A. B. and C.
| "A. B. and C." | |
|---|---|
| The Prisoner episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Pat Jackson |
| Written by | Anthony Skene |
| Original air date | 13 October 1967 |
| Guest actors | |
|
Number 2 - Colin Gordon |
|
"A. B. and C." is the title of the third episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 13 October 1967 and was first broadcast in the United States on CBS on 22 June 1968.
The episode stars Patrick McGoohan in the character of Number 6 and features as Number 2 Colin Gordon - the only actor other than Leo McKern who would play Number 2 in more than one episode.
Contents
Plot summary
Number Two is directed by Number One to step up efforts to extraction information from Number Six—specifically relating to what information he is believed to have sold, leading to his resignation from the intelligence agency he worked for. Number Two directs Number Fourteen to prepare a machine she has developed. With the help of an injected drug, it will allow observation of, and influence on, the dream-state of a person connected to it. They have prepared three dossiers of foreign agents that Number Six was known to have met during an elegant party hosted by Madame Engadine prior to his resignation, suspecting that he has sold out to one of them. The dossiers are labeled "A", "B", and "C".
On the first two nights, Number Six is sedated through his evening tea, brought to Number Fourteen's laboratory, injected with the drug, and connected to the machine. Numbers Two and Fourteen watch events unfold in Number Six's visions of the party, and then insert, separately, the dossiers for "A" and "B", agents with known ties to Number Six. During the first night with "A", a defector, Number Six refuses to sell his secrets to "A", and then escapes from being kidnapped by "A" and his henchmen. During the second night with "B", a female spy, Number Six avoids answering her questions regarding his departure. Number Fourteen uses the machine to speak directly to Number Six via "B", but he becomes suspicious and when "B" is dragged off by hostile agents to be killed, he does not stop to save her. Number Two determines that neither "A" nor "B" is the person they seek, and Number Six is returned each night to his home. After the second night, dim memories of the experiment lead Number Six to follow Number Fourteen around the Village, eventually coming across her laboratory. He dilutes the final injection after verifying the dossier for "C". That night Number Six fakes drinking the drugged tea, and instead acts drugged before he is taken back to the laboratory.
Number Two uses the final dossier on "C", whose true identity is unknown beyond ties to Number Six, with the dream state machine. The visions they see of the event are blurred and distorted, a factor that Number Fourteen attributes to the repeated use of the process. In the dream, it is revealed that "C" is really Madame Engadine, but she explains that she must take him to her superior, whom Number Two calls "D". To his shock, Number Six reveals that "D" is Number Two. As Numbers Two and Fourteen watch in surprise, they discover that Number Six has full control of his dream state. He returns to the Village and the laboratory and speaks directly to the dream versions of Numbers Two and Fourteen. He hands the dream version of Number Two an envelope which they had believed to contain secret information to sell, but which turns out to be simply travel brochures, and explains that his resignation was not due to having sold out. As the dream ends, the phone from Number One ominously rings.
Additional guest cast
- Blonde Lady: Georgina Cookson
- Flower girl: Lucille Soong
- Maid at party: Bettina Le Beau (credited as "Bettine Le Beau")
- Thug: Terry Yorke
- Thug: Peter Brayham
- Henchman: Bill Cummings
Chronology
It is never definitely indicated whether the Number Two in this episode is the same Number Two played by Colin Gordon in "The General". At the beginning of "A. B. and C.", when Number Six asks "Who are you?" Number Two replies "I am Number Two." At the beginning of The General, when Number Six asks "Who are you?" Number Two (again played by Colin Gordon) replies "The new Number Two." Throughout this episode he appears more desperate than typical Number Twos, possibly indicating that he faces dire consequences if he fails to break Number Six.
In actual broadcast order, "A. B. and C." was the third episode while "The General" was broadcast sixth in order. If the Number Two of each of the two shows is the same character, it would illustrate some of the production problems faced by the show; the Number Two of "A. B. and C." is clearly close to the end of his tenure, and this would indicate that this episode must follow The General in chronology. The Number Two in The "The General" describes himself and Number Six as "old friends" (which could possibly indicate the special status of Number Six.) The principal problem with the broadcast chronology is that in the conclusion of "A. B. and C.," it seems that Number Two is to be replaced for not providing the mental in-roads to Number Six as he likely offered. His existence in "The General" may perhaps be explained as indeed, a 'one-time' reprieve. However, every alternative order (including the production order and those created by enthusiasts of the show for chronology) lists "The General" before "A. B. and C."
It is also worth noting that Number Two in both episodes displays a fondness for drinking milk and both episodes concern experiments that involve manipulating the mind.
Trivia
- Despite the common threat of showers and the ubiquity of umbrellas, this is the only episode where we see rain in The Village. Notably, it rains at night, when few if any of the prisoners would see it.
- Skene re-worked his script for this episode as an installment of the BBC's Counterstrike series in 1969, entitled Nocturne.
- When the episode was screened by Channel 4 in 1983 a badly abridged print was used, omitting all of Number Fourteen's manipulation of B.
References
Bibliography
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