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A life time fan and Prisonerologist of the 1960's series 'the Prisoner', a leading authority on the subject, a short story writer, and now Prisoner novelist.
Saturday, 25 June 2016
Fall Out
We are witness to the Butler going round the back of the Scammell
Highwayman Transporter in ‘Fall Out.’ We must ask ourselves the question, how
did he know the lorry was there? More than that, the Butler climbs into the cab
and drives the said lorry away along that tunnel, crashing through the wrought
iron gates at the other end into the cold light of day and freedom beyond. The
next question to be asked, is how did the Butler’s feet reached the accelerator, brake,
and clutch pedals? And finally, how that cage which had supported Number 2, the
Butler, and the Prisoner during the
deliberations of ‘Once Upon A Time,’ had been lowered through the
floor/ceiling, and very conveniently lowered onto the trailer of the lorry! It
all seems to be deliberately planned, the fact that the Butler knew about the lorry, that the pedals
had been adjusted in some way so his feet would be able to reach them. And the
fact that the cage, which could be moved, which had food supplies for 6 months,
a waste disposal unit, and all mod cons had been placed on the trailer of the
lorry so conveniently. It’s as though his final escape had been planned right
down to the last detail. Unless of course the lorry had been meant for Number
1. If it had, then Number 6’s actions soon put paid to that. And seeing as the Butler knew about the lorry, perhaps he was
supposed to drive Number 1 out of The Village, to his London town house which had been prepared for
him. After all it did have the number 1 on the front door, not number 6! Yes I
realise that Number 1 and Number 6 are supposed to be the alter ego of the
other, but at the beginning of the series, the very first time we watch the series we don’t know that!
Hello David
ReplyDeleteThe lorry would have been taken to the chamber for the purpose of the resuscitation of No.2. No.2 described in detail the functions of the lorry in Fall Out ("You can go anywhere in it. No.2 in FO). The Butler seemed to know all the functions of The Village and possibly the lorry was even adapted to he special ergonomics.
A real question would be 'Did The Village get what they wanted from No.6 ?" What if they wanted him as an assassin or someone capable of 'pushing the nuclear button'. No.2 encouraged No.6 to 'Kill ! Kill ! Kill!'in OUAT. That is exactly what he does in Fall Out.
Could The Butler have then been delivering The Village's latest products to their destinations? A prime assassin, a hippie to infiltrate the youth movement and a member of the House of Lords to spy for them?
Sincerely,
Mr. Anonymous
Hello Mr. Anonymous,
DeleteI’m not so sure the lorry was there for the resuscitation of Number 2, that’s what the medical staff were there for. Yes the cage, in which you can go anywhere, had to be put on the lorry in order for the cage to go anywhere. I think the prime use of that lorry was to bring the rocket to the Village.
Yes the Butler did seem to know a good deal about The Village, he certainly knew about the lorry, the accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals would have had to have been adapted for the Butler’s feet to reach the pedals, seeing as he had short legs!
I’m not at all sure The Village administration got what they wanted from Number 6. I think ‘Fall Out’ is the last manipulation of Number 6. Build his ego up, then knock him back when he’s faced with the fact that he has been responsible for both The Village and his incarceration in it, all the time. But that’s an interesting idea of yours, that they wanted a killer, kill, kill, kill, kill, but he still couldn’t do it at the time! I’m not sure that Number 6 presses the nuclear button in ‘Fall Out,’ that would presuppose that the rocket had a nuclear warhead, which then contradicts the life support orbit tubes in the rocket. Yes Number 6 does press the button, and in that action of launching the rocket he might have brought about a nuclear war. After all that rocket would have been detected by the British, Americans, and the Russians. But all that happened is that Number 6 rid the world, or himself, of Number 1, so in all probability Number 6 did finally kill, he killed Number 1!
“Could The Butler have then been delivering The Village's latest products to their destinations? A prime assassin, a hippie to infiltrate the youth movement and a member of the House of Lords to spy for them?” Well there’s an idea, I like it, and as far as I am aware it is quite an original idea, of course where ‘the Prisoner’ is concerned, anything is possible.
Best regards
David
Be seeing you