Bureau of Visual Records

   Even though The Village helicopter, a French Alouette, is fitted with floats, this is the only time we see the helicopter having landed on the still water of the estuary at Portmeirion, during the filming of the Prisoner there in September 1966. The film, from which this still is taken, of the Alouette landing upon the water was filmed by an amateur film-maker either visiting, or staying at Portmeirion at the time. And if it were not for amateur film makers, we would not be privy to much of what took place during the filming of the Prisoner at that time. It is interesting to note, that at no time during the series of ‘the Prisoner,’ does the helicopter land on water at The Village, which is a pity. It would have been nice to see the Alouette helicopter landing on the water to retrieve Number 6 from the water in ‘Free For All’ after his encounter with the Guardian. Instead of him being taken back to the shore by the three Guardians.

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Exhibition of Arts And Crafts

                               “Taxi!”

BCNU

Caught On Camera!

    Number 2 completely loses it with Number 14 after asking what he was talking to Number 6 about outside the cafe. Of course it was Number 6 who was doing the talking, in fact he spoke a lot of rubbish asking 14 if he slept well. Number 6 didn’t, he had a terrible night, {perhaps he didn’t drink his drugged nightcap} he said he had insomnia, he couldn’t sleep, so restless. And there’s no point lying in bed when you’re awake. So he got up, went out {Obviously his cottage door wasn’t locked. Either that or they omitted to lock the French window again!} He had a long walk on the beach, it’s marvellous that time of day, invigorating. The air is brisk and clear, the rain on your face, the wind on your cheek. But don’t look, the waiter’s watching Number 14. It’s the only way, and Number 6 was so glad that Number 14 agreed with him. Well Number 2 didn’t believe a word of it, not after the waiter had reported that Number 14 had been whispering! Number 2 wanted to know what Number 14 had been whispering about, why the waiter should say that he was. Number 2 accused Number 14 of working with Number 6. And Number 2 thought Number 14 was the one man he could trust {obviously not trusted enough in the more important matters} and finally Number 2 accuses Number 14 of being a traitor, and delivers a back-hander to 14’s face. Number 2 completely loses it, shouting “Traitor, Traitor,” his hair falling forward as Number 2 leans over his desk in his rage. Then as he stands up his hair falls back into place. That’s because he has so much Brylcreem on his hair, thick like grease!

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It’s Been Asked Before - Why?

   Why do we persist in watching the 17 episode ordeal of the Prisoner? Why do we put ourselves through it repeatedly, over and over again? Perhaps through some perverse enjoyment, safe in the knowledge that once an episode is over, we can return to the relative safety of the real world.
  Perverse enjoyment did I write? Well perhaps that's right. After all there we sit, watching a man, a prisoner such as Number 6 being put through a series of ordeals, waiting for him to attempt to escape, but knowing full well that escape is not possible. Oh the anticipation we enjoy with ‘The Chimes of Big Ben’ for example, as time draws ever closer to the hour of eight, when Big Ben will strike the hour upon which Number 6 will realise that he has been tricked. That he has not escaped the village at all. And again with ‘Many Happy Returns,’ the viewer knows full well that despite his having escaped the Village, having been allowed to escape The Village, that he will soon be returned there. We watch with excited anticipation as Number 6, dangling at the end of a parachute struggles to slow his descent to the beach below. And in ‘Fall Out,’ the Prisoner has finally escaped the Village, only to discover that he's just as much a prisoner at the end as he was at the beginning!
   Except in the Prisoner’s end is his beginning, and in that knowledge we subliminally want Number 6 to remain incarcerated in the village. The viewer actually enjoys watching his confinement, sharing with grim fascination, the various ordeals of No.6's inquisition, and confinement in the village. In short we don't want the Prisoner known as No.6 to escape. Should he do so, then the perverse enjoyment which the viewer extracts from the Prisoner's confinement, the experiments used against him, and the dangerous situations he is both physically and mentally put in, are no longer open to us - the viewer’s perverse pleasure cut short.
   In the Prisoner’s escape, our pleasure is lost, and so are we, but in the knowledge that soon, it will begin all over again.

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Be Seeing You – Badges – Village Salute!

    Have you observed how nearly all the citizens in The Village wear badges with right facing Penny Farthings, and make The Village salute with their right hands? However in ‘Arrival’ an Oriental taxi takes the Prisoner on a drive through The Village, at the end of which she stops the taxi outside the General Stores. The Prisoner alights the taxi, and the Oriental girl tells him that the trip is 2 Units. The Prisoner doesn’t have any Credit Units, so she tells him that he can pay her next time. The girl is wearing a left-hand facing Penny Farthing on her badge and gives a left-handed salute. Although it could be said that the taxi driver uses her left hand to give the salute because of the way she faces him. But on the whole, might it be the case that right-handed citizens wear right-hand facing Penny Farthings on their badges, and vice versa for left-handed citizens?

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Super Human Powers!

    In ‘Checkmate’ it would appear that Number 6 has a negative reaction to pain, that the doctor notes would take superhuman will power. I once made the observation that in ‘Hammer Into Anvil,’ Number 6 must have had superhuman powers. Because when Number 73 is in the hospital and suddenly screams when she is being threatened by Number 2, Number 6 hears that scream. But does so when he’s walking along the path away from the Old People’s Home, and is as far away from the hospital as it’s possible to be in The Village. Yet he goes running off and still arrives on the scene in time to see Number 73 leap out of bed and out through the window to her death!

    In ‘Arrival,’ when Number 6 takes off in the helicopter in an attempt to escape The Village, everything appears to be going well, then suddenly he begins to lose control over the joy stick. As this happens, the rotor blades stop rotating, even though the engine is still working, as metaphorically he loses his superhuman power. Fortunately the rotor blades suddenly work again as the operator in the Control Room takes control of the helicopter, landing it safely back on the lawn by the sea wall. And Number 6 remains unscathed.

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All Cards On The Table!

    In ‘The Schizoid Man,’ Alison was not reading Curtis’ mind at all, that which had taken place between them was a very clever “mind reading” act. Curtis holds up a card, and Alison reacts to how he says the word “now,” which acts as a signal so that Alison knows which card to call out. It’s all been pre-arranged, choreographed, and very well practiced.
    We know that Alison had a genuine mental link with Number 6, so that when Number 6 holds up his five cards, she is reading his mind, but deliberately calls out four wrong cards. It’s a pity that it only worked with cards, otherwise they could have picked up on what each other was thinking! But that only works when two people know each other very well, have lived with each other, and come to know what the other is thinking. But perhaps that does happen, because when posing as Curtis Number 6 takes a cigarette lighter from his pocket, before Alison takes a cigarette from the box, in order to light it for her. So if Number 6 could do that, perhaps he knew that Alison was faking the miss-reading of his cards, but did not dare show it. After all when Alison came to see Number 6 off, she knew it was him, and told him that what she had done was a betrayal, and that if she had a second chance she wouldn’t do it again. But then Number 6 asked her that isn’t everything we do here a betrayal, possibly meaning that he betrayed her in knowing her thoughts, but not daring to show it because of the danger of betraying himself!

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