Free for All

In "Free for All," Number Six confronts a twist on an old cliché: If you can join 'em, can you still beat 'em? The Village is facing elections for the chairperson's position, with Number Two (Eric Portman) running unopposed until he invites Number Six to toss his hat into the ring. He does, and he immediately snaps into firebrand mode, excoriating the Villagers who have accepted their imprisonment and have chosen to "die here like rotten cabbages" before vowing to uncover "who are the prisoners and who are the warders" as Number Two eggs him on.

This most overtly political episode of "The Prisoner" was scripted by Patrick McGoohan under the pseudonym "Paddy Fitz," itself a political statement as "Paddy," although a nickname for Patrick, is also an ethnic slur for an Irish person such as he. Filled with pithy quotes ("everybody votes for a dictator") and trenchant observations on the political process in a democracy--put democracy in quotes if you're so inclined--"Free for All" is powerful but disjointed, at times too abstract, perhaps deliberately so to avoid becoming (ahem) a prisoner of its time period.

Moreover, in addition to his writing chores, McGoohan, the series star and its executive producer (what today we call the "showrunner"), also directed "Free for All," an onerous burden for one man, particularly given the spy series' short production schedules, and at times his Number Six doesn't seem to be clear on what he should be conveying. Thus, we're left wondering what to make of the seemingly bizarre behavior he manifests on occasion.

Still, McGoohan's themes of propaganda, brainwashing, and manipulation of the masses echo the Orwellian authoritarianism that lurks within even democratic governance and renders its outcomes "demonstration elections" in which nothing seems to change and opposing policies and ideologies seem interchangeable. "Six of one and half a dozen of the other."

Number Two assigns him an indistinctly Eastern European factotum, Number Fifty-Eight (Rachel Herbert), who chirps excitedly about the campaign even though she doesn't speak a word of English. Suspicious of her, Number Six nevertheless can't shake her, and he soon finds himself interrogated by the Labour Exchange manager (George Benson) who assures him that "he may be a friend."

When Number Six rails against the non-alcoholic drinks at the Village nightclub, cheekily (if too pointedly) named "The Cat and Mouse," Number Fifty-Eight takes him to a secret cave where a mysterious man (John Cazabon) brews up bootleg booze. Lo, also drowning his sorrows is Number Two, and it would be too obvious if the cave was filled with cigar smoke signaling the back-room deal.

Playing the straight man, Portman is fine in his thankless role while Herbert, her Number Fifty-Eight providing delightful, then chilling, misdirection, suggests a vaguely fetish honeytrap, appearing first as a maid, then in a sailor costume like a Japanese schoolgirl before finally slapping sense into Number Six like a cool, cruel dominatrix until he gets on the Village public address system to deliver the ultimate paradox: "Obey me and be free!"

Everyone does vote for a dictator, don't they, Number Six? Dangling power before him in an elaborate ruse to coax his secrets out of him, or at least to assimilate him among the warders, "Free for All" also remains a political Rorschach Test enabling you to see what you think you see in our society. Be seeing you.

Number six(Patrick McGoohan) is surprised to learn that, not only does the village now hold elections for number two, but that the current number two(played by Eric Porter) wants him to run for office against him! Naturally suspicious, "six" decides to go along with this, both for amusement and to take advantage of even the slimmest chance of gaining real power in the village, but learns the hard way that even victory can lead to defeat in this place...Brilliant episode effectively tackles themes of democracy, power, and the press that manipulates and twists his words and actions for their own ends, as the faces may change, but the status quo remains the same.

Poor Number Six is abundantly aware that he is the target of manipulators who have, as their ultimate goal, to get him to say what drove him to resign. It's obvious that this fact is less important than the fact that there are forces who have been able to bring others to their knees. In this one, Number Six is made a political candidate, running for the position of Number Two. Each candidate has an immediate following of ecstatic supporters. Our hero is always enigmatic and secretive, so we don't really know how the brainwashing and constant attacks from the controllers (including a ditsy woman in a sailor suit and hat) is affecting him, how he is maintaining his sanity. We believe that he believes once he has won the election, he will now have limitless power, power to put an end to the sterile, thoughtless village. But, of course, why would the powers that be want to let that happen? Sometimes the series was hard to watch as McGoohan's Six continues against great odds. It's as if the proverbial carrot is put before him in every manifestation, yet he is doomed to failure.