A Favourite Scene In The Prisoner

    The final exchange between the two candidates of the local election in ‘Free For All.’
    “You seem to be doing rather well” Number 2 said, which seems to be something of an understatement when you look at Number 2’s own poor showing of no more than 20 supporters. I suppose that was a token gesture on the part of the administration. At the beginning everyone’s cheering for Number 2, in fact it looks like a unanimous majority. But Number 2 finds that worrying, it’s very bad for morale, apparently some of those good people of this community do not seem to appreciate the value of free elections, they think it’s a game! Well isn’t it? If ‘Dance of The Dead’ had been the second episode in the screening order, as originally intended, then by the time of ‘Free For All’ Number 6 himself would have realized the election was another of Number 2’s games. Because in ‘Dance of The Dead’ Number 6 realized that Number 2’s administration is effective, though it has no opposition, as Number 2 went on the explain….. “An irritation we’ve dispensed with, even its best friends agree democracy is remarkably inefficient.” But I suppose it can work both ways, depending on how you look at it. Either the democratic process was dispensed with, as suggested by Number 2, before the advent of the local elections of ‘Free For All,’ or very soon after this local election.
   It’s far from Number 6 to carp, but what does Number 2 do in his spare time? Poor old Number 2, it seems he cannot afford spare time. It seems Number 2 is working to his limit! Well that’s hardly surprising. Running for election, dealing with Number 6 in the process, as well as overseeing the administration of The Village at the same time. Mind you he does have the administrative ability to manipulate the people of such a community as The Village. Number 6 sees it wrong that Number 2 cannot afford spare time, leisure is the people’s right, meaning less work and more play. But then again Number 6 is a fair one to carp, seeing as he’s not done a days work in The Village since he arrived there. He’s got more spare time than he knows what to do with. Get him working, gardening, painting, maintenance work or maintaining and repairing the Mini-Mokes seeing how mechanically minded he is, but keep him away from administration, they can’t afford to let him in there. That would be one reason why Number 6 had no chance of winning the election. But if they could get Number 6 to occupy himself with manual labour, he’d have something else to think about, and less time for causing trouble, or trying to escape!                      

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