The Prisoner: episode 17: Fallout

And Well Done.

A (side of the) truth in every considered scene, distorted, confused by cacophony and simultaneously offered angles; divining a representative view, (and) composing a statement accessible by all interests (may have) required the eclectic, wild, disparate, (cubist?) style manifested in this final episode where Number Six, McGoohan, hegemony, youth, history, now (the late 60's) collide into a single, reflexive space.

Under The Village: a missile, subterfuge, new-speak, the Beatles singing "All You Need is Love," reflections behind ape masks behind theatre masks under cloaks behind cameras, resurrection, insurrection, defection, dem bones dem bones, and an open-sided trailer barreling along the highway as the greatest escape... succeeds?

The jilting journey ends with an electronic hum, and we are left wondering: How big, really, is The Village?

-DM

This post is very, very overdue…8 months overdue to be exact – perhaps the time it takes to be away from The Village and to be able to look back on it and make sense of that experience, or perhaps the time it takes to miss The Village and long to be back. And what’s not to miss. In the final episode The Village breaks down into the chaos I had hoped for, into the cacophony of sounds and the blur of images, the masks, the chanting, the singing, the chasing, the moment we always knew was coming (could we really have expected Number 1 to be anyone else?). Finally we are set in motion, perhaps propelled into motion – marching down tunnels, chasing around rooms and through rooms, barrelling down highways – all set to music, familiar enough to be catchy, ill-fitting enough to be slightly unsettling. McGoohan and Kanner put in perfectly fitting over the top performances to wrap up their characters, and just enough of the inner workings of The Village were revealed to answer some questions but leave a few mysteries behind.

…and then, like Number 6, we simply step out and disappear into the quiet of everyday life. It all ends as suddenly as it began, much like this project – but like so much in life, also with the chance to repeat itself, perhaps with slightly less anticipation and surprise than an entirely new experience, but with the benefit of familiarity and the opportunity to be retold and relived through (hopefully) wiser eyes.

as.

sandwiches: round 18: Bridge

Having been six months since our last Prisoner viewing, we needed something to bridge the time since then and perhaps to bridge into what comes next.

Drinks: to each his own


Dave's Last Quarter Kosho: Sliced roast duck with homemade plum sauce, crushed almond, and finely diced duck skin. (The name derives from my having purchased the very last piece of chicken at the Congee Noodle House: 1 quarter of duck. I was a lucky duck, as my sandwich relied on this purchase.)

Angelica's "French Toast" inside and out sandwich: polenta, raisins, pecans, cranberries, holiday syrup, salt and pepper mixed up, spread thin, cooled, cut into triangles and pan fried in olive oil and served with a sauce of blueberries, raspberries and chipotle, and a dab of sour cream.


AS on DM: a wonderful blend of flavours and the first bite made me remember how much and why I love this sandwich project. The duck was fantastic and the homemade plum sauce far better than any store bought jar could ever dream of being. I wished for a little more presence out of the cashews...they blended just a little too well and got a little lost for me. The texture was there, but not so much the taste. Overall, a delicious experience, but perhaps just a little too smooth.

AS on AS: so my sandwich wasn't exactly possible to pick up, nor did it use any real bread, but I will insist it had all the necessary sandwich elements. I was pleasantly surprised how well the polenta turned out as bread and the mixed in fillings offered a surprise with each bite. I personally enjoyed the bites with the pecans the most - a pleasant hot crunch. My fillings were on the outside, but well worth the effort of using a fork to successfully transport upwards and over for a dainty bite. My original plan was for cinnamon in the berry sauce, but the chipotle added a bit of a surprise punch and cooled off nicely with the sour cream. Served hot, it was the perfect finish (and complement) to the duck (speaking of duck, I polished off the leftover duck shortly thereafter because BBQ duck truly is a fine food).

DM on DM: Bridges = Asian flair in British Columbia (ala Prisoner world i.e. Kosho the trampoline fighting sport); getting an ingredient, prepared, at a restaurant (which AS and i frequent for non-Prisonersandwiches nights); a savoury starter leading into the more dessert-like creation of AS. On taste, the overall effect was successful, but the almonds disappeared like too-small bacon bits on a peanut butter sandwich; i need to work on balance like Number Six's Kosho opponents.

DM on AS: I liked the bridge theme interpretation. I liked the taste even more. After the salty, sweet, tanginess of the Last Quarter Kosho, this french toast was perfect. I liked the cutlery requirement change-up, and i loved the friendly bite of chipotle. A winner any time of day.

The Final Verdict:

AS: Awwww, this is the final verdict, for the official viewing of the series anyhow (this can't be it for sandwich battles, can it?). I give mine a slight edge despite it being a bit abstract as a sandwich. It's flavours popped out a little for me and each bit had an element of pleasant surprise.

DM: The edge goes to Angelica for theme interpretation, taste, and as always, presentation. i believe that i am a stronger sandwich creator because my collaborator/opponent is so strong.

sandwiches: round 17: Red

Being Valentine's Day and all, we decided on a theme of red.

Sides: no room for sides following the sea bass and Chinese parsley congee and bbq duck.

Drinks: An old Pinot Noir, hand carried back from Germany in 2003.

Angelica's Ginger Beef Sizzle: thinly sliced beef rib-eye marinated in soya sauce, ginger, garlic and sesame oil, pomegranate-habernaro jelly and toasted black and white sesame seeds in a yogurt sauce, all served on on brown rice focaccia bread
















Dave's Salmon Don: Italian meets Japanese in this piece that combines lemon-dill pan-seared salmon on a bed of sticky dill rice between brown rice focaccia bread.

















AS on AS: while each ingredient on its own was packed with flavour, somehow together it was like they cancelled each other out. Somehow the flavours just mellowed out too much, which was surprising given that the garlic and ginger had bite and the pomegranate-habernaro jelly was burning hot. There were still some hints of the flavours there, but in the end this one did not come together for me.

AS on DM: the first flavour I tasted was sour lemon and it set the stage for the fantastic flavours that followed. The salmon was the real star here and the rice was a nice surprise sandwich ingredient. I would never have guessed that rice could go so well in a sandwich, but it did.

DM on DM: The original concept was to press the rice into pan-fried patties, between which would sit the salmon. Reason won the day, so focaccia became the foundational piece. I was very happy with this sandwich because the flavours balanced well; nothing was overshadowed. And in spite of seeming to be a typical meal translocated between bread, the result felt like a sandwich in its own right. Filling, tasty, and not heavy.

DM on AS: Hearty, tasty, and it had character! I really liked this one, and without minding the "mellowed tastes." This sandwich brought a great taste combination together into one flavour that was distinct and mysteriously delicious. Writing about it now, weeks later, I could go for one.

The Verdict:

AS: an easy win for DM. His sandwich had the right flavours and the right proportions. It was simple yet innovative. A superb way to end out the official season end.

DM: i liked mine a little better this week, but i might be biased by AS's own assessment of the comparison. This was another great meal collaboration - the end of a great season, the beginning of a great series.

The Prisoner: episode 16: Once Upon A Time

A's recollections: having been six months (almost to the day) that we orignally viewed this episode, my memory is a little hazy on the details, but not on the episode overall. If this was Number 6's childhood, it's no wonder he ended up leading a life that ended him up in The Village! The episode was intense and claustrophobic and it didn't surprise me that McGoohan was taking us down this path to the grand finale. Perhaps my only surprise was that this episode seemed quite so improvised, so uncertain of how to get to actually get through to its final scenes to connect us to the end. I can't say that I enjoyed this episode much - in fact I was happy enough to prepare the final sandwich battle without having this on in the background (this may be the only episode that we didn't watch twice). Once was enough. But I suppose it served its purpose and at its end I was ready and curious about how it would all end.
D's re: collection, of a falling out at the centre of being where all points in time fall in. McGoohan's embryo, the prisoner's black board, his foil's chalk-dusted hands scrawling on the surface scraps of possible past, digging fingernails deeper, scraping away down to the core of it all in this last ditch effort. Existence itself is on the line in this ultimate test for both 6, 2, and we who wonder what's what and where it could go. Tumbling forward in trust, we barrel at top speed, crashing into the finale of it: death gives rise to birth: the end of the first 2-parter > promise of answers > to be continued. I do hope that from this chaos comes substance.

sandwiches: round 16: Breaking Our Fast

Our first morning Prisoner sandwich battle...breakfast sandwiches for breakfast.
Sides: pan fried chorizo and fresh raspberries

Drinks: wild berry cocktail and orange juice mix-up



Angelica's Raspberry Heart-wich: Nutella, fresh raspberries, melted Brie and a sprinkle of gluten free cinnamon crunch granola on toasted sourdough bread.

Dave's Upscale MacKmuffin: on pan-seared sourdough bread, we add thinly (but not too thinly) sliced maple bacon, green onion circles, stripped chevette goat cheese, sliced and seared wine chorizo sausage, egg with yolk broken (fried inside a canning lid).


AS on AS: I had recently heard about a chocolate-Brie sandwich...and it sounded like it must be tried. With a few additions, wow, this sandwich turned out amazing! The raspberries added a freshness to what could have been a very rich sandwich, and the sprinkling of granola added an unexpected texture. It ended up being a little light as a breakfast sandwich...better perhaps as a mid-morning snack sandwich...or mid-afternoon snack sandwich...or a midnight snack sandwich! This was really an all-hours snack sandwich.

AS on DM: This topped any egg Mcmuffin I have ever had by a factor of at least 10. This was an outstanding breakfast sandwich, and hearty enough to sustain me through to lunch. Seeing the ingredients stacked up, I was a little worried about this being heavy and about it holding its form, but neither were an issue in the end. My favourite part was the cheese (such a good pick!), followed closely by the chorizo (the perfect level of spicy for the morning!).

DM on DM: Liberation for any fast-food prisoner, i felt this was a well-made gateway back to the precursor of the butter-drenched and bland imitator that Ronald made normal. This penultimate of my prisonersandwiches creation was another personal victory, as it turned out the way i'd hoped. i seem to have - for now - overcome the over-cautious one when it comes to accent tastes. Here, i tasted everything; nothing was overshadowed but the health score. But then, how healthy is a life without the odd indulgence?

DM on AS: While my meat and meat-alternates combo came in throwing it's weight around, Angelica's chocolate, berry, and brie floated like a butterfly - Muhammed Ali. i saw the cheese and chocolate duet, the berry and chocolate, the cheese and berry... but was a little doubtful that all three would get along between the bread and in my mouth. Turns out they did. So much so that i asked for the first encore in this competition's history.

The Verdict:
DM: Not sure it would survive a take-out bag, but my sandwich makes my own top of the pops. Yet, i am satisfied to be Number Two another time, deferring top-man status to Angelica's Heart-wich.

AS: Now 16 episodes in and more than 32 sandwiches later, I wasn't sure we would begin to struggle with coming up with completely new flavour pairings. It seems that this is not a problem for either of us...we continue to break new ground week after week in this sandwich battle. So tough to decide between the many twists on the traditional breakfast ingredients versus the non-traditional breakfast pairings. I liked both so much and they were so complimentary to each other. I think I will have to call this one a draw.

The Prisoner: episode 15: The Girl Who Was Death

Angelica's thoughts: Like some of the other episodes, I wasn't quite sure where this one was going for the first few minutes...and not sure when the twist would come and what it would be, but I was glad to get caught up in the story. I really, really liked this episode. Sometimes when they go out of the village for an episode, I am eager to go back. But with this episode, I was on the edge of my seat with every new path that Number 6 went down. The story kept a quick pace, had interesting characters and involved many fantastic outfits (really, really great outfits...this episode easily gets the prize for Best Dressed). I wasn't sure if this was going to turn out to be a dream or an experiment inside of Number 6's head...and no, it was neither. I didn't quite pick up on the storybook element until later...could not have guessed it was simply about seeing if Number 6 would drop his guard with children. Perhaps it wasn't a story I would tell children, but it certainly gave some good insight into Number 6's character, and it's a story I wouldn't mind being told over again a few times.
Whoa, wild, wacky, whimsical. Another tricky bit of writing that allowed the creators to film outside of the Village without letting Number 6 out of the Village. And the strings that come with that: i was pretty confused right up until the end when i was assured that the oddities of character, costume, and physics were due to the imagination of children. Whew.

So, i liked this one. i'd probably will like any episode in this series. how can you go the wrong way in a place with no rules? the only rule is that the prisoner can't leave... ultimately.

Anyway, what i liked was seeing #6 in what must be something like his real life world, wandering about London like he owns the place, infiltrating ranks with clever disguises, using machines large and small as tools, solving riddles, escaping terrible traps, besting the baddies with bravado. and though i missed the Village and it's quirky denizens, these odd episodes out make the returns all the more happy.

i'm writing this after watching Once Upon a Time (which is on in the background again now), and the comparison is clear: the heavy, impenetrable psychological tours de force benefit from intermission. Give me London, give me a western town, give me a fairy tale and i'll be happy if it gives me a rest from the mental obstacle course that is Once Upon a Time.

My review here is more about types of episodes. In itself, The Girl Who Was Death is fun... and it reminds us in the end that clown dolls are creepy and do not belong in children's rooms. Number 6 is the kind of hero who takes the clown away from the kids and puts it in front of the guards' camera like, "Hey, you evil ne'er do wells, stop peeping, stop your clowning, and take a good look into this mirror."

sandwiches: round 15: Last Wish Indulgence aka The Last Meal

We went with a sort of episode linked theme tonight...if you had to choose your last meal, and if it just happened to be a sandwich...

Sides: melted brie and fresh blackberries on rice crakers; artichoke cheese squares

Drinks: Cabernet Sauvignon



Angelica's All In: lean prosciutto, spiced gouda and pecans candied in holiday syrup, all fried in a whole lotta butter on brown rice bread.


Dave's Last Meal in a Central American Slam: rice bread slightly fried, then toasted; chicken spiced with chili powder and cinnamon; strong cheddar cheese toasted melted; guacamole with pepper mixed in; served with side of fresh blackberry sauce with cinnamon.


AS on AS: there could have been too many flavours here, seeing as I put in all the flavours that I love - salty, smokey, sweet, buttery - but this all blended into a more heavenly taste experience than I could have hoped for. All the contrasting flavours simply made each other stand out. The homemade candied pecans is what put this one over the top for me...the unexpected taste of apple sweetness (from the holiday syrup) was the right kind of surprise for what looked like was going to be just another grilled cheese, and a very heavy one at that.

AS on DM: if there is one word that I would use to describe this sandwich, it would be "fresh". Even the cinnamon and spiciness tasted fresh and with every bite, I could taste summer. I loved the layers and the colours and the extra sauces to spread or pile on top. This sandwich literally felt like it could float up off the plate and into my mouth, which I think it might very well have actually done.

DM on DM: I don't feel like I have as many big successes as AS when it comes to my taste buds, but this one was really tasty and turned out as I had hoped. So, on a personal note, I was pleased with the concept-to-construct result as well as the food satisfaction. The cinnamon and chili powder seasoning was my favourite element of the sandwich, adding a little south america to the more central american tastes i went with. the leftovers were great too to the next day.

DM on AS: I called it a top 3 of the prisonersandwiches adventure and right now, a week later, I can't disagree because thinking about it makes me want another. It was a taste bonanza. Great balance, powerful tastes, lasting effect. AS has a great sense of what will work and has the proven ability to bring it to the plate.

The Verdict

AS: the judging seems to become harder and harder every episode. We seem to have, over the past 9 months, become skillful and ever more creative sandwich makers. Both sandwiches were amazing....but I think I have to give the edge to mine this round. I could not get its flavour out of my head, so much so, that the next night I could think of no better dinner than to use the left overs to make an entire one for myself and eat it all up. Which I did. And loved every bit just as much as the night before.

DM: Indelible, AS's takes this one. I have to say that I could have picked a better episode to make one of my favourite creations! But that makes for great evening of food.

The Prisoner: episode 14: Hammer Into Anvil

Dave's side: This was a great one. I'm sure the plot's been done many times, but the timing in this case made it so welcome. The tide was turned on one of the least likable Number Twos, soundly. It all reminded me of one of my favourite episodes of MASH where the ultimate prank is pulled: the prankster tells his foe that a brilliant prank awaits... and as time passes without a sign of it, paranoia blooms into sleepless, friendless, agonizing obsession. Number Six saw his opportunity in Number Two's fear of Number One. He turned the force of Number Two's clenched fist against him. And Number Two was cut down by the near edge of his own sword. Safely in my top 3 favourite episodes of The Prisoner, memorable enough to make my all-time TV list, and includes a trampoline battle scene with Asian background music. Over the top awesomeness.

Angelica's side: I really liked this episode and I really liked Number 6 in it. In this episode, it felt like he found a meaningful purpose within the village. In this episode, he found himself, at least for me, not as man trying to escape The Village, nor as man defending himself against the system of The Village, but rather as hero. He's out to avenge a death, to stand up to a challenge and to bring a man down. And that he does - with a little trickery here and a little trickery there - with a little looking for a pretend message here and leaving a pretend message there. And I ate it up. Every last bit of it. I liked watching Number 2 begin to suspect everyone around him, watching his paranoia set in - watching him dismiss everyone, one by one. And watching Number 6 run all over the Village setting up all his little deceptions everywhere. What would Number 6 think up next, what would Number 2 fall for next? This episode had me from the beginning and carried me right through to the end.

sandwiches: round 14: foundation room roams with the buffalo

Many a recent night have been spent at Foundation Room, indulging on nachos and attempting to balance things out with some healthy vegetarian dish or other...most usually Molten Tofu. So, what better sandwich inspiration than these two dishes, well, with a slight run in with some buffalo.
Angelica's Molten Tofu Buffalo Ikebana-wich: leftover Molten Tofu (tofu, black sesame paste, broccoli, spinach) mixed with ground buffalo, crushed garlic, green onion, chili sauce, rice flour, egg, salt & pepper to form a burger, served atop toasted sourdough rice bread with mayo and melted brie, garnished with broccoli/tofu ikebana.
Dave's Mexican Machete Burger Sandwich:
in the burger: ground buffalo, crushed corn chips, diced green spiced olives, shredded cheddar cheese, strips of salsa salami;
between the toasted sourdough rice bread: the burger, stuffed with a chunk of cheddar cheese and a spread of mayo, corn chips, green spiced olives, cheddar cheese, and salsa salami.

Drinks: gin cocktails

Background: episode 13 re-run

AS on AS: moist and flavourful, but missing the flavours of the dish which inspired it. But still, tasty and consistent to the last bite. And really, it's hard to go wrong with anything sandwiched between a layer of mayo and a layer of oozing, melted brie.

AS on DM: bright and lively flavours, just like a plate of nachos. The cheddar centre was a nice touch and great interpretation for the topping. This was no little nacho appetizer, but a full and satisfying meal.

DM on AS: i don't think i can say it better than above. i really like this one. looking back, i think this patty - with a little more moistness - would make for memorable canape appies.

DM on DM: turning out better than expected, i was more pleased with this creation than most if not all of my others to date. i liked the savoury, slightly sharp, nicely salty initial tastes and the apicy aftertaste was just what i was after when i conceived this one.



The Verdict: for DM, i'm going to go with my own on this. i am biased by two factors: the personal satisfaction being higher than usual and the craving of the night being satisfied. it's tough giving oneself the nod, but i just have to do it this time.

AS: my vote too goes for DM's sandwich. While both were really good, his just simply tasted better.