tallman@dspo.UUCP (04/17/85)
The following is summarized from correspondence I have had with Dave Iannucci about The Prisoner, which we felt would be of general interest. From: lanl!ihnp4!allegra!sjuvax!iannucci (iannucci) To: allegra!ihnp4!lanl!dspo!tallman > To Dave Iannnucci: > I have a request. Due to an error in programming my VCR, I only > got the first half hour of the episode "The Dance of the Dead". Would > you please mail me a synopsis of what happened? The suspense is terrible. Guess what? That is virtually the only episode that I do not remember well! I remember certain things that happened, but I don't remember what the crux of the plot was or what the outcome was. > About the mobile Village concept - it would certainly be possible > to have a number of copies of the Village in different places in the > world. They could drug Number 6 at night and move him. It is easier to > believe this than that his sense of direction was so bad that he would > suspect nothing while directing the pilot with maps in "Many Happy Returns". Ok, I suppose there could be multiple Villages (not something that *I* would be inclined to accept, but ...), but I don't see what you're getting at Re: sense of direction being bad, etc. I don't understand your point. The way I understand this is that the Village is REALLY in U.K., and that its being in Lithuania is only a hoax perpetrated upon him by his old colleagues (maybe against their will). He is navigating, but the pilot is just ignoring him and taking him to the real Village. > By the way, the pilot reveals his face before dropping #6, and it is > definitely the "milkman" (whose face is shown as he gets out of the truck). Thanks for the confirmation. > But my theory is still that all the events are a paranoid fantasy of > the Prisoner. He literally is Number One, and a part of his mind is in > control of what he is doing to himself. Then there is no problem with > a mobile Village - places often move around in dreams. You're saying this is all a dream? Could you be more concrete? I don't see all the details of how this works. Is it really just a dream from which he will wake the next morning? Or is it something more? A waking delusion....? Or what? Listen, these things should be posted to the net. BCing U. Dave Iannucci @ SJU C. David Tallman - dspo!tallman@LANL or {ucbvax!unmvax,ihnp4}!lanl!dspo!tallman Los Alamos National Laboratory - E-10/Data Systems Los Alamos, New Mexico - (505) 667-8495 -- C. David Tallman - dspo!tallman@LANL or {ucbvax!unmvax,ihnp4}!lanl!dspo!tallman Los Alamos National Laboratory - E-10/Data Systems Los Alamos, New Mexico - (505) 667-8495
tallman@dspo.UUCP (04/17/85)
This is a summary of the reply letter to Dave Iannucci (see Prisoner Correspondence 1). From tallman Tue Mar 26 10:11:11 1985 To: lanl!ihnp4!allegra!sjuvax!ianucci Subject: Prisoner letter It is fine with me to post my previous letter. Maybe several people on the net will remember the "Dance of the Dead" episode and fill in details. It featured a fancy-dress festival and a compact radio. > Re: sense of direction being bad, etc. I don't understand your point. > The way I understand this is that the Village is REALLY in U.K., and that > its being in Lithuania is only a hoax perpetrated upon him by his old > colleagues (maybe against their will). He is navigating, but the pilot > is just ignoring him and taking him to the real Village. But wouldn't a clever man like the Prisoner realize the pilot was not following his directions? He could tell they were flying in a circle by the position of the sun, landmarks, etc. > You're saying this is all a dream? Could you be more concrete? > I don't see all the details of how this works. Is it really just a dream > from which he will wake the next morning? Or is it something more? A waking > delusion....? Or what? The way I see it, he has come to view the world as a place that forces conformity, a place where no one can be trusted. While he is packing after he resigns he thinks "I can't get away this easily." He imagines someone is gassing him through the door. He collapses in his room, and the dream continues. He cannot escape until he breaks through the fantasy. He may do this partially in the last episode (which I have not seen). C. David Tallman - dspo!tallman@LANL or {ucbvax!unmvax,ihnp4}!lanl!dspo!tallman Los Alamos National Laboratory - E-10/Data Systems Los Alamos, New Mexico - (505) 667-8495 -- C. David Tallman - dspo!tallman@LANL or {ucbvax!unmvax,ihnp4}!lanl!dspo!tallman Los Alamos National Laboratory - E-10/Data Systems Los Alamos, New Mexico - (505) 667-8495