The Zendazoid Man

Shave him and he’d look like No.6!

   Well allegedly a favourite film of Patrick McGoohan’s at the time of the Prisoner was 'The Prisoner of Zenda' - starring Stewart Granger in the roles of Rudolf Rassendyll and King Rufolf V, who are not only cousins, but the very image of each other, just as Curtis-No.12 and No.6 in 'The Schizoid Man.' Each also has a moustache - Rassedyll and No.12, as a way of telling the two apart.

    In the film 'The Prisoner of Zenda,' the soon to be crowned Rudolf V, is both drugged and kidnapped, and Rudlof Rassendyll is recruited to impersonate his cousin, and attend the Coronation in his cousins stead. This to stop the crown from being usurped by the brother of Rudolf the V. There is even a character named in the film, I forget his name, who knows Rudolf the V intimately and so keeps his eye on him throughout the Coronation. The named character has a glass eye and it is his glass eye which he uses to watch the newly crowned King. Leo McKern has a glass eye - the left one!

   So both the episode The Schizoid Man and The Prisoner of Zenda are likewise linked by the use of identical look-a-likes. Well what if we carried this idea forward to Fall Out. No.6 who has now become known as Sir, is about to go through an Inauguration ceremony. Swap the word Inauguration for Coronation, and you could have the President and members of the Assembly attempting to usurp the "throne" upon which Sir now sits, by using a look-a-like for No.1, and to place him permanently upon the throne. There is even a man present at Sir’s pending Coronation who has a glass eye, his right eye - No.2 with which he gives No.1 a stare!

   I find it fascinating as to what can be done with the Prisoner, placing different interpretations on aspects of the series, by what is there already. Don’t you?

Be seeing you.