Fancy Living In Harmony Stranger?

   Yesterday was a bumper postal day, and amongst the post was a brown jiffy bag. And upon opening it I discovered, much to my high delight and surprise, a sealed copy of the De Agostini Prisoner part-work DVD ‘Living In Harmony.’ which I had been searching for, for years, to complete the set. I had originally bought the set from a charity shop, but it was missing ‘Living In Harmony.’ I had been unable to find it on ebay as a single disc, and then recently a large number of De Agiostini ‘Prisoner’ DVD’s appeared on two market stalls of the local market. Every episode of ‘the Prisoner’ was amongst them….except ‘Living In Harmony!’ The episode was sent to me quite out of the blue, by a good and long time friend, who for reasons of modesty will remain nameless. Much like The Man With No Name in this episode. However when he reads this he will know who I write of, and that is all that matters.

   So last night I knew what would have to be done, and that was to watch the episode. A man rides across an open prairie. He eventually arrives at a Marshall’s office, where he hands in both his sheriff’s badge and gun. Later we see the Man With No Name’ walking and carrying his saddle. Either his horse had gone lame, or it went with the job like his handgun. However he is soon set upon by bushwhackers, and abducted to the frontier town of Harmony. If you want a reinterpretation of the regular opening sequence, then this is it, but within the original series. It may further be said that ‘Living In Harmony’ is a reinvention of ‘the Prisoner.’ In the opening scene The Man With No Name is riding a horse instead of driving a Lotus Seven. He hands in his badge and gun instead of a letter of resignation. And the pair of undertakers are replaced by a group bushwhackers.

   So now my De Agostini Prisoner/Danger Man collection of DVDs is finally complete. Why didn’t I collect them when they were released at the time? Well to be perfectly honest I thought it was a very expensive way of collecting the two series. So I decided to bide my time, and pick them up from time to time, at a much reduced price.

Be seeing you

Teabreak Teaser

    Of the three Judges presiding over the Prisoner’s trial, which of them is the odd one out?

BSEENU

Village Life!

    It’s as Number 2 once told the Prisoner on the day of his arrival in The Village, “You might even meet people you know.”

    Well Number 6 certainly knew this man, Andy Edwards.

    “I don’t believe it, John, John Drake, you, of all people!”
    “Hello Andy.”
    “You’re the last person I’d thought to see here.”
    “I never expected to see myself here!”
    “How long have you been here?”
    “Quite recently. You?”
    “Weeks, months, its so damn difficult to say.”
    “The last time we were together……”
    “It was in my office, we were listening to two tape recordings relating to the Jordan’s, Basil and Claudia.”
    “Should we be discussing that?”
    “I don’t think we’re breaking the official secrets act. And even if we are, it hardly matters here”
    “Quite. So what brought you here?”
    “I’ve no idea. I resigned…..”
    “You resigned, from the department?”
    “Yes.”
    “Whatever for?”
    “I had my reasons. Anyway I went home, collected my passport, airline ticket, and two suitcases, I remember looking out of the window, I must have passed out……… I woke up here!”
    “And now?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You could be working for them!”
    “I’m a prisoner here.”
    “Have you met the Doctor?”
    “Who?”
    “He’s not here is he?”
    “Who?”
    “If he is he’ll have his Tardis with him.  Or perhaps that’s why he’s here, because of the Tardis.”
    “Are you alright Andy?”
    “No. They keep asking me questions.”
    “You’ve told them?”
    “What do you think?”
    “I haven’t told them anything.”
    “Well you would if you’d had your privates wired up to the electric mains!”
    “As bad as that?”
    “Worse if anything! Can you get me out of here before it’s too late?”
    “I’m not sure if I can get myself out.”
    “No, it’s not like Colony Three, you had a man on the inside of Section One that time, he got you out.”
    “No, there’s no-one on the inside this time Andy, and even if there were…………”
    “You don’t know if you can trust him.”
    “Arthur, the Colonel?”

    “Fotheringay and the Colonel.”
    “Ah, looks like we’ve both been stitched up good and proper.”
    “How’s London?”
    “About the same.”
    “Places don’t change, only people.”
    “Some people.”
    “You’ve changed, you’ve resigned, you’re not one of us any more.”
    “But we are in the same boat.”

    “And sinking fast by all accounts.”
    “There’s always hope.”
    “Abandon hope all ye who enter here, they should stick that edict up on a sign!”

    “I’ll talk to Number Two.”

    “You think she’ll listen?”
    “Shouldn’t think so.”
    “Then I’m dead!”

Be seeing you

No.14 And Her New Wonder Drug!

   Was Number 6 sedated or not when he was lying for the third time on the doctor’s operating table in ‘A B and C? That would all depend upon whether or not there was a sleeping sedative in the tap water!

   If Number 6 wasn’t sedated, or unconscious, it may be supposed that the doctor would have reacted. She would have informed Number 2 of the fact. On the other hand, if Number 6 wasn’t sedated or unconscious perhaps she did notice but was cool and calculating enough not to react and kept it to herself. But then at one point during that final dream sequence Number 6 collapsed despite the third dose of the drug having been diluted. But can we be sure Number 6’s collapse was genuine? It certainly looked genuine. If it wasn’t, then the doctor would have had to have gone along with it, but for why? Certainly the doctor’s reaction was a genuine one, as she was concerned for her patient’s health, and that was genuine and evident from the beginning. The reason being that her new wonder drug hadn’t even been tested on animals, let alone humans. So really she was reluctant to test it on Number 6. But if she hadn’t, Number 2 would have had it proved on her! After Number 6’s collapse it was the doctor’s opinion that they had pushed the subject as far as they dare. But Number 2 wants the dream back. He might know who ‘C’ is, but he still doesn’t know what Number 6 was selling. But if it kills Number 6, well he’ll have to take that risk. The doctor does her best to protect her patient. At least she does have some ethics, but then if she hadn’t developed her new drug in the first place………
   In the end the doctor does not accept Number 2’s suggestion that her drug failed, but is pleased that Number 6 succeeded. Might it not have been the case that the doctor in administering that final dose of her drug, noticed that it was of a lighter purple colour than the previous two doses. After all Number 6 had emptied two thirds of the drug into his handkerchief and replaced it one part drug to two parts water. And yet when the third dose was administered to the subject the colour is as dark as the first two doses. But just a minute there’s something not quite right. In a shot of the third syringe in the case, the syringe is roughly half filled. But if you watch the action, when the doctor picks up the syringe in order to administer the third dose of the drug to the subject, the syringe is only about a third full!

    Just because Number 6 managed to dilute the third dose of the drug, so that he could control his dream, didn’t make it any less dangerous. In fact the dilution of the drug could have made it worse, through possible side effects! And in any case would the dilution of the drug have the desired effect of enabling Number 6 to control his dream. After all can any of us control our dreams to quite this extent? But there it is, Number 6 did manage to control his dream and so turn the tables on Number 2, so we simply have to accept the fact. But it doesn’t stop us from wondering. Perhaps the doctor-Number 14 did make a number of mistakes. “We all have to make mistakes, sometimes we have to,” as she once said.

Be seeing you

Bureau of Visual Records

    Mister X was had taken over from where Colonel Hawke-Englishe had left off, at the cricket match. Then after getting all hot and bothered at the Turkish baths, the action moved to the fairground and that of Barney’s Boxing Booth, as he‘s in pursuit of the Girl. But just a moment, isn’t that the photographer with the girl there? Mister X seems to have missed an opportunity! Ah but the note in the steam box told him to go to Barney’s Boxing Booth, so that’s where Mister X was going, and in any case that’s not the Girl Mister X is after, she’s merely a diversionary look-a-like! When he does get close on to this girl on the Caterpillar, all he gets is a slap in the face for his troubles. And again on the Roller Coaster, all he gets is a load of verbal abuse from the photographer, don’t you Mister Sherlock Holmes!

Be seeing you

Exhibition of Arts And Crafts

            “Rover Shows Ambitious Tendencies!”

BCNU

Quote For The Day

    “Number Six come along in, heard you were having a spot of bother.”
                                             {Number 2 - The Schizoid Man} 
    That’s quite an understatement Number 2 made. Number 6 has had nothing but a spot of trouble since his arrival in The Village. First Number 2 tried to get him to give one simple piece of information away, expecting all the rest to follow. When it didn’t a personal maid, Number 66, was assigned to the Prisoner. She was supposed to play on his sympathies, but the Prisoner was having none of it and told her to get out, and not to forget what she came back for! He attempted to escape and we know how that ended, with the Prisoner being confronted, and subdued by an amorphous, membranic thing! Then he met an old colleague, Cobb, on a ward in the hospital. Cobb was supposed to have committed suicide, the Prisoner confronted Number 2 about Cobb. But Number 6 had to start all over again, with a new Number 2. Number 9 was then assigned to Number 6. He was tricked into attempting another escape a second time, by helicopter, but was brought back to The Village in a demonstration that escape is not possible.
    Number 6 then met Nadia Rakovsy, who was brought to The Village suffering from nervous tension. She was in The Village to recuperate. Only she told Number 6 that she had committed no crime, all she had done was to resign! After that she played on Number 6’s sympathies, seeing as he had resigned only to find himself, like her, in The Village. Then she reeled him in by telling Number 6 that she knows the location of The Village. There is an escape of sorts, but Number 6 is hoodwinked, he’s back in The Village, and has been betrayed by his former colleagues.
    ‘Free For All,’ and Number 6 stands for election, but democracy in The Village is an illusion, and Number 6 in thinking that he‘s not a number but a person is laughable. The illusion is maintained by the use of drugs and mind conditioning, which on occasion Number 6 is less effected by. One time he makes an escape attempt, this time by jet boat, but in the end the escape is but a watery reflection of his former escape along the beach of the estuary by Mini-Moke, both ending with the same result….a confrontation with the Guardian. It’s a hard learned lesson, but at least the tissue wasn’t damaged, only bruised!
    Number 6 might have thought that his thoughts, his very dreams were safe. But no, Number 2 had a doctor-Number 14 use her new drug to get into Number 6’s dream, even to manipulate them in order to discover the reason behind the Prisoner’s resignation. More than that, Number 2 had the Prisoner’s whole life researched and computed, and it all boiled down to the fact that Number 2 believed that the Prisoner was going to sell out, either to A B or C! But it seems that the computer had its wires crossed, because the Prisoner wasn’t selling out, he was going on holiday.
    They took the Prisoner’s name and identity away from him, not that he had a name of any kind of identity in the first place. Then they gave him a number, 6. But as if that wasn’t bad enough, they even went and took that away from him. Gave him a make over so he looked like someone else, conditioned his mind, and gave him a different Number that of 12, or two times Six if you like. And Number 2 said that he’d heard Number 6 was having a spot of trouble! An understatement if ever there was one!

Be seeing you