immerse yourself in the village

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The Prisoner: episode 11: Checkmate

Number 5's opinion: I liked it, and will probably like it again. This was a highlight along the journey as it goes. This number 2 could be my favourite - very attractive man, i insist, but i say so inclusive of his charismatic appeal; if i were Number 6, perhaps i would be swayed to the side of warden? perhaps not in the end. i digress. this episode was fantastic. chess might be an obvious metaphor for the village, the spy community, international politics, but it's damn good to see it plainly put after all these episodes, years, newscasts. yes? plain, but asking more questions than it answers, and that is the nature of this series.

i was happy with this episode especially because of the ending: the tragedy! oh, it didn't hit me until full seconds after passage, but the tragedy was like a canvas bag of stones across the face. finally, we had a male consort... and betrayer! though in this case, HE was UNINTENTIONALLY the object of our disappointment. still, we got the woman in waiting to satisfy us... i think they might have made a nice couple, living in the Village, playing chess, tag on the land-locked boat, at love, under the watchful eye of that guy*.

there is too much about this episode that i can't remember right now, so i will close by saying that never has McGoohan seemed to theatrical! WONderful portrayal, my good man. And perhaps this one derserves the reflections of a second viewing... which in the case of myself and my good colleague in sandwich-making is a given. Until then, queen's pawn to king 5.

* "Orange alert. Orange alert."

Angelica's take: this might very well be my favourite episode to date. It had it all - a tight plot, a cast of intriguing characters, a colourful set, interesting shots, those oh-so-stylish outfits and a twist here and a turn there.

That moment of recognition that Number 6's realizes he has caused his own downfall in this episode was rather unexpected for me (although it now seems so obvious that this probably should have happened earlier). His own traits turn against him and it is so easy to see why. Flip any of the fellow escapees into the leader role and him into a follower and I imagine he'd be beyond suspicious of the escape plan unfolding before them. It seems too planned, too good to be true...and in The Village, it is dangerous ground to fall for anything of that nature. I suppose the only thing worse in The Village would be to fall for a woman.

More after this episode's re-run. Until the rematch then...

sandwiches: round 11: Mediterranean Trio Theme

After much humming and hawing about a theme, we met at the grocery store to be inspired and decided on a Mediterranean theme...sundried tomatoes, Kalamata olives and feta cheese.

Appetizer: goat cheese topped with mixed fruit chutney or dill on sesame rice crackers

Drinks: red wine, alas not of Mediterranean origin





Angelica's Mediterranean Tortilla: sundried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, feta cheese mixed together with red pepper, cornflakes, rice flour, egg, salt and pepper to form a Spanish tortilla (which has nothing to do with a Mexican tortilla, instead it's really a type of omelet with much more filling than egg), served on rice bread with garlic mayo, slivered red onion and Romaine lettuce.

















Dave's "Lady Who Lunched" - Equatorial Lady Fingers: stripped bread, crumbled sheep feta, maliciously diced Kalamata olives, and sundried tomatoes drawn and quartered. Aaand and little bit of sundried tomato oil from the plastic container they sat in for some unknown number of days. mmm-MMM! Oh, and the SD's T's were briefly sauteed in brown sugar. *mwah*

















AS on AS: I was looking for some sort of different delivery mechanism for the three feature ingredients that would blend them together, yet allow for each taste to still have a presence...and so the idea for a Spanish tortilla. I think the final product delivered what I had intended. It had flavour and warmth and a little crunch from the fresh red onions. The lettuce may have suffered a little from sitting under the heat of the tortilla while we munched away at Dave's sandwich, but I think it, along with the red onions, offered a nice offset to the saltiness of the other ingredients. It felt like a hearty late night meal and was perfect for the crisp fall weather that has edged its way into town.

AS on DM: Who knew three little ingredients, with only a touch of outside enhancement, could taste so outstanding! I felt like I should be eating this in a little bar, down a narrow cobblestone street with the smell of the Mediterranean hanging heavy in the air. It looked pretty and tasted amazing. The addition of the sugar to the sundried tomatoes was simply brilliant.

DM on DM: i would admit that i got lucky if i didn't agree with Obi-Wan... "...in my experience, there's no such thing as 'luck." i was big on the idea of going with x ingredients and sticking with them, and the stripped sandwich is not a new method of presentation for me... all in all, i credit the Force in part. finally, the flavours i expect to present themselves do so. not one sat back this time around. i was impressed with myself, did the pat on the back, and bowed to the 5 corners of the ring for the crown, looking forward to neither victory nor defeat. 3 ingredients (arguably 4), and each of them was identifiable, vying equally for time on the pallet. if pride is a vice, call be Sonny Crockett. it was a good day for lady fingers.

DM on AS: Intimidation was high when, as i stood in the kitchen imbibing a glass of wine, Angelica, with unknown years of experience and inspiration, turning ingredients into sculpture in the frying pan, half cooked and half watched the previous episode of The Prisoner on the telly, my own simple thoughts turning like a sundial next to her digital timepiece, everything seemed pedestrian on my side of the preparation area, where, upon a cutting board, life was supposed to - but might not (if by 'life' i mean 'fair product') - take place! and angelica delivered, bringing ingredients together like the Brady Bunch (and Alice underneath it all, keeping it all together like you know she did every episode). i got to write this review, second to my esteemed sometimes-collaborator, sometimes-competitor, and i am honoured that she chose my fingers over her body of work, because she made a masterpiece. seriously, where did the patty idea come from? so hearty, so distinctly in-theme, yet so novel. i could have another right now.

The Verdict:

AS: my vote goes for Dave's creation this week. I liked mine a lot too, but it felt rather everyday next to the elegance of Dave's. While simple on the surface, the proportions and presentation were well thought out and didn't need for anything more.

DM: this was a battle of the titans. i shall take the belt and carry it on high, above my head, for all to see, but in the interview will give much praise to my ring partner: i agree that this night was taken by the lady fingers, but only by a small margin, and the victory could only have been this sweet with a competitor so worthy.

The Prisoner: episode 10: It's Your Funeral

Angelica's side (Take 1): We really need to not fall asleep when watching new episodes! I'd attempt to write something, but seeing as I missed what was likely the most critical parts to understanding this week's plot, I may have to wait until we watch it again. I could, however, go on about the trampoline scene at length...

DM: My god, that trampoline scene was something. Convolution! The asiatic semi-futiristic trampoline-fu, the life-predicting computer, the watch-switch-leading-to unlikely causation: all of these things made me feel like i was bouncing between planes, and at times, i was drowned in counfoundation. nonetheless, that number 2 was something. i must grow my hair again to get myself a pompadour like that two's. i will say that the jammer plot-line, while loose, was engaging. i wanted to know more, worried it would all go to the wayside, got the explanation in spades, and still thought it was a cool angle to the Village. i still don't know if it was for 'real' or if it was another 'number 2 plot.' Long live the Village, but not with me in it. Back to that computer that predicts every move one will make: why not use it to greater effect? Why limit it to knowing when one can supplant one watch with another? It's like using a time machine to swipe Blackbeard's treasure chest rather than invest in IBM. But the ending was pretty sweet. i liked how there is now a No. 2 who owes No. 6. When 6 gets out, he can can that favour in. i would. Big medals are pretty cool now that i've seen them in action - ceremonies recognizing big fish in small towns tend to have these grotesque batons. PS: another traitorous woman... what's going on in this village??

Angelica's side (Take 2): Wow, did this episode ever make a lot more sense after having watched those missing scenes. And on re-watching it, I had many other oh-yeah moments, like remembering a dream from the previous night, triggered by some split second image that somehow creeped into your brain: Number 6's exercises in the woods, the machine which can predict Number 6's behaviour (why not, however, use it it to predict more interesting things than that he would buy candy and at what time he would go do his trampolining...like maybe the next time he would try to escape???) and of course, more trampoline scenes. I really liked both Number 2's from this episode. The acting "Number 2" because he was so off-beat and somehow mesmerising - I could almost feel him slithering across each scene - and the episode's real Number 2 because he was a Number 2 which I actually felt some sympathy for. I liked the change of plot as well...Number 6 wasn't trying to escape and it somehow felt like for a moment he stopped being so much of an individual and behaved as a part of society...at least just a little.

sandwiches: round 10: Back to Basics Theme

After what has felt like far too long of a break, finally a Prisoner night! Fall has always been a time of returning, so what better sandwich theme than a return to the basics, to sandwiches from childhood which could be thrown together in a moment due to their simplicity. So, this round, two-ingredient childhood favourites...

Angelica's Cheddar and Sandwich Spread: Cheddar Cheese and Kraft Sandwich Spread on toasted brown rice flax bun.

Dave's Honey Toast: bread (preferably english muffin consistency) + butter + honey.

Sides & Drinks: no sides, just red wine.

AS on AS: this was, as it always had been for me, a complex mix of flavours for so few ingredients. I used to make this on Canadian Rye and always eat it standing in the kitchen right next to the toaster while standing on one leg (really!). I am surprised that Kraft actually still makes Sandwich Spread...I don't know anyone else who actually eats it these days, but there it is, always on the shelf tucked in behind the mayo.

AS on DM: I don't know how two such simple ingredients can combine to produce such a heavenly flavour. I could taste the butter and I could taste the honey, or I could taste the butter or I could taste the honey...whichever I wished.

DM on AS: "Sandwich Spread?" This reminds me of the "skin colour" crayon of bygone days - who got to decide that this was so much the standard that it could have the definite article insinuated before it? "The" sandwich spread. But... it is really good. I don't think I could eat more than this at once, but I would have been looking forward to it in elementary school class, watching the big white clock on the wall, half-focused on the math or whatever in front of me.

DM on DM: Ah, my honey toast, how long has it been this time? A few years? Maybe less. When we meet each time, it's like no time has passed. Honey toast and I met when I was not even in school, and we have kept in touch regularly throughout my life. There were periods when we saw each other daily and long stretches we would not, and this is for the best I guess as absence makes the heart grow stronger and too much of a good thing makes one unfit. Did you know that honey never goes bad? Crazy. Did you know that honey is the redeeming quality that I kept in mind through two decades of hating/fearing bees? It's true. I love to see my old honey toast, tonight was no exception, I loved what the new kind of bread brought to our meeting. Butter, honey, toast - so good.


The Verdict:

AS: oooh, ahhh, another hard one. Mine for memories; Dave's for newness. I'd pull mine out of my grade 3 lunchbag and trade half of it for yours any day.

DM: We are ever more the collaborators of late; tonight, we produced another incomparable pairing, yours the entree and mine the dessert. Total tradezees. Would your sandwich be wrapped in wax paper like mine?