The Therapy Zone

    At Christmas I watched the final episode of ‘Downton Abbey’ on ITV television. A wedding took place between two characters. The clergyman who married them was played by actor Michael Cochrane . He’s playing Number 2 in the Big Finish audio drama of ‘the Prisoner, and I said “Oh hell, its Number Two,” or words to that effect. And that made me wonder whether or not any actor playing Number 2 in that audio drama will be thought of as Number 2. Indeed to go one step further, if the actor Mark Elstob  who plays Number 6 will be thought of as Number 6? I know a good few people who won’t consider any of them to be as such. Indeed they are doing their very best to ignore the whole Big Finish ‘Prisoner’ CD audio drama thing. I suppose it’s because they are enthusiasts of ‘the Prisoner’ who do not want to see McGoohan’s masterpiece messed about with. Well perhaps they should remember that back in the mid 1990’s Patrick McGoohan had his own ideas for reinventing ‘the Prisoner,’ but I suppose they would consider that to have been alright.
  As I wrote to a friend recently, “I have listened to the thirty minute extract of the Prisoner audio drama. Interesting. My immediate question was, when is the series set? If it is now, then using the Prisoner’s time of birth 4:31 am 19^th of March 1928 makes No.6 87 years of age. But because of the use of the remark towards the Berlin wall the series must be set in the 1960’s. But at the same time with the use of on-line billing, touch screens, a tablet, a 3D map of the Village, DNA recognition, and interactive software makes the series now, it’s of today. The technology makes it too 2015! So much so, that my initial reaction to this extract was to believe that that was when it was supposed to be set. Now had they not used the Prisoner’s date of birth from the television series, then for me this audio drama would have worked better. They could have had a new character for Number 6, but I take it that the character in this audio drama is supposed to be the McGoohan character of Number 6.

   I could have done without No.2’s inane descriptions, as well as dwelling too long on details and some repetitive explanations.

  I enjoyed the sequence when No.6 encountered Rover, along with his encounter with the maid in his cottage. And I also very much liked the fact that Janet and Seltzman were brought into the sequence with Rover, a flash-back I suppose. Because I’ve often thought that Seltzman had had something to do with the Prisoner’s resignation.  

  If he is supposed to be the original Number 6, there are aspects of his character which are out of character. For example he would never threaten violence towards a woman, and he’s always angry in the extract, and in him there is no confusion. There is humour in the story, which at times turns to ridicule.

  Perhaps I’m being too critical, expecting too much, after all I’ve only listened to an extract. If I forget the questions I have, perhaps I’m taking it all too seriously, then for what it is it isn’t too bad.

   There are certain audio dramas which I know inside out, but never tire of listening to them. However this didn’t grab me in the same way, and I probably would not wish to listen to it more than once.

   I am a very keen promoter of reinventions, reinterpretations, re-imaging etc, etc of ‘the Prisoner,’ hence my enthusiasm for and appreciation of, THEPRIS6NER 2009 series, but I feel from the extract I have heard, it seems to me the audio drama of ‘the Prisoner’ is a little out of kilter within itself.
    Such are my personal thoughts, however I wish Big Finish well.

Be seeing you