Number 20, the manager of the Labour
Exchange asked the Prisoner to fill in a questionnaire. In a later episode he
was to fill in a written questionnaire,
that time he tore it up into small pieces. In this case however his response
was more of a violent nature, something akin to throwing toys out of a pram!
Whether it was the build up of questions asked by Number 20 that caused this
response, or the last question in particular “Any politics?” is unknown. But if
all the manager of the Labour Exchange has to do all day is tinker with a building
toy, well if he’s got nothing better to do with his time, its no wonder Number 20
was eventually taken out of the Labour Exchange and given the position of
assistant to Number 2!
The toy lies broken in pieces on the floor,
and all Number 20 can do is busy himself putting it back together. He certainly
doesn’t appear to take any notice of what Number 2 tells him about the
Prisoner’s file. But if Number 20 can get all he needs from the file, why
bother with an interview with the Manager in the Labour Exchange in the first
place? Probably because it’s not about the persons there, but more to do with
the aptitude test in which the square is circled, a more difficult thing to do
than squaring the circle. Something Number 2 finds amusing if not the Prisoner.
Be seeing you
Perhaps No 2 was exposing the Prisoner to different forms of questioning and surveillance in an effort to ascertain the effects of being knocked out and taken completely out of his normal environment? Analysing what sets off his anger, and what are the limits that cause him to erupt in anger...so that further efforts to break him will be more successful???
ReplyDeleteBCNU
Hello Karen,
DeleteAn interesting comment. I had not looked at it in quite that light, but yes its a possibility, and a different way of looking at it. But either way they seem to have struck a nerve in the Prisoner to cause a reaction!
As for breaking the Prisoner, on the whole they didn't want Number 6 broken, the brain tissue must remain undamaged, Number 2 didn't want a man of fragments. That makes it strange that two Number 2's were given the remit to break Number 6, if only in his mind.
Very kind regards
David
BCNU
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI believe that it's interesting to look at WHAT sets off angry outbursts...and what reactions Number 6 had to different forms of manipulation. The Village had quite a dossier on Number 6 already amassed before he even arrived there.
You are right, quite right, that they didn't want to break him...however they wanted to know what had happened to cause him to make the break away from the job he evidently did so well..perhaps they wanted to hear that he had changed his mind and wished he had never resigned to begin with??????
There were several hints that he was important to their organization and that perhaps they wanted him to work FOR them???
Anonymity was important for everyone in the Village, whether or not they were working FOR the Village..or were also prisoners...it was critical for the plot of the show that no one in the Village know who anyone else was..as they might be able to figure out WHO ran the Village if names were exchanged....AND no one else really knew who ran the Village if they were also a prisoner. So other prisoners were also in the dark and trying to protect whatever information they had about their own former lives.
Best Wishes..
Karen
BCNU
Hallo Karen,
DeleteIt is interesting to see what sets off No.6 in an angry outburst. Certainly he doesn't like giving things away about himself. Nor does he like his privacy being impinged upon. Look at his reaction to Monique when she came calling seeking his help. He was instantly suspicious of her, and no wonder after Alison's betrayal of him!
Whatever they did to No.6 they didn't want to damage the brain tissue, not to damage him permanently. It was intimated by No.2 in 'Arrival' that the Prisoner might be given a position of authority. No.2 in 'Dance of The Dead' saw No.6 as having a future with them. What, replacing No.1?
As for anonymity, it’s a question of how much anyone in The Village is allowed to know. It might be the case that the least known the better! Certainly the viewer is given very little information. What effect might it have had on the viewer had the identity of No.1 been revealed much earlier in the series? We assume it was his former employers who abducted the Prisoner to The Village, yet we have no real proof of that. The Prisoner {if he was John Drake} worked for the MI9, or rather M9 department of British intelligence. Once he had resigned it might have been MI6 who had the Prisoner abducted and taken to The Village! Basically the power behind The Village hides behind its anonymity, and that goes for No.1. The Village’s primary concern is the acquisition of information, yet it is the very lack of that, nay the lack of even the basic facts, which helps maintain The Village and the people’s anonymity.
Best regards
David
Be seeing you
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteGuess that means the Village was "toying" with Number 6???? Ha Ha
I always thought that it was the particular question of what his political views were that set Number 6 off ...and that his reaction was that if you are "toying" with me...I'll show you what you'll get...NOTHING!
I loved his conversation with Number 2 in Chimes where he told him that he was going to escape and come back....which is exactly what happened in Many Happy Returns..but it didn't turn out to be what he told Number 2, did it?
I bought the original VHS tapes the minute I could afford the set...and then bought the complete DVD set. I go through phases of watching the series again about every 3 to 5 years.
I recently sold my house in Tennessee, thinking that I might pack up and move back to my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. However, I decided to have one of my knee replacements here in Tennessee, so I am staying with 75 year old friends.
Since I am not usually a big sports fan ( Kentucky Derby, NCAA Final games, SuperBowl, and Olympic gymnastics and skating are about the only sports that I am really interested in watching.) and remodeling and selling houses and reality shows are NOT my idea of fun...so I ended up buying another set of the DVD's !!!! I also found out that the complete Danger Man series was on DVD...so I also got it too!
So I have been having a great time watching my 2 favorite old tv shows...anytime. I was also able to get the CD's of The Prisoner Music and his 1977 Warner Troyer Interview.
I also have been searching for interviews and articles and books...and have gotten some that were good, and some that were so-so. I was hoping to get to see your manuscript published soon!
I don't think that I would be disappointed in the things that you might have learned about Pat McGoohan, as we are only human and do things that we later regret. Just as you said that McGoohan later regretted being stand-offish with his fans.
We just have to do the best we can with what we have and know at the time, and make amends if we need to...hold our head up and try to better today than we were yesterday.
BCNU
Karen