The Therapy Zone

Once Upon A time

   If you think about it, this episode doesn't quite fit in the sequence of episodes of ‘the Prisoner,’ yet was made to fit! ‘Once Upon A Time’ was originally to have been much earlier in the screening order of the series. But even if we forget that, and accept ‘Once Upon A tim’e as it is in the series, why then is this episode "out of place?" Because there has been no question of the Prisoner's resignation since that episode with The Schizoid Man! Now all of a sudden, eleven episodes on in the series, the question of why The Prisoner-No.6 resigned his job. This episode would have worked far better if it had not been edited so as to fit in with the final episode, but left to stand alone as it's preceding episodes.

   Have you observed how in the episode ‘Once Upon A time’ both the rocking horse and the swing move of their own accord, but not so the see-saw, now that would be spooky, going up and down with no-one on either end! But then so do all the coat-hangers in that cloakroom at the beginning of Fall Out!!!!!!! But why do they do that? No doubt there's no hidden meaning in the multiple moving coat-hangers, just something surreal done for effect in my opinion. But believe me, there have been those fans, who in the dim and distant past of Prisoner appreciation, who have wondered what the meaning could be! And before you ask, no, I was not amongst their number.

Fall Out

   It was once written that "Fall Out" is an enigma, pure and simple, wherein lies its appeal. The more the episode is watched, the less is revealed." {Well I suppose its how you look at it, because personally, apart from the original screening of the final episode of the Prisoner, I've never had any problem with Fall Out.}

    "McGoohan promised those millions of viewers, back in 1968, that all their questions would be answered, once and for all. It's all there, it must be - we just have to keep on looking for it." {Perhaps so, but for how long?}

   No.6 once said of No.2, that he had a "Delicate sense of humour," well Patrick McGoohan certainly had a "delicate touch." I have observed, in a number of epsiodes of The Priosner, how Patrick McGoohan has a deft, if not nimble touch with things. I first noticed this in McGoohan's character in his role as Danger Man John Drake. Here for example Patrick McGoohan, as the Sheriff in Living In Harmony, has finally decided to "take up the gun."

   In his own nimble way, McGoohan slowly, and nimbly slides his Colt 45 Peacemaker into it's holster. But just to make absolutely sure that the gun fits in the holster, McGoohan gently lifts out the Colt 45 and slides it back into the holster, seemingly to make sure of the snug fit.

  You will also observe how the little finger sticks out, in the same "posh" way it might when drinking tea! A fine actor McGoohan might have been, but I'm not so sure about the way he handled a gun!

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