Revisiting The Prisoner, Part 3: This episode sponsored by the letters “A, B and C”
In anticipation of the re-imagined The Prisoner, coming to AMC November 15th, and in celebration of the new blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?
“A, B and C”
This was an… interesting episode.
The premise was simple – The New Number 2 (who sweats and gulps a lot) thinks that McGoohan resigned in order to “sell out” and so he decides to test that theory – by making him dream about it.
Which is kind of an amazing premise. If the warders of The Village can watch (and even influence) the dreams of their prisoners, is there any hope for them at all? They can GET IN THIER MINDS and INFLUENCE DREAMS, for pete’s sake. A capability that was never mentioned on the series again. In affect, this was the first “holodeck episode,” ever – airing the same year that Star Trek first did.
I hate holodeck episodes.
So, suffice to say, this is not a favorite. The rest of the premise, that they use this technology to see if McGoohan would sell his secrets to one of three suspected agents – “A”, “B” or “C” – by creating such an opportunity in his dream… well, it’s weak. Yes, if McGoohan reveals any secrets in his dream, then he is one step closer to being “broken,” but we all know that ain’t gonna happen. HIS LIFE IS HIS OWN! There’s no real drama here. Most of the episode is A DREAM.
In the end the only character who is any danger is Number 2, because he is under direct orders to get the answers in this affair from Number I himself (the first time we see any character talk to Number I on the phone is in this episode), and grave misfortune would befall him if he doesn’t deliver – which, of course, he doesn’t. McGoohan is so cool he can even control his own DREAMS.
(Of course, he must not have been in TOO much danger because the same Number 2 reappears in another episode later in the series).
Meh. The next episode is much better. Much MUCH better. ‘Till then, be seeing you…
Here’s your “Prisoner-in-a-minute:”
