60 Second Interview With The New No.2

    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

Thought For The Day

    Have you ever known a plan of escape to succeed which involved Number 6? In ‘Checkmate’ Number 8 asked Number 6 when he was going to try and escape, as everyone tries to escape when their spirit's broken. If it's a good plan, Number 8 told him that she'd help him with it, seeing as how she'd helped others with their plans. But then their plans never succeeded, which I suppose would be something of a coincidence. But then again, Number 6 may have had his doubts about Number 8, but his own record regarding escape plans is hardly flawless. Talk about Number 8! Have you known a plan to succeed which involved No.6?

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An Act of Betrayal!

   After his escape from The Village, and subsequent return to London during ‘Many Happy Returns,’ Number 6 went running back to his ex-colleagues, and gave away all the information he had on the internment camp known as THE VILLAGE. I wonder how The Village's administration felt about this act of betrayal, how Number 1 might react? Because after returning to those Number 6 felt he could trust, he couldn't wait to shoot his mouth off about The Village. Whilst in The Village Number 6 wouldn't give anything away! It is probably to do with the kind of environment with which you are familiar, and the company you are in, people who you think you can trust. And if that is the case, Number 6 thought he could actually trust both the Colonel and Thorpe, assuming rightly or wrongly that they had no prior knowledge of The Village. Then information supplied by their ex-colleague, together with photographic evidence, along with the copy of The Tally Ho and that of Number 6's navigational log, are now in the hands of others! I wonder how The Village’s administration would react to this?

   Given Number 6's numerous qualities, his expertise, the extent of his knowledge, especially about The Village, its very existence and location, it’s hardly surprising then, that they would bring the Prisoner back by the end of ‘Many Happy Returns’ and keep him in a place of close confinement. Otherwise there’s no telling who Number 6 would have gone off blabbing to about The Village! Such a person is extremely dangerous to the security of both the Nation and The Village.

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A Favourite Scene in The Prisoner

    Comes in ‘The Schizoid Man,’ the shooting and fencing scene, when Number 6 is not only played by Patrick McGoohan, but also by Frank Maher {McGoohan’s stunt double} who also played Number 6 in other scenes in the episode, but who was never given credit. In fact Frank Maher plays both Number 6 and Number 12 almost as much as Patrick McGoohan does.

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Bureau of Visual Records

    How does the helicopter pilot know to bring No.6 back to The Village? The answer is a simple one, because Number 2 has realised that the man who had travelled with him in the taxi to the helicopter isn’t the man he thought he was! He walks over to the helicopter pilot giving him instructions on what to do. One circuit of The Village, and then land again. This happened while Allison-Number 24 was about to speak to Number 6, Number 2 having excused himself for a moment, calling the pilot to one side in the background. Mind you the scene is spoilt somewhat with the use of some stock footage of the helicopter. Someone once wrote that they had added floats to the helicopter after it had taken off. I made the comment that if they had observed even closer, that it’s a different helicopter altogether. I was surprised that they couldn’t see that!

    Having said that, there was no need to insert that piece of film footage of the different helicopter, when all they had to do was to film the helicopter taking off at the Recreation Hall, insert the aerial film of Portmeirion, and the same helicopter in the air, and landing again simples!
   That was a very cruel trick on the part of Number 2, he could easily have stopped Number 6 when he said "You won't forget to give Susan my regards will you?" as Number 6 boards the helicopter.
"I won't. Goodbye" says Number 6 slipping the blindfold on.
   Number 2 could have then told Number 6 to get out of the helicopter, telling him that Susan had died a year ago. But oh no, he had to have Number 6 think he was being flown away from The Village to the landing stage and freedom. Only to taunt him on his return to The Village!

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Number 6 and I are old friends!

     The General sees Number 2 brought back for a second term of office, despite his former failure. Although there is an argument for the blame for the failure of ‘A B and C’ to be laid at the feet of the doctor-Number 14, for not reporting that Number 6 had opened his eyes and had seen her. I wonder if Number 2 consulted the good doctor about a medical matter of his own, suffering as he is from a stomach ulcer?

   Number 2 has been brought back to The Village, if he ever left that is, in order to oversee the educational experiment of Speedlearn. So at least he has no direct involvement with Number 6, well not until Number 6 decides to involve himself. That message on the Professor’s tape recorder, that Speedlearn is an abomination, it is slavery, that the General must be destroyed, was like a red rag to a bull!

   If Number 2 thought the failure of ‘A B and C’ was bad enough, with the destruction of the General, the deaths of both the Professor and Number 12 is an out and out disaster!

    “Why?” says Number 2 having asked what the question was Number Six had asked……Yes I bet he did, why bring me back? Why indeed!

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The Therapy Zone

    Arrival. In the conversation between the new Number 2 and the Prisoner he says "We do here what has to be done. It's the law of survival. It's either them or us." Imprison people, steal their minds, destroy them! "Depends on whose side you're on, doesn't it?" To which the Prisoner replies "I'm on our side." It seems that the Prisoner is outraged to think that his side is capable of doing what it does. But what do they do? They certainly like to know everything, both the Prisoner’s date of birth and his reason for his resignation were missing from his file, Number 2 wanted it brought up to date. It would appear that The Village has been created solely for the gathering of information, as suggested in ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.’ Sending out agents with someone else’s mind in his head, so that he can infiltrate the security of any nation, simply in order to gather information. It’s not just the reason behind the Prisoner's resignation that they want - but all the information inside his head! Commencing with the files he’s seen, the projects he’s heard of, headings not details, well to begin with!

    However if The Village is run by those the Prisoner used to work for, surely they would know almost all the information Number 6 is in possession of, the files he’s seen, the projects he’s heard of, so there would be no need to extract any such information. But then what about Professor Seltzman, Number 6 was the only person who knew where he was, or had the information to find Seltzman. Perhaps there was other such information which needed to be extracted.

     On the other hand the Prisoner may very well have been put in The Village for the protection of National security, to be thoroughly debriefed at their leisure! And it might have worked, had they offered him something in return. Oh but of course they did, or at least Number 2 did. It was during the aerial tour of The Village when No.2 suggested to the Prisoner "You might even be given a position of authority." Well we know what happened then, Number 6 attempted to organise a mass breakout. And again in ‘Fall Out,’ there was to have been the transfer of ultimate power, which was rejected and chaos ensued soon after. But really, was there to have been a transfer of ultimate power? After all Number 1 showed his counterpart his future in the crystal ball….as a PRISONER!

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