The Prisoner Nummer 6

The sediments at the bottom of television: series and serials, omnipresent and almost as infinite as the medium itself. Few only were successfull in touching the underside of our attentiveness.
UNWAHRSCHEINLICHE GESCHICHTEN ("Improbable Stories") was one that did, the classic TWILIGHT ZONE.
Anything associated with the expression TV-magic applies to this.

Phantastic television of the sixties, among other things, is one conjuring formula:
"Be seeing you!" or
L'année dernière
au Village:

Contributing authors:
(German knowledge required)

FRANK T. BITTERHOF BLU-RAY: DIE OFFENBARUNG ROBERT FAIRCLOUGH POP UND POLITIK HOWARD FOY ES WAR EINMAL - EIN TRIP GUILLAUME GRANIER SCHÖNER TAG! - SPÄTER... LARRY HALL DER PROZESS WHAT IT MEANS... HARALD KELLER WIR SEHEN UNS - WIEDER NUMMER SECHS NOWHERE MAN ROGER LANGLEY PRISONER'S PORTMEIRION SET PIECE - BÜHNENSTÜCK 6 PRIVATE KEVIN P. MAHONEY DER ANARCHISCHE PRISONER RICK McGRATH 35TH ANNIVERSARY DVD WARNER TROYER McGOOHAN-INTERVIEW CHRISTOPH WINDER ICH BIN KEINE NUMMER

There is a several months’ gap between the production of episode 12 (16) and 13 (17) which may explain some of the inconsistencies. "Once Upon A Time" which was to be the last episode of the first installment clearly is now the penultimate of the series.

Instead of producing 26, as common in TV business, only 17 episodes were made under considerable pressure of time. It was McGoohan who wrote the script of "Fall Out" virtually alone in one night. Kenneth Griffith himself wrote his assembly speech. And a lot of acting was done on the spot out of the situation. Almost the last third of the episode is without any dialogues.

< General Stores

"Fall Out" resumes the trial. But it’s all different now. Number Six has gotten through the ordeal with Number Two.
Be it in gratitude or just mocking him for having proved his individuality Number Six is now sitting on a throne in front of an audience of hooded figures donning black-and-white face masks who represent certain roles: "nationalists", "reactionaries", "dissidents" etc. Number Six is addressed "Sir" by the President of the assembly who then proceeds to speak about revolt. Bringing forward two examples - Number 48, an impetuous youth and one established, Number Two who had died the episode before, reanimated (or - as nothing really is the way it appears to be - wasn’t he dead at all?) it becomes evident that the true essence of revolt is that of Number Six’.

The German title „Demaskierung", in fact, is misleading because nothing there is demasked that isn’t already an image, a mask, a picture-puzzle. And the trial is a farce initiated by the (then up-to-date) Beatles’ song "All You Need Is Love" (more...) with Number Six, the Supervisor and the Butler walking down a subterranean corridor lined with jukeboxes towards and into a huge cavern, and terminated by some rude although rather stage-effect gunfighting.

It is up to Number Six to make up his mind: to govern or to leave. In the key scene he is allowed to speak to the assembly. As he starts his very first word is interrupted by the masked knocking on their tables and shouting repeatedly: "Aye, aye, aye - I, I, I...!" to leave his speech unheard in the noise. Within the assembly, community, society there is no use for someone like Number Six. "You’ve made us realize our mistakes", says the President. And Number Six leaves, events getting out of control. The entire Village is evacuated, helicopters rise to the sky and so does a rocket but due to he weak optical effects not much more credibility is generated here.
He eventually gets to meet Number One. Who turns out to be his other "self", or else something different. For sure, many viewers wouldn't accept this as a solution conforming to TV series' standards or as an appropriate one, in fact they don't until today. More...
The episode ends with Number Six, Number Two, Number 48 and the Butler back in London, Number Six driving his Lotus down the empty highway just like it happened in the very first scene...

This closing episode is certainly a wrap-up but in no way a conclusion or resolution of the previously seen events. Maybe it was developed under the pressure to put an end to it, one way or the other. We will probably never know. The background of these fireworks of ideas is anarchism and social rule. Even those experienced in university seminars will find both final episodes pretty hard stuff to swallow. And the best of it all: this is television entertainment!

Speech of the President of the assembly in "Fall Out"

ZDF (the German TV station that first aired THE PRISONER in 1969) probably was in a state of uneasiness. Because NUMMER 6 was shown on Sunday nights around 11 p.m.

top of page