Bureau of Visual Records
Looks like Number 6 has had a disturbed
night! First two men came for him in the night, and took him to the laboratory
in the woods. It was a wet and dirty night for two men to trudge through the
woods carrying a man lying on a stretcher. When they arrive at the laboratory
Number 14 shouts at the two men to take their wet macs and boots off, wanting
to keep her laboratory clean and uncontaminated by wet and mud. However when
the two men brought Number 6 back to his cottage, they were not so careful,
because they didn’t take their wet and muddy boots off! How do we know this?
You will observe the muddy boot prints on the carpet, which could only have
come from the two men carrying Number 6 lying unconscious on a stretcher.
This observation was brought to my
attention by blog reader Karen Marshall.
Be seeing you
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI watched this episode again to see if I could catch the orange juggling in the background. I actually followed as the orange was tossed into the air by a man, then tossed across the room a short way to a man who put it to his mouth...then it was passed to a woman who placed the orange in her drink glass.
I found it interesting that He told "B" that she was the most interesting SPY that he had ever met...that last he heard she was hiking across the Alps.
Also interesting is the fact that when he picks up the key from the table and is walking across the room to see what happens next...it seems like everyone else is laughing ...no conversation...just laughing!
This seems to be another one of those moments that I notice where opposites are illustrated...also the scene where he asked the electrician why he drove the lawn tractor because it was so slow, and the man said that in an EMERGENCY they WALKED.
I think that he wanted to use music based on fairy tales to illustrate 2 points...
The show's job is telling the audience a story...
The audience are like children wanting to be told a story.
I agree that Number 14 seemed well pleased when Number 6 revealed the man in the mask to be Number 2...and she almost gloated when she announced "He knew all along" I don't think she liked it when Number 2 threatened her at the beginning of the assignment...so she didn't tell Number 2 that he opened his eyes and saw her..possibly ruining the experiment.
Thanks for the mention!
BCNU
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteYes it can be interesting what can be seen taking place in background, if one ignores what’s happening in the foreground!
He treats ‘B’ with respect, even shows friendliness towards her even though she obviously works for the other side. Unlike ‘A’ with whom he used to be friends. Yes they do the same job, but now on different sides, seeing as ‘A’ made world news by having defected!
No talking only laughing, because it’s a dreamy party!
“I think that he wanted to use music based on fairy tales to illustrate 2 points...
The show's job is telling the audience a story...
The audience are like children wanting to be told a story.”
I like that, after all, we all like a good story.
Number 14 certainly seemed pleased that Number 6 had succeeded. Number 2 should not have threatened her the way he did. Yes he was under pressure from Number 1, but hat was no excuse.
Be seeing you
David
Hi David ,
ReplyDeleteI think he treated "B" with respect at first because he didn't realize that she was being manipulated until she asked him about his "vacation . "
THEN he stopped holding her close as they danced...and held her at arms length and evaded further questions from her.
Then, when she used the exact same words that Number 14 used ( about making mistakes ) and then he knew that it wasn't really his old friend ...and showed contempt and walked away .
Have you noticed in the episode A Change of Mind . ..that when the fake operation is being staged...that all the male assistants are wearing the black number badges ..along with the head of the citizens council and one other man watching the instant social conversion of Number 6 ?
That operating room scene is one of the few when a woman is in charge ...and ALL of her assistants are males .
I've not seen the black number badges used so much in any other episode . ..have you ?
I saw where today was the anniversary of Frank Maher's passing. He sure contributed to both Danger Man and The Prisoner !
BCNU
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteYes its strange how Number 6 keeps ‘B’ at arms length when they are dancing, especially when you think how close he was supposed to get to Nadia during ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ But then McGoohan’s attitude towards women who worked on ‘the Prisoner’ wasn’t always the same!
Yes I had observed citizens wear the black badge, the medical staff, together with the Chairman of the committee. As for not having seen the black number badges used so much in any other episodes, I have to say I’d never really thought about it before, and simply taken the black for granted. Monique wears a black badge, as does Number 240 in ‘Dance of The Dead.’ But I think the majority of citizens wear the white badge. I don’t know if there is supposed to be anything significant in that. Number 2, Mrs. Butterworth, also wears a black badge, but hers is unique, as it has a white 2 instead of the usual red numeral!
Ah yes, Frank Maher, he was a gentleman. My wife and I had the pleasure of spending a little time with him during a Prisoner Convention at Portmeirion back in the 1990’s. I always think it’s a shame Frank was never credited as Number 6, especially in ‘The Schizoid Man,’ because in that episode he’s as much Number 6 as Patrick McGoohan, as well as being Number 12.
Be seeing you
David
Hi David ,
ReplyDeleteIn watching the dance scenes , when Number 6 first started dancing with "B"...he WAS holding her really close while they danced .
HOWEVER , when "B" asked him about his vacation . ...he immediately and drastically STEPPED BACK from her...even going so far as to touch her hand with only ONE finger.
In the course of their chit-chat , SHE "Joked" when he told that "A" had been at the party and that he had parted under bad terms . ..and that he might return .
When Number 14 told her to ask "Do you think that they WILL kill me?" Number 6 seems surprised by her reaction at first , but then he gets suspicious and started asking personal questions that SHE couldn't answer . When "B" used the exact same phrases about "making mistakes " that Number 14 had used earlier that morning . ..he was then sure that she was NOT who he was led to believe that she was .
Did you get a chance to watch the party scene where the people are tossing the orange around in some kind of a game ? I'm not sure if they were putting the orange under their chins and were supposed to pass it to the next person without touching it...or???
BCNU
Karen
Hallo Karen,
DeleteWe don’t know that much about Number 6, but we do know that he’s very private about the reason behind his resignation, and that also transfers to his holiday. All he’ll say is that he’s going somewhere different, somewhere quiet where he can think. Might McGoohan be alluding to Portmeiron?
Yes I did watch what people were doing with that orange. I thought someone was juggling with more than one orange, but there is only one, and it gets thrown about, and ends up being put into a woman’s empty glass. Perhaps the orange isn’t supposed to touch the floor, that’s why it’s thrown and caught. I don’t know, they just seem to be having fun, they could all be on drugs!
Be seeing you
David