Was that the one where he built the boat?  Yeah, that one too.

It was strange for me at first to see Peter Bowles in this, as I was used to seeing him in comedies like To the Manor Born.
He also appeared in Rumpole of the Bailey with Leo McKern.

Yeah, a raft, then gets picked up by a motor vessel and returns to London.

The later part of the episode also added to the debate of where the Village is supposed to be located.

The General

Writer: "Joshua Adam" (Lewis Greifer)
Director: Peter Graham Scott

(episode preview)


(episode)


Episode Quotes: Number Twelve: What was the Treaty of Adrianople?

Number Six: [looks a bit puzzled, but answers automatically] September... 1829.

Number Twelve: Wrong. I said "What," not "When." You need some special coaching

Synopsis: No. 6 is seated at a cafe table, drinking espresso (one assumes, based on the size of the cup) and observes a helicopter sweeping over the Village. An announcement comes over the PA system alerting students of the Professor that their class begins in 30 minutes. 6 observes No. 12 watching him then is bemused when the entire crowd rushes off to their class. The waiter mentions the class and a poster points to it, mentioning The General. 12 queries 6 and says he should join. 6 says the only subject he is interested in is escape. 12 says exactly. They then observe the helicopter sweeping, a mini-moke speed by with siren wailing, and then men chasing an older man on the beach. He is captured and returned, but 6 finds he had dropped a tape recorder and hides it. Two thuggish warders take him back to his quarters to observe the Professor's lecture. 6 watches as a host seems to stall for time and enthuses about the supposed success rate of speed learning, a new technique that compacts an entire course into 3 minutes. The Professor's wife is show, while they wait for the Professor, who is the man from the beach. He appears and exalts speed learning as the greatest advance in mass education. A still image appears and 6 is mesmerized. He is later visited by No. 2 and a tech, who is scanning for the tape recorder. The two spar and 2 starts asking questions related to the network and 6 starts reciting answers immediately. 6 is disturbed by this knowledge and picks up the phone and asks the same questions of the operator and receives the same rote answers he delivered. He sneaks back to the beach to find the recorder and encounters 12, who claims to be a conspirator with the Professor, to destroy Speed Learning. The tape has a message from the Professor saying Speed Learning is an abomination and is being used for mind control. He says The General must be destroyed.

2 gives a report to his superiors and 6 investigates by taking part in the Professor's wife's art classes. He draws her in a general's uniform, which irritates her. 6 sneaks inside their apartments and pokes around and is caught by the Professor's wife. He unveils statues created by her, including a bust of the Leo McKern #2 (actually a prop from the exhibition in Chimes of Big Ben), which amuses him. 2 turns up to check on the Professor and spars with 6. ^ takes a rod and smashes it into the Professor's head, revealing that it is plaster and walks away smugly, that he has revealed the subterfuge. ^ and 12 have a pair of encounters, while 12 passes on a pass and a substitute for the professor's lecture approval committee. 6 sneaks in, disguised as a council member and then moves to a projection room, to change the projection. He is wounded in a fight with the projectionist, but succeeds in changing the insert. When No. 2 calls for a check in, he is late and 2 observes video of the projectionist and sees 6 and his wound. He sends warders to collect him. 6 is brought before the Professor and the General is revealed; a large computer that broadcasts the speed learning elcture into the cortex of the brain. They can program anything they like and the General can answer any question. 6 Says he knows a question it can't answer and 2 accepts the challenge. 6 makes 6 keystrokes on a sheet of paper and inserts it into a scanner, which produces a programming punch card for the General. It is fed in and the General starts acting erratically, smoking and overloading. The Professor tries to halt it and is electrocuted, as well as No. 12, who tries to pry him off. The General overloads and crashes. 2 removes the charred punch card and demands to know the question. 6 replies " W...H...Y...?" Why? A question that requires more than memorization of facts and repetition of data. Later, No. 6 pays his respects to the Professor's widow, at her garden.

Thoughts: One of the great philosophical episodes, as it deals with the criticism of the emphasis on rote learning rather than the Socratic method of asking questions to find answers for oneself. It also shows that mere facts are meaningless without context. This debate has gone on for decades in educational circles, even more today, as applied to standardized testing and common core concepts. More emphasis is placed on performance and test scores than the acquisition and application of knowledge, particularly in problem solving and developing one's own outlook. The episode shows that the Village want a narrow focus and intend on testing speed learning to determine effectiveness, before using it to program behaviors. They also intend turning over controls to a computer that can recite facts and draw conclusions, buy cannot provide context and has a flawed logic. It cannot thin for itself but can only follow its programming. No. 2 puts a problem to the General to locate a traitor, but the information he supplies is pretty much designed to lead him to No. 12, whom he suspects. This illustrates how computer programs can only follow their programming to a pre-conceived result, rather than think and evolve, adapting to new information. this is an argument against computerization of decision-making tasks. Much like people, the computer has a built in bias, due to its programming. 6 poses an unsolvable problem to the General, with a question that doesn't ask for recitation of facts or a conclusion based on a set of precepts; he asks for context and analysis. The computer can't answer and draws more and more power to apply, but cannot grow and evolve to change its precepts, like the human minds. It blows its stack.

Colin Gordon returns as the milk drinking No. 2, seemingly forgiven for his previous failure. This episode was produced after "A, B and C" but, there is conjecture as to the correct order. In "A, B and C," in the title sequence, Gordon says "I am No. 2," instead of "The New No. 2," when 6 asks "Who are you?" In "The General's opening, he says "The New Number 2." Now, the previous episode might have been a mistake which was left in, or it might have been deliberate, to imply he has been there for some time. Here, he is new, suggesting this is the first time they have met or that he is back, as the new No. 2. Later in dialogue, he says 6 and he are "old friends," suggesting they have been around one another for a while. There is no clear logic, so continuity order usually comes down to production order. Originally, The General was broadcast a few episodes after "A, B and C;" now, it is suggested they should be in succession. Gordon wasn't originally intended to play No. 2 in the episode and the script was altered to link his previous episode.

The Professor and his wife have no numbers but are known as The Professor and his wife is the Professor's Wife (instead of Maryann, as in The Professor and...). They live in more opulent surroundings and seem to be afforded a certain status. The wife appears to be more in league with the Village, though she is protective of her husband, where 6 is concerned. The Professor is played by Peter Howell, who has a long list of credits in British television, especially dramas (though also some comedies and several adventure series). He also appeared in the Avengers episode, "Death at Bargain Prices," as a similar type of character. He also appeared in Tarzan the Magnificent, with Gordon Scott. His wife is played by Betty McDowall, who appeared in the Omen, The Saint tv series and several others.

No. 12 is played by John Castle, a handsome, rugged looking man, with a long list of credits, including Blow-Up, The Lion in Winter, Robocop 3, MI-5 (aka Spooks), Reilly, Ace of Spies, The New Avengers, I Claudius, and A Touch of Frost. You aren't sure of his loyalties, but he does turn out to be a rebel.

Lewis Greifer wrote the episode as his children studied for their A-level exams and complained of rote learning. He loved history but the methods of teaching it in school put him off the subject for 20 years. This was his critique of that method, rather than discussing events and analyzing their significance from different perspectives.

This episode does not feature an attempt by Number 6 to escape, nor is he fighting conditioning or interrogation of himself. Here, he stumbles on a plan of the Village and decides to stop it. He will do so again, in a couple of more episodes, to different degrees.


When No. 6 is gaining entry to the committee meeting for the new lecture, each member puts a small disc into a slot, to pass through the security screen. A small hand comes out to retrieve the disc. The prop was a novelty bank, with a hand that grabs coins, marketed in the 60s as Thing, from the Addams Family...



For the presentation of the Professor's upcoming lecture, No. 6 tries to replace a small insert that goes into a spikey cylinder on a rotating projector. The device spins rapidly, flashing a light around, while several spikes project outward, giving it the appearance of a gyroscope, a weapon, and projector. The footage will be reused in "Fall Out."

Be seeing you.

Many Happy Returns

Writer: Anthony Skene
Director: Joseph Serf (Patrick McGoohan)

(episode preview)


(episode)


Episode Quotes: No. 6: "You must think I'm crazy."

Mrs. Butterworth: "Who isn't, these days."

Colonel: "You see, we have a problem. Tell him our problem, Thorpe."

Thorpe: "You resign, you disappear, you return. You spin a yarn that Hans Christian Anderson would dismiss as a fairy tale."

No. 6: "I also have a problem; I'm not sure which side runs this Village."

Synopsis: No. 6 rise from bed in the morning, goes to the kitchen and turns on the kettle, goes to the bathroom and turns on the shower, but no mater comes out of the tap. he steps out to the living area and notices that there is no incessant chatter or music from the radio and he was not awakened by a morning announcement. He steps outside his quarters and finds nothing; empty tables, no one walking about, no vehicles moving and nothing but animal noises. He dresses and goes exploring but finds no other person in the Village; only a cat poking around. He gathers up supplies from the Village shop and elsewhere, cuts down a few trees and drags them down to the water. he empties oil from drums and lashes the logs to them, creating a crude raft. He gathers a radio, canned goods, water supplies, paper and tools and pushes off his raft and creates a compass by magnetizing a needle on the speaker magnet of the radio and setting it on a floating disk in a jar of water. He keeps a log on sheets of the Tally Ho, maintaining a northeasterly course. He eventually passes out from exhaustion and exposure. A motor vessel comes across his raft and the two crewmen dump the unconscious 6 into the ocean and pilfer his supplies, taking the food and a few things. Before they depart, 6 swims to their boat and climbs aboard the stern, unseen. He hides in a passageway below deck, while one takes food from the galley to the wheelhouse. He pokes around and finds a crate of rifles; they are gun runners. He goes into the galley and pours cooking oil in a skillet, soaks some rags in it and sets them alight. He then smothers the fire with a wet rag and lets smoke billow out into the passageway. One of the men comes to investigate and is knocked unconscious by 6 and tied up. he then goes to the wheelhouse and takes out the other man. he ties him up and locks the pair in a cabin, then sets sail. The men eventually free themselves and bust through a cupboard into the next compartment, where they can get out. They attack 6 in the wheelhouse and he jumps over the side when one draws a gun out of a drawer. They are near land and he swims for shore, then disappears. He rests, then walks until he finds a small group of gypsies camped. They give him coffee and he tries to communicate, but they can't understand each other. he eventually finds a road and sees British policemen directing traffic around a breakdown. he sneaks aboard a truck and is carried into London, where he gets out and finds himself near Hyde Park. He walks along and eventually finds himself in front of his old house. He checks the area and then knocks on the door, which is answered by a servant, who thinks he is a vagrant and tells him her mistress is out. Soon, his Lotus 7, with the KAR-120C registration pulls out and a fashionable, middle-aged woman gets out of the car and goes into the house. 6 jumps up and asks the woman the number of the car and then proceeds to tell her the registration and the engine number. He tells her he built it (the Lotus 7 was sold as a kit or fully assembled, by the company). The woman is intrigued and invites him inside, to his old study. The furniture is the same. She has the servant bring refreshments and 6 tells of living there and provides details about repairs and such to prove he is telling the truth. The woman, Mrs Butterworth, says she believes him and that he is obviously in trouble. She offers him a bath and her late husband's clothes and the car to use, provided he fix the overheating problem it has. he remarks that it is his birthday and she says she will bake him a cake.

6 takes the car and goes to the car park seen in the title sequence, goes through the tunnel and arrives in an office where he finds the man to whom he delivered his resignation. 6 is then seen meeting with "The Colonel" and "Thorpe." he relates his story of his journey, details of the Village and shows them photos he took with a camera from the Village shop. He relates the people who were kept there and they are skeptical and he challenges them with who ran the place. The Colonel tells him to relax, that they believe him, after receiving word that the police have confirmed parts of his story. He meets with a naval and RAF officer to try to determine the location of the Village, based on his logs, average speed and length of journey. They determine he moved on a northeasterly course at about 3 knots, for 25 days and narrow it down to an area off North Africa (near Morocco) and the Iberian Peninsula (coast of Portugal). They determine a search area and No.6 goes to an RAF base, where he suits up for a flight in a reconnaissance aircraft. His pilot says he will meet him outside and 6 goes out to the aircraft and climbs aboard. The pilot comes out with his helmet on and sun visor down. he climbs in and they take off. They carry out a detailed search and 6 eventually spots the Village bell tower. They go for a closer look and 6 confirms it is the Village. The pilot says he will radio their position, then lifts his visor, turns his head towards 6 and says "Be seeing you!" as he pulls the ejection seat lever. ^ is launched out of the aircraft and parachutes down to the beach. He unhooks from his parachute and walks back to his quarters. When he enters, the water in his shower comes on and the radio begins playing music. He turns around and sees the black cat he had encountered. then, in walks Mrs Butterworth, carrying a birthday cake, saying "Many happy returns." She is wearing the badge of No. 2.



Thoughts: This is another favorite and probably the best mindf@#$ episode of the series. ^ awakens to find the Village deserted and escapes, unmolested (apart from the gun runners), returns to London and even his home, meets his old bosses, searches for the location of the Village and then gets dumped back there, only to learn it was all; a trick to once again get him to lower his guard and reveal why he resigned and his other secrets. Mrs Butterworth, the charming woman living in his house, who aids him, is actually No.2 and has planned the entire charade. The episode really lulls you into a false sense that 6 has escaped and that he is making good on his promise to come back and wipe out the place; but, there is also the sense that something is wrong. How did they evacuate everyone from the Village, in the night? Why? Were the Colonel and Thorpe in on it or were they duped, as well. If they are dupes, how will they react to 6 disappearing again? Did it really happen or is it another hallucination?

Many questions, few answers.

The motor vessel is the same one used in Checkmate, as MV Poloska, which belonged to the Village, as that No. 2 revealed. In all likelihood, it is the same ship in the story, suggesting 6 fell for it again, though it is a common enough design for a small coastal vessel, handling small cargoes or smuggling. It works either way you view it, as part of the Village's scheme or as a coincidence. However, given that it gets him off the coast of England, I tend to believe it is from the Village.

The substitution of the pilot suggests the Colonel and Thorpe were not in on things; but, that would suggest a very risky scheme by the Village, as they have now alerted them of their existence and they would again search the same area for the missing 6. It's possible they would think it was a disinformation operation, from the East; but, given the history with 6, you would expect them to check it out. That would bring trouble onto the Village, again suggesting they were in on the plan. If they were, though, they wouldn't need to substitute the pilot. That leaves us with the idea that it is all a hallucination.

We have seen that the Village has used hallucinogenic drugs to try to make 6 compliant and reveal his secrets and can introduce artificial realities into his mind. So, it wouldn't take much to insert this scenario into his brain, take him on his journey and use an escape to get him to lower his guard when he thinks he is free. No. 2 even hedges her bets by putting herself into the scenario as a friendly patron, aiding him in his quest, despite his outlandish tale. If he doesn't part with secrets to the old masters, maybe he will to a sympathetic, attractive female ally. You wonder, if so, if Mrs Butterworth was prepared to seduce him within the scenario, though McGoohan would never allow such a plot point in the show, due to his Catholic beliefs and stance against any hint of romance. McGoohan was a contradictory mix of liberal rebel and conservative Catholic. No wonder the show seems somewhat insane.

Georgina Cookson returns as Mrs Butterworth/No. 2, after her brief part in "A, B and C." Once again, she is infatuated with No. 6 and there is a sexual magnetism in her and the way she studies 6, with a constant smile and the eye of a tigress, looking over her prey. Even among a crowd of attractive women who appear in the series, she is by far the sexiest and most aggressive. n many ways, her character is way ahead of her time, presaging such tv characters as Joan Collins' Alexis Carrington (Dynasty) and similar scheming, yet alluring women in prime time dramas. The female No. 2s are some of the most intriguing of all, especially for the time, and she stands above all the others. Of the three, only No. 2, from "Dance of the Dead," appears as No.2, from the start. The other two are only revealed at the end (their identity hidden by the Robert Rietty-voiced No.2, unseen, in the opening sequence).

Donald Sinden is the Colonel, playing him as the traditional senior officer commanding type, perfect as an Army officer or intelligence or government head. Sinden was a noted actor in film, television adn, especially theater, with a long career with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has a powerful, commanding voice, a deep baritone that grabs your attention.

Patrick Cargill is Thorpe, his second in command. Cargill had a long career in television, in the West End, and a few memorable films, including The Beatles' Help! He appeared in two episodes of the Avengers and will return here, as No.2, in "Hammer into Anvil." He starred in the long running comedy series, Father, Dear Father, which was shown on A&E, in the late 80s, when I was in college (it was a glorified cable version of a PBS station, in those days, with weekend evening programming turned over to British comedies, like Black Adder, Yes, Minister, Father, Dear Father, Butterflies, Solo and Last of the Summer Wine). McGoohan has been adamant that his future No. 2 is not meant to be Thorpe, not was Alexis Kanner's character in "Living in Harmony" the same as his No. 48, in "Fall Out." The same was true of Georgina Cookson's character in "A, B and C and Mrs Butterworth, though there is debate about that.

The aircraft in which No.6 carries out the aerial search for the Village is a Gloster Meteor, which was the only jet aircraft flown by the Allies, in combat, in WW2. It was outdated by the time of the series; but,, had been used into that period, including in a photo reconnaissance role, which would be the type of aircraft in which a search would be conducted. It was also used as an ejection seat testbed, which is probably why it was chosen for ground shots, as it could be matched to stock footage of the ejection seat ignition.

The episode identifies the location of the Village as an island, somewhere near the coasts of Morocco and Portugal. Previously, in Chimes of Big Ben, we were told it was off the coast of Lithuania, near Poland. The earlier location would match the idea that the Village belonged to the East, the latter to the West or an outside agency. However, such an area would be close to major shipping lanes into and out of the Mediterranean Sea, which would seem unlikely, for a place that is supposed to be hidden away, with people who know too much. This further adds to the hallucination theory, as the conflicting locations are all just smokescreens. Some fans have put forward theories that the Village exists in another dimension or even another world, or is a complete hallucination of No. 6. Whatever the truth might be (which is that there is no definite location to make you wonder about where it is), it further reinforces the idea not to trust anything said in the series as gospel. Nothing and no one is as they seem, which brilliantly allows you to draw your own conclusions.

Be seeing you!

A Change of Mind

Writer: Roger Parkes
Director: Joseph Serf (Patrick McGoohan)

(episode preview)


(episode)


Episode Quotes: No. 42 to No. 6, after he defends her poetry: "You're trying to undermine my rehabilitation, disrupt my social progress"

Synopsis: No. 6 works out in his homemade gym, in the woods, when he is accosted by two warders, who accuse him of being antisocial. he fights them off and drives them away, though one warns he will answer to "the Committee for this." We next see him at the Council Hall, with a questionaire, as a woman continuously cries. We hear that she is suffering from constant depression, while another prisoner is told to go to the rostrum and repeat a confession, as they feed it to him. 6 is called before the Council and accused of being disharmonious and if he doesn't change, may face social conversion. he tears up their questionaire and makes light of their charges and attitudes. When directed to go to the rostrum and make his confession, he says nothing. He picks up a Tally Ho that says he faces further scrutiny. In his residence, No. 2 waits for him. He warns him of the consequences if he continues to mock the committee and that he will be shaped to fit. He says he is powerless in the matter, which 6 doesn't believe. 6 is introduced to No.86, who has been through the process and says that 6 has the group session and then medical screening to attend. No. 2 observes and makes sexist remarks about No. 86.

At the group session, 6 observes a member undergo self criticism, as two others attack her supposed social gaffes. He interrupts defending her poetry as having social value. No. 10 accuses him of being a reactionary, another a rebel. Even the woman attacks him for interfering with her rehabilitation. He is then taken for a medical screening and witnesses another undergoing aversion therapy, strapped to a chair, watching images of Rover and No. 2, with the words "UNMUTUAL" appearing on a placard onscreen. Another man bears a scar on his temple, from the social conversion process, suggesting a lobotomy. He is brought back to the committee and declared unmutual and sentenced to instant social conversion. The committee all are gone when the lights come up and 6 finds himself shunned by other villagers. A group of women come from the appeal subcommittee, to aid No. 6. he notices No. 42 among them and mocks her rise in status, then the group as a whole. No. 2 observes and is pleased. 6 is further shunned in public and returns to his residence to find the women back and mocks them more and the villagers as sheep. No. 2 calls to threaten. Outside, a mob attacks 6 and he is sedated and removed by medical people. he is subjected to an ultrasound treatment by No. 82. Later, he awakens with a more relaxed and docile attitude.. He is returned to his quarters and cheered along the way. No. 82 has him lie down in a lounger as she makes him a cup of tea. He sea her drop a pill into it and recognizes that she is trying to drug him. He distracts her and dumps the tea. He is visited by No. 2 but doesn't reatc. Later, he examines the supposed wound and can see he is unhurt. 2 and 82 watch and are puzzled by the lack of effectiveness of the drug. 82 is sent to administer another dose and 6 switches cups on her. Then, under the drug's influence, she reveals she switched off the ultrasound and the drug treatment is the real conditioning. He goes out to poke around and fights the thugs again. he then hypnotizes 82 into aiding him. He meets with 2 again and convinces him he is under their spell. he is taken out to address the crowd and 82 accuses 2 of being unmutual. The crowd turns on him and chases him back to his residence.

Thoughts: This is another allegorical one. Although the scheme involved in the social conditioning is to make 6 act as they want, it doesn't necessarily maintain his usefulness to their plans, after they learn his secrets, based on previous episodes. Perhaps the Village just sees his rebellion as needing to be controlled, before he inspires a mass uprising. In reality, the episode is exploring attempts at psychological conditioning used for political means. The "unmutual" name and the committee are a throwback to HUAC and Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who used the term to describe suspected communists. meanwhile, the self-criticism therapy group reflects such activities during the Cultural Revolution, under Mao, in China. The confessions and sham trial reflect the show trials of Stalinist Russia. So, McGoohan is criticizing both the Far Right and the Far Left and the methods such repressive societies use to force citizens to conform to their wishes and prescribed behaviors. At the heart of it is never question, never mock, only obey and act in the proscribed manner. There is no room for individual thought. That is a central theme of the entire series, as it reflects the philosophical struggle between individual identity and society's need for its members to act together. At the extremes, you have anarchy and a totalitarian state. In between these extremes lie a spectrum of positive and negative, with the ideal being more in the middle, with individual thought and belief supported and protected, so long as it does not disrupt the health of society as a whole. Maintaining your own yard as you please is fine, until you let a tree deteriorate to the point it collapses and injures another. Or, the right to swing an arm forward ends when it impacts another person. In balance, there is harmony. Too much deference to individual freedom means everyone is free to create their own laws and others are hurt. Too rigid control and free will is gone.

No. 2 is shown to be a rampant sexist, constantly referring to "that woman" (No.82) in a dismissive manner and seeming to hold women as the inferior of the species. The series reflects the time, with women in subservient roles, though we do see female No. 2s and doctors and researchers. It is clear that women in the Village do fulfill higher roles than women often did in 1960s society. However, this No. 2 is openly contemptuous, which makes his undoing via No. 82 even more delightful. Just desserts, as it were.

No. 82 is an interesting case, as she says she went through the reconditioning, yet she also seems to be the technical expert. It is unclear if her methods are a result of her conditioning, improving the response or whether her work brought her to the attention of the Village and her imprisonment and conditioning, via her own methods. She may be adapting someone else's technique and may never have actually been through conditioning and it was just part of the scheme. It is also interesting to note that she is also one of the few females seen in non-holiday casual clothing. She does appear in such, at first, and wears a medical lab coat in the clinical environment. We have seen this in other medical people. However, when she takes 6 back home, after the fake treatment, she wears a dress and heels. The only other time we see this is with Mrs Butterworth and, to a lesser extent, the first revealed female No. 2, in "Free For All." Otherwise, the only overtly feminine attire seen on Village women (aside from hats and the cut of their clothes) are gowns for parties and the maid uniforms. The first female No. 2 is first seen as a maid, until it is revealed that she is No. 2 and is then in what would be described as executive wear (for 1967). The female No. 2 of Dance of the Dead is in trousers and the casual attire seen on others, apart from her Peter Pan costume, later in the episode. Mrs Butterworth is first seen in trendy women's slacks and jacket, with boots and a sporty hat, then in a sophisticated dress and heels, when she is in the Village. The question is then does the attire signify a status or is there a choice? It's a minor detail, but, the costuming of the characters often indicates their role within the story. We see younger female characters wearing the holiday uniform, but with more modern hats, to suggest younger fashions, within their uniformity. Older women are usually seen in the capes and beach hats, while the men are either in blazers or striped shirts. It might just be a concession to the beauty of the actress, but it could also suggest the nature of the character.



No. 82 is played by Angela Browne, a very attractive blonde actress, who had also appeared with McGoohan, in Danger Man, as well as The Avengers, in the episode "How to Succeed...at Murder," as one of several secretaries who murders the boss and end up running their company, as well as the earlier "Intercrime" (a Cathy Gale episode), and other ITV shows, like The Saint, as well as appearing in dramas and in the West End.

No. 2 is played by John Sharp, with a very deliberate manner of speech, often quoting proverbs. The heavy-set actor had appeared in multiple tv shows, dramas, comedies and adventure shows, as well as films such as Barry Lyndon and The Wicker Man. In 1984, he portrayed Tipton, one of the businessmen who trades with Scrooge in the George C Scott-starring A Christmas Carol (which was to feature fellow No. 2 Leo McKern, as the Ghost of Christmas Present, but was replaced by Edward Woodward). He appeared in 3 episodes of The Avengers (1 each with Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, and Tara King).

No. 10, from the therapy group, is played by Asian actor Michael Chow, who appeared in the James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, Modesty Blaise (as her servant, Weng), The Brides of Fu Manchu, Basquiat and the Rush Hour films.

Joseph Cuby is the second member of the Social Group, who had worked with McGoohan, as a teen (16, but looking younger), on Danger Man, in the episode The Blue Veil and The Leak. He was born in Gibraltar and appears to be of North African/Arabic heritage and usually played Arab characters. This makes this one of the more multi-cultural depictions of the Village.

The aversion therapy scene bears a close resemblance to similar scenes of Malcolm McDowell, undergoing such conditioning, in A Clockwork Orange, minus the eyelid clamps and eyedrops. The series predates the film, but the film adapts the scenes from the novel, which was published in 1962 and was itself inspired by actual aversion therapy techniques and research. Author Anthony Burgess was an outspoken critic of BF Skinner and behaviorism, something McGoohan seems to share in the series, as his theories and techniques seem reserved for the Village.

Be seeing you!