The Prisoner

Haven't seen "Free For All" quite yet but I'll speak on "Afterall".

Very impressed with this episode. The opening sequence does a great job establishing a sense of the main character - he's a James Bond sort who dramatically quits his job - making it easy to see why he reacts so strongly against a village where this sort of individualistic renegade lifestyle is struck down and everyone is forced and converted into living a quaint, simple village lifestyle.

Surely almost anyone would try to escape this place at first but it's clear, based on his background, why it's going to be a particularly difficult effort for the village to convert our protagonist.

The village, itself, almost seems like an extreme version of McCarthy's America. It reminds one of the 1950s image of the unthreatening suburban middle class white nuclear family. It's almost as though that ideal has come to fruition. But this is no true ideal, of course, as it comes at the cost of the destruction of the self and this show does a great job of representing the paranoia Number 6 experiences when faced with this potential destruction.

Like Affro, I also loved how disorienting that first scene in the village is. The editing and direction really does a nice job of putting you into Number 6's subjective perspective.

I also love how strange this is. The Rover being a definite stand-out.

Very fun episode with plenty to mull over and I look forward to more.

Lost pilot : Prisoner pilot :: polar bear : big white ball of death

How do you think the big white ball of death (AKA The Rover) is controlled? In the scene where it appears to kill that guy who didn't stop when everyone did, I thought that #2 was controlling it with its mind. But it seems like it's being controlled remotely in other scenes. I like to think that it has a mind of its own but it can be used by others when they need it.

In the two episodes our protagonist tries to escape The Village by air and by sea. But #2 and #1 are able to stop him both times. #6 can't trust any one or any THING. The odds are stacked against him, which is part of the fun of the TV show. It seems like everyone else in the village is under control of #1 and #2. If his captors can control every vehicle then how does he have any hope? In "Free For All", #2 appears to give him some hope when he persuades #6 to run against him. But by the end of the episode #6 is the same place he was at the beginning.

Affro asked which episode we preferred. The pilot introduces us to the main character, the setting, and the stakes in a very efficient manner. After watching "Arrival" I wanted to know more why the village existed, why they wanted #6, how they kept everything running, and how #6 plans on leaving. Rarely have I seen the location of a TV show so fully formed from the first episode.

"Free For All" is a good episode, but it does not have the same "wow" factor as "Arrival". It's a much more focused episode compared to the pilot. Most of the tension is derived from now knowing why #2 is letting #6 run against him and not knowing how it will fall apart for our protagonist. It was exciting seeing #6 appear to succeed so early in the series (although this episode is later in the KTEH and other orders) but it doesn't have the same epic scope as the pilot does.

Arrival: A-
Free For All: B+

One more thing, I'd just like to point out how everything in the show is incredibly weird. From the clothes the villagers wear to that almost teeter-toter thing the people in the control room sit on, The Prisoner delights in creating a bizarre setting that just feels off. If this wasn't a show made in the '60s, I'd say it is a malign deconstruction of those small town dramas that Todd loves, like Gilmore Girls.

I haven't really seen Danger Man, there's a reason there's such a legacy to The Prisoner, and people only remember Danger Man as it relates to The Prisoner. From what I've seen/heard about the series, it is different from most spy stories because it strove to be more realistic. Agent John Drake would occasionally fail, he'd make mistakes, equipment wouldn't work right. They also used a great deal of moral ambiguity about his orders. Not to the point that modern shows would take it, but enough that everything is not neat and tidy. But, in general, Danger Man is just a traditional spy show without the manic brilliance of The Prisoner.

"Free For All" is a strange episode and I had some difficulty telling when Number 6 was brainwashed or not, although I think that might have been me moreso than the show. Whatever the case, here we see even moreso the extent of control and manipulation in the Village. Number 6 is essentially a pawn in their game here. He's brainwashed into the affable candidate spewing empty speeches one moment and the next he's back urging the villagers to leave and embrace freedom and, in the end, he's just been used to further another's agenda and is placed right back where he started.

It's interesting re-watching the series now--I remember watching all the episodes for the first time when AVC did their TV Club classic reviews a few years ago, in a different order. Nothing's changed in the episodes, obviously, but watching them in 6of1 order, instead of KTEH order, does create some interesting through-lines. For example, and most germane to this week's pair, Free For All really seems to fit at the beginning of the series (as it is here) instead of near the midpoint (as it was with KTEH). Here, Number 6 almost seems to be feeling things out, hanging back, and trying to get the lay of the land, as it were, after learning (or, "learning") that the direct approach doesn't lead to many positive results for him. So, here, he's almost playing the game by their rules, at least for a while--taking down things from the inside, instead of using a battering ram, as it were. (Obviously, this doesn't quite work.) I don't have quite as much to say about Arrival, other than the fact that it did a pretty great job of setting up everything in the series.

I've long maintained that Homer is secretly a genius whose "stupidity" is merely a joke on himself and the world. Of course a man like that would know the perfect way to defeat the Rover.

Yes, they do change the actor of Number 2 for every episode. I don't think they disclose whether these number 2s are different people taking the slot, or one being somehow changing shape.

The ever changing number 2s are a prime example of the sheer level of psychological manipulation the Village employs. The show where there is one Number 2 is a show we've all seen, there's a battle of wills between two men over the course of a season, increasing in hostility, where the antagonist finds he is breaking and becoming more irrational every time the protagonist succeeds. Having different Number 2s is an act of genius. It emphasizes that this is merely a job, not personal animus. It also means Number 6 never knows what he's going to face when he interacts with a Number 2. Each one is different and each has a different approach. They might all share an identical goal, but there will never be any patterns to discern, since each Number 2 is completely unique. It basically results in Number 6 never finding solid footing in the Village.

The Prisoner: Week Two
Episodes: "Dance of the Dead" and "Checkmate"

For the most part, this episode really feels like a continuation of “Afterall” and I think I’d prefer it as the second, coming before “Free For All”. Here, Number 6 is essentially repeating the same mistakes as in “Afterall”. While his attempt to escape The Village is a bit more clever and nuanced than it is in that episode, his approach is still very direct. He has still not adapted and it makes more sense for him to try a more internal means of escape – which is what he does in “Free For All” when he participates in the election – a little bit later in the series as he realizes the only way to escape may be to play The Village’s game.

So I’d say the 6of1 order is a bit of a disappointment. I think KTEH makes the most sense thus far. How do you guys feel about the order of the episodes at this point?

I’d also like to speak about Dutton for a moment. Dutton seems to come of a similar background as Number 6 but his knowledge is more limited. Unlike Number 6, he actually does give in and dispense information to The Village but they do not believe him and he is deemed expendable. When Number 6 calls upon him for testimony at the end of the episode, he has been extinguished and is literally dressed as a Court Jester.

It’s clear that if you are unable to contribute to the greater good of The Village, you are expendable. And, at this point, Number 6’s knowledge, unlike Dutton, makes him a great asset to The Village. This would seem to be Number 6’s only value to them.

If that is Number 6’s only value, I think it is important, then, to consider just why Number 2 doesn’t just use mind control on Number 6, as the doctor attempts to do in the beginning of the episode, to retrieve Number 6’s secrets. Why is it so important to Number 2 that Number 6 *chooses* to dispense the information? Why must they play this difficult long game rather than take the easy way out? Why is the illusion of free will important here?

Also, I was going to go into this myself but decided to keep it shorter, but what do you think is the significance of Dutton actually having a name instead of just being referred to as a number? And a few things I didn’t speak about: the carnival, the role of the observer, and the trial. Do you guys have any thoughts on these aspects of the episode?

I may not be able to watch Episode 4 due to internet issues but if you guys want to go ahead and discuss that one without me, please do so.

The best part of "Dance of the Dead" is the trial and the aftermath. The carnival doesn't feel anything more than a silly event to structure the episode around until then. I love how #2 is #6's defendant since the main conflict always seems to be between those two. Of course, it's rigged so that #2 will be named guilty. One thing I wondered about: what if #6 didn't find a place to escape to and the people caught him? Would #2 let them kill him or would she have to stop them? #2 is pretty good at situations like that so I'm sure #2 never doubted that he would escape, but it's still something interesting to consider.

That Patrick McGoohan must be a pretty charismatic guy because I always want him to have sex with the female characters. This included Mary Morris, who played #2 in this episode. I wonder when #6 will have a straight up romance. It's bound to happen eventually.

Free for All

"Come and be the queen's pawn"
Deja vu!




Theories about who number 1 really is:
1) Bigfoot
2) James Bond
3) No one
4) Number six himself
5) A rotating cast of guest stars
6) That exercise ball
7) Danny DeVito
8) Number one isn't special at all. The numbers are meaningless. It's just coincidence number two is in charge.
The substitute sounds important
This chess game is probably a metaphor explaining how they're all cogs in a machine or whatever
"Everybody has a plan, but they all fail." They all seem content living there but him, most of the time, so that's interesting to hear.
Every episode is about him escaping. It's like Gilligan's Island.

"In society one must learn to conform." Subtle!
Everyone must hate number six. He's constantly upset, yelling, and stalks people.
There are some great shots in the episode.
With all these psychological tests, I think this is the Dharma Iniative.
That's an awfully complicated system for detecting his escape. Why don't they just use a microphone?
I think this escape plan will work, and he'll be off the island forever.
"I'm waterproof" is a great way to brush off a girl who's crying.

Ugh, don't you hate it when a girl obsesses over you?
"If I didn't know you any better I'd think you didn't love me anymore."
"I don't."
"Oh how can you say that?"
"It's true."
It's pretty creepy a large portion of the town's citizens are made of "guardians."

That giant lava lamp in the control room is like a timestamp that says "MADE IN THE LATE 60'S OR EARLY 70'S."
WTF ... he was doing karate by himself in that large room? Not to be disturbed, eh? What is he, 9?
His own test failed on himself!