jagardner@watmath.UUCP (jagardner) (02/08/85)
[...] People who are interested in the Prisoner may be interested in "The Prisoner Puzzle", a booklet put together by TVOntario (Ontario's equivalent of PBS) when they were showing the series five or six years ago. In those days, TVO had to go out of its way to prove that entertaining shows like the Prisoner were also educational, since TVO's mandate is to provide _educational_ TV that doesn't compete with commercial television. At any rate, they followed each show with a discussion of the episode's major themes, pointed out nifty pieces of symbolism the viewer might have missed, and so on. It got a little pompous, but it had good moments. The booklet could be obtained at that time (and maybe now, for all I know) by writing to TVOntario, Customer Relations Dept. in Toronto. You should be able to get the address from a phone book -- most major libraries in Canada carry U.S. phone books, so U.S. libraries may have Toronto phone books. (Maybe I'm being naive.) Anyway, the booklet contained a description and discussion of all 17 episodes, in the order that they originally aired, plus an interview with Patrick McGoohan, and other neat stuff. By the way, I object to the statement made on the net that the Prisoner is not SF. The episode "A, B, or C", for example, contains "dream-monitoring" equipment to see if Number 6 lets down his guard when he's asleep (three guesses whether he does). Much of the series IS more down-to-earth, of course, but they didn't blink an eye at departures from reality. While we're on the subject of the Prisoner, I should point out that it is a direct continuation of a series that aired as "Danger Man" in Britain, and as "Secret Agent" in the U.S. (Remember the big hit song, "Secret Agent Man", that was its theme?) In the last episode, the secret agent (played by McGoohan) resigns from the agency because he disapproves of what they did to a fellow agent who may or may not have defected. The lead-in to the Prisoner is obvious. I might also point out that the secret agent was never called by his real name; he had a cover identity that they used most of the time, but they made it clear that it was only a cover. As the theme song said, "They've given you a number and taken 'way your name." Also, there were a few Prisoner paperbacks published a number of years ago, in much the same style as the Man from UNCLE paperbacks people may remember. I've read one, by David Gerrold, I believe (the famous tribbler). In it, Number 6 and a romantic interest (a woman prisoner who may or may not be working for Village authorities) stage a production of Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" as a cover for an escape attempt. An odd little book, with the same sort of elegant paranoia of the show. Jim Gardner University of Waterloo
john@hp-pcd.UUCP (john) (02/09/85)
<<< The only thing certain about episode #7 was that the pilot knew where the village was. Since the pilot was the one who ejected #6 it is possible that he was one of them. You cannot assume that the pilot found the village by following #6's instructions which means that they may or may not be valid. John Eaton !hplabs!hp-pcd!john
iannucci@sjuvax.UUCP (iannucci) (02/12/85)
[ #6: Whose side are you on? #2: That would be telling! ] >I propose we move it to net.tv. I do love it and want to get a rollicking >discussion going about it. Re: episode 7, I have seen it so what do >you have to say? And how do you *know* where the Village is? > >-Michael "on the Twilight Node" Weiss ...!psuvax1!gondor!weiss Sounds like a good idea to me, Mike, that is, to move it to net.tv. From now on that is where I will look for discussion. Point well made re: How do I *know* where the Village is. I guess I don't *know* where it is. I should know by now that nothing, repeat NOTHING, is ever as it seems in this show. But I can tell you how I *think* I know. ***** ALERT!! ALERT!! SPOILER APPROACHING!! ******* In episode 7, did not No. 6 and his old colleagues trace the route he had sailed and determine using various scientific methods that his point of departure must have been the Baltic coast of Lithuania? And did he not fly in the jet to that very spot when he was dropped like a hot potato? It seems to me that this is pretty convincing evidence, but I do concede that there is always a 'bug' lying dormant in evidence like this. By the way, do you (or anyone else) have any ideas about the 'funny-umbrellas' or the old-fashioned bicycle. viz. significance? I hope we're not going to dominate this discussion. -- David J. Iannucci (the dirty vicar) St. Joseph's University {allegra | astrovax | bpa | burdvax}!sjuvax!iannucci Philadelphia "A witty saying proves nothing. " --Voltaire =============================================================================
@RUTGERS.ARPA:milne@uci-icse (02/13/85)
From: Alastair Milne <milne@uci-icse>
Marvellous series. I hope it comes around this way again.
But WITHOUT the psychiatrist who, the last time it was run, supplied
comments after every show. Yes, I know it's hard to believe anything
so ruinous, but that's what they did. Hanging would have been far too
good. (BTW, this in the LA/Orange County area of California.)
I never really thought that, beyond Number 1 and Number 2, there was
any real heirarchy in the numbering system. For one thing, *nobody*
would have been at the same level as anybody else. Odd heirarchy. But how
did he get to be Number 6, when there were people with numbers in the
hundreds (and who were *they*? Spies? Warders? Innocent people?)? One
wonders whether the Village had already been there, or whether it was
specially set up to try to break him. Big project for one man, but then
he was an important agent. But if it had already been there for a time,
surely that number would already have been taken. Or did it happen to be
vacant at the time?
As to that umbrella thing that the Number 2's carry, it could (knowing
the Village) be just about anything (a personal escape rocket, perhaps?)
but it *could* just be an umbrella. As I recall, lots of the Villagers,
especially the women, wore rain capes from time to time. If the Village
is in Britain, they'd need them.
I agree that the Village was *probably* run by British Intelligence,
but it's almost as hard for us to tell as it is for Number 6. That, of
course, is the fundamental conflict of the series: he doesn't know whether
the warders are British, or enemies trying to break him; they don't know
whether he's loyal to Britain, or selling out to enemies. And we really
get no more clues than he does. It keeps the suspense up constantly.
Begging your pardon, I believe that quote is:
"I am not a number, I am a free man!" to which the only reply he gets
is Number 2's long, loud laughter, seeming to come from a moonlit, grey
sky.
Excellent series, one of the finest I've ever seen. I do hope it comes
back.
Alastair Milne
"Je ne suis pas une numero! Je suis un homme LIBRE!"
-- from the French translation shown on channel 79 in Toronto.@RUTGERS.ARPA:Boebert.NSP@HI-MULTICS.ARPA (02/15/85)
From: Boebert@HI-MULTICS.ARPA No discussion of the Prisoner should omit the games for the Apple; the first one was about the cleverest use of low-res graphics ever. For those who have not been exposed to them, the games capture the spirit of the show in excellent fashion. They were produced by a company called Edu-Ware, which I believe is now defunct. As with most Apple games, pirated copies abound, alas; these were two games which were worth the money.