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From: weiss@gondor.UUCP (Michael S. Weiss)
Newsgroups: net.tv
Subject: Prisoner discussion
Message-ID: <1641@gondor.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 15-Mar-85 15:54:52 EST
Article-I.D.: gondor.1641
Posted: Fri Mar 15 15:54:52 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 17-Mar-85 00:07:29 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: odds with the universe.
Lines: 53

*** REPLACE THIS man WITH a number ***

Mike Urban sent me the following mail in reply to one of my articles.
I have posted it here for all to share.  Mike, in the future, post this
stuff so we can all enjoy it.

From: psuvax1!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!trwrb!trwspp!spp2!urban (Mike Urban)
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 85 08:03:18 pst
To: trwspp!trwrb!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!akgua!psuvax1!gondor!weiss
Subject: Re: The Prisoner (& discussions thereof)
Newsgroups: net.tv
Organization: TRW, Redondo Beach  CA

In article <1628@gondor.UUCP> you write:
>No symbolism, just out and out why did number 2 send him home (as it
>were)?  What do folks think about this? 

There were probably two reasons.  (1) yes, they let him go on
holiday for his birthday.  He *was* very important to the
Village, after all.  (2) Throughout the series one of the running
motifs is the Village showing #6 how powerful it is and how
it can control what he's doing at all times.  Classic example,
and one in which #2 fails, is "Hammer into Anvil".

It seems that the Village is in control of the entire course of
the "Many Happy Returns" episode (with the possibility of
error.  Note #2's reaction when #6 attempts to leave his London
house before he's "scheduled" to do so).

BTW, I've often suspected that the Village is mobile, which
accounts for:  (1) the fact that #6's friends don't come
looking for him afterwards (they know roughly where the Village
is).  Surely not ALL of them are on the Village payroll (like
the pilot who was replaced by the "milkman".  (2) the fact
that he *drives* to London in the last episode.  (3) the
amazing ability of the Village to evacuate itself entirely
in a single night, or at the end of the last episode.

"Many Happy Returns" is one of my favorites.  No dialogue *at
all* for the first 30 minutes or so of the episode, and
suddenly, *blam*, he's in the middle of London.  Sophisticated
scripting and direction for an "action-adventure" series!

	Mike

(Ok, msw taking over:) Mike, go on further with your theory
of a mobile Village.  How does it do that?  Please, no 
supernatural explanations.

-- 
Never give a gun to duck.

Michael S. Weiss                               BITNET:  weiss@psuvaxg.bitnet