Time To Watch The Prisoner!

   October 5^th and it’s time to begin watching ‘the Prisoner,’ not to celebrate the 52^nd anniversary of series or anything like that, but to carry out an experiment at the same time. But why on October 5^th, because that’s the date on which ‘the Prisoner’ is abducted to the village. This screening of the series will be rather unorthodox, in that it will be in accordance with my own particular screening order as conveyed in my book ‘The Prisoner Dusted Down’ and taking place over a 15 month period. A screening order that takes into account dates, seasons of the year, certain external events which happened outside the village, and the relationship between certain episodes.

   So tonight it begins with ‘Arrival,’ then the next three episodes ‘Free For All’ ‘Dance of The Dead’ and ‘Checkmate’ will take place sometime time over the following three moths in order for ‘The Schizoid Man’ to be screened on Feb 10^th. Some would argue the point that ‘A B and C’ should be watched on Feb 10^th simply on the grounds of the date of the edition of The Tally Ho seen in ‘A B and C.’ But I would argue that the date is coincidental, that it’s the headline “Is No.2 Fit For Further Term?” which is the important thing in ‘A B and C’ and not the date. The fault being that the same copy of The Tally Ho having been used in both episodes, and has in the past led to the idea that both episodes take place at the same time, a scenario which I never subscribed to. So, ‘the Schizoid Man’ is soon followed by ‘Many Happy Returns’ watched at some point between February 20^th and March 19^th, because it would have taken No.6 a couple of days to construct his sea-going raft after having woken up on Feb 20^th to find the village deserted, and putting to sea on February 22^nd if he was to spend 25 days at sea to be washed up on the shore at Beachy Head on the south coast of England. Then add on March 18^th when No.6 finally arrived back in London, and March 19^th being the Prisoner’s birthday. And the screening will continue in that vein until it reaches its inevitable conclusion in December 2020.

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Caught On Camera!

    How did No.2’s sword shooting stick get passed security on the day of his arrival in the village, surely such a weapon is outside the pale of the law! More than that why did No.2 think he would need such a weapon in the first place? Perhaps even before he began his journey to the village he had self-preservation on his mind! Then again without it there would not have been scene in which No.6 gets the point!

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Tea Break Teaser

    Why does No.2 have a shooting stick umbrella instead of a plain umbrella? It’s not as though he or she uses the shooting stick as a seat. Neither is it used as an umbrella!

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Village Day: Following In the Footsteps of The Prisoner!

    Admittedly the corridor wasn’t as dark as when the Prisoner walked briskly down it during the opening sequence in the series, but it was the same passageway of the underground car park. And I have to say it gave me quite a thrill to be walking in the Prisoner’s footsteps as we filmed the scene for ‘Village Day.’ I suppose some would have it following in Patrick McGoohan’s footsteps, but I prefer the Prisoner, but then seeing as they were one and the same it doesn’t really matter.
   After the Caterham 7 was parked up, I stormed off through the pair of double doors exiting the underground car park, as I assure you I was not entering a building via the way out, so symbolism is right out!

    About to hand in his letter of resignation, no fear, besides the office is long deserted and abandoned. Only a faded map of the world left on the wall.

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The Passenger

    “How do you like my taxi?”

    “Its trendy I’ll give it that.”

    “Trendy?”

    “Yes, where I come from I’m more accustomed to black cabs.”

    “Black taxis!”

    “Yes, only young trendy people in London drive or are seen to ride in Mini-Mokes like this.”

    “So we are trendy young people.”

    “Yes I guess we are. Are we nearly there yet?”

    “Where?”

    “I asked to be taken to the nearest town.”

    “I did tell you we were only the local service.”

    “Yes, but I’m willing to pay you to take me to the nearest town. So far we’ve gone round and round, up and down the same roads…twice, isn’t there a road which takes us out of the village?”

    “Yes, but you’ll only end up back here in the end, that’s why we’re called local!”

    “Look, just take me as far as you can, and I’ll take it from there.”

    “What are you going to do?”

    “Find a road to the nearest town.”

    “But there isn’t a nearest town, there isn’t any town, there is only the village.”

    He pulled hard on the hand brake bringing the taxi to a dead stop. He climbed out and began to walk.

    “You can’t leave” the driver shouted out after him.

    “Why not?”

    Suddenly a white amorphous sphere appeared emitting a blood curdling roar.

    “Because of that” the driver said.

    “What is it?”

    “Get in and I’ll drive you back to the village.”

    He climbed back into the taxi, and it sped off back down the road towards the village.

    “What was that thing?”

    “The Guardian, keep away from it whatever you do.”

    “What does it do?”

    “It serves and protects the community, but it doesn’t like anyone trying to leave.”

    The taxi came to a stop.

    “I’ll let you out here.”

    He climbed out, and stood looking at the rear off-side wheel.

    “Looks like you’ve got trouble.”

    The driver got out and went to inspect the wheel, just as the passenger climbed into the Mini-Moke and drove off. He drove down the road taking the left hand bend at the far end. Then passed the café, turning left and down the road, passed the Town hall, down the hill towards the old people’s Home. Then a hairpin bend, and a sharp right down the slipway and onto the beach towards freedom. He put his foot hard down on the accelerator; there was nothing to stop him now. He glanced over his shoulder, he was leaving the village in the distance. But then through the windscreen he saw that same white amorphous sphere heading straight towards him on a collision course. Just then he realized that the Moke had a canopy, and as long as he remained in the vehicle the thing couldn’t get to him. He pressed on, and began to weave the vehicle this way and that in an attempt to out manoeuvre the white sphere which was in pursuit, and then drove the Mini-Moke in the direction it happened to be pointing in, leaving the Guardian and the village behind in his tracks. He felt exhilarated, he shouted out in pure joy. Then suddenly a tyre blew and he lost control of the vehicle.

    “Post 5 make your report” said a voice over the radio.

    The man laid down his rifle and picked up the radio “Front off-side tyre sir, he’s lost control of the vehicle.”

    The white Mini-Moke was brought to a stop by the driver who climbed out and began to walk.

    In the Control Room the Supervisor stood watching the action play out on the wall screen. He picked up the yellow ‘L’ shaped intercom “The subject is now on foot walking across the sand away from the village towards the southern perimeter.”

    “Very well, orange alert” No.2 ordered.

    In the Control Room the Supervisor passed on the order “Orange alert.”

    Somewhere on the seabed a second segment of the Guardian was released from the containment area. The white amorphous sphere travelled upward through the water eventually burst through onto the surface of the sea. It instantly began skimming across the waves towards the mouth of the estuary where it took to the sand, rolling and bounding towards the lone figure. The man stopped and gazed into the distance, there was a white sphere heading towards him. Looking in all directions all he could see was the expanse of sand. He began to run, to run towards the cliffs but it was touch and go whether he would make it as now two spheres were closing in on him. Running was not easy, his feet sank in the soft sand slowing his progress. He was still a hundred yards or so away from the relative safety of the cliffs, he glanced over his shoulder as he ran, then he tripped, stumbled, and fell to the sand. The white membranic Guardians were but a few feet away emitting that blood curdling noise, a cross between Gregorian chant, a bicycle pump, and someone breathing through an aqua lung. He stumbled back onto his feet and began to run but they were on him in an instant knocking him to the ground, then he rolled over face down in the sand. The Prisoner thought this his only defence now, but then one of the things, this amorphous sphere began to smother him until it engulfed his whole body. In a strange kind of way he felt it must be like being back in the womb, he found he could breath, and it was warm, its funny but he felt a kind of comfort, he felt safe. That was until a mixture of acids began digesting his body, his blood giving the white membrane a pinkish hue. And on the beach nothing was left but the clothes the prisoner had worn.

    The Guardians rolled and bounded across the beach back towards the sea, eventually returning to the containment area at the bottom. In the Control Room the Supervisor and Observers returned to routine surveillance of the village

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Citizen No.60

    We have seen a number of Supervisors, the most capable one in my opinion being No.28, whose only mistake was not knowing that it wasn’t No.6’s birthday, and that No.113 didn’t exist, an old woman who died a month ago. 28’s removal quickly brought about the promotion of this man, the Supervisor’s assistant No.60, as the new Supervisor. It’s the first time we witness a Supervisor being replaced in a similar way as to when No.2 is replaced, only this is much more instant! And yet I wonder just how long No.60 would have lasted in his new position? Not simply because of No.2 having to be replaced, but upon the realization there was no need to replace the Supervisor in the first place. No.28’s eventual reinstatement would have seen No.60’s demotion. And yet, even before that there was the tell-tale sign that this man wasn’t quite up to the job, especially considering we never see him again after this episode! I’m thinking of the incident of the carrier pigeon! He reported to No.2 that No.6 was seen approaching the restricted area, walking through the mangrove walk, which meant he could have been making for the shore or the hills. He was ordered to keep a watch on No.6 which was fair enough and easily done by the Observers. But then came the pigeon, No.60 ordered the pigeon released by No.6 to be tracked visually by surveillance camera, again that was fair enough, but then he ordered the activation of the Beam. By now the pigeon was out of sight, and he had the bird tracked by radar, radar got a fix and then he went and ordered “Hellfire” suggesting this new Supervisor had suddenly lost his head. It was lucky No.2 turned up when he did ordering the Beam to be set at minimum strength, otherwise the pigeon would have been toast and No.6’s message with it! That one indecent must have dented any faith No.2 could have had in No.60 as a Supervisor, because the next day at 0: 600 hours when No.6 was due to send a vital message by visual signal, No.2 himself took command of the Control Room. This effectively reduced No.60 back to assistant Supervisor, something he might well have been pleased about as it released him from the pressure and responsibility of command!

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The Tally Ho Appreciation Day!

    You will have read what follows in a previous piece of blog, however bear with me, as this is by way of an update.

   During the daily prognosis report gathered on No.6 in ‘It’s Your Funeral,’ he leaves the café and goes to the kiosk where he buys a copy of The Tally Ho. Sadly it’s impossible to read the headline of the broadsheet. However the headline is made up of three words which excludes it from being one of the earlier editions seen in previous episodes. So it is one produced for ‘It’s Your Funeral.’ But whether or not the headline has anything to do with Appreciation Day is impossible to say not being able to read it. Also we don’t know how far back the daily prognosis goes, as there is no indication of when No.6 bought that copy of The Tally Ho, it might have been a day ago, it might have been weeks. If we consider the café for a moment, where No.6 has been drinking tea or coffee, before he goes to the kiosk, that café is first seen in ‘The General.’ So the headline might have absolutely nothing to do with Appreciation Day, and could be anything at all. It’s also intriguing that an edition of the Tally Ho was produced especially for ‘It’s Your Funeral,’ and yet the television viewer doesn’t get to see the headline! What was there to hide?

   Below is my idea of how the headline of The Tally Ho seen in ‘It’s Your Funeral’ might run judging by the number, and length of the words

   I could be completely wrong of course, but that would be my personal guess. One further observation, the issue of The Tally Ho seen in ‘It’s Your Funeral’ is the odd one out! I say that because all the previous issues of the village broadsheet seen in ‘A B and C,’ ‘Free For All,’ ‘The Schizoid Man’ ‘Many Happy Returns,’ ‘Hammer Into Anvil,’ and that of the two editions in ‘A Change of Mind’ all have received close-ups of at least the headline. Yet that is not the case in ‘Its Your Funeral.’

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