.......... Have to accept things as they are, and others you have to ignore!
Like the way the pigeon, in ‘Hammer Into Anvil,’ was shot down by the Beam. It was being tracked on radar which means it was flying away from the village and at some distance. Then the Beam was activated and the pigeon fell from the sky. But where did it fall? It could have been in the woods, anywhere along the estuary, even somewhere on the far side of the estuary, even in the sea! But search teams easily found the said pigeon which carried No.6's message.... "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake Bakers man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can." Mind you the control room personnel did have a radar fix on the pigeon, so the area in which the pigeon came down was known. But a bird that size would be easy to miss in the woods or dense undergrowth.
Then again in Hammer Into Anvil, No.6 hears the scream of No.73 coming from the hospital. This when No.6 is out walking past the old people's home, the hospital is nowhere near the old people's home!
And when it comes to No.6's search by aircraft during Many Happy Returns, an area of some 75,000 square miles to search for the location of a small village. Of course we have no idea, nor is there any indication of how long the search has been going on, but the village is found in double quick time, for the viewers benefit and the time limit of 50 minutes no doubt. But in reality, it's a wonder that No.6 is not still out there somewhere, searching for the village today!
And again during ‘Many Happy Returns,’ what about refuelling of the Gloster Meteor jet at Gibraltar ? Surely the pilot and navigator got out of the aircraft for refreshment and the toilet. And if they did, why was the fact that the R.A.F Group Captain was not the pilot of the aircraft, discovered By No.6?
Such things in ‘the Prisoner’ as you see them on the television screen simply have to accept as they are, otherwise it can spoil the viewing pleasure of the enigma that is the Prisoner.
That Village Guardian
In The Schizoid Man that white membranic village guardian is given a name Rover, indeed Rover does act like a guard dog in the way it patrols the village and surrounding area, and more often than it works like a sheep dog in the way it herds escaping citizens back to the village. But I wonder if R.O.V.E.R would have had any meaning to its name? Retriever Of Villager Escaping Resident perhaps, or Roving Overseer Village Effluxing Rotundity. Blimey that's a mouthful, talk about making it up as you go along!
Of course there's no evidence at all that there should be any meaning in Rovers name. But ROVER to me, is suggestive, and much more than simply a retrieving guard dog. Visually the white membranic Village guardian is the most iconic visualisation the Prisoner could have.
No.6 Takes An Active Role Within The Community.
"The community must live, so too must No.6."
One can be a rebel, a non-conformist, refuse to settle down and join in. Not to accept the village, be a lone-wolf that belongs to the wilderness for as long as you like. But at the end of the day even 'unmutuals' are forced to become part of the community. And so it is with No.6, as he involved himself, not directly with the community during ‘Hammer Into Anvil,’ as he became the avenging angel for the deceased No.73 who threw herself out of the hospital window. And in this we discover where No.6's sympathies lie, a question asked by the new No.2 of ‘Arrival’ with citizens of the community, protecting them in fact, as he did in ‘It’s Your Funeral’ by preventing the death of the retiring No.2 and thereby stopping any possibility of mass reprisals taken against the community. And with any damsel in distress, as in the case of Nadia in ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’ who No.6 saw to be in distress, although of course she wasn't. Then there was Monique in ‘It’s Your Funeral.’ And of course Cathy, the saloon girl in Living In Harmony.
So No.6 rejects the Village, he refuses to settle down, to join in. But this 'lone-wolf' does accept the provisions and services which the village administration provides for its citizens. Its health and welfare, the credit he enjoys in order to pay for those little luxuries he enjoys, note book, pen and pencil. Records, copies of The Tally Ho, the occasional cuckoo clock! Not to mention cups of coffee at the cafe and down on the lawn of the old people's home!
No.6 may not accept the Village, but he certainly takes advantage of it's amenities which the administration provides within the village boundaries!
There is an omitted scene at the end of Hammer Into Anvil where No.6 is seen visiting No.73's grave. this provokes the question asked of No.6 by No.2 in ‘Once Upon A Time’ "Why do you care?"
Be seeing you
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