Revisiting The Prisoner, part 5: Wherein McGoohan chews up twice the amount of scenery as usual
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?
“The Schizoid Man”
Ah, the inevitable “Evil Twin” episode. I think that all producers of television in the 1960s and 70s had to sign a contractual agreement to write and air at least one of these before any production work would be allowed to commence. Fortunately for us, the one that Patrick McGoohan produced is not your run-of-the-mill take on the idea.
The way they do it is pretty ingenious: In order to mess with McGoohan’s mind, they try and convince him that HE is the impostor trying to disrupt Number 6’ mental state. They reprogram him to change his behavior and his preferences by using shock treatment, drugs, hypnosis, and repeated exposure to episodes of Jon and Kate plus 8. After a casual afternoon of ESP practice with a beautiful lady Villager (more on her later), McGoohan is taken, conditioned for several days, and then put in the home of Number 12 – where he is then told of the scheme. They refer to his other life, and even give him hints on how to be…. well, himself, to upset “the real” Number 6.
The fake Number 6 arrives, and McGoohan plays him as well – a little louder and more broad that he normally plays the lead character, and that’s saying something. They duel, with electric pistols and rapiers (which would make a great band name, if anyone is looking) but McGoohan is off his game because he can’t decide whether he is right or left handed (they “trained him” to think he was a southpaw).
At any rate, if it wasn’t for photographic evidence of a bruise underneath one of his fingernails, which almost complete healed “overnight”, McGoohan may have been broken – instead, he breaks the conditioning (courtesy of a faulty lamp – electroshock therapy on the cheap!) and beats up the Fake Number 6. When McGoohan decides to take over as the Fake Number 6 to escape, he is helped by Rover who accidentally kills the imposter (!). Alas, he can’t get away with it, because, unlike The Fake Number 6, he did not have a lot of information to go on and so he is found out in the end.
Two quick sidebars – the Fake Number 6 also made one critical mistake – he claimed the Number of 6 for his own, something the real McGoohan would never do. And the idea of ESP playing a part in the episode looks so very dated today… But it does work in the context of the plot (especially when its revealed the girl with ESP is working with Number 2).
A good, solid episode, with three fight scenes and some fine sharp dialogue. One of the top 10, for sure.
Here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute:
