The Therapy Zone

Playing It By The Numbers

   Colin Gordon whose character is as menacing as he is unhinged! He is not a well man, nursing a stomach ulcer the way he is, as indicated by drinking plenty of milk. it soothes his ulcer, as well as making for good temper! He has an obsessive desire for success, this to discover why No.6 was going to sell out. What he had to sell, and to whom he was going to sell it.

   His eyes stare out from behind his spectacles. There is a question mark over this particular No.2's health in the Tally Ho - "Is No.2 Fit For Further Term?" But he has a single mindedness in over coming the task in hand. Later he develops an obsession about 'the General.' He is prepared to see that an untested drug are used on No.6, despite the risk to the subject. He uses technology to it's fullest extent. This No.2 cares little if No.6 survives or no, provided the result is obtained in the end. We might very well cheer when this No.2 is brought to his knees at the end of A B & C, and applaud Colin Gordon for his manic performance.  But be assured that we will be seeing this No.2 again.

   Angela Browne, the doctor-No.86 of A Change of Mind, she is the perfect foil for No.6's faked drugged shenanigans. At least the start of the episode she is bold and confident. Towards the end of the closing scenes her disciplined allegiance to No.2 and the village is in tatters. She allows herself to be out manoeuvred by No.6, as he easily gets the better of her "Stupid woman!" and is used as a pawn by No.6 to defeat No.2.

   One could say that No.86 has been degraded. But somehow, though Angela Bronwe's performance, manages to maintain her dignity.

    Kenneth Griffith gives a rich performance when playing the camp Napoleon Bonaparte during The Girl Who Was Death, but as No.2 we see so little of this character. But at least we learn that No.6 wouldn't drop his guard with his own grandmother!

    But later as 'The President' in Fall Out Kenneth Griffith gives a strong and powerful performance. He dominates with his speeches, and the screen with his experienced artistry. A powerful delivery, a powerful persona and a powerful performance are all his own.

A Few Points Raised

    The changing No.2's. I think that if one No.2 had been used for the entire series, it would have become a drawn out, head to head confrontation between No.2 and No.6. the constant changes showed that No.2's were expendable, and that the Village seemed to have an unlimited supply of back ups {each with a different style} ready to take control at any time.

Forthingay. Perhaps he believed the set-up to be real. having been brought to the village himself, his mind could be under village control

Nadia. No.2's "surprised" tone was actually an "impressed" tone. Perhaps only No.2 knew of the plan at that moment and had to treat her as just another prisoner until the escape.

1 When No.6 referred to somebody by name{eg Cobb and Nadia}, why did the rest of the Village do the same? Very early on we are told that names are never used in the village.

2 During Arrival, when No.6 visits the Bell Tower, the continuity of the shot is questionable. No.6 looks out to sea, turns 270 degrees clockwise and looks down at his new house. After such a turn, he should have his back to his new home, shouldn't he?

3 Could someone provide a rough conversion between Credit Units and Pounds Sterling?

   In the opening sequence of ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ No.6's would-be father-in-law asks what slide No.6 shows, thereby apparently revealing that he knows something of the fate of No.6. Doesn't this revelation contradict one of the major themes of the series - that we do not know which side runs he Village?

    {You should be wary of interpreting scenes of The Prisoner too literally. Surely the reference to slide No.6 in this scene is just a neat twist by scriptwriter Vincent Tilsley - an in-joke at the viewers expense}.

   In ‘Arrival,’ when No.6 goes in the helicopter for an aerial tour of the vVllage, a few cars can be seen parked below. Were these meant to be there?

    {Obviously this is sloppiness on the part of the production team. the cars should have been cleared from the village for this scene, or the cameras should have avoided the spot where they were parked. Presumably, it was hoped that no one would notice them? Incidentally, in one aerial shot of the village, Villa Winch cottage behind Chantry can be seen still under construction.

{Footnote: The Supervisor-No.26 would like it to be known, that any such question and answers here are not those posed and answered by myself, although I might be in agreement with a number of them.}

Be seeing you