Making a Splash

   During the evening of ‘Checkmate,’ the searchlight crew in the Bell Tower are attacked by No.6 and his confederates, and a fight scene ensues. One member of the searchlight crew is punched, falls from the Bell Tower, and lands with the sound of splashing water. There is no pool of water anywhere near the Bell Tower! So perhaps the added sound effect of splashing water was to imply that the man had been saved by falling into water rather then the thud of him impacting with the ground having fallen from a great height!

Be seeing you

The Therapy Zone

   And so the great day was nearly over, it went off rather well Number 6 thought, better than planned in fact. And then the new Number 2 could look forward to his own retirement, and Number 6 is sure they will arrange something equally suitable for him when the day comes.
   “Be seeing you…won’t I?” said Number 6, there is a question mark over that, oh not like the word Security in The Tally Ho, but will Number 6 actually see this new Number 2 again? Because he had never met the previous Number 2 before the onset of Appreciation Day. He was trying to prevent his assassination, which of course he did. More than that Number 6 managed to orchestrate the retired Number 2’s escape, knowing that he could not have put the detonator to his own advantage.
   So where does that leave this retired Number 2? Because as the new Number 2 looked to the sky, the helicopter was turning back towards the village, but on whose authority? Had Number 1 intervened? Had the Supervisor ordered the pilot to return to the village? The helicopter might have been taken under remote control as in ‘Arrival’ when Number 6 had attempted to escape by helicopter. More likely it was on the word of the retried Number 2, because he was all too well aware that they would catch up with him eventually wherever he went. And everyday he would be looking over his shoulder. So to save him all that grief perhaps Number 2 decided to return to The Village. After all he had nothing to fear, it was not his fault that Plan Division Q had failed. Perhaps Number 2 saw this as an opportunity to be able to return to the village and live out the rest of his life in quiet retirement in the Old People’s Home.

Be seeing you

Caught On Camera!

   In ‘Many Happy Returns,’ No.6 obtained a fisherman’s Guernsey. He had no Guernsey of his own; there was no Guernsey he could have borrowed. So when acquiring one he put it on and went about the construction of his sea-going raft. A fisherman’s Guernsey is a hardwearing, hand knitted, woollen jumper which has been worn by fishermen around the coast of Britain for many years. A tough weatherproof garment, usually navy blue, its purpose was more than just to keep the fishermen warm and dry, as in a fishing accident the owner could be traced by the specific knitted pattern.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey_(clothing)

  The only question is, from where did No.6 obtain that Guernsey?

Be seeing you

Tales From The Village

    “Good afternoon everyone, good afternoon, I have an announcement to make. Your local council have organized a photographic competition. There will be five categories, landscape, seascape, portraits, the natural world, and finally architecture. The competition is just 4 weeks today, so get snapping!”

    “Did you hear that 113b?”

    “The announcement about the competition you mean.”

    “You know you should enter that.”

    “Why?”

    “There’s bound to be a prize.”

    “I could make Number 2 my subject and do a photographic portrait study of him.”

    “Don’t be daft, remember that exhibition of arts and crafts, almost everyone created a piece of art based on Number 2, and who was it won the prize of prizes?”

    “Number 6!”

    “You want excitement, a touch of the dramatic, and the unusual.”
    “Righto!” 

    Several clicks of the camera later, and No.113b waited to see what would develop!
    It was with some eagerness that 113 waited for No.113b to emerge from the dark room.
    “So what’s this one, not bad, the café, I like the shadow cast by the tree.”

    “What have we here, ah the Stone Boat, fair enough. What happened to the dinghy?” 

    “No2 refused to have it put back after the time when two citizens tried to escape in it.”
    “These pictures are alright, but they’re like these others, the Green Dome, the bandstand, the village green, piazza there are no people in them.”
    “Of course not, I had to get up very early in the morning to take these photographs. Mind you there was one person out and about with a camera, you might find this next photograph interesting.”

   “What was No.6 doing out and about the village at that hour of the day?”
   “Taking pictures of the village, so we decided to take a picture of each other taking a photograph, clever don’t you think. And then for a touch of surrealism……..”

    “A photograph of 6 Private.”
    “From an unusual perspective.”
    “Does No.6 know his cottage has been changed round, I except Number 2 will have something to say about it!”
    “And for a touch of the dramatic a seascape.”

    “How on earth did you manage to take that photograph?”
    “With extreme difficulty let me tell you, I shall enter this photograph in the Seascape category.”
    “Well what about this portrait study of Number 6, why did you take that?”

    “Because it’s so unusual.”

    “What’s so unusual about it?”
    “He’s smiling!”

Be seeing you

The Tally Ho

Lockdown!

by our own reporter

    The day would have been much the same as any other had it not been for the sudden lock-down of the village! I woke up this morning put on my dressing gown, carried out my bathroom ablutions, by which time the housemaid had generally arrived with my breakfast, but this morning she was conspicuous by her absence. I didn’t think I had done anything wrong to have that particular privilege removed, but then you can never tell. So I retired to the kitchen, I switched on the kettle, brought a cup and saucer, tea caddy, sugar bowl from a cupboard, and a small jug of milk from the fridge. The kettle boiled I warmed the pot, emptied it, then put in three caddy spoons of tea, one for the pot, one for me, and one for luck, poured in the hot water and let it brew for a few moments. Then poured out the tea, and it was very nice, at which point the telephone began to bleep. Instantly I knew it was the editor by the impatient tone of the bleeps! I picked up the receiver. “Is that you Number 46?” You called this number, so who else would it be? “I can’t get out!” Out of where? “My flat of course!” I know, I can’t get out of my cottage, and the housemaid failed to bring me my breakfast this morning. “A housemaid brings you your breakfast; you know what you are, don’t you 46?” No what? “Decadent! Look 46 why are we locked in like this?” I really couldn’t say. “What can you see out of the window?” I drew back the blind, the village, I said, what else? “You can’t see anyone out and about?” I looked out of the window again, no there’s no-one. “This needs investigating 46.” And pray tell me how I’m supposed to do that? “Well after they let us out then.” You think they’ll let us out? “Well what do you think?” Perhaps the village has been evacuated, and somehow we have been forgotten and left behind! “Heaven forbid!” the editor said and put down the receiver. I did try and call No.2 for a quote, but he wasn’t answering the phone, not even the operator! And that’s how it was during the two day lock-down, which I found most irksome due to the fact that half-way through the second day I had run out of tobacco!
   And then on the morning of the third day I heard the electronic lock of the cottage door release and I found I could open the door and go out. I went out and met and talked to other citizens who didn’t seem to be bemused at all after the current lock-down, in fact they asked me “What lock-down?” And they said they felt nothing but refreshed after a long nights sleep. Puzzled I called in at the General Store where I found the portly shopkeeper clearing up some broken glass. What’s the matter I asked? “I’ve had a break-in, and some stock has been stolen, but I know who did it.” Who? I asked. “Number 6!” How do you know that? “He had the blooming cheek to write out an I.O.U for 964 units and signed it Number 6!” I bought half an ounce of ready rub tobacco and a box of matches then stood outside the General Store filling my pipe. It was then that I saw the village dustcart with three bin-men in it. Basically the dustcart is a grubby looking Mini-Moke towing a trailer filled with rubbish, but in this instance the trailer was empty and the dustcart was being driven at speed. “I wonder where they are going in such a hurry?” I said to myself. “Probably down to the quayside to clear away all the rubbish there” a passer-by said. Lighting my pipe strolling through the village I made my way down to the quayside, The Tally Ho photographer was already on the scene. The Dust-cart was parked on the slipway, that being as close to the quay as they could get. There were a number of large logs piled up, three empty steel oil barrels, lengths of rope, and wood chippings scattered about, and an axe had been left on the scene. “I’d like to catch up with whoever dumped this lot here!” one bin-man grumbled to himself lifting a barrel and carrying it off while the other two set about clearing the long logs away. The bin-men had to carry the debris away all along the quay, passed the swimming pool to the slipway where the Dustcart was parked, a matter of about 100 yards give or take a yard or two. The strange thing is, apart from the debris left on the quayside, is the fact that No.6 wasn’t seen in the village at all for well over a month. Then one morning I woke up to find the door of my cottage locked. I washed and dressed, made the tea, and it was when I was filling my pipe that I looked out of the widow I was sure I saw No.6 walk passed wearing a flying suit!                   

Be seeing you                   

Watching The Prisoner - A B and C

    Following after ‘The General’ is ‘A B and C’ and I really think these two episodes cannot be separated and should run consecutively, and so No.2’s term in office is extended even though there is a question mark over his health. The poor chap is suffering from a stomach ulcer, hence the need to drink milk in order to sooth the pain.

   Like the ‘The General,’ and other episodes of ‘the Prisoner’ this episode takes place over three days, however at the same time ‘A B and C’ is unique in that the episode is clearly defined as a play in three acts. That makes it possible to watch ‘A B and C’ in its three acts over three days, which is just what my wife and I shall be doing. This evening the first act ‘A’ is watched for 13 minutes and 52 seconds. Tomorrow the second act ‘B’ is watched from 13 minutes 52 seconds until 27 minutes 13 seconds, and the day after act ‘C’ from 27 minutes 13 seconds to 48 minutes 30 seconds. I doubt very much that this episode will have been watched in this format before.

   No.14’s copy of the Tally Ho has a date Feb 10^th which coincidentally is the same date of The Tally Ho in ‘The Schizoid Man,’ and ‘Free For All.’ This lead to a curious theory which was first voiced back in the late 1980’s, that because the two episodes share the same date there is only one way both episodes could take place at the same time, if there were two villages….ridiculous! And yet if The General links the episode of the same name to ‘The Schizoid Man’ then the date of The Tally Ho Feb 10^th not also gives ‘A B and C’ a connection to ‘The Schizoid Man,’ and vice versa because of the headline, but also date-wise to ‘Free For All’!
    And when it comes to other connections there is of course Mrs. Butterworth turning up in No.6’s dreamy party, she knows it’s his lucky number! Well you mostly put people in your dreams who you know or have met, so as No.6 met Mrs. Butterworth previously in ‘Many Happy Returns’ it seems quite reasonable. However if ‘Many Happy Returns’ precedes ‘A B and C’ as is the case in the screening order, then it becomes another matter!

    A favourite scene is when No.2 watches No.6 walking along a cobbled path. It’s an uncomplicated little scene, there’s Number 2 having not long got out of bed in a room somewhere in the labyrinth under The Village. He had a bad night, he said he couldn’t sleep, perhaps he hadn’t drunk his nightcap! He wanted to know what that Number 6 was doing. It’s nice to know that No.2’s first waking thought is of No. 6; well much of No.6 depends upon No.2’s future.
    No.2 told the doctor-No.14 that they had researched and computed No.6’s whole life, and in using the word “computed” I cannot help but think that it was the General No.2 used in computing No.6’s whole life. However in this screening order that’s impossible because by this time the General has been destroyed!

    Unlike No.2, No. 6 has been up for some hours; presumably he did drink his nightcap, and has been on his early morning walk around The Village. He knows he’s under close surveillance, but it doesn’t worry him, in fact he pauses to salute into a camera knowing full well that Number 2 is watching.

    “Irritating man, he’s always walking.”

    “Be seeing you.”

    “No,” No. 2 replies “I’ll be seeing you!”

    I think this is mere coincidence, Number 6 did once accuse Number 2 of spending his time spying, after all, all his predecessors did. But no, No.2 doesn’t spend all his time spying. He’s very much preoccupied with the idea of extracting the reason behind No. 6’s resignation, and he’s running out of time! He doesn’t even have a week, only three days which equates to the three doses of the doctor’s drug!

Be seeing you

Farewell Moonyeenn Lee

   Some sad news reached me this week, Moonyeenn Lee, The PRIS6NER’s South African casting director, recently passed away from COVID-19 Complications.
  As well as working on the 2009 production of THEPRIS6NER Moonyeenn Lee also worked on a number of Hollywood productions.

Rest In Peace Moonyeenn

https://variety.com/2020/film/global/moonyeenn-lee-legendary-south-african-agent-casting-director-dies-1234710829/

https://www.amc.com/shows/the-prisoner/talk/2009/05/interview-the-prisoner-sa-casting

https://www.sapeople.com/2020/07/20/tribute-to-south-africas-legendary-casting-director-moonyeenn-lee/

BCNU