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The Prisoner
"I Met a Man Today"
Audio Drama
Written by Nicholas Briggs
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Released
August 2017 |
Number 6 struggles to believe whether he's actually escaped the
Village when he manages to flee back to England on a homemade
raft.
Notes from the Prisoner chronology
This episode suggests that Number 6 has been in the Village for
a little over a year. It seems to take place in mid-March since
Number 6's birthday of March 19 is part of the timeline (though
it's hard to say for sure if the dates used here are true with
all the manipulation and deception used by the Village's powers-that-be
Number 6 is forced to deal with).
Characters appearing or mentioned in this episode
Number 6
Kate Butterworth
Brenda
barmaid
Bob (owner of the
Lord Buckingham, mentioned only, deceased)
Mrs. Grahley (fictitious character proposed by Kate Butterworth
for a novel)
Mr. Butterworth (mentioned only, alleged deceased)
Control
Danvers
Thorpe
Didja Know?
The Big Finish version of The Prisoner is an
audio drama reimagining of
the classic 1967 TV series of the same name.
The series can occasionally be heard on the
BBC Radio website.
This episode gets most of its story from
original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns".
Didja Notice?
The character of Kate Butterworth who now lives in the house in
London formerly owned by Number 6 is based on the Mrs.
Butterworth character who appeared in the
original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns".
In that episode, her first name was never revealed.
Butterworth's maid here is named Brenda; in the
original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns",
the maid's name was Martha.
Number 6 refers to his former automobile as KAR-120C. This was
the license plate of his Lotus Seven in
the
original TV series.
Number 6 tells Brenda the engine number of KAR-120C is 461043TZ.
This same number is used in the original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns".
There is a pub near Number 6's former house called the Lord
Buckingham. As far as I can tell, this is a fictitious pub in
London.
When Butterworth offers to buy him a drink at the
Lord Buckingham, Number 6 orders a large whiskey. He also
accepts a cigarette from her.
Kate Butterworth is a novelist.
In the
original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns",
there is no such identification of her occupation.
In one of her tape recordings, Butterworth describes the
character of Mrs. Grahley in her new novel as feeling as if her allegedly dead
husband has returned in the body of a robin. This harkens back
to the
Seltzman device which allows a mind-swap between bodies in the
original TV series episode
"Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling"
and which was hinted at in our current audio series in
"Departure and Arrival".
The Seltzman process will be seen more fully in
"The Seltzman Connection".
The estate agents who sold Number 6's house to Butterworth were
Stumbell and Croydon. These are the same agents mentioned in
the original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns".
Number 6 tells Butterworth his name is Peter Smith. She
seems to realize immediately that it is likely a false name. He
used the same name in
the original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns".
The
barmaid
from the Lord Buckingham suggests that Butterworth may be
falling for the stranger (Number 6) because he reminds her of
her dead husband.
Number 6 pays a visit with Control and Danvers. They previously
appeared in
"Departure and Arrival"
and, as holograms, in "The
Chimes of Big Ben".
Danvers tells Control that Markstein has contacted him that
ZM-73 is back and wants to see him. The name
Markstein comes from
George Markstein, script editor for most of the episodes of the
original TV series; he played the bureaucrat ZM-73 handed his
resignation to in the original episodes
"Arrival" and
"Many Happy Returns".
When Danvers tells Control about the return of ZM-73, he says,
"...make a note that this is a code orange situation and set
security accordingly." "Code orange" is also the term used when
a prisoner tries to escape the Village and Rover is sent after
them. This may suggest that Control is a collaborator in the
workings of the Village.
The interrogator Number 6 faces, Thorpe, is named for the
character who appeared in
the original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns",
less of an interrogator, more of a superior to ZM-73 at his
former government organization.
The story of his journey on the raft
and return to England that Number 6 tells to Thorpe is very to
close to what was seen in
the original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns".
Mrs. Butterworth states that her "late" husband had a lowly
position in
Whitehall. Whitehall is a road in Westminster, central London,
where the seat of the UK government is located.
Number 6 wonders if his current
circumstances are another fake reality "like it was before". He
is referring to the events of
"The
Chimes of Big Ben", where he had seemingly escaped to London
just as he has here, but it turned out to be a holographic
simulation.
When Control seems to start somewhat believing Number 6's tale
of the Village and his escape from it, 6 demands to be taken to
Westminster Bridge.
Westminster Bridge is the bridge across the River Thames leading
to the governmental House of Commons and Big Ben.
The music that plays after Number 6 demands to be taken to
Westminster Bridge seems to be from "The House of the Rising
Sun", a folk song most popularly known from the version recorded
by the British rock group The Animals in 1964.
Number 6 sees the date on the calendar in Butterworth's study
and remarks to her that tomorrow is his birthday. This would
make the current date March 18, as his birthday was stated to be
March 19 in
"Departure and Arrival".
Thorpe acts as the pilot of the plane as he and Number 6 search
for an island where the Village is located off the coast of
Morocco. He uses call sign 55DT6 when radioing back to the
tower. In the
original TV series episode
"Many Happy Returns",
the pilot was not Thorpe, but another man entirely.
When Control and Danvers radio out to
Thorpe and Number 6 in their plane, Danvers uses the call sign
CHQ. Presumably, this stands for Control Headquarters.
After Number 6's abrupt return to the Village, the episode ends
with the new Number 2 (seemingly Mrs. Butterworth) bringing
Number 6 a birthday cake and saying, "Many happy returns," just
as the original
"Many Happy Returns"
episode did.
The next episode,
"Project Six", takes
place immediately after this one.
Memorable Dialog
I met a man today.mp3
I could do with a drink.mp3
a long time.mp3
he reminds you of your dead husband.mp3
what is the Village?.mp3
somewhere called the Village.mp3
tell us about the Village.mp3
a woman in charge.mp3
many happy returns.mp3
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Prisoner Episode Studies