He’s An Old Old Friend…..

    On the day of his arrival he refused to give away the slightest piece of information. He did admit to the time of his birth, but he guessed they knew that anyway, so there was no harm in that. He attempted to escape by overpowering two guardians and stealing a Mini-Moke. That ended in failure and suffocation, but it could have been worse, although it was a nasty experience. The next day after his encounter with Cobb, No.6 is as mad as hell. And after having it out with No.2 he attends Cobb’s funeral from a distance, and No.9 attaches herself to him. There is another daring escape attempt, after he’s been given the Electro Pass. Escape by helicopter, I should think this has not been tried too many times in the past. After all how many people in the village can manage to fly a helicopter? No.6 obviously, then there’s the Butler, and of course No.2 in ‘Free For All.’ Oh and I expect Cobb might have been able to, as I suspect the plan was for he and No.9 to escape by helicopter. Except No.9 would have known it was impossible. No.6 is returned ignominiously to the village.
    Escape, and the desire to hear the chimes of Big Ben, only then will No.6 and Nadia know they are safe and sound in London. No.6 and Nadia would eventually arrive in an office he knew very well. In other word’s once he had escaped the village he went running back to a department in Military Intelligence, well, he thought so at the time. Either to make his report, seek their help, or both. But why he thought they would condescend to help him, after he had resigned his job is anyone’s guess. But it was all in vain, No.6 hadn’t escaped the village at all, and his ex-colleagues are in league with the village anyway. So a lesson learned!
    No.6 never gives anything up, he wasn’t selling out, that wasn’t why he resigned, whatever made No.2 think he was going to?
    Another escape attempt to end in failure, one cannot blame a man for trying. No.6 allowed himself to become embroiled in village politics, what did he think he was going to do, bring the system down from within? No, he thought he would organize a mass breakout, and escape in the confusion. But you must get up early to put one over on No.2!
    No.6 states that knows his own fingerprints, that’s the thing with No.6, he's never off duty, and he’s far too good to be true! Do you know your own fingerprints? Oh but No.6 is not as most men, he’s a secret agent. Not of the 00 class, his code name is ZM73 so not licensed to kill!
    And when No.6 isn’t initiating brave escapes he’s generally poking his nose into business which does not concern him, and countering the machinations of No.2. This time it’s Speed Learn, so having got the message that the General must be destroyed, well that’s like a red rag to a bull is that, No.6 must then carry out the Professor’s wishes. If it had not been him, it would have been No.12, yet one might suppose that he was not up to the challenge!
    The village was deserted, although that does seem rather doubtful wouldn’t you say? What did they do with all the people, evacuate them to somewhere while No.6 made good his escape, then shipped them all back in? I don’t think so. No.6 set out on a voyage of discovery, ultimately running back to his ex-colleagues for a second time. Now why did he do that, knowing full well that both the Colonel and Fotheringay were in the pay of those behind the village? How did he know he was not going to encounter that particular Colonel and Fotheringay again? There is no way in heaven and Earth that he could have known they had both been replaced. And whatever made No.6 think he could trust this new Colonel and a sceptical Thorpe any more than he could the other two? Desperation perhaps, they were the only ones who could possibly help him. But if they couldn’t, there might be an outside chance that the other side knew of the village. That other side presumably on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Now would they have liked that, an ex-British secret agent from Military Intelligence gone over, not only giving valuable information about this village, but a man with a mind of other information.
    Sabotage is the name of the game, man versus machine except the machine won! No.6 wants to spoil things, he’s not prepared to be a goldfish in a bowl! He’s a cruel man because he wants to spoil things for everyone else. The Prisoner is a prisoner put on trial for the procession of a transistor radio. He is eventually sentenced to death, the sentence to be carried out by the people in the name of justice. But of course it’s a sentence that we know will not be carried out, otherwise ‘the Prisoner’ would have come to a very abrupt end!
    Escape, but how to tell the difference between the prisoners and the warders? Simple, it’s the same as it is in life, you soon discover who’s for or against you. But this time No.6 needs help to escape, it’s a daring and elaborate plan. If it goes wrong this time, then there is no escape for No.6 or anyone! It went wrong, No.6 was hoisted on his own petard, the air of his authority was his own downfall. He took command of the little enterprise and did almost everything himself. The only thing No.6 couldn’t do was to construct a radio set from stolen components, that’s why he needed No.53. What, there’s something No.6 could not do, I don’t believe it! My God he’s human after all, I’d never have thought it!
    New King James Version Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:17. But in this instance No.6 takes vengeance into his own hands for the death of No.73, leaving No.2 a broken man. Why was No.2 forced to report his own breakdown in control? Well No.6 could hardly have done it, although I’ve no doubt No.1 knew what had been going on, and was pleased to use No.6 as a sword of retribution.
    The next couple of episodes No.6 spends his time countering the further machinations of No.2, saving the citizens from a purge being carried out against them. But why No.2 should need a reason to carry out a purge, after all the village is hardly a pocket democracy! And as No.6 sees it in ‘A Change of Mind,’ and No.2 wants to steal everyone’s mind, in order to make the citizens docile enough so everyone lives in harmony! And when it comes to having had a change of mind and waking up back in London, he takes a third opportunity afforded to him to go running back to his ex-colleagues. But who is going to believe his story, that the Colonel is really ZM73? And wasn’t he supposed to be dead? If he thought he could rely on his ex-colleagues to help him then he was a fool. If No.6 is to survive as himself, then he has to do it all alone, find Professor Seltzman, and somehow discover a way back to the village himself!
    Living in Harmony, no fear! Faced with death, No.6 soon wakes up and spoils all game! A virtual reality game played out in the mind! No.6 never gives up playing, no matter what the environment. And he can spin a good yarn, just as No.2, although he didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as the three children did. They craved him to tell them another story, perhaps because the outcome of ‘The Girl Who Was Death’ wasn’t what they wanted hear, what No.2 wanted to hear! How many stories had No.6 told the children prior to the one about The Girl is impossible to tell, clearly not as many as Scheherazade, I’ll be bound, but he did promise to go back the next day.
    It’s the last throw of the dice, why did No.6 resign? Who cares, why should No.6 care? But with the last chance comes Degree Absolute, a recognized method of psychoanalysis used in extreme cases. And if No.6 is to survive the grave, then he must not only endure a number of psychological tests, but survive them!
   The finale, at long last our friend No.6, along with three confederates, manages not only to escape the village, but eventually return to his home in London. And yet he’s not one to let the grass grow under his feet, and it’s not long before he’s putting himself through the self-inflicted torture all over again!
    “He’s an old, old friend who never gives up!”

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