642 - "The Supervisor"

JSVB Post #642 was reserved as another homage to the great 1960's-era British thriller "The Prisoner".   I only realized the signifcance of the number with the posting of JSVB #641, so it took me a few days to render this image, making this entry late.

 

642 is the numerical form of "Six For Two", a campaign slogan for enigmatic Number Six (played by Patrick McGoohan) as he ran for the elected position of Number Two in The Village.  This was in the episode "Free For All" (1967), one of my favourites.  So, when I saw that 642 was coming up, I figured I should make a Prisoner-related entry.

 

I had been planning to make a mock up of a doll and packaging for Number 25 for months.  I dreaded doing it because I knew it would tie up a lot of work hours, and that's what happened.  Much of the time was spent coaxing more power out of my reluctant computer, as I had decided to make this picture in high resolution.  It could easily be printed out to poster size. 

 

Number 25 is an incidental character in The Prisoner canon.  The position of Number 25 was given to the administrator in charge of running the security and day-to-day operations of The Village, a clandestine prison that is home to spies and secret operatives who know too much and are too valuable to be allowed to live in the open world.  Number 25 is also referred to by his rank, "The Supervisor".  Although played by a few different actors, the part of The Supervisor is best associated with bald-pated Peter Swanwick.  Swanwick brought energy and dark enthusiasm to a role that was otherwise thankless.  His unique utterance of the famous line, "Orange Alert!" is iconic within the show.  (An "Orange Alert" meant that one of the Prisoners, usually Number 6, was attempting to escape The Village.)

 

There are no officially licensed collector figures for The Prisoner, but fans have created their own dolls.  As far as I am aware, there are no figures for The Supervisor.  I drew this image up because I would love one, especially if he said the "Orange Alert" line and if he had a Village-style telephone!

 

As I pushed pixels around for this artwork, I got to thinking about the rest of the dolls in the series, what they would look like, what accessories they would have, and what they would say when their button was pressed:

 

Number 6: "I am not a number, I am a free man!", comes with inflatable Rover balloon

Number 2: Just an evil cackle when the button is pressed, comes with detachable scarf, glasses, beard, and hat to change appearance

Number 25: as above

Number 58 (maid): Speaks gibberish when button pressed, comes with two-sided breakfast tray one side toast and eggs, the other side Village control panel

Alexis Kanner: sings "Dem Bones", has a top hat

The Girl Who Was Death: "This mountaineering rope would hold an elephant.", has a children's bedtime book

The Butler: When button is pressed, explains in detail the true nature of Number One, comes with working umbrella.

For a sketchier tribute to The Prisoner, please check out JSVB Post #388 by clicking here.