Why is it that the Girl wears a crash helmet, but Mr. X does not? Is it that he’s afraid of nothing, or is it that he simply likes to feel the wind in his hair? Maybe the Girl was just being careful, after all her E-type Jaguar has no roll bar. If either car was to crash and roll over the consequences would be near fatal, if not actually fatal. Of course this is before the wearing of crash helmets became compulsory in Britain, to be worn my motor cyclists in 1973, but not car drivers.
The Girl drove the Jaguar expertly, good enough for a racing driver. As did Mr. X. Mind you it got a bit hairy when the Girl pointed her finger, and he and his Lotus Elan began to spin this way and that, then right around. He did well to keep the car on the road at that point in the chase around Borehamwood.
I wonder why Patrick McGoohan gave himself the Lotus Elan in the story? After all it was the car offered to him by Lotus for the Prisoner’s car, which McGoohan rejected. So really, to make it right, Mr. X should have been driving KAR 120C seeing as he’s the Prisoner!
Be seeing you
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI am amazed that Patrick McGoohan was able to get out of either Lotus...with those long legs of his and how low the cars were to the ground...I'm sure it was quite a bit of an exercise for him to disentangle himself and stand up!
In reading your posts and seeing some information about some deleted scenes in TGWWD...it appears that the deleted scenes were done because this episode was originally to have been done as 2 parts.
It was decided to cut it back to one hour and so some of the scenes were cut to make the show fit into one hour.
I wondered if The Lotus Elan was used deliberately in this episode as a way to parallel it with some of the James Bond movies and the super secret agents depicted therein...after all, this episode was definitely a FAIRY TALE!
BCNU
Karen
Hallo Karen,
DeleteYes I agree, its very tight fitting in a Lotus, or today a Caterham Seven. In the opening sequence the Prisoner has a grimaced expression on his face, it was probably set against the wind. I recall when I was being driven in a Seven on the open road years ago, how I could hardly keep my eyes open against the wind!
Also when Number 6 is once again back behind the wheel of his Lotus, he has his head out of the car slightly, that’s because the top of the windscreen would have been in Patrick McGoohan’s eye line.
Yes TGWWD was to either have been 90 minute episode, or a two part episode, either in my opinion would have been far too long. ‘Arrival’ was supposed to have been a 90 minute episode, with a longer opening sequence. If you watch ‘Its Your Funeral’ when Number 6 makes his way to see Number 2, footage originally filmed for the opening sequence to ‘Arrival’ is used, as Number 6 is wearing his suit!
Be seeing you
David
Number 6 wears his clothes so well...even the Blazers that have the "morphing " striping!
ReplyDeleteBCNU
Karen
Hallo Karen,
DeleteYes he does, and it wasn’t the first time Patrick McGoohan wore a piped blazer. When at school, having become the Captain of the boxing team, he would have worn a piped blazer.
Be seeing you
David
Hi David ,
ReplyDeleteDid you notice that the first Number 2 didn't wear a piped blazer? In watching Arrival again along with the ALTERNATE Arrival...I noticed that for the first time .
I definitely liked the sound Rover makes in the second Arrival better...although the scene although the helicopter where Rover's heartbeat slows down when the ElectroPass watch is switched on...is rather neat!
Also , I found it more dramatic for Rover to appear for the first time and land on the poor fellow and smother him!
I find myself liking both episodes for different reasons when it comes to his reaction at the window when looking at The Village for the first time . The stunned look on the first one...and the "drugged " look on the second one are both effective in their own way .
More later . ..
BCNU
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteNumber 2 wears a plain double breasted blazer, as do the majority of male Number 2’s, or single breasted blazer. Number 2 of ‘Free For All’ wears a light coloured jacket, with cuffs at the end of the sleeves.
Yes I also prefer the sound effect of Rover in the first cut of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben, it’s like a cross between a bicycle pump, Gregorian chant, and someone breathing through an aqua lung!
I’ve listened to the sound you mention. I’m not sure if it’s Rover’s heartbeat or its breathing. But as you say it is rather neat either way.
I’m not sure how to describe the expression on ZM73’s face as he looks out of the window of his London home as he’s being gassed. I’ve often wondered why he suddenly reaches up and closes the blinds! As for when the Prisoner looks out of his cottage window after he wakes up, the movement and expression doesn’t seem genuine, it seems an over reaction somehow, too deliberate in the alternative ‘Arrival.’
Be seeing you
David
Hi David ,
ReplyDeleteAs the U.S. gets ready to celebrate the 240th anniversary of it's founding in 1776....it makes me think of the path that our country has chosen .
I perceive that Patrick McGoohan wanted to show that there are 2 sides to everything , and that we ..as INDIVIDUALS . ..need to slow down and really think about what we want to accept and approve .
When we follow along like SHEEP...and blindly follow popular opinion . ..we might just be opening up Pandora's box...
How much of our freedom are we willing to give up for security ?
What are we willing to do to get money?
What do we accept as "normal " behavior . ..and how do we punish those who break the rules ?
What do we allow those in charge to do or say in order to make people do what they want ?
Back to the Alternate ARRIVAL . ..I found it interesting that the first Number 2 didn't wear a piped blazer . ..the same as the Prisoner wore his own clothes . ..then, when Number 6 was given the piped blazer to wear...the NEW Number 2 is also wearing a piped blazer .
I just wondered if there was a CHOICE that the new Number 2 was to wear a blazer matching The Prisoner's . ..or was it just a continuity error? If in both versions of Arrival . ..then it wasn't removed during the re-edit that Patrick McGoohan insisted on doing.
I definitely liked both Arrival and The Chimes of Big Ben AFTER the re-edit . ...and the music from Ron Grainer is such an asset...so much more "forceful" and "exciting " than the first theme music !
I totally agree with you about the over done expression when The Prisoner pulled the blinds up and saw the Village for the first time . I don't think that The Prisoner closed the blinds . ..I think he noticed that the blinds were closed . ..and that's WHY he went and looked out the window. ..because he noticed that the blinds were closed ... when they should have been open.
I like the expression of shock . ..moving his eyes mostly! I thought that he might have had a headache from being drugged . ..or maybe he wasn't fully awake and aware yet.
I actually like the sound effects for Rover in both of the Arrival episodes . ..but I think I like the one that was used most best...but in the scene by the helicopter . ..I thought it pretty cool that they made Rover's "heartbeat " respond to the ElectroPass !
Maybe that would have been too telling . ..since a heartbeat indicates a living organism....the ambiguous sound keeps you wondering what Rover IS...machine...animal . ..or combination ? ??
Best Regards ,
BCNU Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteI trust you enjoyed a happy 4th of July.
Its not only individuals who have to sometimes really think about what we accept and approve, so too does society as a whole. But remember the individual isn’t always right, as the British referendum on the European Union has proved. But I don’t wish to get into all that here.
You ask some interesting questions. And the answer to each one depends upon circumstance.
Pandora’s box was opened long ago, and its much too late to try and close the lid!
You can have security and freedom, as security is designed to protect. In some cases there is no freedom without security.
People do almost anything for money, especially when they haven’t got any!
What is normal behaviour? To an eccentric his behaviour is normal to him. As for those who break the rules, they are punished by the laws made by men. But those laws are not infallible!
We elect those who govern us, and if they get it wrong, it means we the electorate got it wrong in the first place!
In the entire series only one Number 2 ever wears a piped blazer. But more than simply wearing the same piped blazer as Number 6, the second Number 2 in ‘Arrival’ wears identical cloths as Number 6!
I have absolutely no idea why the second Number 2 is dressed identically to Number 6, unless it is to confuse him, to show that there is no physical distinction between Number 6 and his keeper!
Ron Grainer was certainly the man for ‘the Prisoner’ as far as the theme music is concerned. It’s powerful, and memorable, unlike the theme music of the alternate Chimes.
In The alternative Arrival, the Prisoner does indeed close the blinds, otherwise they would have remained open. He puts out a hand to the top of the blinds, and that’s when they close. And when the Prisoner wakes up the study has to be exactly how the original was when he was rendered unconscious, with the blinds closed. That’s why he has to open them.
Yes I agree, I like all the sound effects for Rover. I like to think that Rover is a living membrane, created in a Petri dish in a laboratory. I wrote a piece of blog about that. Did you know that originally Rover MKII was supposed to have absorbed its prey? The result being the white membrane was to take on a reddish or pinkish tinge. But that was considered to be too horrific, and so was edited out.
Best regards
Be seeing you
David
Hi David ,
ReplyDeleteI was able to get a set of books that have all of the original scripts from The Prisoner and what changes were made to come to the final product in each episode .
Originally , when the man was packing his suitcase . ..he heard a knock on the door and looked out of the window . He CLOSED THE BLINDS to block the bright light ! Then he was supposed to have looked towards the door and to have seen the gas appear coming through the keyhole .
There was also supposed to have been up to 4 men in the black hearse...dressed up as if for a funeral . ..to have been shown approaching the front door .
After the man awoke , then he lifted the blinds to open the window to get fresh air...but the scenes were charged . ..hence the confusion about the blinds being closed....which I didn't catch when I was watching .
There are a few other things that were changed ...that give more information about situations or other characters .
I just started reading the first book . ..so I'm sure I'll find some other intriguing information !
Best Regards ,
BCNU
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteYes the books of the original scripts for ‘the Prisoner’ by Robert Fairclough, I know the ones you mean, although I have never read them. The scripts certainly give good knowledge of what was originally intended, and show the difference between them and the finished product.
I do have copies of a couple of original scripts ‘Hammer Into Anvil, and ‘Face Unknown.’
Best Regards
Be seeing you
David