we seriously need to get on this, girl. reviewing this and viewing more :)Angelica's long overdue entry: I'm not sure if it's the time that has passed since the last Prisoner viewing or that I was more observant this time (or perhaps more awake?), but this episode felt much less familiar on its second viewing. It was definitely a clever way to work around Patrick McGoohan not being there for the episode and a good use of minimal filming in the Villiage. It was nice to get a few more glimpses into his personal life (a girlfriend?) and nice to go along on a little roadtrip. It felt like a nice easing back into some sort of Prisoner schedule...like an interlude before we launch into a full dose of Patrick McGoohan.
Dave's take: i can't help but watch this episode and wonder what was happening in McGoohan's life that he would leave his pet show for an episode of filming, put all kinds of creative work into making it as McGoohan-populated as possible, and leave viewers knowing something was up. i have learned that it was Ice Station Zebra that took him away. He was, after all, an actor looking to make the biggest name for himself. Suddenly, i see parallels between the experience of an actor and that of this episode's character. Both trying to figure out who they are, how to convey it, who will believe it... believe in them! Our hero wakes up with a new exterior, completely transformed to the audience eyes. Success. Our hero seeks allies and faith. Security. Our hero seeks re-transformation, a return to his true exterior, but he is a spy, a made liar among an audience of actors. i wonder if McGoohan conceived himself a man behind an actor playing an actor playing roles, and this episode, playing out allegorical mirror layers that wrapped around the layers spoken to. i think so; McGoohan seems complicated. As was the process of discovering the location of the mad scientist (slide show) and transferring minds across bodies (Metropolis Lite F/X). It really is no wonder to me that i didn't follow this episode the first time.
(this is the only picture i could find of Nigel Stock - Number 6 of this episode. note: he does not sport tweed or pipe in the episode.)
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