And Now Music!

    ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling,’ that’s the name of the song from the film ‘High Noon,’ and the title of one episode in ‘the Prisoner.’ And it makes me wonder whether or not Janet Portland did forsake her long lost fiancé? I don’t mean with another man, but about a year ago her fiancé, ZM73 left a receipt for a reel of film with her for safe keeping. It seems highly probable, that a man calling himself Mr. Carmichael had somehow obtained that receipt, and took it to the World Cameras shop in order to retrieve that said roll of film. That roll of film had been developed into transparencies, or slides if you prefer. And looking at those slides at the beginning of the episode was Sir Charles Portland and member of his department. More than that, his code breakers had spent time trying to solve a problem with the slides, because Sir Charles believed that within those slides a code was to be found, a code that would provide the location of Professor Jacob Seltzman.
    If this chap “Mr. Carmichael” working for Sir Charles Portland had needed the receipt in order to obtain the film transparencies from the proprietor of the World Cameras shop, there was only one person he could have got it from. But perhaps Janet Portland was asked by her father to hand the receipt over, saying that it would be returned to her. Did she resist, deny the existence of the receipt? But then what daughter could say no to her father? But if that was the case, how did Sir Charles become aware of that receipt’s existence in the first place? As I’m sure ZM73 would have given it to his fiancée for safe keeping in complete confidence, that she told no-one about it. Ah but then we don’t know what effect ZM73’s resignation had on both Sir Charles and his daughter, not to mention his sudden disappearance. If as Sir Charles told his daughter, he genuinely didn’t know where ZM73 was, Janet may well have felt as though she had been forsaken by her fiancé, but that didn’t seem to be the case when she saw his car parked outside his house. She went in expecting to see him, “Darling” she called out. I myself am guilty of forsaking this episode, simply on the grounds that there are far too many holes in the plot. Certainly ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ doesn’t stand up to too much scrutiny. Perhaps it’s simply best to sit back, watch it, and not think too much about it. It’s funny, well not funny, a little strange perhaps, because to a friend of mine ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ is his favourite episode in ‘the Prisoner,’ and sees it as pivotal to ‘the prisoner!’

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