The Therapy Zone

Number 6 likes His Dream!

   That's what he tells No.2 of ‘Dance of the Dead,’ who warns him that if he insists on living a dream he may be taken for mad. "I like my dream" No.6 tells her. "Then you are mad" she tells him.

   But what exactly is No.6's dream? On the evening of ‘Dance of the Dead’ No.6 is down on the beach looking for a sign from his world, a light, boat, a plane. No.6 pines for his world, but the village is his world, and the dream he is now living. So is No.6 mad, well not according the Psychiatrists records in ‘Hammer Into Anvil.’ But if the village is a dream, simply in one man's head, then he either is mad, or its a terrible case of self-persecution! Either that or one man's journey of self-discovery. And if the latter is the case, what exactly have we learned?

Many Happy Returns

   Is an episode which reflects the vicious circle that is ‘the Prisoner.’ A circle within a circle you might say.

    At the beginning of ‘Arrival’ we have a grimaced faced man behind the wheel of his Lotus 7. Then after escaping the village in ‘Fall Out,’ the Prisoner returns to London, and soon after which, we see that same grimaced faced man behind the wheel of his Lotus 7, and still as much a prisoner as ever he was. Because "In his end, is the Prisoner's beginning!"

  And likewise it is with the episode of ‘Many Happy Returns.’ No.6 escapes from a seemingly deserted village. He makes a perilous journey back to London, soon after which No.6 is unceremoniously returned to the village at the very place of his departure. The Prisoner has been brought full circle, and is still as much a prisoner as he was, before the day he made his escape!

All It Takes Is Reasoned Logic!

   At the time of this newspaper headline, it was probably correct. But time on the use of reasoned logic, together with research, has made this headline obsolte!

   Never mind the old codger at the foot of the page, I mean the character, not Pat McGoohan. But I think I can say that I have arrived at an understanding of the Prisoner which is second to none. Having spent 4 years researching the series, in-depth, and to such a depth never before achieved.

  Indeed I can say with confidence, and some gratification, that I have found out things associated with the Prisoner series, which McGoohan perhaps thought at the time would never be discovered. The adaptation of village edicts such as "Music makes for a quiet mind" and of course the origin of the village salute used  in conjunction with the phrase "Be seeing you," and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Christian sign of recognition - the sign of the fish, that much I am free to tell you. And of course this is simply the tip of the iceberg, oh and "Playing it according to Hoyle," its not Fred Hoyle as many fans believe.

   Yes its amusing to read such head lines of yesteryear, as now even the most recent fans to the series today, know more than the seasoned fan did all those years ago. Mind you, its through the dedicated work of fans, and the society of Six of One: the Prisoner Appreciation Society, who have provided such information for fans of 'the Prisoner' series over the past deacdes.

Be seeing you