The Therapy Zone

Le Rodeur

   Which, besides being the once French magazine for ‘The Prisoner,’ translates into English as "The Prowler." And it was soon after my wife informed me of this, that she reminded me, that in ‘The Schizoid Man,’ it was not only No.6 who called the village guardian "Rover." Because after speaking to someone he thought to be Curtis, No.2 contacted the control room by telephone and said Deactivate Rover immediately, pending further instructions.

   So, okay, we have two people seemingly to use the village Guardians name, "Rover." And if the village guardian was to have been known to have a name, then yes, No.2 would know it. But that does not explain how No.6 would know such a name or title, as it has never been uttered once in all the four preceding episodes. One could argue that there has to be a first time for everything. Yet the village guardians name is never made mention in any of the subsequent episodes that follow.

No.7's Really Mean Anything

   If you remove the allegorical within the Prisoner, then you'll find the series much easier to come to terms with, and reach an understanding far easier.

No.7

Return Of The Native

How the ending of ‘Many Happy Returns’ could have been, according to the original script.

Mrs. Butterworth, now wearing the badge of No.2, walks in, with the village loudspeakers playing "Happy Birthday To You." She is holding a large birthday cake with six candles on it. She sets it down on the table and walks towards No.6 who is shattered. From her pocket, Mrs. Butterworth takes a package tied with pink ribbon and hands it to him. He rips it open to reveal his cassette of film, stolen from the locker and replaced with a blank roll.

Mrs. Butterworth: You see, there is no escape. So be sensible and tell me why you resigned.

No.6 just stares at her and then notices the wrapping paper from his present. He opens it fully to see it is the Village newspaper. The headlines read "PLANE LOST OVER SEA. NO HOPE OF SURVIVORS." No.6 looks up, Mrs. Butterworth is now standing by the open door, holding the cat under her arm

Mrs. Butterworth: Give in and enjoy being dead.

She leaves.

No.6: {screwing up the newspaper} “I'll die first.”

    So now you know who was to have had that black cat which saw No.6 set sail on his long journey. That very same black cat which No.2 of Dance of the Dead, claimed to have been her's. Also, if the ending to the script had been maintained in Many Happy Returns, No.6 would have long been lost in an accident at sea, and that would surely have had a knock-on effect for Dance of the Dead. There would have been no need to have the dead man's face amended, nor the wallet in his pocket. That was probably used in this episode because the end of the script was altered for Many Happy Returns. Because both episodes of Many Happy Returns and ‘Dance of the Dead’ were written by the same script writer, Anthony Skene. The idea that No.6 had died in an accident at sea had been cut from the script for the ending of ‘Many Happy Returns,’ But Skene was able to write it into his next script ‘Dance of the Dead,’ the black cat as well!

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