The Therapy Zone

Information and Observation

    Here are more observations and information for your enjoyment which I didn't have time to include last time.

   In the standard version of 'The Chimes of Big Ben,' less is known of Fotheringay than in the 'alternative' version. Whilst he is on the telephone to someone, we don't know who, he reveals that he and the Prisoner were not just professional colleagues, but that they were also at school together.

   Few episodes introduce the haunting aspect as strongly as 'A B and C.' The empty, echoing, streets gives the impression of East Berlin. And it is through the very same door that led the Prisoner to those streets, that he eventually returns to the village. The apparition of the mysterious figure at the end of the street

    The white membranic mass of the village guardian is named twice in this episode, by No.6 "No.6 is dead. Rover got him." And No.2 "De-activate Rover immediately." But then at no other time in any of the episodes, before or after, do we here this thing called by name. Exactly how No.6 knew to call the village guardian by name is unknown.

    Presumably the episode of ‘The Schizoid Man’ occurs before that of ‘Many Happy Returns,’ as the date of the newspaper The Tally Ho is Feb 10th,, because the Prisoner returns to London during Many Happy Returns on March 18th, the day before the Prisoners birthday.

    It has been said that with the episode of ‘The Schizoid Man’ that the attention to detail has never been more apparent, in the case of the penny farthing on the soda siphon. Well during ‘Many Happy Returns’ we have 'Village film' on the roll of film in No.6 possession. 'Village cooking oil', and 'village darning needles.'

   The book on the lap of Curtis-No.12 when he is lying on the bed holding a gas gun in his hand as No.6 pays him a call. The book is entitled "The Home-Coming" by Leonard Barnes. This came out under the banner of Peter Davis, a publishing firm which no longer exists.

    No.6 was over charged at the kiosk when he was giving his add for the personal column in the Tally Ho newspaper. He was charged for 9 words, but there were only 8 'Y mas mal in aldea que se suens' 'there is more harm in the village than is dreamt.'

    There are three 'Orbit Tubes' inside the rocket, designated 48, 2, the third is undesignated, but no doubt was intended for No.6 after his meeting with No.1. Oh and there was a forth, for No.1 no doubt.

  There were two Princess hearses used in the filming of the Prisoner, the one with the registration 289 ALW, and the other TLH 858.

The Trivia……

    Yes, I've been given a new column and you might think this to be something of a triviality, the content, not the column. But there is nothing as important than trivialities as they help make up the bigger picture.

   M.S. Polotska, her real name being 'Breda' and was one of the 'little ships' which took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk during WWII.

    The village enjoys a milk delivery, as an empty milk bottle can be seen on the doorstep of 6 private.

    The face of the late comedian Bob Monkhouse can be seen on a photographic poster upon the door of the photographic shop 'World Cameras' in 'Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.'

    The Gypsy seen with the Whippet on the South Downs during the Prisoners escape of 'Many Happy Returns,' is also Mexican Sam of Living In Harmony.

   How many technicians does it take to operate the pair of doors to No.2's office? Well during the filming of Village Day it took 6, 3 per door.

    The room from which the medic appears during the 'Dance of the Dead,' handing Duttons termination order to No.6, is actually an electrical switch gear room.

    Number 6 is the first perfect number, if your interests incline in that direction.

    During the interview with No.6 by No.113 during the electoral period of Free For All, the taxi passes the same buildings twice before it reaches the Town Hall.

    The Bell Ten helicopter piloted by 'The Girl Who Was Death,' takes off and lands in the same field.

    The Kid actually beats The Man With No Name to the draw!

    The town of Harmony, together with the villages recreation hall was actually on a back lot of MGM film studios at Elstree.

    The taxi ride which the Prisoner takes on the morning of his arrival in the Village, makes no sense whatsoever, well not when you get to know Portmeirion. I suppose it all boils down to how the film was cut and edited in the cutting room.

Be seeing you

Pictorial Prisoner

   So this chap made world news by defecting to the other side did he?! He and the Prisoner used to be friends, doing the same job, but now they still do the same job, but on different sides, and for different reasons. Well I'm not surprised, he looks extremely dodgy, with that handlebar moustache! He seems a bit too oily for my liking. Personally speaking I wouldn't buy a secondhand car from this chap!
   But quite obviously 'A', whoever 'A' is, was not that important to see himself abducted to the Village at the point he was about to defect to the other side. They were probably happy to see him go! Unlike his former friend the Prisoner.

Be seeing you

Quote For The Day

    The Prisoner "You never could take a hint!"
    'A' "I don't want a hint, I want you...............I'm saving myself money!"
                                                  {A B and C}

   So it woud seem that even if the Village authorities had not got the Prisoner first, 'A' would have had him abducted from Engadine's party...this after the Prisoner had resigned his job. So instead of waking up in the Village, No.6 might have found himself waking up somewhere behind the Iron Curtain!

BCNU

Nadia And the Axeman

    Nadia "And what do you think you're going to do with that axe?"
    No.6 "Chop down a tree!"
    "What for?"
    "Escape, by boat. If I knew where I was sailing from, I could calculate where I was sailing to?"
    "It's no good."
    "Isn't it. Have you ever thought that there might be two Villages, two realities?"
    "Two Villages, isn't one enough?"
    "They might be our opposites!"
    "Doppelgangers in a different reality!"
    "If you like, a parallel universe. Perhaps like us they are planning to escape at this very moment."
    "I don't know, I need time to think."
    "You going? Keep to the paths."

    Nadia "And what do you think you're going to do with that axe?"
    No.6 "Chop down a tree!"
    "What for?"
    "Escape, by boat. If I knew where I was sailing from, I could calculate where I was sailing to?"
    "It's no good."
    "Isn't it. Have you ever thought that there might be two Villages, two realities?"
    "Two Villages, isn't one enough?"
    "They might be our opposites!"
    "Doppelgangers in a different reality!"
    "If you like, a parallel universe. Perhaps they are planning to escape at this very moment."
    "I don't know, I need time to think."
   "You going? Keep to the paths."

BCNU

What’s That No.6 Up To? our own reporter investigates

    Oh very good, very good indeed. One of No.2's little games I suppose? Because judging by appearances No.6 isn't in the Village at all, and at a time when he's supposed to be in ‘The Chimes of Big Ben!’

  Its seems to me that this is every bit as deceptive as that of the Colonel's office which was supposed to have been back in London you'll recall! Because this is supposed to be somewhere along the cliff top away from the village, but still with 'waiter service' as No.6 is brought a cup of coffee, or tea. And what's more, this brings into question just how far did Nadia swim 30 miles to the Polish boarder, she couldn't swim so far!

   So is this an example of the Villages ingenuity, a painted back drop on a huge sound stage, itself somewhere in a huge warehouse. Makes you wonder just what's outside that. I mean are they really anywhere near the Village at all, this No.6 and No.2, with Nadia pretending to be sunbathing on the beach!

   You are being tricked! The Village is a lie, and you the people have the right to know.......... the Village must be exposed for the illusion it is!

Our own reporter

Photograph by No.113b

The Therapy Zone

Playing It By The Numbers

   Colin Gordon whose character is as menacing as he is unhinged! He is not a well man, nursing a stomach ulcer the way he is, as indicated by drinking plenty of milk. it soothes his ulcer, as well as making for good temper! He has an obsessive desire for success, this to discover why No.6 was going to sell out. What he had to sell, and to whom he was going to sell it.

   His eyes stare out from behind his spectacles. There is a question mark over this particular No.2's health in the Tally Ho - "Is No.2 Fit For Further Term?" But he has a single mindedness in over coming the task in hand. Later he develops an obsession about 'the General.' He is prepared to see that an untested drug are used on No.6, despite the risk to the subject. He uses technology to it's fullest extent. This No.2 cares little if No.6 survives or no, provided the result is obtained in the end. We might very well cheer when this No.2 is brought to his knees at the end of A B & C, and applaud Colin Gordon for his manic performance.  But be assured that we will be seeing this No.2 again.

   Angela Browne, the doctor-No.86 of A Change of Mind, she is the perfect foil for No.6's faked drugged shenanigans. At least the start of the episode she is bold and confident. Towards the end of the closing scenes her disciplined allegiance to No.2 and the village is in tatters. She allows herself to be out manoeuvred by No.6, as he easily gets the better of her "Stupid woman!" and is used as a pawn by No.6 to defeat No.2.

   One could say that No.86 has been degraded. But somehow, though Angela Bronwe's performance, manages to maintain her dignity.

    Kenneth Griffith gives a rich performance when playing the camp Napoleon Bonaparte during The Girl Who Was Death, but as No.2 we see so little of this character. But at least we learn that No.6 wouldn't drop his guard with his own grandmother!

    But later as 'The President' in Fall Out Kenneth Griffith gives a strong and powerful performance. He dominates with his speeches, and the screen with his experienced artistry. A powerful delivery, a powerful persona and a powerful performance are all his own.

A Few Points Raised

    The changing No.2's. I think that if one No.2 had been used for the entire series, it would have become a drawn out, head to head confrontation between No.2 and No.6. the constant changes showed that No.2's were expendable, and that the Village seemed to have an unlimited supply of back ups {each with a different style} ready to take control at any time.

Forthingay. Perhaps he believed the set-up to be real. having been brought to the village himself, his mind could be under village control

Nadia. No.2's "surprised" tone was actually an "impressed" tone. Perhaps only No.2 knew of the plan at that moment and had to treat her as just another prisoner until the escape.

1 When No.6 referred to somebody by name{eg Cobb and Nadia}, why did the rest of the Village do the same? Very early on we are told that names are never used in the village.

2 During Arrival, when No.6 visits the Bell Tower, the continuity of the shot is questionable. No.6 looks out to sea, turns 270 degrees clockwise and looks down at his new house. After such a turn, he should have his back to his new home, shouldn't he?

3 Could someone provide a rough conversion between Credit Units and Pounds Sterling?

   In the opening sequence of ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ No.6's would-be father-in-law asks what slide No.6 shows, thereby apparently revealing that he knows something of the fate of No.6. Doesn't this revelation contradict one of the major themes of the series - that we do not know which side runs he Village?

    {You should be wary of interpreting scenes of The Prisoner too literally. Surely the reference to slide No.6 in this scene is just a neat twist by scriptwriter Vincent Tilsley - an in-joke at the viewers expense}.

   In ‘Arrival,’ when No.6 goes in the helicopter for an aerial tour of the vVllage, a few cars can be seen parked below. Were these meant to be there?

    {Obviously this is sloppiness on the part of the production team. the cars should have been cleared from the village for this scene, or the cameras should have avoided the spot where they were parked. Presumably, it was hoped that no one would notice them? Incidentally, in one aerial shot of the village, Villa Winch cottage behind Chantry can be seen still under construction.

{Footnote: The Supervisor-No.26 would like it to be known, that any such question and answers here are not those posed and answered by myself, although I might be in agreement with a number of them.}

Be seeing you

Tonight On The Video Channel

    Yes I know that there are those out there, in fact there are a good many of you out there, who will commence reading this and say "Oh no, not again!" Why is he doing this? Well if you never watch THEPRIS6NER-09 series you'll never know. Yet thankfully there are those who will read this and understand why, and I applaud those fans who do.
    This month sees the 4th anniversary of THEPRIS6NER, and tonight my wife and I commence a re-screening of this series tonight. It will be our sixth screening of the series, and possibly there are few fans who can say that. But if I'm wrong perhaps they would be kind enough to let me know.
   For me, and my wife, there is only one thing wrong with this series, it's over all too quickly. With the end of Checkmate we are always left wanting more. In fact at the end of each episode we are always left wanting more, a 6 episode mini-series is far too short especially when taking the original series into consideration. However it must not be forgotten that McGoohan had intended his series 'the Prisoner,' to have been a 7 episode mini-series.
   In Arrival a man wakes up in the desert. He doesn''t know where he is or how he came to be there, but stretching as far as the eye can see in all directions is the desert! He encounters an old man who is being pursued by armed Guardians with dogs. He helps the old man, who sees the Prisoner as being a bloody miracle seeing as he doesn't come from the Village. The old man is the former No.6, dies, and the Prisoner buries the body in the sand beneath a dead tree.
   Eventually the Prisoner arrives at the Village. He takes a taxi ride, falls from a cinema, and ends up in hospital. The Prisoner is taken to meet Two "Look" says Two "see how the sun makes it all glow.......the kind of day that makes you glad to be alive!"
    As I originally watched Arrival I thought the Prisoner was suffering from flashbacks of a previous life. But it wasn't until the second watching of the episode that I came to realise that the Prisoner, like others who are brought to the Village, is living two existences at the one and same time.
   313 is a doctor who takes a personal interest in the Prisoner Six. Six wants to escape, but escape is not possible, because there is nowhere to escape to. There is only the Village! Two is a dark character, but I love to watch him eating that cherry cake as there is something strangely compelling about it.

Breathe in......breathe out......more Village!