspire against him.

   Not so much an interrogator, more of a man who is happy to deal with his administrative details, as he gives orders for others to deal with No.6.

    Anton Rogers- The Schizoid Man, his portrayal of a No.2 eager to be the first to defeat No.6 is masterly. At times it is hard to tell how much he actually knows - is he one step ahead of the viewer? But through his confident performance also come a hint of his fear of failure. He is calculating indeed, but his miscalculations are almost his downfall. When he finally realises that No.6 has attempted to trick him, he is no doubt relieved that he was able to have No.6 brought back down to earth. "Susan died a year ago No.6." But having almost allowed No.6 to leave the village, believing him to be Curtis, this does not damage his self-confidence.

   For this No.2 it is a defeat, the only saving grace for him, is he fact that he was able to snatch "total defeat" out of the fire.

Be seeing you

The Prisoner and Me - Me And The Prisoner

  I was wondering only the other day, oh that's me on the left by the way, as the Prisoner. The photograph was taken during the re-enactment of scenes taken from A B and C perfomed at a Prisoner convention at Portmeirion in the mid 1990's. My wife also appeared in the re-enactment as 'B', but no, she did more than that, Morag helped me with my lines, well I had a whole script to learn, as well as get a few props togther, that wasn't really up to us as it wasn't our re-enactment, but had been asked to perform and help out. 
   I recall during a rehearsal how the guy playing 'A' was giving me some funny lines which I couldn't make out as being from the scene in 'A B and C'. "You've been learning your lines" he said, yeah, and he only had a few lines and couldn't get those right! Not to blow my own trumpet, but I was word perfect all the way through that long re-enactment. That's the trouble you see, I couldn't stand it when people don't try! Mind you I was able to get close to 'B', perhaps a little more close than McGoohan did to Annette Carrell in the actual episode.
   There's a Prisoner Convention coming up this weekend, March 30th - April 1st, but you won't be seeing me there, for myself such days are well behind me. But I do still like to keep up with events you know, as I do have many happy memories of conventions past. Perhaps one day I will write about them. An old, old friend of mine will be taking his wife and family to the convention, and that includes his two sons, who have thoroughly enjoyed the passed two 'Cons.'
   The only trouble I found with Prisoner conventions was, that they seemed to be over as soon as they began, I suppose that that was because Morag and I seemed to be busy almost from the moment we arrived to the moment the Convention ended on the Sunday evening. I recall no sooner had we finished one re-enactment, the boxing scene from The Girl Who Was Death, and we went for a stroll along the beach to relax, then it was time for the human chess match re-enactment, it was all go! But we enjoyed it, and performed and organisd re-enactments not for our own glorification, but for the enjoyment of the conventioneers as well as the many day visitors to Portmeirion at the time of a Prisoner convention. Perhaps you yourself who are reading this, were at Portmeirion at the time of such a convention. But they were not every visiotrs cup of tea you know, one having said that if they'd known a Prisoner convention was being held at the time, they'd never have visited Portmeirion that weekend!
  When it comes to playing the role of the Prisoner I believe that you have to be of the right age, as I was at the time. But now, well I'm too old, and you can't play the role of Number 6 if you are too old, and equally if you are too young, because it doesn't work. But on the other hand I'm not quite ready for the Old People's Home just yet!

I'll be seeing you
   

Collectors Corner

  As a collector of Prisoner memorabilia, I was delighted to find this reare item on ebay.

This mouse mat was produced for Lombard Finance many years ago and is in like new condition, unused and a great collector’s item for fans of The Prisoner. The design shows the Lotus Seven KAR 120C and the No. 6 badge, headed with the phrase “Click into NUMBER 1”. Quality mouse mat with thick foam underneath, measuring approximately 10 x 8 inches.

Valued at £2.99, cheap enough.

BCNU

Village Pin-Up

   The attractive, delectable, and International film actress and model Nadia Gray. Sadly Nadia passed away in 1994, and I'm not at all sure if anyone actually interviewed her about her experiences working with Patrick McGoohan during The Chimes of Big Ben. It would have been extremely interesting what she might have had to say about here caharcter Nadia Rakovsky. I'm sure that in all the films Nadia had worked on, she would not have experienced anything before quite like the Prisoner!

Be seeing you

They're Not Going To Shoot You. They're Going To Blow You Up!

    And part of that plan to assassinate/execute the retiring No.2 was to get No.6 involved. A matter of credibility, without which the plan might backfire. Well was involved, and the plan did backfire, didn't it?

    But No.6 is a cautious Man, even if caution in a Man like him seems so wrong. But why pick on No.6 in the first place? I'd have thought to involve No.6 in any plan, would be tantamount to failure! No.1, along with this blonde haired interim No.2, must be of the opinion that No.6's word reputation counts for something amongst the citizens. However we all know what No.6 is like, he doesn't settle down, he doesn't join in, unless it's suits his own purpose to do so, so why this sudden change of heart, why should he care what happens to the citizens of the village?

    However, No.6 is not averse to passing up any opportunity, whatever that opportunity might be, wherever it might be. So he turns the full strength of his skill, together with his resourcefulness upon the problem of averting the assassination of No.2.

    But which No.2? Because when No.6 heads for the Green dome in order to warn No.2 of the assassination plan against him, he doesn't even recognise the elderly gentleman who is occupying No.2's office.

   No.6 "I to see No.2."

   "I am No.2. don't tell me, You've come to tell me there's a plot against my life, haven't you."

    No.6 is confused, he has reported only one plot, yet here he is, reporting the same thing on at least three separate occasions. No.6 is a Jammer! It's no wonder No.2 had doubts about this Man's warning.

    But having involved No.6 from the very beginning, must have been a calculated risk. For No.6 does not assign his loyalties to anyone, or anything other than himself. Why should No.6 want to save the Watchmaker? Who is the Watchmaker to him? But No.6 does save the Watchmaker, and the innocent citizens from mass reprisals which would otherwise have been carried out against them for the assassination of the retiring No.2. So why not go one further, and in seizing the radio detonator for the explosive devise hidden in the Seal of Office, and put a few demands forward of his own. Indeed to take the position of No.2 himself? escape? No, there was no chance for No.6 to escape, not even for No.2!

   Mind you, think of the mess. I mean, although that Great seal of Office was to have been detonated after it had been placed about No.2's head and shoulders. I mean, the compacted balcony, all those people standing close to one another, and then the explosion...... blood and guts would have been everywhere. And surely there would have been more casualties than just one assassinated No.2... perhaps even his heir presumptive to be. After all, they had been standing next to each other!

   Mark this, and mark it well. If you have a plan, any plan, and you want it to succeed. Don't, under any circumstances, involve No.6 in any way!

  

I'll be seeing you

The Therapy Zone

   The Prisoner if nothing else, is complex and perplexing, hence these few points of long asked questions. .

   Why did the computer in The General not simply reply "Why Not?" That is answering a question with a question. "Why?" can never be answered because there are no facts on which to base an answer.

    Why did the final minute of curfew in The Chimes of Big Ben go so slowly?

    The length of any given television programme seems to mean nothing . In television, time can be stretched or shortened - there seems to be no rules. I feel this question relates more to the actual production side of things than the storyline.

    Is there any significance in the number 16 on the wall of the barber shop in Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling? I think it's a calendar showing the date. What else could it be?

    Why were the men told to take off their wet things before entering the operating theatre in A B and C, while No.6 wheeled in covered by a wet sheet? The answer is a simple one. If the two men had just walked in, they would have made far more mess then just one simple cover.

   I have a comment on a recent observation about why Rover attacks the man in Arrival. I have always regarded this incident to be painfully without any reason except to introduce the balloon and show what it is capable of. There is no logical reason why the victim should carry on as he does. It can only be at the whim of the scriptwriters. I regard this scene as "corny" for that reason and I think it detracts from the episode in general.

    Why did No.58 slap No.6 seven times in Free For All? No.6 was in a trance at the time, and she had to slap him several times to bring him out of that trance. It could have been eight, nine, or ten times - I don't think the actual number is relative.

BCNU

Caught On Camera

   In recent blogs readers will have read about No.6's epic voyage of discovery in Many Happy Retruns, an episode which is dated by the Prisoner's very own date of birth March 19th, which means that particular episode could not have taken place at any other time.
   The same can be said of the episode Hammer Into Anvil, as the daffodils places the epsiode also at this time of the year, in the Spring. And once again this episode could not be at any other time of the year.

Be seeing you

Arts And Crafts

    This is from my "Street Art" period.

BcNu

A New Arrival!

    There's a new arrival in the village this morning. I observed him as he woke up in what he thought to be his own home, but is really a home from home. He left his cottage, and went out and about in the village. He took a taxi ride "local service only." He tried to make a telephone call, but seeing as he doesn't have a number, he couldn't make the call! He even paid a visit to the General Emporium, the shopkeeper asked his customer what he could do for him. The Prisoner asked for a map, it didn't seem to matter if it was colour or black and white, as both showed exactly the same thing! The Prisoner did ask for a map of a larger area, but the shopkeeper informed that there was no need for any other maps.

   Later in his cottage the Prisoner received a telephone call from No.2 "Come and have breakfast, Number Two, the Green Dome." What follows is the interview which took place between the new arrival and Number Two, as told to me by the Butler.

    No.2: “Ah do come in, do come in. Sit down.”

   {A chair suddenly rises up though a hole in the floor}

    The Prisoner: “I'm comfortable as I am.”

    “I suppose you're wondering what you are doing here.”

    “It had crossed my mind. What's it all about?”

   {A pair of steel doors open and the Butler pushes a tea trolley down the ramp as a small round topped table appears through another hole in the floor. Upon which he sets out the breakfast things}

    “Tea?”

    “Green tea, with orange and lotus flower.”

    {The Butler shoots the Prisoner a quizzical look}

    “What's it all about?”

    “I don't think you realise what a valuable property you've become.”

    {The Butler departs pushing the tea trolley before him}

    “Who brought me here?”

    “I know how you feel, believe me, they have taken quite a liberty.”

    “Who are they?”

    “You know you're now the closest person we have to the Prisoner known as Number Six.”

    “Number what?”

    “Six, it didn’t mention you’re being hard of hearing in your file.”

    “I am not a number, I am a person!”

    “Yes, we've been through all that before. It's our Prize Prisoner Number Six."
    "What's the matter with him?"
    "He's died and beaten us all!”

    “What's that got to do with me?”

    “You know what it has to do with you, that's why you've been brought here. You're our new Number Six.”

    “Don't come the old acid with me. Your Tally Ho newspaper has just made your Number Six the village citizen of the week!”

    “You know you really do bear a remarkable resemblance, you really do.”

   “To whom?”

    “Number Six. That's why you've been brought here.”

    “You can't keep me here, I'm leaving.”

    “That's sprightly, very sprightly.”

    “I know you.”

    “Who am I?”

    “You are an enemy!”

    “You are on edge. I've never known you so strung up. I was only saying to Susan.....”

    “Susan died a year ago, and name is not Curtis you know.”

    “Oh you’re good, you’ve even read his file!”

    “You'll get nothing from me.”

    “Sooner or later you'll co-operate, sooner or later you'll want to.”

    “I know you. I know the village. I know what to try and what not to. I'm going to escape and come back!”

    “Come back?!”

    “Escape, comeback, wipe this place off the face of the Earth. Obliterate it, and you with it!”

    “You see, you're brilliant at it. Not only do you look like No.6, sound like Number Six, but now you're using his exact same words. Admittedly not in the same place, but that will soon come, the longer you stay here.”

    “You're telling me that I'm supposed to impersonate this Number Six?”

    “No, you are Number Six. Or the closest we now have to the Prisoner Number Six.

    “Look, you know who I am, I know who I am........”

    “You know your hair isn't quite right, but my girls will soon put that right You know I think we have a challenge!”

Image from the Department of Visual Records

Be seeing you