It's Surreal - And The Stuff Of What Dreams Are Made

    The Prisoner is full of such weird sequences, and any attempt to classify them in the past, has resulted in the words "fantasy" and "surrealism." The episode of A B and C is a prime candidate, with it's dream induced state of mind, hallucinogenic, and at times a little abstract as No.6 enters a dreamy party at Engadine's home. With everything spinning round, and the straightening of the mirror sequence, if in fact the mirror needed straightening in the first place! Later after a drive in Engadines car, Engadine and No.6 open a door together, and when No.6 should have entered a room, he walked through to a street in a different location! And towards the end as No.6 enters the laboratory seen on the wall screen, handing No.2 an envelope, with No.2 shouting at himself upon the screen "Open it you fool, open it!"

   In Dance of the Dead, No.6, I won't use the term "Mister Tuxedo" because No.6 wasn't actually wearing a tuxedo, but his own suit, tells No.2-Peter Pan, that he likes his dream. And a teleprinter begins to work, even thought its "guts" and paper have been ripped out of it!

    In Living In Harmony disembodied voices appear as cardboard cut-outs in an American frontier town that doesn't exist, but is actually part of the village!

    The sub-divided No.2's of the Town Council, are simply dummies. They neither move nor speak in a Council Chamber with an abstract-style painted wall, and a very steep staircase. And after being spun round on the central dais, No.6 is descended into a lower, orange-lit corridor with leather hand-straps hanging from the ceiling, each pair, he grabs to support himself in his dizzy state, making his way along the said corridor. As though making his way along an underground train!

    Long stretches of road or corridor crop up from time to time, for example in Free For All. This when No.6 is being interviewed by No.113 for the Tally Ho, the taxi drives past a series of buildings on the left - twice while the interview is going on! The underground passage, lined on one side by four Jukeboxes set in alcoves, along which No.6, the Supervisor, and the Butler walk. Seems much longer than it is, and there appears to be many more than four Jukeboxes, such is the clever camera work which makes that walk longer than it actually is, the passageway longer than it appears to be.

    And the opening sequence, where there is a long and deserted runway, which turns into a road over Westminster Bridge. The Village Guardian helps give an almost fairyland atmosphere to the village whenever it puts in an appearance. And Kosho, there could never be a more surreal sport than this, composing of two trampolines, a tank of water, a wall, and two opponents dressed in some form of Cossack garb, crash helmets and boxing-mitts!

   These are but a few examples of the fantasy or surreal side of the Prisoner. No doubt you can find those of your own choice.

BCNU.