The Therapy Zone

    The thing about ‘the Prisoner’ is, it’s all about the Prisoner! After all Number 2 doesn’t keep asking other prisoners why they resigned. In fact the only other prisoner Number 2 interrogates personally is Number 73 in ‘Hammer Into Anvil.’ Number 8 in ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’ is questioned why she was swimming away from The Village, asked if she was attempting suicide. But that doesn’t really count, as Nadia isn’t really an inmate of The Village. Roland Walter Dutton is also interrogated, but it’s the doctor-Number 40 who is conducting the experiments to try and extract all the information Dutton knows. Cobb would be another interrogatee, seeing as he said they wanted to know all about him. But it’s Number 6 who is put to the test, but not by the usual methods, why not, what’s so special about Number 6?

   It’s always Number 6 who tries to escape, no other prisoner attempts to escape. No-one tries to escape by helicopter, or sail away on a small homemade boat, or by jet boat for that matter. The Professor did try to run away once, but I suppose that doesn’t really count, seeing as he couldn’t have got very far. The fact of the matter is, we never see anyone one else trying to escape when Number 6 is about! The reason for that might be that everyone else is too busy Jamming. Not really trying to escape at all. But then wouldn’t that have been an ideal time for a known Jammer to escape? After all if say Number 77 was a known Jammer and the Observers knew he was a Jammer, and so let ride anything he did, then surely he or some other Jammer would be afforded the perfect chance to escape! And you’ll notice it was Number 6 who Number 2 got involved with Plan Division Q, because it was thought that Number 6 would give the assassination plan credibility, a man to be believed, and without whom the plan might fail. But Plan Division Q did fail, so what price Number 6’s involvement then?

   Its Number 6’s dream they get into. It’s Number 6 who is just the kind of candidate they need to stand for election! It’s Number 6 who comes face to face with himself. Its up to him to destroy the General. Number 6 is the cabaret at the Ball in ‘Dance of the Dead,’ who also leads a group of so called reliable men in a daring escape attempt, as well as giving the orders! Why is it that it’s Number 6 who has to avenge the death of Number 73? Perhaps because he’s Johnny on the spot! Just like it was when he was put on trial for the possession of a radio! Thankfully it’s not Number 6 undergoing a leucotomy, the operation known as Instant Social Conversion. That delight is left to another citizen. Number 6 being too valuable, the brain tissue mustn’t be damaged, well not permanently! And who turns up living in Harmony? Number 6! Why can’t they let someone else have a go for a change? But in ‘The Girl Who Was Death,’ at least we get to see part of Number 6’s life, the kind of work he used to do…………a bit like John Drake really! And ‘Once Upon A Time,’ well who else could survive both the physical and mental ordeal of Degree Absolute? It had to be Number 6. And then in ‘Fall Out’ he got his just reward, compensation for what he had been put through, as well as meeting Number 1, and that had to be Number 6, damn the man! But if that wasn’t enough, he has to put himself through it all over again, trust him to want to continue to be the centre of attention.

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