It's All Very Readable - But Only Good Agricultural Stuff!

 Over the years I've collected a number of books to do with the Prisoner, and not all of them have been good. It all began with the Prisoner by Thomas M. Disch. Then The Prisoner-A day In The Life by Hank Stine, followed by The Prisoner-Who Is Number Two by David McDaniel, which I found to be the stupidest of the three novels. No.2 sees to it that No.6's Lotus Seven is brought to the village, and No.6 is given a ration of petrol, and a race track is built, so that No.6 can drive his Lotus, at speed, but only round and round a race track........
   Many books have been written about The Prisoner, trying to put answers to the many questions, and demonstrating many interpretations about the series. They all try, but somehow they all fall short of the mark, which is easy to do, as we all have many different and varied ideas and theories about what the Prisoner is. What's more any book written about the Prisoner has something in common with all the rest - they all make mistakes, sometimes they have to!
   I thought that one day I might publish all my writings and theorisations about the Prisoner. But then it's tough getting a book published in this day and age. My mate Stimpy Stimpson knows that better than anyone. He's written three manuscirpts about the Prisoner, two novels, and another investigating every aspect of the series, and everything connected with it. Dave cannot tell you why the Prisoner was living in such a large house for one person of No.1 Buckingham Place. Because it is one house, and not a number of flats. In fact it's not known how the Prisoner could afford to live in such a house in the City of Westminster, London. But I tell you what, Dave Stimpson knows who was living next door to the Prisoner, at the actual time of filming the Prisoner in No.3 Buckingham Place. I myself am not at liberty to tell you, but it was someone closely related to a very important person. No less a person than........................No, I cannot betray a trust!
   It has to be said that Dave Stimpson has placed his trust in me, and that I share many confidences with him, his new dicoveries which he has made durng four and a half years of research into the Prisoner. And I tell you what, some of his discoveries would astound any fan of the series. They astounded me! I mean who would have thought the village salute, had an origin, and No, it's nothing to do with the Christain sign of the fish! Or that there's one certain connection between the Prisoner and Danger Man. I mean, Dave himself has only recently made that discovery! Trouble is he's not telling, not even to me! I can only hope that for my sake, as well as Dave's, and for fans of the Prisoner around the world, that he can find a publisher for his manuscript The Butler Speaks before too long. Then we might all learn a factual thing or three!
I'm Johnny Prisoner

All The Fun Of The Convention!

   I generally watch the Prisoner over 17 weeks as a lead up to the Prisoner Convention in April 8th-10th. But this year it's THEPRISONER which will see me to the convention. In fact I've a mind to go as Two, and go about the village reminding people to "Breathe in, breathe out.....more village!" And during the election parade, instead of chanting "Six for two, six for Two, six for Two. Vote, vote, vote...." I'll chant "Six is the one! We want Six. Six is the one. We want Six. Six is the one." I bet they'll not be many joining in with such a chant from the 2009 series. I'll probably be posted as being Unmutual!    Here in the United Kingdom April will see it being a year since the premier of THEPRISONER. And already it seems to have been forgotten by the majority of fans of the original series. But not by me, nor by my mate David Stimpson, who keeps THEPRISONER in mind, he has not forgotten, and neither have I.

  This is the emblem of the village. Not so iconic perhaps as the canopied penny farthing bicycle, but I've got used to it, and think it rather clever in a way. It's Art Nuveau, or Art Deco, one or the other. and can be seen on everything and everywhere in the village. I thought it also symbolic of the village salute once given by the Shopkeeper-37927, as he said be seeing you to the Prisoner as he left the village shop in Arrival. But if that's right, then 37927 is the only citizen to give such a salute. It was perhaps a simple wave goodbye on the part of the Shopkeeper.
    The village of the original series should have had The Palace of Fun, it's marked on the map of the village. But for some reason it never visualised, or was made use of. The Palace of Fun would have been the place for drinking. Gambling. Amateur dramatics, and recreational activities of all kinds. But the only place to have any fun in the village in the original series is the Cat & Mouse nightclub with it's non-alcoholic Gin, Whiskey, and Vodka. The village of THEPRISONER has the Go-Inside bar, which caters for every taste. But I'm not sure if the village beer and wine is non-alcoholic or not!

   
Here the Prisoner tries to force a point by banging his hand down upon Two's desk, only not quite so forceful as Patrick McGoohan. Jim Caviezel fails to upset the teacup in it's saucer. Mind you there is tea in that teacup, whereas with McGoohan upset a teacup in it's saucer. Mind you the teacup was empty!

  And here, the schiozid man struggles against himself, but with the blade of a knife at Two's throat! You see, there really isn't a Two-Times-Six. There's no alter-ego for Six, it's all in Six's own mind, which as a matter of fact, can be said of the whole series.

And is this what they do to Unmutals in the new village? Well hardly, as there are no Unmutuals, only

those who go about impersonating Two, an Un-Two as he is termed. The only trouble is that this is the Shopkeeper-37927, who's only crime is to have shared with Two a pack of illicit cigarettes. And Two had given his word to the Shopkeeper that he would not tell about the cigarettes. But that wasn't Two, it was an Un-Two, who may look like Two, but you will know that he is not Two, because he is not Two. He many appear in the village in a dishevelled state, which has resemblance to Two. He may claim to be Two, but he is not Two, and must be treated as who he is, which is someone who is not Two! 37927 never impersonated Two, but here, as he's being taken to the Clinic for treatment, the Shopkeeper is Wearing an old school scarf, as like the original No.2 of the village! Two never wears an old school uniform. But he does wear a number of different ties throughout the series!
I'm Johnny Prisoner

I'm Not A Number - I'm Johnny Prisoner!

    Being a fan of the Prisoner can leave oneself open to ridicule! People find fans of McGoohan's creation as something to laugh about, not to take seriously. Well I can assure you that that's never stopped me being me. It's not a vital statement, but I thought I ought to make it.
    As you know, well perhaps you don't, but I am, always on the look out to add Prisoner merchandise and memorabilia to my already extensive collection. And a few weeks back I was busy trawling the World-Wide-Web, and found myself on ebay. There were several different badges for sale connected to the Prisoner, but all at 'silly prices' as I like to call them. I mean £16.99 for green or blue enamal badge, who's going to pay that? I had them direct from Six of One when I was a member, back in the 1980's and 90's for about £2. And there was this badge for sale, yes, just like this one.

I was there, at the 30th anniversary event for the Prisoner in London, that day. It was organised by Six of One: The Prisoner Appreciation Society. There were displays of costumes worn in the series, like No.6's blazer, his charcoal grey suit. The overcoat he wore during A B & C, and no doubt in epiodes of Danger Man. And of course the Schizoid blazer, a cream blazer with black piping. There was a number of special guests, who made up several discussion panels. One guest I recall, was Chris Gregory, a University lecturer I believe. Gregory wrote the book called Decoding the Prisoner. I've never read the book, nor have ever had the desire to have it within my collection. what's more, as soon as Chris Gregory opened his mouth, I took and instant dislike to him! I won't say why, but he gave the appearance of knowing everything about the Priosner, without having actually watched the series!
   But back to the above badge. One just like it was for sale on ebay sometime back, for the princely sum of £16.99. Well, seeing as mine is in both mint condition, and still pinned to the original piece of card it came with.....well mine should be of the greater value!
I'm Johnny Prisoner

Village Taxi Restoration Project

   Hello readers, J.P here. I like to think of myself as having been at the fore front of Prisoner appreciation for many years now. I have made study of my favourite television series. I've written letters and articles regarding the Prisoner. I've talked and debated the series with other fans, I was even a member of Six of One: The Prisoner Appreciation Society for a good many years. Why did I join such a society? Well initially not to meet with like-minded people, but so that I could get my hands on the Prisoner merchandise produced by that particular society, which was produced nowhere else.
    Today I stand by myself in the world of Prisoner appreciation. I am no longer a member of any fan club, Neither Six of One, nor Once Upon A Time. I write about the Prisoner in on-line blog, and have done now for a number of years, which reaches a good many people than are in Six of One these days.
  But a recent project of mine is the Village Taxi Restoration, which is now virtually complete. I have repainted the Village Taxi, the Prisoner Mini-Moke, produced in 1968, which had been showing it's age.
    To my mind the original plastic canopy of the model, looked just that, plastic. In fact the more I looked at the Prisoner Mini-Moke, which as I say Dinky Cars produced in 1968, didn't look right with it's red and white striped canopy. So I made a new canopy for it, and decorated it accordingly, in the regular candy-striped colours.
    A second Mini-Moke in my possession was a green army Mini-Moke, also produced by Dinky Cars in the 1960's, which I painted off-white, with brown panelling. To this model I added a black and white striped canopy, as would have been seen as the village hearse at Cobbs funeral in Arrival, had the funeral cortege, and Brass Band not obliterated it from the camera! Anyway, these are now my own pride and joy, and here are some pictures of my two properly restored Village Taxis.
   
         

 I am very pleased with my handy work, and I hope that you, the reader, will be at least slightly impressed. I even added a proper looking radio aerial to the model, using fuse wire! I still have to paint the seats of the taxi brown and yellow in order to make the model complete and exact, but that is a mere detail
   As far as I am aware, these two models are the only ones exact to those Village Taxis which appeared in the Prisoner series, that are in existance today. Certainly I am aware of no others.
I'm Johnny Prisoner

Patrick McGoohan - The Man Behind The Bars

 
"It ends this week..... the nightmarish cat-and-mouse game of spirit sapping tortures, subtle, scientific brainwashing and malignant mind probing."

Such was the description written by Anthony Davis for an article written for the TV Times, published in 1968, which went on........ "The last episode of the Prisoner, the most bizarre thriller series ever, is at an end. The moment when viewers will expect the answers to the questions they have been asking since this intriguing, two level blend of special agentry and science fiction began, sixteen curious episodes ago.

The Prisoner is Patrick McGoohans series. He devised it, after the original idea of George Marksteins which he also shared. He was executive producer, starred in it, wrote some of the episodes, had a hand in direction and even helped with the composition of the music. Never before, or since, has one man been so responsible for a television series, let alone a television series as remarkable as the Prisoner. Before it all began McGoohan said "If people don't like it, there is only one person to blame - me!"

So with that in mind its not so much a question of the Prisoner-No.6 behind the bars, but of Patrick McGoohan himself, having made himself a prisoner because of the television series he created. When asked about the Prisoner Patrick McGoohan could be the most exasperating man. Volunteering little or no information, answering laconically, or with one or two questions of his own for the one question asked! When asked what his feelings were now that the series has come to an end? McGoohan responded "I've done a job. I set out to make a specific number of films. I've made them. The series has come to an end. It's just the end of a job, that's all."                                  

     Well I can see where McGoohan was coming from, because that's just how members of the cast treated it, the majority of whom perhaps only worked on the Prisoner for a couple of days. After they had filmed their scenes, actors, actresses simply moved onto the next job. It is the fans who have made the Prisoner special, and they would have to figure it all out for themselves. It is very intersting to read of McGoohan underplaying his hand in the Prisoner, after all at the time there was nothing special about the series. Although McGoohan was trying to make people sit up, to make them angry, and ask questions, well television viewers certainly did that, there was a good deal of anger about the series at the time. Perhaps at the end of the day, Patrick McGoohan had put too much of himself into the character of the Prisoner-No.6. Had driven the production crew too hard, and himself even harder.

    Did Patrick McGoohan, at the end, achieve all that he set out to achieve, when he embarked on the Prisoner project? Well it is certainly a controversial series. At the time, you either loved or hated it. But love and hate are but different sides of the same coin. "If it failed in some respects then that's a pity" McGoohan once said "But I don't think it has." Although letters received by McGoohan at the time were not at all complimentary regarding the series, but the pros did outweigh the cons. Was Patrick McGoohan simply stirring up contraversy, and was that his main aim? Well I would have to say yes. But as McGoohan said to Anthony Davis Who said so? Pat demanded. "Are you saying or asking? Oh, you're asking."    But it was the Prisoner that was asking the question. "Has one the right to tell a man what to think, how to behave, to coerce others? Has one the right to be an individual? The series was meant to get people talking about it, love it or hate it, say what you want, but get people talking about it, which of course they did, and complained at the time to ATV. With the Prisoner McGoohan provoked people, he made them angry. People argued, discussed the series, and would continue to do so, for years and years after the original screening. Patrick had made Prisoners of us all, Prisoners of the Prisoner as the term has been coined. There is no continuity between the episodes, there is no logical pattern either. But if it's logic you're looking for, then the Prisoner is the last place you'll find it! What Patrick McGoohan had to say on the matter of logic was this, to ask yourself two questions; "You're living in the world? To which you must answer yes. Do you always find it logical? No. And that is your answer to that."  And when it comes to answers, brings one clear answer at least from McGoohan. He envisaged it from the beginning. "In a series like this, you have to know at the outset what you're aiming at. You have got to know the ending before you begin. So I had the idea for the final episode first of all and took it from there." The only trouble is, McGoohan had no idea how the series would end. He told Lew Grade as much during the production of the series. McGoohan met with Lew Grade, telling him that he'd lost his way, and could not find an ending. So much for knowing at the outset how the Prisoner was to end!      

    But what of the riddles, would the final episode provide all the answers? "What riddles?" was McGoohan's demand to Anthony Davies. "Those who run the village, where the village is located. Who is No.1? Why did the Prisoner resign? Which side was No.6 on? "No, no it doesn't" said McGoohan. Which was about as straightforward an answer anyone at the time was likely to get from Patrick McGoohan.

In fact the answers are there, in the Prisoner, all one has to do is ask the right questions. We may all not arrive at the same understanding of this remarkable series. But we can all agree simply to watch and enjoy.

As a footnote, when Patrick McGoohan was asked by Anthony Davies "Will the Prisoner ever return?" McGoohan's answer was a simple one "Definately not."

I'm Johnny Prisoner                                                                       

Village Taxi Restoration

    Hello readers, J.P. here.
    I'm always very active in the field of appreciation for the Prisoner, and the past couple of weeks have been no different. Amongst my collection of Prisoner memorabilia and mechandise, are two die-cast models of Dinky Mini-Mokes, one being a Village Taxi - Mini-Moke, whilst the other is a green Army Mini-Moke. Both had fallen into disrepair, which is extremely lapse of me, to let them fall into such a state. Mind you they are 44 years old, and showing their age.
    So I decided that it is high time that I restored the Village taxi Mini-Moke to it's former glory, and re-condition the army Mini-Moke by turning it into a Village taxi. The original Village Taxi - Mini-Moke I have carefully repainted, and have given a 'Vote for No.6' placard. Whilst the once green army Mini-Moke I have painted in Village livery, with the addition of a canopy, which I am in the process of making myself. Here is a picture of the two Village taxis at a stage of their restoration.

As you can see the canopy of one taxi has yet to be painted. Not as Dinky cars had the canopy, in red and white stripes, I will be painting the canopy in original taxi livery, yellow, brown, and white. Also the seats of the taxi will be painted yellow, brown and white, and the inside of the taxi will be finished in brown, making the models exact to the taxis in the Prisoner series. Also a new canopied Penny Farthing decal has been added to the bonnet. I am very happy with the progress of this restoration project. They will be the most exact models of the Village taxi, ever to be seen. And no, I had not forgoten the required addition of the aerial to both mokes!                                                                                                                                             

I'm Johnny Prisoner                                                                                                                 

We Want Information, Information, Information...........

    How do you get information about your favourite television series the Prisoner? Well these days all the information one might require is at the click of a mouse, all the information you want, to be found on the wonderful World Wide Web. But in bygone times, a fan of the Prisoner was alone, a lone wolf in the wilderness you might say. Well that was until Six of One: The Prisoner Appreciation Society, which one joined so as to meet like minded people, and gain as much information as one could absorb. Then as time went by, independent Prisoner based magazines and newsletters started to be produced from the end of the 1970's into the mid to late 1990's, such as Free for All, Camera Obscura, The Penny Farthing, Alert, Spokes, Number Six magazine, In The Village, The Manchester Guardian, Orbit 48, The Tally Ho, Le Rodeur, Eight Rank, The Green Dome, Well-Come, to name but a few produced here in the United Kingdom, France, America and Canada. But all have now long fallen by the wayside, save for Six of One's magazine Contact Imminent, which I think is absolutely appauling. Believe me, I've seen a copy or two of that particular magazine. And one completely independent newsletter The Tally Ho, which keeps the old tradition alive today. It is a free and completely unofficial newsletter, and enjoys a modest readership.
   But back then one depended on such magazines and newsletters for news and information on the Prisoner, and so they had an importance. That is why I have made it my concern to make a collection of many of these magazines and newsletters. Not only for the information they contain, but also for their social aspect, the people who came together to research, and produce such material.
I'm Johnny Prisoner