The Citizens Advice Bureau

   The Citizens Advice Bureau promises to give help and advice to everyone. Mind you we don't open until 9:30am and we close just after 4pm, and our receptionist here isn't the brightest candle in the shop, poor dear. But we do try to be efficient, and have leaflets which give advice on almost anything.

   So if you need help and advice, have a problem of some kind. Don't be shy, just open the door and come on in. We'll have a nice cup of tea and biscuit , and don't forget we offer a friendly and confidential service.

Adviser "Next, ah Number Forty-two, what's seems to be your problem?"

No.42 "I am in  a continuous state of depression. I just can't stop crying."

Adviser "Come, come now, you should see a doctor."

No.42 "I have."

Adviser "What did he say?"

No.42 "He told me I was depressed."

Adviser "And why do you think you are depressed Number Forty-two?

No.42 "I don't like it here."

Adviser "You need to be more confident, exert yourself more. Join a group, do social work perhaps. You write poetry don't you?"

No.42 was wiping her eyes "Y, yes."

Adviser "Well there you are. Here's a leaflet on the Village Poetry Society, and one on social improvement. The ladies sub-appeal committee are the ones you should approach."

______________________________________________________________

The next customer of the morning appears to have a more mundane problem

"My weeks allowance has all been used up!"

Adviser "Well there's nothing I can do about that madam."

No.36 "But I told the man at the kiosk that I couldn't go a whole day without my sweets!"

Adviser "Then you'll just have to go back tomorrow"

No.36 "But that's what the man at the kisok told me."

Adviser "Well, that just demonstrates that we give the best of advice" said the adviser fetching out a bag of sweets from his desk drawer "have a Humbug!

______________________________________________________________

Adviser "I'm sorry Number 43, but we are not allowed to intervene with village administration. Your case as I understand it, is in the hands of Number2."

No.43 "But they have only given me seventy two hours!"

Adviser "For what?

No.43 "So that I might reconsider in the peaceful atmosphere of the village."

Adviser "Just what the doctor ordered I should imagine. Go for a walk, along the beach might be best, exercise, fresh air, just the thing. This together with a few hours of deep contemplation..... and I'm sure you will arrive at the right decision."

No.43 "But I can't tell them any more, because I don't know any more!"

Adviser "Well I'm sure that they will come to realise that in the end."

No.43 Rising from his seat "You mean before it's too late. It's already too late, soon Roland Walter Dutton will cease to exist!"
Adviser "Who's Roland Walter Dutton?"

No.43 “Me, I’m Dutton!”

Adviser "Well tell them what they want to know, and I'm sure they will be sympathetic towards you."

No.43 "I have, but they don't believe me!"

Adviser "Sorry, but its an administrative detail. Only Number Two can......."

Ting-a-ling sounded the bell as the door closed

______________________________________________________________

Adviser "So Number 50, what can I do for you?"

No.50 "I need your help in preventing an assassination!"

Adviser "I beg your pardon?"

No.50 "I said I need your help in preventing an assassination!"

Adviser "An assassination?"

No.50 "Yes, assassination! My father and another man, I don't know who he is. Who's anyone here?"

Adviser "Quite. And who is to be assassinated?"

No.50 "Number Two!

The Adviser thought for a moment "This is extremely serious. Look I don't have the power to act, but I know someone who will just love sticking his nose into this affair. Go and pay a call on Number Six, in a matter of credibility he is just the man you want."

_____________________________________________________________

   So you can see the range of problems with which the good citizens of this community come to our door. In some cases we can only offer advise, in others we can help a little more. But in cases of administration, our hands are more often then not...tied. So tell me what's your problem and how can I be of help?

Be seeing you

Thought For The Day

    "Call the substitute, the substitute, the substitute, call the substitute."

    Why should there be a substitute chesspiece standing by? Has this sort of thing happened before? A chesspiece having made a move of his or her own? The cult of the individual, apparently its not allowed. I should have thought that the Rook-No.53 was just the kind of chap the Village was looking for, a citizen with a mind of his own. But then perhaps No.53 wasn't up to the test the same as No.6.

Be seeing you

Pictorial Prisoner

    Chap leaning on the wall "Who's that?"
    Chap sitting on the wall "Don't you know? That's Patrick McGoohan, he's the boss."
    "What's he shouting about?"
    "He wants us to shift."
    "Why?"
    "We're in his shot."
    "Oh!"

BCNC

The Village Guardian - Rover

    The question of exactly what is the village guardian-Rover can never be answered in a trice.... It's nothing more than a simple weather balloon! There you have it in a nut shell. satisfied, no of course you're not, no one ever is!

   So perhaps there is more to this white chalk, helium filled balloon that at first meets the eye. On the symbolism front, some see it as a representative of the suffocating bureaucracy which our everyday lives are confronted with. A representation of our own fears, our worst nightmare perhaps!

   On the actual 'being alive' front, the best way to describe the Village Guardian is as a 'thing!' Possibly a genetically engineered 'thing' made from membrane, and held in a containment area somewhere at the bottom of the sea. Its probably still there, fighting with itself, perpetually shifting its shape, from long streaks to large and small globules, as the wax contained in a Astro, or lava lamp, somewhere still in the containment area at the bottom of the sea. There it waits, this 'thing', to be released on the command of 'Orange Alert', a command which is unlikely ever to be given again. But perhaps as the village was not completely destroyed, come to think of it I don't recall any of the village being destroyed, only evacuated. So it is quite plausible that the citizens who ran away on foot, along the beach for example, actually returned to the village. In that case perhaps there is hope for the village guardian 'Rover' after all.

   It has been written that 'Rover' is able to distinguish between prey, well it made a right pigs ear toward the end of ‘The Schizoid Man,’ it wasn't so clever to distinguish between No.6 and No.12-Curtis. But then the password Schizoid Man was given with more authority by No.6 than by Curtis, who was certainly afraid of 'Rover', as the lack of authority and strength of character in his voice demonstrated, giving the password over and over. This quickly turned into fear, and caused the man to run! But he could not run so far or so quickly, as 'Rover' had made its choice, the wrong choice as it happened, but the right choice for the villages administration. For what price might No.2 have had to pay if the village guardian had actually made the correct distinction between No.6 and Curtis? There would certainly be hell to pay, as No.6, in the guise of Curtis, once suggested to No.2.

    There is one aspect to the white membranic mass of the Village Guardian which I have not touched upon, and that is this. The possibility that 'Rover', in the same way as a shark, is attracted to movement! That would explain the reason behind two occurrences. The first being in ‘Arrival,’ when soon after the Prisoner has made his way onto the Piazza No.2 gives the order "Be Still!" And everyone does stand still, save for the poor sad soul who dashes about in circles, and it appears that the movement of this certain individual is detected by 'Rover', who is then upon the man in an instant! Suffocating its victim, to either unconsciousness, or the grave!

   This 'standing still' whilst 'Rover' is about is again demonstrated early on in the episode of Checkmate. The chilling roar of the village guardian can be heard, and just as it comes rolling and bounding along the road, the citizens step to the side of the road. Cyclists dismount their bicycles, and also stand stock still at the side of the road until 'Rover' has passed by. The good citizens of the community go on their way and about their business.

    But then that theory about 'Rover' being attracted to movement doesn't take into account No.14-the chess champion and rumoured ex-count! As the village guardian bounds past, No.14 hobbles along with his walking stick in apparent defiance of the Guardian, which takes no action against him. This action is quite inexplicable, so too is how the village guardian knows its intended prey when a segment is released during an 'Orange Alert'. In No.6's case its easy, because No,6 is ready to 'have a go' himself!

   And sometimes there is more than one membranic guardian released from the containment area. There are two occasions when there are actually three 'Rover's in extremely close proximity. One large, and two smaller guardians, working together to return No.8-Nadia to the beach during ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’ after her attempted escape by 'swimming for it!" And in much the same vein during the election period of Free For All. This after No.6 has a close encounter with 'Rover' before diving overboard into the water. He like Nadia before him, is returned to the beach by 3 membranic guardians working together.

   Does this mean that the released segments of the white membranic guardian is capable of free thought? Or is there a 'collective thought pattern' of the guardian, like ESP emanating between that which is still contained, and that of the released segments of the Village Guardian known as Rover?

    That's a new one which is something to consider, haven't thought of that before! What do you think?

BCNU

The Therapy Zone

Men In Black

   We have seen them, these "men in black" who deal with unruly alien life forms. But possibly these agents of the village were the original men in black. And if they were, as they appear to be, then who would suspect them being anything more than they appear to be, two undertakers who arrive at No.1 Buckingham Place, or indeed any house for that matter to remove the recently deceased.

    Yet there is much more to these men in black, than being simple agents of the village who carry out abductions under the guise of undertakers. These men in black are also administrators who help both govern and attend to the needs of the village, who also sit on the educational board in ‘The General,’ whilst others are possibly members of the assembly during the three trials of ‘Fall Out.’

The Prisoner in Danger........Of Being Drawn To The 'Dark-Side!'

    It has been both said and written of the Prisoner that No.6 was the alter ego of No.1, who he was trying to beat. A good versus evil syndrome which has taken place many times in literature, television and films alike over the years, decades and past centuries. But which side exactly, was which?

   The anger, hate, and aggression displayed by No.6 are feelings of the dark-side, which I suppose he was trying to expunge. But in displaying such aggression as he did during the episode ‘A Change of Mind’ for example, would simply draw him to the dark side. It is these that No.6 has to fight and beat within himself if he is to achieve the freedom he so craves.

   But are such emotions really represented by the cowled figure of No.1, No.6's dark-side as some see him to be? Certainly No.1 is no Darth Vader, more of a monk type of character, the wise Obi-Wan Kenobi if you like. Okay at the end No.1 does laugh maniacally and dash about like some demented maniac, but he does not show signs of aggression, hate, or anger towards No.6. But really we don't see that much of No.1, he is only mentioned on the telephone by No.2. It's No.6 with the aggressive tendencies, the feeling of anger and hate towards the village, and often his feelings for the citizens is no better. Only later as he finally begins to adjust to like in the village, does No.6 begin to mellow towards his fellow citizens.

   Could it be that we've got it wrong? That it is No.1 who is trying to beat No.6, and not the other way round. I suppose it all depends on your own personal interpretation on the series.

It’s Something Inexplicable!

    During the episode of ‘A B and C’ No.6 follows the doctor-No.14 through the village and into the woods, and eventually to the secret laboratory somewhere in those woods.

   Unable to gain entry through the steel door set back in the rocks, No.6 enters the laboratory via the air-conditioning shaft. As he makes his way down that shaft, it can be observed that No.6 is wearing dark socks, even at the point when he kicks out the wire mesh guard he is wearing dark socks. However, as No.6 emerges out of the air-conditioning shaft he is wearing beige socks!

   Not an important observation, simply a piece of trivia. But interesting to see that there had been a change of socks worn by No.6-McGoohan in such a short space of time. Quite obviously there was a re-shoot of the kicking out of the wire mesh guard, and McGoohan was wearing different coloured socks at the time!

   I offer no evidence for this, but ask you to check it out for yourselves.

Be seeing you

Thought For The Day

    I had a thought yesterday, while I was writing something, oh not for my blog, this was for something else. But it occurred to me that there is one defining thing about the original series of 7 episodes which Patrick McGoohan had intended, that all the No.2's were seen outside in the Village, whereas the No.2's of the remaining 10 episodes were not. But then I had not taken 'Hammer Into Anvil,' It's Your Funeral,' and 'A Change of Mind,' into consideration, and then I dismissed my original thought, thinking I was onto something there for a moment.

Oh well it was worth a try Number Two!
Be seeing you

Caught On Camera!

   It was soon in September 1966 that the filming of 'the Prisoner' was drawing to a close, and it occured to me the other day how fortunate Patrick McGoohan and his production crew were with the weather. In fact they experienced much the same weather we have this month here in Britain, after the first few days of september 1966, when it rained all day, each day.

BCNU

Exhibition of Arts and Crafts

                                  "Taxi"

BcNu

60 Second Interview With The Village Children

Ist Little Boy: “Have you come to tell us a story like the other man?”

No.113: “What other man?”

Little girl: “Why No.6, he comes to see us most nights.”

No.113: “Does he?”

Second boy: “Yes, and tells us fairy stories. “

No.113b “Smile” {click goes the camera}

Ist little boy: “I say, should you be putting our image here?

No.113: “Oh it's perfectly alright, you're in the village.”

Little girl: “If you've not come to tell us a story, why are you here?”

Second little boy: “Oh yes, please tell us a story.”

Ist little boy: “Oh yes do, it's almost our bed time.”

No.113: “Bed time, but it's only half past six.”

Little girl: “Yes we're always put to bed at this time.”

No.113: “Do you all have numbers, you're not wearing penny farthing badges.

Ist little boy: “Well they don't like fractions! Look are you going to tell us a story or not?”

No.113: “Well I'm not here for that, you see.”

Little girl: “Well why are you here?

No.113: “Are you all brothers and sisters?”

Ist little boy: “No, I'm her brother.”

Little girl: “”And I'm his sister.”

Ist little boy: “And he's our friend.”

Second little boy: “Yes I'm their friend. Now what about a story, and not the one about the big bad wolf!”

No.113: “Why, have you heard that one?”

Little girl: “Yes, from Number Six! And it turned out to be No.2 in the end, who had to be put down for his own good!”

No.113: “Oh!”

Little girl: “Have you got any sweets?”

Ist little boy: Stop it!”

Little girl: “Why, I only asked.”

Ist little boy: “Because we're not allowed to accept sweets from strangers, that's why!”

Second little boy: Has he go any Gobstoppers? Ask him if he's got any Gobstoppers”

Little girl; “Or perhaps he's got Blackjacks, I like blackjacks!”

No.113: “No I haven't got any sweets.”

Ist little boy: “Maybe his credit allowance is all used up!”

No.113: “I think I'll come back tomorrow.”

Little girl: “Oh yes do, and bring some sweets with you, Blackjacks and bubble gum.

Second little boy: And don't forget the Gobstoppers, then you can tell us a story tomorrow, we'll be waiting.”

Little girl: “Yes do say you'll come?”

Ist little boy: “Yes do say you’ll come tomorrow, please.”

Little girl: “Yes do say you'll come?”

No.113: “Well I'll try.”

Boys and girl in unison: “Oh good.”

Reporter No,.113

Photographer No.113b

The Therapy Zone

Number 6 - A Man Of Many Parts

    Number Six is certainly a man of many parts. Able to take care of himself, he gives as good as he gets in any one-to-one fist fight, and invariably gives better.

   He's a sportsman, at shooting with an average of 90%, and fencing "These foils have all a length." Excels at "Kosho," some oriental sport originated by Patrick McGoohan. He water skis, builds his own private gymnasium somewhere in the woods. "Modern art," No.6 explains "Is basically primitive, I've made my own tools." Stone axe and chisel, with a wooden rolling pin as a mallet!

   He can chop down a tree, and carve the hull of a boat out of it. Explain an abstract work of art, which doesn't mean anything at all. Or perhaps the barrier is down, depending on how you look at it. But then why the cross piece? Well that's a spar for the sail of the boat! Then at another time, chopping down small trees, lashing them together with empty oil drums in order to make a sea going raft. All this, without a sign of calluses on his hands after so much manual work! Spending 25 days at sea, with only 4 hours sleep out of each twenty four "Remarkable!"

   No.6 is good at navigation too, navigating along the coast in the Baltic. Sailing across the most violent sea in the world..... the Bay of Biscay, as he would have sailed through 60 foot waves!

   Hypnotism is another of the Prisoners facets, in the way he hypnotised No.86 in ‘A Change of Mind.’ And at some point a short time before the episode of ‘The Schizoid Man,’ No.6 found someone he was simpatico with, Alison-No.24.

   He has superhuman will power. He's not at all conventional, sometimes I think he's not human!

The General

   Legend has it that ‘The General’ was just McGoohan’s cup of tea, that he liked it. And yet on the other side of the coin has it that McGoohan never liked The General, only in theory it seems. He thought it was stupid, and the self-destruction of the General - a joke!

   Apparentky McGoohan thought No.2 to be something of a lightweight character, and only responded to people like Guy Doleman-No.2 of Arrival, who had severity. when McGoohan felt that No.2 was lightweight he didn't seem to care about the show.

   The most intense episodes are the ones that reflect McGoohan's own personality. So you can decide which those are for yourself.

Midnight To Six - A Literary Encounter With Number 1

    One such Vicious Circle was demonstrated in the Ghost story by Alfred Noyes ‘Midnight Express,’ when a man came face to face with himself one night at Midnight on a deserted railway platform. The idea of having No.6 come face to face with No.1, an original idea. There were others who came up with such an idea long before Patrick McGoohan, Alfred Noyes for one. Or perhaps such a story as this was inspiration for Patrick McGoohan. But we shall never know!

I'll be seeing you, preferably standing beneath a lamplight on a dark and gloomy night!

Thought For The Day

       It has been documented in an interview with Patrick McGoohan as saying "The ancient bicycle represented progress. One has only to be in a traffic jam for hours on the highway with a few thousand other automobiles to know what that meant. In the traffic jam, in the immobile cars, one is a statistic, a number, futile, a prisoner - you'll get home quicker on the bicycle."

   Well Patrick McGoohan appears to have got it spot on, as more and more people are reverting back to the bicycle, as more and more cars appear on our roads. McGoohan was always a very keen cyclist, he would cycle everywhere, so I can understand his keenness on this matter. Not too sure about the Penny Farthing though, or the canopy for that matter. No today people ride all kinds of bicycles, and the canopy of the Penny Farthing, or that of the RWS 16 shopper bicycle, has been replaced by a cycle helmet! There's progress for you!

Be seeing you

Village Life!

   It's alright have such privileges as a personal maid service. But by the time No.54 arrives at '6 Private' No.6's eggs and bacon will be cold!

BCNU

Pictorial Prisoner

    It is not only the Prisoner who hasn't got a costume, neither has the Butler! What's more, where does the Butler come from? He is not seen at any time during the dance, not up until he suddenly appears, passing the black cloth, and taking the scroll from the Emperor Nero, or is it Julius Caesar? And where does the Butler go? Because he disappears as suddenly as he arrives, and is not seen again at the Ball!

BCNU

Prismatic Reflection

    The Village is not a physical place, although to the eye it does appear to be so. In fact the citizens who live in the Village, can think of no other place. Because there is only the Village. Those who are born of the Village like 11-12 do not physically exist, they cannot leave the Village. There is a level of subconscious, but what if there were several layers of the subconscious, and what if we could go there? To dream, to make the perfect place, a place to take people, broken people to make them better and so to release them back into society. The people who are taken to the Village are chosen by Observers, Observers like Michael who work for Summakor. Of course the people have no knowledge of this, because while they are mentally taken to the Village, to be made better people, they are still living out their everyday lives in New York, but who have no knowledge of the Village, except for Curtis, Helen, and Lucy. Two never once asks Six why he resigned, Curtis leaves that to Lucy who was assigned to Michael.
   But there is far more to THEPRIS6NER than this. It’s about surveillance, information, and there is the question of reality. How do we know were are here? Where is here? Are we living our own free lives, or are we living out someone’s, something’s dream? We know we are here because we are told, and if we are not told, then we have our senses to tell us. We trust our senses, believe what we touch, see, smell, and hear. And yet Michael believed his senses which told him that the Village, and everyone, together with everything was real, when it wasn‘t.
    The original Village had Observers to watch over the citizens. In the new Village, there are undercovers who watch out for “dreamers,” those people who seem different, who have memory of the “other place.” However it would seem that surveillance techniques have taken a backward step. In the original Village, cameras were everywhere, what’s more many of them we so small you could hardly see them. Yet in the new Village surveillance techniques have reverted back to “roach-cam” technology. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t include the necessity to have two Undercovers sitting on top of a veranda having inserted the “roach-cam” into the ceiling. Then having to sit and watch a monitor while the “roach-cam” filmed 1955 slitting his throat with a knife, in an act of suicide. Suicide being a desperate act on the part of 1955, brought about by his despair, because everyone in the Village is a prisoner!.

   The original Village is Italianate, it could be at any time. Located either on the coast of Morocco, or south west of Portugal and Spain, surrounded on three sides by mountains. And yet the new Village is in the middle of a desert, with nothing but sand and mountains for mile upon mile, upon mile in every direction. And if that is the case, and if the old Village’s location is somewhere on the coast of Morocco, and the new Village in an African desert, as in Namibia for example, then that places both Villages on the same continent!
    In the Village, “dreamers” dream, or have memories of another place, outside of the Village. In the original series, No.6 having been told that everything he wants is in the Village, but for No.6 everything is elsewhere, in his world beyond the Village. No.2 tells No.6 that if he continues with his dream, then he will be taken for mad. But No.6 likes his dream, which begs the question, which is No.6’s dream, the Village or the other place? Because a long time ago it was suggested that the Village of the original series was created in the mind of the Prisoner known as No.6.
    The mind is capable of creating it’s own places, places filled with darkness, both in deed and thought. Places of torment and despair. You ask is there no places of light and joy? No say I, because you take your problems with you. What you are you take into the Village with you. In ‘Fall Out’ we witness the former No.6 and his alter ego the No.1, the bad side of his nature, his own worst enemy if you prefer. In ‘Checkmate’ we see 313, who is afraid of her other self, and yet it will be Sarah who dreams the Village as Michael looks to find a better way, to build a better Village, moral Village. So as it was with 6 and 1, so too would it be with Sarah and Michael. To create a better Village one has to be pure in heart, thought, and deed. Which of you reading this could claim to be that? We all have our problems, each and everyone of us, and no-one is perfect. Is anyone capable of making a better Village, a moral Village, to give freedom within the prison?

Be seeing you

The Therapy Zone

A B &........And Engadine Makes C!

    It was during 'C' of A B & C that the Prisoner was handed a key by the roulette croupier in exchange for his bet of a diamond ring. It so happened that Engadine also had an identical key!

    "It can't be" No.2 gasped in astonishment. "She can't be 'C." "She's fooled us for years, but no longer!"

   "You're binging her to the Village?" the doctor-No.14 asks.

   "Yes" No.2 replies eagerly.

   However in No.6's dream even Engadine works for someone else, a man of mystery who will know him, and who likes impressive offices! The doctor commented that No.2 will have to call him 'D'. However as it turned out, this man of mystery is no other than No.2 himself.......'C'!

   But this is only No.6 manipulating his own dream, and so if No.2 isn't 'C',  who is? Well the answer to that one is blatantly obvious and can be deduced from the description read out by No.2...... Known to be French. Known to have attended Engadine's parties, probably disguised. Well Madam Engadine is French, she attended her own parties, not too sure about the probably disguised bit though. Unless of course it is Engadines celebrity status together with her celebrated parties that is the disguise!

ESCAPE

    I wonder why No.6 did not try to escape the confines of the village by swimming to the far side of the estuary? He could have gained possession of an air tank worn by divers, well there were several sightings of "frogmen" in wet suits about the Village during the parade of ‘Dance of the Dead,’ and during the evacuation of the Village at the time of ‘Fall Out’ are but two occasions. And why not? The Village Administration permits water sports, water skiing and so forth, so why not underwater diving?

   Then having gained an air tank, No.6 could have swum to the far side of the estuary under water, un-observed and free from attack from the village guardian. After all we only see Rover attack or peruse Villagers on land or on the surface of the sea, not beneath the waves!

The Allegorical Rocket

   One observation made about that rocket in ‘Fall Out,’ is that it might not have been a "doomsday device,” capable of destroying the earth all on it's own. But certainly it could have started World War III, with No.6 being the instigator.

   Such a launching of a rocket would have been picked up by listening stations on both sides of the Iron Curtain, possibly with both sides disclaiming knowledge. And seeing as there was a Cold War on at the time, there was a great deal of mistrust, and it would have been but a moment to order the launching of Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles...... and Armageddon would reign supreme. Unless of course it is an allegorical rocket, then it wouldn't hurt anyone!

Be seeing you

Quote For The Day

 "Don’t bring that wet in here. Take your macs and boots off."

                                              {No.14  - A B and c}

    Well that was the instruction given to the men bringing No.6's unconscious body into the laboratory of 'A B & C.' But the doctor-No.14 made no remark towards that wet oilskin covering No.6 wrapped up in the blanket!

BNCU

Teabreak Teaser

    Why the secret laboratory in the woods, where No.6 was experimented upon, to get into his dreams in 'A B and C,' when all other experiments take place in the hospital?  {except the one carried out by the doctor in D of the Dead}.

BCNU

Exhibition of Arts and Crafts

   The Picture Speaks For Itself!

BcNu

What’s That Number 6 Up To?

    He appears to be chatting away with a group of construction workers. I do hope he's not trying to steal tools from them. He knows the ruling on hammers, saws and chisels.

 

    Certainly they have the materials for constructing a sea-going raft, so talking to them, perhaps No.6 is hoping to "get them on board". Or perhaps he's busy selecting the men he can trust for an escape attempt, or other kinds of mischief.

   So where in the Village are these construction workers working?

 

   Here, where a cottage is either under construction, or re-development in time for a new resident. Either way, No.6 is getting in the way again. Something will have to be done about that man.... soon!

Be seeing you

The Therapy Zone

The Prisoner Is Put To The test!

The question was asked a number of years ago "Was the 16 episodes of ‘the Prisoner’ specific tests?

   Well of course they were, and the ultimate test being Once Upon A time. Yet in the 17th episode, ‘Fall Out,’ the manipulation of No.6 went on, and which culminated in his meeting with No.1.

   In those 16 specific tests No.6 demonstrated such qualities as:

A sense of humour

Strength of character

Determination

A sense of identity

He cared about those in the village, once anyway

Ingenuity

Survival

Individuality

Cleverness

Trustworthiness - in some people

Suspicion

Friendship

A skill in using his hands, building a raft in ‘Many Happy Returns,’ a coracle during ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’ for two examples. Stitch work in making his own punch bag, and private gymnasium sometime between the end of ‘It’s Your Funeral’ and ‘A Change of Mind.’

He demonstrated how he can live by his wits

Quick thinking in how he was quick to come up with an explanation of his three piece sculpture to the three members of the Arts & Crafts committee.

Sportsmanship in the noble art of boxing, fencing, shooting, not to mention Kosho.

    No.6 had it all, then rejected it all in Fall Out, and it was the manipulation used against him in ‘Fall Out’ that started it all in the first place. It's no wonder there was such a persistence with the question "Why did you resign?"

Its All I I I I I I I I I I I I I with Number 6!

    "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, briefed, debriefed or numbered! The fleeing No.1 screams "I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I" As it was with the delegates of the assembly "I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I" as they shouted No.6 down, not wishing to hear a single word he had to say.

    So its all "I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I" with No.6 as both the village delegates and No.1 sees the situation with No.6, or Sir as he became known. To the delegates of the assembly, and to No.1, there was the apparent danger that if the ultimate power was handed over to Sir, that he would in fact put himself - I, before the members of the assembly, the citizens of the community, and that of the village itself.

   You see, it's always I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I,I, with the Prisoner-No.6, "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped etc, etc". And in that there lies the problem!

This Session Is Called In A Matter Of Democratic Crisis!

   In the episode of Fall Out, the proceedings are presided over by a Judge, or President as he credited as being in the closing credits of the episode.

   But what I have to ask is, to what democratic crisis is the President referring? After all there is no democracy in the Village, that has long since been proven, and confirmed by No.2 during a conversation with No.6 during the ‘Dance of the Dead.’

No.6: "Your administration is effective, but you have no opposition."

No.2: "An irritation we have dispensed with. Even at best, free democracy is remarkably inefficient.

   So where is the democratic crisis?  There is only the question of revolt - and three specific instances - to be dealt with here in court!

Be seeing you

The Village Guardian - A Fatal Attraction!

    As the white membranic Village Guardian comes rolling and bounding along the road, it's blood curdling roar can be heard throughout the Village. And as one, pedestrians step to the side of the Street, and cyclists dismount and everyone stands stock still until the Village Guardian has passed by.

  So why is it that everyone in the immediate vicinity of the Village Guardian should stand perfectly still as this thing, whatever it is, passes by?

   Well one reason could be that like a shark, the Village Guardian is attracted by the movement of it's prey. Here everyone stands perfectly still until the Village Guardian has passed by. However you may recall that young man in 'Arrival,' how he ran round and round, whilst everyone else stood perfectly still. The Village Guardian detected motion of the young man running about and homed directly in on it's prey. To either suffocate into unconsciousness, or worse!
    What about No.14, why didn't the Guardian react to his movement as it passed by? I don't know, I cannot give any explanation about that. Unless of course the Village Guardian is capable of detecting fear. Because No.14 couldn't care less!

I'll be seeing you, but not if the Village Guardian sees me first!

Village Life!

                                         Village Entertainment Committee 

No.2 "Well I liked the slug balancer."
No.240 "I thought that was a Charlie Chaplin impersonation!"
No.6 "I hope Magician Mark Two gets better soon!
No.2 "Yes, I really think he should have used a carrot to demonstrate that guillotine!"

BCNU

Quote For The Day

    "I, I, I realise that sir, the reason why we selected Number Six, a matter of credibility without which the plan might have backfire."

                                                {Interim and heir presumptive No.2 'It's Your Funeral'}

    Well it did didn't it? Backfire that is. 'It's Your Funeral in perhaps the most straightforward episode in 'the Prisoner' series. By why all the rigmarole of the assassination of a retiring No.2, and by putting the balme on the citizens in order to carry out a purge of the Village. Why not simply get on a do it? The problem with such elaborate plans is  that there is more that can go wrong with it. And to involve No.6 was quite simply asking for trouble!

Be seeing you

The Prisoner -A Self-Questionnaire

Favourite episode..... ‘Arrival’ because it sets the scene perfectly for what is about to come. Proving that there is no escape from the village. Its frightening, because of the white membranic guardian "Rover." The beauty of the village is displayed perfectly, such is the charming, picturesque Italianate village that can be ever so quite and tranquil, its facade hiding the awful truth behind the village.

Favourite Number 2...... No.2 of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ and ‘Fall Out,’ because of the rapport he shares with No.6. The one to one trial between No.2 and No.6 in Once Upon a Time is pure genius and works so well between the two men who come to like one another.

Least favourite episode...... ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ my least favourite episode, becasue there are too many holes in the episode, too many imponderables!

Favourite female character..... Nodia-No.8 of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ Nadia has a certain sex appeal, is very attractive and a woman whom No.6 might have found himself in a relationship with. Certainly Nadia-No.8 enjoyed a certain relationship during their time in the village. Yet in the end Nadia was a plant, who actively betrayed No.6, which does not turn me away from this character.

Least favourite female character...... Where do I begin? No.240-the observer in ‘Dance of the Dead,’ the doctor-No.22 in ‘Checkmate’.... that's two!

Favourite male character....... I would say the Prisoner-No.6 but that's both a bit too obvious and boring. So I plump for No.2 of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘Fall Out.’ Second favourite male character No.2 of ‘A B and C’ and The General.

Least Favourite male character....... the doctor No.40 of ‘Dance of the Dead.’

A favourite scene of any three episodes........ ‘A B and C’ when No.2 realises that he has failed, and that No.6 succeeded. Its Your Funeral the opening scene between No.6 and No.50-Monique. ‘Hammer Into Anvil’ between No.2's assistant No.14 and No.6; "You're a troublemaker Number six. Do you know what I'd like, really like? To dust you down, I'd really enjoy it."

Is there anyone in the Village we should feel sorry for........ the Professors wife. I find the final scene of ’The General’ when No.6 returns to the Professors house where his widow is sitting out on the veranda. At that moment the Professors widow makes for a very sad figure, and what's more she is now all alone in the Village, with no one to protect her, save possibly for No.6. But perhaps in time her pain will ease, after all she is an artist and therefore may make herself useful in the Village, Arts and crafts perhaps, art exhibitions maybe. One thing is certain, the Professors widow would not be allowed to leave the village!

A definitive moment of the Prisoner........ This has to be the unmasking of No.1.

B e seeing you

The Therapy Zone

He Really Was Going On Holiday!

   Was he? Was the Prisoner going on holiday, the moment he resigned his job? I suppose he could have been, after all that's what he told Engadine at her party that time during ‘A B and C.’ Somewhere different, somewhere quite where he can think. Sounds like Portmeirion! But then there are those two travel brochures the Prisoner packs into a suitcase suggest somewhere more tropical. With white beaches and palm trees. Is that his eventual destination, somewhere tropical and exotic?

Early Memories of The Prisoner

    Well it was so long ago now, it's difficult to remember. But as there was no colour televisions at the time, I did wonder why the series was actually filmed in colour.

   So as a 12 year old boy I watched the ‘Prisoner’ in black and white, and for me the series was a new series - a continuation of ‘Danger Man,’ and the only questions I had at the time during that original British screening were;

Would the Prisoner escape?

Where was the village?

Why did he resign?

What was that white thing - the village guardian?

Which side runs the Village?

   When it came to ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ I thought No.6 had actually escaped with Nadia. And was very disappointed to learn he hadn't. And of course those feelings, of both elation and disappointment, were repeated for the episode ‘Many Happy Returns,’ only more so. As No.6 had returned to London, I thought that was it, and we were going to discover the location of the village.

   And then back in 1984 when the Prisoner enjoyed a re-screening on Channel 4, I was able to watch the series in colour for the first time. I was blown away by the impact of colour being introduced into ‘the Prisoner’ series for the first time. It was brilliant, as colour seemed to add a new dimension to the series, and realised why the Prisoner had been filmed in colour and not black and white!

If No.6 was put to the test in the Prisoner - did he pass, or could he have simply done better?

If The Prisoner Resigned From The Village

    Then that would explain why he was trying to get away in the opening sequence of ‘Arrival.’ He knew that they would be coming for him! But it was already too late, they came for him before he could escape!

Be seeing you

Mine's A Beer!

   This bottle of beer was sent to me by a grateful reader. He saw this while on holiday in Dorset and automatically thought of me. A dark ale which I found thoroughly delicious.

BCNU

Thought For The Day

    Had Nadia Rakovsky's story have been correct, that she had seen a file on the Village, but for a few seconds only, that would most certainly have been enough to have her put in it! Because there are those in the Village who know too much, or too little, and at times knowing even too little can be too much!

BCNU

Caught On Camera!

    The Lighhouse at Beach Head in East Sussex as seen in 'The Girl Who Was Death.'

   Currently the Lighthouse is undergoing refurbishment, in that the red and white stripes are being re-painted. Click on link for the full story.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429466/Shining-bright-lighthouse-left-fade-grey-Beachy-Head-landmark-finally-gets-lick-paint-celebrities-raise-30-000-makeover.html

With thanks to Arno, and Michael Kimpel.

BCNU

The Prisoner Under the Spotlight

No.6 Has Never Seen A Night - He Just Sleeps! Well of course that's not quite correct is it now, because No.6 is abroad one evening during ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ sitting outside his cottage, talking to and dancing with Nadia as a Childs lullaby plays quietly. And this as night time draws on and darkness with it. And then of course its night time and well past the hour of curfew when No.6 and Nadia carry the components of the boat, and put them together down on the beach.

    What about the "Cat & Mouse" night club? No.6 leaves there in the company of No.58, when outside it is already evening, and by the time they drive out along the path beyond the village to the cave of the "Therapy Zone" its night time.

    ‘The Schizoid Man’ sees No.6 out and about in the early evening. This when he is approached by two men who ask No.6 for the password, and having given the password Gemini, the wrong password a fight then breaks out between the two men and No.6.

    During the episode of ‘The General,’ No.6 is out and about the village in the evening as a Mardi Gras atmosphere takes over the village, when the citizens celebrate the joys of Speedlearn.

    Of course this is all before ‘Dance of the Dead’ and his statement of "I've never seen a night, I just sleep." No.6 then slips out of his cottage, when he tests himself against Rover, and then spends the night on the beach. And again during the evening after the sun has gone down, no.6 meets with No.2 down on the beach, Peter Pan and Mr. Tuxedo, why Tuxedo I have no idea, seeing as No.6 is actually wearing his own suit, which was delivered to him specially for the occasion of the Ball in the evening!

    And don't forget ‘Checkmate’ when No.6 finds the rubber lilo abandoned at the shoreline by the rook. No.6 then sets off aboard the lilo himself in order to bring the boat closer in-shore, by which time it is again early to mid evening, the sun having long disappeared below the horizon. And during ‘Hammer Into Anvil’ No.6 is followed down to the stone boat by No.'s 2 and 14 as he hides that large white envelope containing blank sheets of paper in the cabin. This again after the darkness of night has descended over the village. So as it turns out No.6 has seen many an evening and more than a couple of nights during his captivity in the Village, so who does he think he's trying to kid?

    Welcome To Your Home From Home. Well hardly a home, more of a room with an annexe of kitchen, bathroom and bedroom added on. Because all that is replicated from the Prisoner's home in London is the study. Well quite obviously the builders, carpenters, painters and decorators, electricians could not have replicated the whole of No1 Buckingham Place in the village. It is the same with Nadia-No.8 when she woke up on her first day "A replica of her own room of course" No.2 informs No.6 as they watch the young woman on the screen. Yet other important citizens do have their own house, like the Professor and his wife in The General. Their house is most elegant and elaborately decorated, it even has its own private garden!

    And not everyone has enjoys an electronic door as the Prisoner's home of '6 Private.' No.2 of course, and No.14 of ‘A B and C,’ but not No's.12 and 24 of The Schizoid Man. I always thought that the higher you are up in the importance stakes, the better service you enjoy during your time in the village. A kind of status symbol if you like, having an electronic door which opens automatically for you, but damned disconcerting when experienced for the first time!

    One would have thought that No.2 has the most impressive house, that of the Green Dome, but of course that is not where No.2 lives, this is merely where No.2's office is to be found. No.2's living quarters lie elsewhere. In ‘A B and C’ No.2 rises up through the floor whist sitting in the black global chair, running his fingers through his hair and still wearing his pyjamas and dressing gown. This action suggests that No.2 actually has a room, or rooms, somewhere below the Green Dome. This is not as grandiose as one might first imagine for a man or woman of such a position! And as for his manservant, the Butler, well he lives close by, in the annexe at the back of the Green Dome, just so that he is close at hand, as is his kitchen, to be able to provide, tea, coffee, and breakfast as the Butler is called upon to provide.

   So all in all, I feel that living in the Village No.6 enjoys a more comfortable existence as he does living in his comfortable cottage. But then thinking about it, No.6 is a lifer, and any No.2 you can think of never enjoys an extended term of office. And seeing how there is such a quick turnover and turnaround where No.2 is concerned, how would it be possible to provide No.2 with that home from home that so many of the Village inmates enjoy!

Be seeing you

The Therapy Zone

Different Values

   In his paper Different Values of 1974, Chris Tame asks "Has number 6 succumbed to his own form of temptation, to the simple desire to escape and for the illusion of freedom evoked by speeding in his sports car?

   Well the only sign of Number 6's freedom is demonstrated when he is sat behind the wheel of his Lotus 7. Happy to be behind the wheel of his kar in two episodes, Many Happy Returns, and yes even ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.’ Because even though it is the figure of the Colonel we see behind the wheel of the Lotus 7, we must not forget it is the mind of No.6 who will actually be enjoying the driving experience, and not that of the Colonel!

A Matter Of Opinion

   It was one comment made in 1976; "That there is always the possibility that the entire series means nothing at all and that it caused a great stir and lots of explanations, while all along it was merely nonsense."

   Well I certainly hope not, otherwise I've just been wasting my time, and possibly making it all up as I go along! And if that's been the case, well there's still the tremendous entertainment value of ‘the Prisoner.’

   If the Prisoner-No.6 was not a secret agent - what then might he have been to have seen his abduction to the village - a politician maybe..... tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, beggar man, thief - spy!

The Prisoner has Been Likened to that of a proverbial onion. This in respect that once you peel off one layer, there is another layer beneath, and another beneath that and so on and so forth. And to get to the core of the matter, layer after layer has to be peeled away to arrive at any kind of understanding.

They Have Everything On Record

    The Village administrators have never been backwards in coming forward in grasping new ways and means. Even files have plastic pockets in which photographs and information are held on any subject and any citizen of the village - the Prisoner-No.6 for example

   "The time of my birth is missing."

   "Well there you are. Now lets bring it all up to date."

   "4:31am 19th of March 1928."

   Whilst there are others within the administrative community who much prefer to keep to the old ways, when it comes to the matter of administrative details. Such as the Manager of the Labour Exchange, seen here in his office during No.6's Truth Test of Free For All.

   "Of course I knew it anyway."

   "What's that?"

   "From your records. We have everything. Gave Up Sugar four years and three months ago"

   Unlike No.2, the Manager of the Labour Exchange keeps information written down in a ledger, not typed, but everything hand written. As No.20, seen here, much prefers to keep to the old way of things.

Be seeing you