Whys And Wherefores
We return to the question of Whys & Wherefores, and bring you a selection from bygone days of Prisoner Apprecation., and stress that no questions have been answered by any of the Tally Ho editorial team. And support none of the ideas and thories which may be presented here.
Arent different numbers as individual as names?
I thought that the point of making everyone a number was to undermine their individuality. No.6 says "I am not a number, I am a person."
How does Alison-No.24 know what cards Curtis is thinking of?
The Schizoid Man? Perhaps by using pre-arranged subtle sign{eg. the position of a finger} that No.6 wouldn't notice. Just like cheating at cards.
In ‘A B and C’ why does No.2 assume No.6 would have attended Engadine 's party after he resigned in such a hurry?
No.6 might have gone there on impulse, before deciding on where to go on holiday. We know from his conversation with Engadine that he is just starting a holiday and he is vague about it.
‘Once Upon A Time’ there is yet another clue to No.1's identity, which is obvious and deliberate. When Leo McKern {speaking on the red telephone} says to No.1 "You don't want to damage him!," the flashback on the screen immediately counters with "My life is my own." One of the several brilliant references to No.1's identity which McGoohan slips in. Leo says "Very well" just on cue, too.
In ‘Hammer Into Anvil’ No.6 orders the six copies of L'Arlesienne but only plays three of them. I've always wondered why.
Do the Rover "worshipers" in ‘Free For All’ represent the ambitious party faithful who worship power and the forces that oppress them, or are they meditating?
The men clustered in a circle around Rover seem to be worshiping it like a shrine - the acceptance of a controlling force, as they are unwilling or unable to think for themselves.
In contrast, No.6 is an individual who is desperately trying to break free from this kind of oppression and has to be subdued by violence. It is possible the men in dark glasses are receiving some kind of hypnotic telepathic instructions from Rover. We know it can render a victim helpless by electronic methods as well as asphyxiation.
Is the village newspaper called The Tally Ho because that is the cry of the hunt - and thus, the cry of the establishment?
Information And Observations
We kick off this time with something in the mirror. Not only in the mirror in the prisoner's London
A variety of languages are heard spoken in the village. French by the oriental taxi driver, then later an undetermined foreign language heard spoken by No.19 the shopkeeper to one of his customers. Yet as the Prisoner enters his emporium the shopkeeper reverts to speaking English to his lady customer!
Nadia of course speaks fluent Russian to post 5 and he to her, and that's fine. Yet what language is No.58 speaking? Whatever it is, No.2 can speak that language as well. Even No.6 picks up a phrase or two "Lye ezeet azoon."
Patrick McGoohan may very well out live all those who worked on ‘the Prisoner,’ is it possible that there's a cur..... no, that would be taking things just a bit too far.
Why is it females have the desire to play male roles in Prisoner re-enactments at Prisoner conventions?
Its not enough for No.6 to test himself against the village. But during ‘Dance of the Dead’ No.6 also pits himself physically against Rover, but not only is left found wanting, but also on his knees!
During ‘Dance of the Dead’ I wonder if Roland Walter Dutton thought his old colleague had actually killed the man No.6 set adrift.
No.6 should have waited to set the dead body, which was to carry his message, adrift to be carried out to sea on the ebb tide, because he failed to observe that the tide was actually coming in, and so the body would be washed up on the shore again!
The dead man washed up on the shore in 'Dance of the Dead' had a radio in his pocket. He is quite obviously a former citizen of the village, this due to his attire. But where did he get that radio?
Even village microphones are given a number. You can observe this during both episode of 'The General.' when the television announcer is on camera, and 'Hammer Into Anvil.' when the Supervisor is reading out the birthday greeting to No.6.
Be seeing you
Whys & wherefors continued...
ReplyDeleteQ1, numbers: Isn't it that it's numbers in the first place that make it/an individual, identifiable? Think of the internet ip numbers! I'm not a mathematicina. But what about prime numbers? Aren't they even more individual than others? In the Village numbers are a means to undermine people's individuality because a human mind is more likely to "understand" and recognise "analogue" names better than "digital" numbers.
Q2, mind reading the cards: They practised while No. 6 was being "treated" for his performnace as No. 12.
Q3, No. 6 & Engadine's party: Simply a short-cut of the episode action.
Q4, identity of No. 1: It would seem that the ambiguity was deliberate. One can contend that.
Q5, why 6 copies L'Arlesienne: The number 6! It would have taken too long on screen going through the rest.
Q6, Rover worshippers: Since little is known about Rover's way of operating technically, how it is propelled or manages to "drive" out of itself, perhaps there is an aura of - something emanating from the balloon? Something working either physically (e.g. like taking a sunbed) or psychologically on humans. Perhaps reinforcing people according to the will of those controlling Rover.
Q7, name of the Tally Ho: No, don't think so. Rather a call or cry vaguely reminding people that the "hunt" can be on them at any moment. Roughly spoken. - BCNU!
Hello Arno,
Delete2 is a prime number I believe, and so is 7, 6 is not a prime number, that much I do know. I have written about numbers being more individual than names in the past, but prime numbers being the most individual of numbers, I had not considered that before. You could very well be right.
Indeed they did, and I have always thought that Curtis and Alison had worked out a siganl between themselves as to what card Curtis is holding up. The signal being in the way Curtis places the emphasis on the word "now."
Rover, I liked your take on this, certainly the Village Guardian is pulsating in that cave!
Good enough, as No.2 once said. I like your answers. Thank you for taking part.
Very kind regards
David
BCNU
Observations...
ReplyDeleteThat's a thing. In this case most likely a camera is supposed to be behind the mirror. But I have the notion that there's a confusion of what the surveillance cameras see and what we, the audience, eventually get to see on the TV screen. We all know more or less accurately what kind of images surveillance cameras supply: they are rough and the footage is unedited. Thus, somebody is required to arrange the images so that they can be presented to s.b. else. Think of TV's "Big Brother" situation. However, I'm not sure if the way of presenting scenes taken by surveillance cameras and mixing it with scenes arranged according to the script, as one would stage the action, is always effected purposefully. Perhaps it was done so as to achieve a better look, simply. Still something unfinished in my mind. - BCNU!
Hello Arno,
DeleteAn intersting comment, it certainly provokes more thought. But for the time being, in the debriefing session with No.2 in 'Arrival,' we learn that the Prisoner had been under close surveillance, "What was that? Sounded like a click, something in the mirror?" Well I have somethimes thought what about that camera behind the mirror, and how the said camera must have been set up in the room on the other side of the wall. Unless of course the walls in the Prisoner's house were inordinately thick!
Kind regards
David
BCNU