The Prisoner #006: Who runs the Village?
Date: Sat, 12 Oct 85 20:01:07 edt
From: sjuvax!iannucci (D. Iannucci)
Message-Id: <8510130001.AA16674@sjuvax.UUCP>
To: bpa!sb6!allegra!packard!MIT-MULTICS.ARPA!Lippard
Subject: Prisoner #006
The Prisoner #006 10/12/85 Moderator: Dave Iannucci (iannucci@sjuvax.UUCP)
Topics
- Who runs the Village?
- The Girl Who was Death
- Pointer to reviews of The Prisoner
- Thoughts on the rocket
I think the strongest suggestion about which side runs the Village (if either does) happens in the first episode. After his first run-in with Rover, number 6 awakens in the hospital and recognizes an old acquaintance named Cobb in the next bed. His reaction to this person (How did they get you, How long have you been here, have you talked, etc) strongly suggests to me that Cobb had been on the same side as number 6 before his capture. Cobb is later seen at the end of the show, talking to Number 2 before being flown off in the helicopter, and he says something about wanting to meet 'my new masters', suggesting that he has changed sides, or at least believes that he has, and thus that the Village is run by the other side.
Ross Alford
...{decvax, ihnp4, akgua}!mcnc!ecsvax!alford
=======
Does anyone have any ideas about the class of shows which go on seemingly in 'another reality' i.e., in No. 6's mind or wherever? I don't know, but the ending of The Girl Who Was Death was a bit of a let-down to me; I guess I'm not into symbolism enough... The whole episode seemed to be just a throw-off, fun with no real purpose. <Stuart Freedman>
I was a bit disappointed also, but the "fairy tale" had some interesting points. The Prisoner constantly meets women who betray him, so he invents "Death", the ultimate femme fatale. The wordless _Village Story Book_ may show that no printed words are allowed in the Village except official propaganda.
Another show that goes on mainly in #6's mind is "A, B, or C". The same set seemed to be used for the party in DNFMOMD - is this significant or a coincidence?
---------
"My name...is Death!"
C. David Tallman - dspo!tallman@LANL.GOV or ihnp4!lanl!dspo!tallman
Los Alamos National Laboratory - E-10/Data Systems
Los Alamos, New Mexico - (505) 667-8495
=======
Summaries and brief reviews of all the episodes appear in "Your Movie Guide To Science Fiction/Fantasy Video Tapes and Discs" by the editors of Video Times Magazine, $1.95.
I'd be interested in hearing how the Prisoner books relate to the show (without spoilers)
Everyone, please stop criticising my remarks about "Living in Harmony," in 002. I realize that they make no sense and said so in 003. But I still don't think the parts when he is not present prove anything, artistic licence and all...
[W. Burstein]
=======
Ok, folks, let's start up some serious talk here about the rocket that blasts off at the end of _Fall Out_. This has got to be one of the strangest things in the series, and no one that I know of has come up with any kind of explanation. So here's a try: If you recall, the rocket had the number 1 painted on it, and was the supposed ``home'' of No.1. What if the rocket (which I am assuming is a nuclear device) represents the threat of nuclear war? In that case, the allegory would be as follows: The Village of course represents society in general. Who runs the Village? (ie. who has control in the world?) Well, neither the "good" guys nor the "bad" guys, because both are overshadowed by the monster which they have created. It's really "the possibility of nuclear devastation" that keeps the whole world under its (anthropomorphized) thumb. That's why there was no person as No.1. Instead, I think what McGoohan wants to convey is that the people who have the power to decide whether to destroy the world (the true No.1s) are the individuals in the world themselves. I think I want to watch that episode again before I say any more. I didn't really want to turn The Prisoner into an anti-nukes allegory (and I'm sure I'll hear from those who also don't :-), but the more I think about it, the more convincing it seems.
Some more evidence that it may be an ICBM may be that No.6 was frantically trying to stop something from happening (apparently the rocket from taking off) at some point by twiddling knobs. Am I remembering this correctly??
And one more thing...in the climactic sequence of _Once Upon A Time_, who is it that is yelling "Die 6! Die! Die! Die!" in the background while No.2 is drinking his drink?? It doesn't sound like No.6's voice, and the butler hasn't said a word yet in the whole series! But besides, what does it mean? It's not No.6 who's going to die in the first place!
I think Barnes and Noble Bookstore, who were selling Prisoner on video tapes, have ceased doing so. I have looked high and low in their 2 latest catalogs, and there is no sign of The Prisoner. If you would like to get these episodes, and know of no other source, you may want to write them as soon as possible to see if there are any left.
=======
Q: "Why do you care?"
A: "You'll never know."
Dave Iannucci @ St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia [40 00' N 75 15' W]
{{ihnp4 | ucbvax}!allegra | {psuvax1}!burdvax | astrovax}!sjuvax!iannucci
END OF Prisoner #006
