The Therapy Zone

Information And Observations

    There is little sympathy shown No.6 in the village. In fact the first genuine act of kindness shown to the Prisoner, is by the young gypsy woman during his escape of Many Happy Returns.

    Mrs. Butterworth promised to bake the Prisoner a birthday cake. This cake she presents to No.6 upon his return to the village. Mind you its because of that, rather than No.6's actual birthday, because there are only 6 candles upon the cake!

    It is quite apparent that sometime during his previous life, John Drake has aided Professor Seltzman to evade the authorities. Perhaps Drake could see the potential in Seltzman's mind swapping process. And he appears gratified that  Professor Seltzman is now free to carry on with his experiments, despite having been on the wrong side of such an experiment!

    It has been suggested that in the episode Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling the good guys drive white cars, as in Potter. And the bad guys, as in the pair of Undertakers/Top-Hat officials, drive black cars. Namely a hearse. Well I suppose that's one way of looking at it, but doesn't our hero, the Prisoner drive a green -yellow nose car?

    And back to the sympathies, we know where No.6's sympathies lie. But any sympathy shown to him, is generally after the event!

    I've always thought that the decor of "the Generals office" to be somewhat over the top. Well there's all sorts of pictures of Generals on the walls, and shelves.

  Over the Professor's left shoulder, as you look at him, there's a picture of General Oliver Cromwell, but not one picture of the Professor's wife can be seen anywhere in the room! And there are also numerous statuettes of military figures, possibly all Generals, and anything associated with Generals. I mean this isn't the Generals office, its the Professor's study, anyway that's how I see it. The Generals in the alcove, behind the curtains as you will recall.

  No, all this General stuff in the Professor's study is way over the top for me. I mean what possible purpose can it have, save for a constant reminder of the General!

"Ah you react" says No.2.

   I bet No.2 in Hammer Into Anvil thought he was being clever. But what's clever about it! Well of course No.6 reacted! Wouldn't you if someone poked your forehead with the tip of a blade?

    Dance of the Dead saw No.6 follow his observer to the Town Hall, he tried to go in, but it was the Gardener working in a flower bed who told No.6 that it was the Town Hall, and that its fussy about who it lets in!

   So why didn't No.6 know it was the Town Hall, after all he'd already been in the Town Hall that time he witnessed the dissolution of the outgoing council during Free For All? Or was it No.6's encounter with the electric force field that caught him out?

    In latter episodes of ‘the Prisoner’ there is more reliance put on large painted back-drops of Portmeirion, along with the use of stock film footage, as of the Supervisor-Peter Swanwick, rather actually having filmed scenes in the village itself or in the film studio. One example is of No.6 as he makes his way through the village to the Green Dome. No.6 can be clearly seen wearing his charcoal suit, this is unused film footage from the opening sequence of Arrival, used in another episode ‘It’s Your Funeral.’

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