“What’s the matter mister?”
“I’ve just been to the livery
stable.”
“They’ll take good care of your
horse.”
“Someone has stolen it!”
“Tell it to the Judge mister!”
“Will he get me another horse?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well if he doesn’t the same thing’s
gonna happen here that happened back in
“What was that mister?”
“Yeah tell us mister" said a voice from the back.
“Tell us what happened back in
“I had to walk home!”
Be seeing you
NAPOLEON
Top
left is the image of Napoleon Bonaparte as seen stuck to the cavern wall in
‘Le Prisonnier – The Girl Who Was Death,’ the origin of which is unknown. True, the picture is depicted at an angle which does give it a slightly odd appearance which makes it difficult for an exact comparison. Top right, another picture of Napoleon, is a French vintage engraving attributed to the “French school,” although not exactly the same as the one appearing in Le Prisonnier episode there is a similarity. Having carried out research as I could into this picture I attempted to find another copy of the engraving, and the original painting from which this engraving had been taken in order to identify the artist but without success. However I did manage to find this corresponding portrait.
Napoleon Bonaparte on board the British ship Bellerophon
Photogravure from a painting by Orchardson.
On 10 July 1815, HMS Bellerophon was
guarding the French port of Rochefort when a French vessel bearing a flag of
truce approached. On board were General Anne Jean Marie Rene Savary and the
Comte de Las (Count of) Cases, with the first announcement of Napoleon’s
consideration to surrender to the British.
Six weeks after his disastrous defeat at
On
There was further contact between the
French party and the Bellerophon over the following days.
At
After leaving Bellerophon, Comte de
Las Cases returned at
Napoleon’s arrival on the Bellerophon is
recorded in the log for the ship dated
While in custody Napoleon and his entourage
were treated like guests, with the former emperor given access to the Great
cabin of the ship. Napoleon wanted to travel to
Escorted by HMS Myrmidon, upon
arrival in
Despite the British authority’s attempts to
keep Napoleon’s presence in
Eventually a decision was made to designate
Napoleon and his entourage as ‘Prisoners of War’, with the
While many of the loyal officers in his
entourage chose to follow him, the surgeon in Napoleon’s company did not wish
to journey to
In his statement, Maitland revealed that
General Bertrand had told him that in thanks for his kindness and hospitality,
Napoleon wished to give the Captain a box containing a diamond encrusted
portrait. Due to his position, Maitland felt that he was unable to accept such
a gift, and he notes his actions to inform Napoleon and his party of this
without causing offence.
Before leaving the Bellerophon, Napoleon
had not been granted his desired audience with the Prince Regent. He revealed
to Captain Maitland that part of his wish to meet the Prince was in the hope
that he could recommend Maitland for promotion to Rear Admiral, as an
appreciation of the hospitality that the Captain had shown him (Maitland would
eventually rise to the position of Rear Admiral by the time of his death in
1839). Napoleon told Maitland that he considered him ‘a man of honour’.
DISPLAY CAPTION
Orchardson was trained in
Be seeing you
A
black global chair rose up through the hole in the floor, and No.2, middle aged
man with greying hair was seated in it. He was of medium height, well set,
wearing a single breasted pain blazer, grey flannel trousers, and the old
college scarf about his neck and shoulders.
“What’s on for today Number 8?” No.2 asked.
No.8 a young man with dark brown hair,
wearing steel rimmed spectacles, a light grey blazer with dark blue piping
stood at the desk.
“There is this sir.”
“What’s that?”
No.8 took the cardboard file from under his
arm and handed it to No.2 across the desk.
“It’s marked information.”
“That’s right sir, the primary objective of
the village is for the protection or extraction of information.”
No.2 opened the file “It’s empty.”
“Yes sir.”
“And why is it empty Number 8?”
“Because we are waiting for you to provide
the information!”
“Me, are you mad, you know who I am?”
“Yes Karl Kopeck, the former head of
Czechoslovakian Military Intelligence.”
“I was recruited for the position as Number
2 in this God forsaken village!”
“God forsaken?”
“There is no church, no place for people to
practice their religion.”
“Perhaps the people here do not need to
practice, perhaps they are perfect at it already.”
N.2 rose up out of the black global chair
“The people, yes the people, do you know what they do to people here?”
“I’m sure it’s the same on the other side
of the Iron Curtain.”
“No Number 8 or whatever your name is it’s
not the same because we do not have a place like the village
“No, but I bet you’d like one!” No.8 said
with a smile.
“Your people brought me here under false
pretences.”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to do what?”
The pair of steel doors slid open and a man
entered, the doors closing behind him he walked slowly down the ramp and across
the floor.
“Who is this man, what is his number?”
“He doesn’t have a number, but he does have
a code name, ZEDEF14.”
“What is his business here, why does he
stare at me, now he’s looking me up and down.”
“He has been observing you ever since your
arrival here Number 2.”
“Why?”
“Because he is going to become you, he
knows all about you, your wife and children, as well as your mistress Kettia.”
“This man is going to become me, he doesn’t
even look like me!”
“Believe me Karl, by the time we’re through
he will be the spitting mage of you. But how you will feel after the process
well that’s a different matter.
“Process, what process are you talking about?”
The pair of steel doors opened again a
wheeled stretched rolled down the ramp and stopped, two burly looking medical
orderlies entered the dome office.
“No just a minute” No.2 protested “You
can’t do this to me.”
The two orderlies approached the desk and
grabbed hold of No.2 as he was about to make a dash for the doors. One produced
a hypodermic syringe, while the other rolled up No.2’s sleeve and administered
the sedative.
No.2 woke up on the operating table amid a
steel framework, he turned his head to see another man lying on another
operating table within the steel frame. A number of doctors and nurses busied
themselves with the two patients.
The interim No.2 approached one of the
patients “How do you feel?”
“Fine if a little groggy” the patient
said.”
“That will pass, we shall let you rest
before you leave” the interim No.2 said.
“And him?”
“We shall give him time to adjust before we
extract every piece of information inside his head” No.2 said.
“I only hope I can impersonate him well
enough,”
“At least now you look the part, we
computed his whole life, you have studied the man, you have proved you know him
as well as the man knows himself.”
“One slight mistake and they’ll interrogate
me and scramble my mind before putting me up against a wall and shoot me!”
On the lawn by the sea wall the pilot was
making pre-flight checks of the sliver grey Alouette helicopter when a village
taxi pulled up. The figure of No.2 and the Kopek impersonator carrying a brown
suitcase, alighted and walked towards the helicopter. The pilot saw them,
opened the door and taking the suitcase he placed it inside the glass cabin of
the helicopter.
No.2 shook Kopek’s hand “Good luck, I’m
sure you will be able to pull it off.”
“If I don’t you’ll never hear from me
again” Kopek said turning and climbing into the helicopter.
The pilot started the helicopter’s engine,
the rotor blades began to turn.
No.8 arrived to see the helicopter take off
“He’s a brave man.”
“Yes, and if he pulls it off we shall have
a man high up in Czech Intelligence.”
The helicopter rose up off the lawn and
took to the air.
“And you will be showered with
congratulations” No.8 told him “either that or….”
“That’s enough Number 8, you had best get
back to work!”
“Yes sir.”
No.2 stood watching as the helicopter flew out across the estuary towards the hills and landing stage beyond.
Be seeing you
As you know I have prided myself on trying to bring something new to readers of my blog. And until quite recently I had resigned myself to thinking my days of making observations regarding the Prisoner were well and truly at an end. So imagine my surprise, while watching the 1954 film ‘The Colditz Story’{a film I have watched umpteen times by the way} when I spotted something Prisoner related which suddenly grabbed my attention, making me sit up, grab the remote and roll back the film. It was this, a continental day date calendar sat on a desk in a German guard’s office, as seen in the black and white insert image on the right! Such a calendar can also be seen in the 25 minute ‘Danger Man’ Episode ‘Under The Lake’ as I saw the other evening. On the wall behind the hotel reception desk. Such a calendar is seen hanging on the wall in the barbers shop in the episode ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ over the Colonel’s shoulder, except it is incomplete. Both the cards for the days and months of the year are missing, and it is this deficiency which, over the years and decades, has caused fans of the Prisoner series to call this device into question, whatever is it? But if no-one knew before, we do now, as the mystery is solved.
Be seeing you
No.113: “Oh look,
the helicopter's coming back!”
New No.2: “I can see that for myself.”
No.113b “Smile” {click goes the camera}
“I wonder why?”
“So do I..... I mean well of course,
obviously the pilot has been contacted by radio and ordered to return to The
Village.”
“Why?”
“How should I know?”
“You don’t look very happy about it, or
sound it!”
“What do you want?”
“I am Number One One Three, and this is my
photographic colleague Number One One Three b, we contribute to The Tally Ho.
And what we want is just a few words from the new Number Two
for our readers.”
No.113b “Smile” {click goes the camera}
“Look I don't have time just now..... I've
got a helicopter to meet.”
“What will you do with him?”
“Who?”
“The retired Number 2. I mean he is being
brought back to The Village, you can't assassinate/execute him now...... can
you?”
“He'll be retired into the Old People's
Home.”
“Just as well that bomb wasn't detonated.
But I suppose it still could be, he’s still got the detonator!”
“How did you know about that?”
“I thought something was about to go off
when I saw Number Six dashing about.”
“Oh him!”
“The blast of the bomb might not have
killed everyone who was standing on this balcony, but they would have been
badly injured. And think of the mess, your broken and smashed bone, torn flesh
and sinew everywhere. And the blood..........”
“Alright you don’t have to paint a
picture. What do you want?”
“Like I said Number Two, just a few words
for our readers.”
“Well I can tell you this. Number Six is
not going to get away with this. He’ll pay for his interference in this affair,
be assured of that.”
“Who is going to see he pays?”
“I am!”
“Are you sure your term of office will run
long enough for that?”
{It was at this point that the new Number 2 suddenly rushed off. I believe he had a helicopter to meet.}
Reporter No.113
Photographer No.113b
I imagined
that I had long made my final observations into ‘the Prisoner,’ but no, for I
find I have been able to squeeze a little more out of that series documented within
this article. I don’t know if you are in anyway familiar with the ITV
television series from 1968, called ‘Virgin of the Secret Service’? If not I
would hardly be surprised, because it only ran for one series, it was a
tongue-in-cheek adventure series set in the early 1900s, and followed the
adventures of Captain Robert Virgin, a gentleman officer working for the
British Secret Service. Each episode would see him dispatched to different
parts of the world by Colonel Shaw-Camberley to do battle with enemies of the
So what has all this to do with the
Prisoner? Well it’s more to do with Living In Harmony,’ Not just because of the
Professor’s abduction to an American Frontier town, which is a trivial point I
freely admit. Also the portrait of Lillie Langtry appears on a wall in Big
Jack’s ranch house, similar to the one in the Silver Dollar saloon in ‘Living
In Harmony.’
Now we come to the most remarkable thing regarding
‘The Professor Goes West.’
As the Prisoner episode ‘Living In
Harmony’ was produced long before ‘The Professor Goes West’ of ‘Virgin of The
Secret Service,’ I can only imagine actor David Bauer, for reasons of his own,
decided to keep the Judge’ costume for himself. Otherwise it would be far too
much of a coincidence for the same actor, to wear the exact same costume, in
two separate episodes of two totally different television series, which were
produced months apart!
More than that, why should David
Bauer, whilst wearing a perfectly good costume for a character in the American
Wild West, suddenly change that costume for a scene in the saloon which makes
him look like he’s reprising his role of a former character, the Judge from
‘Living In Harmony.’
Whether or not it was David Bauer’s
choice to change his costume in ‘The Professor Goes West’ we shall never know.
I see no reason why he should change his costume like this, after all his
character was one of a rancher, and he wore a rancher’s costume. Perhaps
because Big Jack was dealing with Virgin and his sidekick in the saloon, that
David Bauer thought it would help him in the scene to reprise his character of
the Judge in that scene, or at least to wear the costume. But that’s merely a
guess you understand, otherwise why the need for the change in costume?
Don’t you find that curious? Well I find it curious!
Be seeing you
Supervisor
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Question, oh go on then.”
“Are you going to turn out to be more
permanent?
Be seeing you
What Are Facts Behind Town Council?
by our own reporter
Any No.2
can count him or herself fortunate not to be co-opted onto the town council, a
town council which is made up of 12 sub-divided former interim No.2’s. No.6 who
once stood for election as a new interim No.2, was himself brought before the
town council in order to witness its disillusionment. Although described as
“brainwashed imbeciles” by No.6, there is no evidence that this is in fact the
case despite the blank, expressionless expressions on each of the councillor’s
faces. Although The Tally Ho would not put anything passed the village
administration system! There does seem little or no point to a local town
council, because the 12 members standing on the council appear not to have a
say in any proceedings. That No.2 Chairman of the town council always has the
final word, but the only word on anything. In fact there is a close similarity
between the local town council and that of the welfare committee to which
disharmonious citizens are brought before in order to be brought to book. As
with the welfare committee the members the administrational uniform is the same
as those of the town council, they are equally silent, with their blank
expressionless features. Only the Chairman of the welfare committee has the
power to speak, unless he relies on the tape recorder to speak for him!
So how does one become co-opted onto the
town council, and why would anyone wish to be? A spokesperson for the council told
your own reporter that it’s usual for a No.2 to be automatically co-opted onto
the town council once their term in office has run its course. Either that or
when an interim No.2 should fail in the task assigned to them. Perhaps that is
why a certain No.2 was so eager to leave the village, by piloting the
helicopter himself. He was so keen to leave he hadn’t even the time to show
No.2 the ropes, telling the new interim No.2 that anything he needs to know,
anything, just press a button! It makes this reporter wonder if any interim
No.2 is fully briefed on the administrative workings of the village. It seems
unlikely judging by the quick turn around of No.2’s that take up office in the
village, No.6 wasn’t in office for more than 5 minutes, if that, which would
represent the shortest time in office of any interim No.2. But he is far too
important to the administration so wasn’t co-opted onto the town council.
The local election gives the impression that No.2 is actually elected once a year, which is ridiculous because there is too much of a turnover of interim No.2’s, and besides No.6 was replaced as No.2 almost instantly by the former No.58 as the new interim No.2, which in itself makes a mockery of the whole election procedure. Sometimes No.2 is brought in from outside the village, and in those cases they are allowed to leave and return to their existence beyond the village. While other interim No.2’s are appointed from within the village administration, and after their term in office are absorbed back within the system, as with two such interim No.2’s who were filmed as part of Plan Division Q. This reporter learned that one of those two interim 2’s is in fact an Observer, he can be seen being sent from the control room as all subsidiary personnel were released early from duty that time. nd there is something strange about that council chamber, yes the walls are of a dark orange colour, but that metal work behind the two election posters, isn’t that the door to No.2’s office? No.6 once accused No.2 of being clever when they were in the Therapy Zone together getting drunk. No.2 agreed that they are, damned clever. Well not clever enough in this reporter’s notebook. Because had they really been that clever, they would have covered up that doorway far better than they did so to blend in with the rest of the wall. As it is it sticks out like a sore thumb! What then are we to understand about your local town council? That the village is indeed a pocket democracy, with the day to day running under the control of one man, the Chairman of the village, and Chief administrator No.2. His administrative manipulation of the citizens of this community is absolute, and local elections are nothing but a farce. As a former No.2 would have it, the village is nothing more than a 20th century Bastille!
Be
seeing you
1882 vigilante Poster
As
readers of my Prisoner based blog will know, I had brought my series of
‘Harmony Posters’ to a conclusion. However quite by chance I have been able to
extend that series by one more poster. I could find nothing more about this 1882
vigilante Poster which appears on the wall in the Sheriff’s office.
Now only one final poster remains
unidentified, one which is pasted on the mirror behind the bar in the Silver
Dollar saloon, the only thing I can say about that, the text being illegible,
is that there’s a man sat on a horse, although it might be an advertisement for
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West how.
Be seeing you
Ting-a-ling-a-ling
“Yes sir, what can I do for you?”
“Just a quick word.”
“Yes sir?”
“You know what you are don’t you?”
“I’m the new shopkeeper.”
“You’re a quisling!”
“I’m sorry sir I’m not quite with
you.”
“When you went to see, no, when you
went running off to see Number 2.”
“I didn’t run sir.”
“You were jamming!”
“Jamming, what’s that?”
“The broadsheet you showed Number 2,
it wasn’t the one bought by Number 6!”
“Really sir?!”
“The one Number 6 bought was folded
widthways; the one you handed to Number 2 was folded squarely.”
“What have you to say about that?”
“What’s it got to do with you?”
“I’m an Observer!”
“I’ll report you to Number 2!”
“Yes I expect you will…once my back
is turned!”
Ting-a-ling-a-ling
Be seeing you
I
wonder what the citizens of the village thought when they were forced to move
out of their cottages in that annex to the village which they used for the
American frontier town called Harmony? The architecture of Harmony couldn’t be
more different to the Italianate architecture of the village itself, the
frontier town of the American 1800’s was there all the time, stables, the
Jailhouse and Sheriff’s office, Silver Dollar Saloon, General Black Smithing,
the Wagon Yard, Ira J. McKnight Stables and Horse Dealer. The Stables where
horses are for sale, Rooms * Rent, and Lane’s General Merchandise. Except the
Silver Dollar Saloon is the Recreation Hall, I wonder how long it took to cover
the two towers with all that wooden cladding? And what did citizens think when
they were told they couldn’t go there once the “annex” had been cordoned off?
Because no citizen would be allowed to go there, you couldn’t have village
citizens wandering through as Zeke and the boys were teaching the stranger that
it’s not safe to go about not wearing a gun!
There’s more, when Jim goes to see the
Sheriff and tells him that the town’s people will help the Sheriff “clean up
the town,” there has been a change in posters again! The poster of Joaquin has
gone, replaced by ‘Central Dakota You Need A farm!’ although its possible this
final arrangement of posters could be the same when Cathy pays a call on the
Sheriff, its clearly difficult to say, but why the need to swap the posters
about during filming in the first place? What was the continuity lady, Phyllis
Townsend, doing during filming of those scenes?
And the life-size cardboard cut-outs
of both the Judge and the Kid in black and white, when the cardboard cut-out of
the horse is in colour? Of course back in the days of good old black and white
television anyone watching would not have known the difference! And the sign of
HARMONY, well it’s the wrong way round, it should be pointing out of town, not
towards it!
I have enjoyed the series of Harmony Posters for my blog, although there is one which have
failed to be identified, pasted to the mirror behind the bar in the Silver
Dollar Saloon, it contains a man sitting on a horse, the text is unfortunately
illegible! And a NOTICE, probably some form of public notice regarding laws,
again the main text of the poster is illegible. I have
also attempted to see what it is the Marshal is writing when the Sheriff hands
in both his badge and his gun, but I’ve not been able to discern what it is
he’s writing. But he is wearing a shirt like the one worn by the Judge.
Apparently that style of frilly shirt was very popular, as I’ve seen the same
style in several American Wild West films.
Be seeing you again next time
