Quote For The Day!

    “Its not often one gets a second chance.”
    “There are no second chances.”
    “There are sometimes for the lucky ones.”
                             {Curtis No.6 and Alison-No.24 ‘The Schizoid Man}

   Three No.2's are given a second term of office, No.2 of ‘A B & C,’ who was returned for a second term of ‘The General.’ He saw Speed Learn as being the most important human experiment ever to be conducted. During this episode he placed his trust in technology namely the General. And yet he allowed No.6 to get the better of him, just as he had allowed No.6 to out manoeuvre him in ‘A B & C’ when he had placed his trust in the doctor-No.14 and her new wonder drug. Such was this man's over confidence in both cases, and his underestimation of No.6. And yet had ‘A B and C’ and ‘The General’ run consecutively, or possibly the other way around, then this No.2 would have had to leave the village simply to be brought back at a later date. It would also have proved to have given the series a slightly different aspect, to have one defeated No.2 still to be in office in the following episode. And that might have been the original idea, after all in the opening sequence of ‘The General’ it goes that he is the New No.2, when in the opening sequence of ‘A B and C’ Colin Gordon tells the Prisoner he is No.2.

    No.2 of ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’ was to be brought back to the village for a second term of office, and he was far from happy about it. He told them the last time that No. 1 was using the wrong approach, this time they do it his way, and that there is no other way. He was a good man, is a good man but if they get No.6, he will be better. Such was Degree Absolute, it had to be either one of them, and No.2 put his life on the line for the cause. But perhaps there are better causes to die for!

     What of the third No.2 who was returned to the village? Well not exactly for a second term of office, but for the role of a High Court Judge, he was brought back to oversee three court cases against three individuals, and resolve the question of revolt in ‘Fall Out.’ And perhaps, depending on how you look at it, to have a final throw of the dice against No.6 in a final attempt to manipulate the Prisoner by first praising him for his private war against the village, then offering him ultimate power. Finally they faced No.6 with himself, as they had once before when they took away his identity in an attempt to break him. In ‘Fall Out’ they faced the Prisoner with himself again, in order to show him that he has been responsible for his own predicament and therefore responsible for the village all the time. Well I suppose it was worth a try. Anything is worth a try once.

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