Living In Harmony is possibly the very first Virtual Reality Role Playing Game developed by No.8
After all the only Real person in the American frontier town of Harmony
From there in the Green Dome No.2-the Judge, No.8-the Kid, and No.22-Cathy speak to No.6 though microphones, although the Kid doesn't actually speak. And No.6 has been filled with hallucinatory drugs, so all the Towns people who the stranger-No.6 encounters only exists in his mind. And that could be said of the village itself, but we won't go down that trail for the moment.
So when the stranger takes on the Kid in a gun fight, but as it turns out all he's facing in that fun fight is nothing more than a cardboard cut out!
As is the Judge, and all those expensive horses. But one thing, there's no cardboard cut out of Cathy...... why?
A dangerous experiment or a simple bit of fun? Either way it was deadly enough for No.22 who was strangled by the bare hands of No.8, who turned out to be as psychotic as the character of the Kid he played, they being one and the same it would seem.
You see they all became involved, and did what they would in a real situation, looks like No.8 had problems before all this started. Such was his fixation with Cathy which he transposed to No.22. But even No.22 found herself getting involved and falling in love with the stranger. Her dying words...... "I wish it had been real."
On a final note, something which I find funny, is the mental picture of No.6 riding imaginary horse, you know, as you did, or do as a child. Or failing that, they could have given No.6 a ‘Hobby Horse!’
Now I have to say that I'm not at all of a religious nature, in fact I have in the past, protested against any religious debate within the circle of Prisoner appreciation. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not against religion if that's your thing, and should you please yourself by finding religious content within ‘the Prisoner’ that's fine too. What I was against at the time were those reading religious content into something ordinary and mundane. Such as this.
At the beginning of the episode Living In Harmony we observe a cowboy walking the Plain carrying his saddle on his shoulder. This some have interpreted as Jesus Christ carrying a cross to his crucifixion!
Well okay, if that's what you want to believe fine, but it's not correct. Take another look at the picture. A cowboy who has lost his horse, for whatever reason; stolen, he's had to shoot it because it broke a leg, gone lame, or as in this case the horse went with the job of Sheriff, never gives up his saddle. A saddle is the most expensive thing a cowboy can buy, after his horse, and his gun.
So here we have a former Sheriff who has resigned, handed in both his gun, badge, and horse, and now all he owns is his saddle which he carries with him until he can get another horse. But at the prices of horse flesh in Harmony, that isn't very likely.
The stranger "The Bay..... how much?"
"$5,000" the stable owner replies.
"The rest?"
"They're expensive" the stable owner mocks.
Looks like the stranger will be carrying his saddle a good while longer unless he steals a horse. But then they hang horse thieves around here!
Be seeing you
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