Blog of Much Holding

I’ve been very right in some of my predictions about LOST (Locke being in the coffin) and very wrong (too embarrassed to link) but I’ve got an interesting theory that, if I’m right, will mean LOST end the same way that another one of my favorite shows did, over 40 years ago.

One of the shows that JJ Abrams and producer/writer Damon Lindleoff has cited as an influence to LOST was The Prisoner, the groundbreaking 1960s spy show from the late great Patrick McGoohan that confounded viewers as much as entertained them. That series ended with the Village being destroyed (or at least abandoned) and The Prisoner (also known as Number 6) “free.” Until…

You saw the last scene. The last scene of The Prisoner saw the lead character driving his car towards the camera – the exact same scene that began the series. What did this mean? That it was all going to happen again, with the same result? Was he in a loop?

Yes. And No. It was all in the eye of the beholder.

“The Prisoner is ultimately what the show aspires to be,” Damon Lindelof said in 2006. Was this an off-the-cuff comment, or a very big clue? I think the later.

We have seen flash-backs, flash-forwards, and now, with this last season a concept called “flash-sideways” which is supposed to show what happens if they don’t get on the island.

Except they get to the island. They ALWAYS get to the island. They are meant to be. Or, to quote another recently-ended favorite program: “All this has happened before, and will happen again.”

They are in a moebius strip, and we will see both timelines merge by the end of the year, in a stalemate, and almost all will be explained. How does that end? No idea. And only a few people know the final shot we will see of LOST, and one of them is actor Matthew Fox (who plays Jack) – he said on Jimmy Kimmel he knows what it is.

Of course he does, cause he’s the only actor in the shot.

The last shot of the series – Jack’s opening his eyes as he lies in the jungle after the crash – will be the same as the first shot of the first episode. The perfect bookend. The end is the beginning is the end. Just like on The Prisoner.

The symbolism of the show has been clear – the record, the donkey-wheel – all are circular, not linear… Heck, they even had the “Oceanic (Number) Six” – They ALL are The Prisoner. And I’m not the only one to see similarities in both shows.

“They have to go back!”

Of course. They have no choice. That is the wheel, and that is their fate – to be forever LOST.

I grew impatient over this past week and decided to cut right to the chase – rewatching the last two episodes. Here’s my thoughts on the series finale, and if I have time I will post additional thoughts on the remaining episodes.

“Fall Out”

This episode is not intended for All Audiences – any viewer who needs things Spelled Out For Them need not apply.

One thing I love about The Prisoner is how it resets viewers expectations at almost every turn. Think that the hero will win? Nope. Think that the show will follow conventional narratives? Uh… no. Think that the bad guy will be revealed in typical James Bond spy fashion, like finally seeing Blofeld in You Only Live Twice? Well…

As many reading this may know, the reaction of viewers when this episode was first aired in the UK was… let’s just use the word “unhappy” as a catch-all. People were pissed off. McGoohan was assaulted on the street by viewers the month following the episode’s airing. I can only imagine what was screamed at him during the incident.

“What was all that? You call that an ending? What the hell did it MEAN?”

Quite a lot, actually, and McGoohan famously never tried to explain it to anyone for the rest of his days on earth… though he did use one phrase in describing Number I that is descriptive in its simplicity:

“Number Six’ alter-ego”

That in the end is what I think is the point of all of it – that the rebels ultimately become the leaders, and that individuals are drawn, ultimately, to become members of the collective – often, to lead them. “Lead us, show us the way” the judge says in the finale, playing to the ego we see on display in so many episodes before. McGoohan accepts… and then rejects, violently, which in turn brings us back to square one – the last shot of the series is the same as one of the first shots of the series – McGoohan driving his car through a desert, defiant and about to resign, again… and so it goes, forever.

“You accepted”
“I rejected!”
You accepted before you rejected!”

- dialogue from “Once Upon a Time”

The independent man rebels, conforms…. and then rebels again… Because he needs society as much as society needs him. As much as he resists, he eventually conforms… but sometimes it is not without a fight.

“The lone wolf belongs in the wilderness!” – Number Two, Once Upon a Time

Who is Number I? well, it’s McGoohan – the free man, who became the leader of the very thing he rebelled against – the establishment. The power of control was too tempting, so he accepted.. then he rejected… Like a moebius strip, the show folds into its own self… he was rebelling against his own ego, his own prison, all the time. The ego of self.

I.

The being we observed through all 17 of these episodes was a leader – and we all crave leadership. That is the secret of the Village – that to some extent all of us want someone to take charge and be in control – it’s EASIER than being responsible to your own self. Being free comes with its own burdens… if you fail, no one helps you. You are all alone. Wouldn’t it be easier if someone took care of things for you? That is what the Village represented. That is what many people wants our world’s government to provide.

That is what I am afraid we have become: Children who want someone else to to take Control for us. So we can enjoy our bread and circuses – read our cheesy novels like Twilight, watch American Idol… A world where we can have all of our needs attended to.

Like healthcare, for example.

“So, what’s it all about?!” - McGoohan, “Arrival”

What does it mean? Well, it means what it is, as McGoohan stated in the episode “Chimes of Big Ben”. It is an epic of imagination and a singular vision, a series that spoke to the need of individuals to be individual, no matter what the consequences. It is a series that in alternating episodes rejects violence and then embraces it, as a necessary part of revolution. It is a show that will be remembered and referenced decades from now (unlike the recent AMC remake).

It is. Like all art, it needs to be interpreted and understood on its own merit. Is the Mona Lisa smiling? And why? We bring our own answer – and my answer to what The Prisoner means is as legitimate as anyone who approaches the series with any degree of seriousness.

So, did he escape? Yes and no… but as Patrick McGoohan is no longer with us, we can at least say with some degree of confidence that he’s on parole.

Be seeing you.

In celebration of AMC’s re-imagined The Prisoner and of the recent blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“Hammer Into Anvil”

Another great episode, with (not surprisingly) a New Number Two, who starts the episode by forcing a female prisoner into suicide (he was going to read her sections from the Twilight novels to make to conform, apparently). McGoohan does not take kindly to this and decides he is going to take his revenge upon this new harsh Number Two.

The way he does it is brilliant – he decides to play on Number Two’s paranoia, by pretending to be a double-agent who is investigating the management of the Village. Knowing he is being watched, he listens to multiple copies of the same record to get a “secret message”, he leaves messages and calls other Villagers… he even buys a coo-coo clock which Number Two thinks is a bomb.

In the end, McGoohan confronts Number Two and makes him resign his post – a “failure of command.” It is an absolute victory by McGoohan against his warders, and a very entertaining episode. It is also one of the few victories we see him have in The Village…

Here’s Prisoner-in-a-minute:

In celebration of AMC’s re-imagined The Prisoner and of the recent blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

“Checkmate”

Now this is another great episode, with McGoohan leading a mini-rebellion against The Village… one that is thwarted when his own leadership abilities and charisma makes one of his co-conspirators think he was not a prisoner but a warder… Hmm, like in “Free For All”, McGoohan leading members of The Village… Another theme that will have a big pay-off in the final episode.

Two major highlights of this episode – first is the chess game that starts the episode, that uses Villagers as living pieces. When one pawn decides to move himself, there are severe repercussions, and of course the game itself is an obvious metaphor for The Village itself… obvious, but perfect. The second highlight is Peter Wyngarde as the New Number Two – his performance is one of the better ones in the series, and many think of him as the “best” Number Two. He, like McGoohan, had a great run as a TV spy in the shows Department S and his character’s spinoff show Jason King (some say Austin Powers is his direct descendant). He is also well known as Klytus in the cult classic Flash Gordon.

Not a “must-watch” episode of the show, but this, like the previous episode, is one of the seven episodes that “count” according to Patrick McGoohan – so there is that. Up next is one of my favorite episodes, but before then. here is Prisoner-in-a-minute:

Today is the 46th anniversary of Doctor Who’s first airing (yes it debuted the day after Kennedy’ assassination), and to celebrate here be a fan-made trailer for the next two-part Who adventure that reveals a rumored SPOILER:

“It is returning, it is returning through fire and blood, they are returning, he is returning.”

In celebration of AMC’s re-imagined The Prisoner and the recent blu-ray release, I’m re-watching all 17 classic episodes. Join me, won’t you?

Yes, I’m running behind.

The original intent of this series of posts was to re-watch all the original episodes of The Prisoner before I sat down to watch the AMC production, which debuted in the US last week. Well, unfortunately for my loyal readers (but fortunately for me) I had a business matter to attend to which ended up with me go to Australia for two weeks this past month. So, I’m late, but still plan on finishing the original before watching the new version (though, unfortunately, the reviews I read are not encouraging).

So, onward…

“Dance of the Dead”

Well, this episode is messed up.

McGoohan is drugged, ostracized and generally has a really bad day. An example of how bizarre this episode is: In the end The New Number 2 is dressed like Peter Pan as a Halloweenesque carnival (where McGoohan is the only one not in a costume) that devolves into a mock trial. McGoohan is sentenced to death and… well, it’s not death as we know it. It is the sentence of isolation, as the inhabitants in The Village turn on him. Where before McGoohan had worked to help him, now he is shut off from them… and this, along with the loss of an old colleague Dutton is a heavy weight as the pars close on him at the end of the episode.

You may note there is not much of a plot synopsis here. That’s correct, because the plot is not important here – the themes and visuals presented are. It’s a good episode, though not a favorite, and is more of a piece of art than an episode of a TV show. It is provocative and the not-so-subtle subtext of death is not one that appeals to everyone.

It ends, as with many episodes before and after, rather hopelessly. It gets a little better in the next episode.. but not much.

Here it is, in one minute – and yes, you probably need to watch the full episode to figure it out.