Six of One - The Prisoner Appreciation Society

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Six of One - The Prisoner Appreciation Society is the name of the British fan club of the television series number 6 or in the original The Prisoner . The club describes itself as "Society for Appreciation (of the series) The Prisoner ".

designation

The name Six Of One goes back to an English phrase with which the local director number two in the first episode referred to the newcomer as number six and when he replied that he was human: “Six of one, helped a dozen of the other . “What is meant is: It doesn't matter. The German TV version of ZDF from 1969 changed the statement of the sentence significantly, albeit aptly: "One does not exclude the other."

Emergence

The Englishman Dave Barrie (born 1947) found out about the shooting of Patrick McGoohan's new series number 6 in 1966 and had the opportunity to visit it in Portmeirion during his vacation. As a fan of McGoohan's earlier television series Secret Order for John Drake , he followed the first broadcast with great interest. When number 6 was repeated on British television in 1976, Barrie wrote to ATV for more information. After the last episode was broadcast, the station published its address. The interest was enormous. That same night strangers rang his doorbell; in the following days he received many letters from prisoner enthusiasts all over the country. In a circular, Barrie explained the motivation behind his search for like-minded people. The Prisoner Appreciation Society was formally established on January 6, 1977, and the first organized visit to the Portmeirion location by a large number of interested parties took place in 1977.

Society details

Six of One is run on a voluntary basis. About ten people are active. The membership fee for continental Europe is 37.60 British pounds (as of 2019), membership for one year is not renewed automatically. Since the early 1980s, the Society has regularly published its own publications under changing titles, and since the end of 2014 the Six4Two magazine .

At meetings and events over the years, many former production employees have provided background information in interviews about the creation of number 6 , which was either published in the magazines or shown as video documentation at the prisoner conventions . Ron Grainer , composer of the theme music, was the first guest of honor in 1978. Since then, members of Six Of One have collected and secured many props and documents and have brought to light the so-called “alternative” versions of the two episodes “The Arrival” and “The Bells of Big Ben”.

The number of members has varied greatly over the years. In 2013 it was around 500.

Patrick McGoohan accepted the honorary presidency in a telegram , but did not give up his reluctance towards the public and never attended the annual prisoner conventions in Portmeirion in his life. "Profoundly grateful to you and the Society for your interest and understanding. Am honored to accept Honorary Presidency. Blessings to you all. Half a dozen of the other. Be seeing you. Patrick McGoohan "

Prisoner conventions

The prisoner conventions, called PortmeiriCon , have been the main attraction organized by Six Of One for decades . Almost the entire town of Portmeirion , which was the location of number 6 in addition to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio site in Borehamwood ( Hertfordshire ) near London , is available for the activities. Since the late 1970s, the conventions have generally taken place in late summer. At the urging of the management, since the beginning of the 21st century the convention dates have mostly been before Easter, in the pre-season of the Hotel Portmeirion.

In addition to visits by guests of honor and the showing of film documentaries and theater plays, some striking scenes from the series are regularly staged in the outdoor area. Such as the life-size chess tournament from “Checkmate” and the election campaign from “Free Choice”. This episode was not dubbed and broadcast by ZDF in 1969. There is also the opportunity to tour the town in the mini-mokes typical of the series and used as taxis . Six-Of-One founder Dave Barrie gives explanatory tours of the place.

In principle, the prisoner conventions are only open to members, but the outdoor activities are freely accessible, apart from the entrance fee for Portmeirion, which has to be paid anyway.

Fan films

Short film "Resolution"

Resolution is a fifteen minute short film directed by Larry Hall in 2011. Hall is a co-founder of the Prisoner Appreciation Society SIX OF ONE in the UK. The plot: In an unspecified future after the events described in the series from 1967, number six is ​​still the prisoner of the now fully automated place ( the Village ). Surveys take place at regular intervals. The site is to be revived as an interrogation and internment center. Then number two arrives: formerly number 24 (from the episode "The Double"), known as Alison. However, she has her own agenda ...

It is not a remake or a "new creation" like the six-part mini-series from 2009, rather a continuation. Writer and director Hall uses motifs and characters from number 6 in almost apocalyptic images and dares to achieve a resolution that Patrick McGoohan refused to give to his series in 1967. Larry Hall was able to win the actress Jane Merrow for his film. She plays her role from the original series with a variation. The film was officially presented at the 2012 Prisoner Convention. As a non-commercial fan project, it cannot be purchased and can only be seen at SIX OF ONE events.

"Village Day"

Village Day is the title of a 76-minute self-produced feature film by the Englishman David A. Stimpson based on plot elements and characters from series number 6. Stimpson, former member of the British fan club Prisoner Appreciation Society Six Of One , runs an Internet blog about Number 6.

The plot: A nameless man (played by David Stimpson) experiences a series of "prisoneresque" incidents on his search for someone who has disappeared, including suddenly finding himself in the village of number 6. In the end, it is not clear whether he was just hallucinating the experience.

The film was shot in 1998 with the support of a large number of members of the Prisoner Appreciation Society, including on the original location in Portmeirion . Failure to keep technical and financial commitments led the production into chaos, with the result that Stimpson had to complete the film in personal union as leading actor, director and producer alone and to the point of psychological exhaustion. The film has obvious flaws such as uncut camera positions for too long or poor sound, but it is an ambitious amateur project, realized with a lot of knowledge and love for the matter.

The film was only shown in fan circles, opinions differ about it. Any digital copies that may be in circulation are not authorized.

50 years number 6

The German friends and supporters of number 6 , who call themselves nr6de , organized an anniversary event in Giessen, Hesse , on October 12, 2019, on the occasion of the German premiere of the series on August 16, 1969 on ZDF . Around 50 visitors took part. In addition to a wealth of information in printed form, a self-staged theater performance and two guests were offered. The US media scientist Alan N. Shapiro , who lives and works in Germany and an avowed fan of the series, gave a lecture on current aspects of number 6 . From England was Eric Mival arrived. Mival was involved in the production of the series as music editor in 1967 and was on friendly terms with Patrick McGoohan . In a discussion with the audience, topics from the series and its history were discussed. Bernd Rumpf , the German voice of Patrick McGoohan's character “Number 6” from the synchronization by Arte in 2010, was also invited . Rumpf, however, died after a long illness just two weeks before the event.

swell

  • Dave Barrie: u. a. "The Long And Winding Road," 1996 special publication by Six Of One ; Barrie has hosted workshops (“Brain Bash”) and has written articles in various member magazines, including “The Majesty of Fall Out ” on the controversial final episode Unmasking and “In The Land Of Dark Dreams And Long Shadows” on the origins and influences of the surrealist Follow the indictment . Barrie's lyrics have not been published commercially. A part can be found on the website named under web links.
  • Number 6 is alive , by Karola Schepp; in Gießener Allgemeine Zeitung from October 5, 2019
  • Homage to a free person , by Ingo Berghöfer; in Gießener Anzeiger on October 10, 2019
  • Eric Mival: Cutting Edge - My Life in Film and Television , Quoitmedia, 2016; ISBN 978-1-911537-02-1

Web links