Be seeing you
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Rover Mk1 And Mk2
The wife came up with a novel thought the
other day regarding Rovers Mk1 and MK 2. When the MK1 failed, it was probably put
back into the props lorry {as I personally do not subscribe to the legend that it
sunk without trace when the Mk1 was supposedly tested on water}. She wondered
whether that after Rover Mk2 had been taken up, it was through the use of
meteorological weather balloons which brought about the use of Lava Lamps
together with the Lava Lamp effect seen on the wall screen in Number 2’s office.
If Rover MK1 had worked successfully, it’s quite possible that the iconic
lamps, so closely associated with ‘the Prisoner,’ may never have been used. If
this theory is correct {and it is
only a theory} then that would also follow that the Lava effect on Number 2’s
wall screen, so indicative of Rover, would not have existed, and ‘the Prisoner’
series would have missed out on an iconic visualisation. Because whenever
anyone who knows of ‘the Prisoner’ sees a Lava Lamp, the connection is
instantaneous.
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Hello David,
ReplyDeleteI like this idea!
We all make mistakes, sometimes we have to! And thus this time Rover Mk1 had to be a failure in order to bring Rover Mk2 to life.
Best wishes
Jana
BCNU
The lava lamp as an object of interior design was first introduced in 1962 which is quite early on. It would be interesting to know whether the lamp was already known within the Prisoner production team or perhaps to PMcG himself. If so - well, speculation - the invention of weather balloons would be less a surprise. - BCNU!
DeleteHello Jana and Arno,
DeleteThe story of the Lava lamp actually goes to 1959 when Edward Craven Walker inventor of the Lava Lamp, developed an idea he saw in a country pub in Dorset,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Craven_Walker
"a contraption made by a regular, Alfred Dunnett, who had since departed, a one-off device which used two immiscible fluids as an egg timer. While it was rudimentary, Craven saw potential and set about perfecting it and turning into a lamp. He set up a lab in a small shed where he mixed ingredients in bottles of different shapes and sizes. He discovered one of the best containers was a Tree Top Orange Squash bottle and its shape defined the Astro Baby Lamp or Astro Mini as it was then called."
Its quite on the cards that a member or members of the production crew knew about Lava Lamps, but it would have taken someone with the vision to connect the weather balloon as Rover, to the Lava lamp. Because when Rover is released from the bottom of the sea, it rises through the water as wax rises up through the oil in the lamp, giving the same visual effect.
Very best regards
David
BCNU
Yes, I've read that one, but thanks! I think having also read that marketing of the lamp on a broader scale wasn't before 1965, not sure currently. Anyway, the lamp - rather: the bubbles in it - could have been known to the single persons of the crew as for its "similarity" to the weather balloons and, certainly, the production designer himself. It would not be in the series otherwise. BCNU!
DeleteGood morning to you!
DeleteActually we don't really know if the Lava Lamps weren't used before Rover Mk1 failed. I don't doubt that there was some(perhaps number)one who noticed the similarity. But maybe the Lava Lamp made Rover Mk2 more likely to happen. In a way that they realized the similarity of the weather balloon to the Lava Lamp.
Best regards,
Jana
Hello Arno and Jana,
DeleteThe Lava lamp was invented by Craven Edward Walker in 1963 I think it was.
.
Actually we do know, because the filming at Portmeirion took place before any filming on sets at Elstree Film Studios. So in effect Rover MK1 came and went, as well as the use of the MK2 before the use of Lava Lamps in 'the Prisoner.'
The Lava Lamp effect seen on the wall screen in Number 2's office seems almost like a screen-saver!
Very best regards to you both.
David
BCNU
Ah, hadn't considered that!
DeleteRegarding the screen-saver: Absolutely, yes.
It crossed my mind, that if the Lava lamp really is meant to represent "Rover in a shell" so to say, it might be interpreted in a way that it symbolises tamed, well hedged fear. Or the rules of the Village..
Very best regards,
Jana
BCNU
The lamp was invented by Walker in 63. But it wasn't widely sold until 1965 or later. WP writes:
Delete>>His U.S. Patent 3,387,396 for "Display Device" was filed in 1965 and issued in 1968. Craven-Walker's company was named Crestworth and was based in Poole, Dorset, in the United Kingdom. Craven-Walker named the lamp "Astro", and had variations such as the "Astro Mini" and the "Astro Coach" lantern.
Craven-Walker presented it at a Brussels trade show in 1965, where the entrepreneur Adolph Wertheimer noticed it. Wertheimer and his business partner William M. Rubinstein bought the U.S. rights to manufacture and sell it as the "Lava Lite" via Lava Corporation or Lava Manufacturing Corporation.<<
Thus, filming took place in 66 and the lamp was just coming to be sold. If we agree that the weather balloons came first somebody, perhaps Jack Shampan, must have discovered the lamp, realised the likeness of the bubbles and the amorphous balloon. Mind you, the ball chair was presented to the public at the Cologne Internation Furniture Fair in 1966. Apart from the timeline here the concept of using spherical shapes it noteworthy. BCNU!
Hello Jana and Arno,
Delete"Rover in a shell" so to say, it might be interpreted in a way that it symbolises tame. That's an interesting take on the use of the Lava Lamp in The Village. Might it not also symbolise that the Gurdian is just as much a prisoner as anyone else in The Village!
I think we can agree that the weather balloons came first, as I certainly agree with your description of how it could have been with Production designer Jack Shampan, Rover MK2 and the Lava lamp. Also the concept of the use of spherical spheres is a clear one, I like that idea also.
When it comes to 'the Prisoner' it is of its time, and yet The Village is futuristic looking, because it looks towards the future. Also it's a trend setting place with the use of Lava Lamps and the black spherical chair designed by Eero Aarnio. Both of which many ordinary television viewers of the day would not have had in their homes, because of the time-line of their production to 'the Prisoner.'
Hope you are both having a good day.
Very best regards
David
BCNU
Might it not also symbolise that the Guardian is just as much a prisoner as anyone else in The Village!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, I think so!