We're All Lifers!

    Well according to No.2, who is definately an optimist, that's why it doesn't matter who Number One is, it doesn't matter which side runs the Village. Yes it's run by one side or the other, but if both sides looked in a morror, they would see that both sides are becoming identical. What has been created is an International Community, a blueprint for the future, the whole world as the Village in fact. No.2 is just as much a Prisoner as No.6, because he knows too much, mind you that's nothing to go by, because so are those citizens who know too little!
  There are three types of Village citizen, those like No.6 who are abducted to the Village, and wake up a Prisoner, and those who are brought to the Village of their own free will and hold certain positions in the Village. People who actually help run the Village at the Sewage Plant, the Electrical Power Station, Water Works, the Gas Works, on the farm etc, etc. Then there are the warders who serve the Village as guardians, helping to keep the Prisoners in order. Hardly anyone is allowed to leave the Village, except for No.2, and those like Nadia Rakovski, and Cobb who are under special circumstances. Everyone else is just as much a Prisoner as anyone, including the Warders, even if they don't act as such!  
I'm Johnny Prisoner

Fall Out!

    Does the episode Fall Out work? It doesn't really seem to fit in with the previous episodes that's for sure. Mind you, a previous No.2, formally of The Girl Who Was Death, has been brought back to the Village, and that would not be for the first time, nor to play the role of a Judge.
    For me there are two things which stand out about Fall Out, one  it's the James Bond style ending to the series, which isn't what McGoohan said he wanted, but its what the fan of the series got. Secondly Fall Out works better if viewed as a further manipulation of No.6. The Judge, or President, tells the gathered delegates of the Assembly, that the man brought before them, formally the Prisoner-No.6, must no longer be referred to as Number Six, or indeed a number of any kind. For 'Sir' as he was called had survived the ultimate test, and had gloriously vindicated the right of the individual to be individual.
    Sir, as the Prisoner was addressed, which really doesn't mean anything in itself, because the Prisoner was addressed as Sir on the morning of his arrival in the Village by the Shopkeeper of the General Store! Anyway I digress for the moment. There are three rebels who have been brought before the Assembly, No.48 who is nothing more than a representation of rebellious youth which rebels against anything it can find, against anything which is considered to be the norm. The 'late' No.2, who isn't even allowed to rest in peace, having been resuscitated, and then feels like a new man, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, his laughter still rings richly in the ear! And Sir, who is applauded for his private war. Yet Sir is the only one of the three rebels brought before the court, who is not listened to by the Delegates of the Assembly, shouted down as he is every time he commences upon his address to the court. Yet none the worse for that, Sir is permitted to meet No.1, and that's where the ordeal gets decidedly worse. Yes Sir has been rewarded with the keys to his house, a passport valied for anywhere. Travellers cheques-a million, and a leather drawstring purse of petty cash.
   Finally Sir gets to meet with No.1 in what turns out to be a rocket, and No.1 turns out to be himself, No.6's alter ego, who has been running the Village all the time, or has he? For me this alter-ego of No.6 being No.1, and vice versa, doesn't work for me in conjunction with the previous episodes. No,  for me No.1 is Curtis of The Schizoid Man, who didn't die in that episode, but was resuscitated in much the same way as the 'late' No.2. Curtis could then have been kept in hospital, or isolation somewhere in the Vilage, certainly he couldn't be left to walk the Village on his own, citizens would notice two No.6's in the Village at one time. No, Curtis having been put on ice so to speak, was later wheeled out for a second confrontation with No.6. In fact Curtis having been kept isolated from the rest of the Village community for all that time, may have tilted his brain and that would account for No.1's maniacle laughter.
    It is interesting to note that both No.1 and No.6 escape the Village at one and the same time. One blasting off aboard his rocket, and Six in the cage aboard the Scammell Highwayman transporter lorry. If anything can be said in its favour, I suppose it might be this, Fall Out does appear the most logical ending to the Prisoner series. Perhaps logical is not the right word. But I cannot see any other way the series could have ended, not with the hero able to escape the way he did. But is escape the right word either? Because even at the end, No.6 is just as much a Prisoner as he was at the beginning! Perhaps we're looking at this from the wrong end, it might very well be that the Prisoner begins because of the actions of Fall Out. Is that why the Prisoner resigned?
I'm Johnny Prisoner

Kosho

     When it was reported in the daily activity prognosis of No.6, that he attends his semi weekly Kosho practise, originally it was to have been his semi weekly Judo practise. So I wonder why it was changed, and how it was that Patrick McGoohan came up with the novel notion for Kosho? Perhaps it was during some inebriated reverie that he foresaw the idea of Kosho. It has to be said that Kosho has a more visual effect than judo might have done, and makes for a more dramatic action scene.
  Another thing - which episode was the Kosho scene filmed for? Because a brief scene appears in Hammer Into Anvil after No.6 challenges No.14, played by Basil Hoskins, to a bout of Kosho. Yet the majority of the filmed Kosho scene actually appears in It's Your Funeral, which would be fine, save for the fact that No.6's Kosho opponant is played by Basil Hoskins of Hammer Into Anvil, who can be  clearly seen, yet makes no other appearence in the episode It's Your Funeral. But I suppose the television viewer was not supposed to notice that, and even having done so, to make nothing of the fact. Well I'm sorry Pat, but most of us fans of the Prisoner have the most enquiring minds! I have to say though, that Patrick McGoohan and Basil Hopkins were quite fit, because they did the majority of the action themselves for the bout of Kosho. Yet I wonder why it is, that after the short bout of Kosho of Hammer Into Anvil, that No.6, who is clearly the victor, doesn't actually 'dunk' No.14 into that tank of water. It was as though the sudden appearence of two other Kosho contestants had put No.6 off from doing so. Yet he had no such compunction when it came to dunking his opponant into the tank of water in It's Your Funeral. But then I suppose that's because it wasn't Basil Hoskins!
I'm Johnny Prisoner

Prisoner Collection

    Over the years and decades of appreciation for the Prisoner, I have built up a collection of memorabilia and mechandise to do with the 1960's series from pens, pictures, posters, and postcards. Maps of Your Village, both in black and white as well as in colour. Badges, mugs, books, Local Group magazines, newsletters, and material produced by Six of One: The Prisoner Appreciation Society. Soundtrack of the series on both record and CD's, every release of the Prisoner on both video and DVD. I have four Lava Lamps, both original to the series, and the 2009 series, which I had prior to the 2009 series.
   Here is an interesting curio.......it is a chap wearing a Top Hat, on a Penny Farthing, fitted with a pair of stabilising wheels, and it has a clockwork mechinism. I also have a collection of die-cast model cars relating to both series of the Prisoner, which includes two Village Mini-Moke taxis, and a model  Lotus Seven which I built with my own hands. Flapjacks are one of my favourite dishes, and more recently anything in a wrap! I have a white envelope which contains blank sheets of paper. A packet of Black Russian, and Senior Service cigarettes from the time of the Prisoner. I've travelled to a Prisoner convention inside a crate, and have spent a night on the beach at Portmeirion. I have rigged up the door to my flat so that it will not open unless I place a security pass disc in the little black box first, this as the secuirty precautions in the Town Hall in the episode of The General. One day I went out without a security pass disc in my pocket, and effectively locked myself out of my flat. Which meant my having to spend the night on the landing, and calling in a locksmith the next day!
    I suppose my collection, which is second to none, has turned into something of an archive more than a collection. If anyone decides to create a museum for the Prisoner I would gladly make one or two donations myself. But I don't suppose they ever will. In bygone days, if someone had a collection of something, say paintings, a person would give to the nation, like the Soames and the Forsyte bequest. Trouble is I don't think the nation is ready for the J.P bequest, and even if they were, I wonder what they would do with it? Would people come and see it, to marvel in the Village?.....shouldn't think so somehow!
I'm Johnny Prisoner

Never Trust A Woman - Not Even Of The Four Legged Variety!

   Last Tuesday was once again the last Tuesday in  the month, and that meant the monthly meeting of the Prisoner Local Group at the Goat and Compasses. This month's meeting saw the attendance of my sister, Jenny Prisoner, along with Tommy Moke. Drinks were ordered, and we all sat in the usual corner booth of the lounge bar. Tommy expressed his dislike of my new Village blazer. He saw my wearing of it as an insult to the original series. I was sorry Tommy felt like that, but assured him that I had not given up on the original series of the Prisoner, having appreciation for both series, unlike Tommy Moke!
   However the presence of my sister Jenny Prisoner, brought about a fresh discussion for Tommy and I, what is it that attracts the fairer sex to what is generally thought to be a masculine televsion series, the Prisoner? Three actresses play the role of No.2, Rachel Herbert, Georgina Cookson and Mary Morris. Other actresses play supporting roles, or bit parts within the series. So what is it about the Prisoner that attracts women to the series? Jenny Prisoner explains - 'Now I can't speak for woman-kind as a whole, only myself, and other female fans I have known. The Prisoner tends to be thought of as a 'Boys Own' series, but why shouldn't women enjoy such adventures too? Afterall, as a child I was a fan of 'Dan Dare,' albeit playing the part of Proffessor Joselyn Peabody with my brother and his friends. But to return to the Prisoner. I have found that most women fans are initially drawn to the hero No.6. Patrick McGoohan oozes tostesterone in the series, and appeals to most women. We fantasize of being in the Village with him, of perhaps being Nadia, living in close proximity, maybe even becoming his soul-mate succeeding in this where so many others have been spurned!
    As I understand it, at more recent Prisoner conventions held at Portmeirion, the roles of No.6 and No.2 in the election re-enactment from Free For All have been played by young women. This rather turns my idea on it's head. J.P asked me why young women would want to play these very masculine roles. The answer is......I have no idea.'
    Well thank you Jenny for your thoughts on the subject. I'm sure that readers will find it very interesting reading, and perhaps female readers have an opinion of their own, and might like to comment. However over the years, young women have also played the role of No.6 in music videos, and continue to do so today. And it's not just young women, those of a more mature age go about as male characters from the Prisoner. When I used to attend Prisoner conventions, there was one woman who went about dressed as No.48, in top hat, white boots, and all. And as I understand it, this woman, who is now in her sixties, is still attending Prisoner conventions dressed as No.48, who is supposed to be symbolic of rebellious youth......work that one out if you will!
   In the Prisoner women play roles of authority within the Administrative Office for the Village. Or doctors who want to do nasty things to No.6, or at the very least, to find his breaking point! But generally, it is the role of the woman to betray No.6, having first attracted him to her by the ruse of being a damsel in distress, whom No.6 can never resist! Nadia, if indeed that is her name, is a plausable enough woman, but by the end of The Chimes of Big Ben it is quite apparent that you cannot believe one single word that woman utters! The same goes for the white Queen-No.8 of Checkmate, who has often helped others with their escape plans, yet none of which ever succeeded! And what about No.9 in Arrival, she was good at her job. She succoured No.6 in, and who could believe her story about her and Cobb planning to escape together? It's no wonder No.2 of The Girl Who Was Death was under the impression that No.6 wouldn't drop his guard with his own grandmother, and probably with good reason!
I'm Johnny Prisoner

New Village!

   Well now, how do you like the new blazer folks? I purchased it from a store called T-K-Max for £15, the original price £29.99p I know Tommy Moke will not like it, as he didn't take to the THEPRIS6NER at all. Nor would those of Six of One like my attending a Prisoner convention, I would stir up things far too much, as the members of that society are still old Village, while I am new Village, able to change, and adapt to something new and exciting. Anyway I sent Tommy Moke a picture of myself in my new blazer, and the comment came back that I look like that character 11-12 in THEPRIS6NER! Just a minute, just a minute.....11-12 doesn't really exist in the series! He was but a figment of his mother, M2's, imagination, dreamt up in her subconscious....bloody cheek!
I'm well pleased this week, as I've now located a source of refills for my Six of One-the Prisoner pens celebrating 30 years of the Prisoner, and 20 years of Six of One. Also there is this pen, which is something of a collectors item, an original Prisoner pen from the mid 1980's, well you can't buy them anymore.

Such a pen also reads I Am Not A Number I Am A Free Man
      This morning I read of the death of film director Pat Jackson, who died at the age of 95, who was the last surviving director who had worked on the Prisoner, having directed A B & C, The Schizoid Man, Hammer Into Anvil, and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling. It would seem that the old Village has not yet dispensed with my services!
I'm Johnny Prisoner - in whichever Village!

Obsessive......Me?!

    What is it about the Prisoner that has turned me, and fans like me, into an obsessive? Well perhaps watching the series three or four times a year, while watching my favourite episodes in between might just about do it. But if that's not enough, there is not a day goes by when I don't think about the Prisoner, or write something about it, either here, for the Tally Ho, or adding to the pile of notes on the series, simply for my own gratification. I've asked questions, debated with other like-minded fans. I've been a member of Six of One: The Prisoner Appreciation Society, but have not for ten years now. I've gone on pilgrimages to Portmeirion, attended the Prisoner conventions there, and walked in the footsteps of McGoohan, but drew the line at sleeping one night on the beach!
    I have a mass of files, I used to collect all manner of newspaper cuttings, magazine articles, and anything remotely connected with the series, Prisoneresque as it became to be known. I've collected many of the newsletters and journals created in appreciation for the prisoner, many of which no longer exist today. All the information one could ever want, is but a click of the mouse away. Or you could read a fellow fans blog, that of David Stimpson, he's far more the obsessive than even I about the Prisoner. My god the stuff he churns out each and everyday......... most prolific of him in my book.
    Fans have talked about so called 'hidden meanings' within the Prisoner series, and do you know, I've spent years and decades watching the Prisoner, but I have yet to discover one single hidden meaning, perhaps because there are none!
    I always go about in deck shoes, piped blazer and scarf. Occasionally I carry either a black and white umbrella or a shooting stick umbrella. I do have a colourful striped cape, as worn by Villagers, but in the outside world there are certain limitations........ even for me!
    I've always managed to keep the Prisoner in mind, I've never forgot him, even in the barren years between 1968 and 1976 when the Prisoner was not shown on television. I, and many like me, had to rely on the memories of the first screening of the series here in Great Britain. But these days, I can watch my favourite television series whenever I like, be it via video or DVD.
   There are a few fans of the series with whom I keep in touch, either by email, or letter. And when I do write, I always use a Prisoner pen or pencil, of which I have a substantial supply. And of course there is the Local Prisoner Gorup which I help organise, with Tommy Moke. There used to be such local groups the length and bredth of the country, but those days have long gone. Only three such groups still survive today, as I understand it.
   I've got posters and framed pictures from the Prisoner on the walls of my flat, the best of which is the Channel 5 video poster from 1986, that is my pride and joy, framed of course. One friend and fellow fan came to my flat, and looking about the walls, commented that it looked like a shrine to the Prisoner! And of course my flat is full of memorabilia for the series. In fact it;'s more an archive really. And quite often I'll sit in my globe chair, going through old Prisoner based newsletters and magazines, going back to the very beginnings of Prisoner appreciation, with the soundtrack to the series playing in the background.
   The hot and cold taps of the shower I have put on the wrong way round, and the door to the bathroom slides to the left!  I drink my tea out of a Prisoner mug, and pancakes are my favourite dish. yes I know in the series No.6 says that flapjacks are his favourite dish, but it's pancakes he eats in The Schizoid Man episode!  In otherwords, I live and breath the Prisoner.
I'm Johnny Prisoner