The Prisoner : The significance of the big bubblegum

Auditor #9 wrote:

"It's still working" I would say is a relative statement. Working for whom? There are a lot of businesses goign out of business - they might have overstretched themselves during the Boom .... I'd imagine a lot of businesses who don't have plenty of shekels in the coffers won't survive too easily in this climate. Not that that's so bad because you see a lot of established places fretting less than others.



That triangle is ALL our friend my friend - if you see imperfections in it perhaps you should check your eyeball for a mote

"I am not a number, I am a free man!" Patrick McGoohan's character Number Six shouted at the "triangle" at the beginning of every episode of The Prisoner and you know I think he was right.

tonys wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

"It's still working" I would say is a relative statement. Working for whom? There are a lot of businesses goign out of business - they might have overstretched themselves during the Boom .... I'd imagine a lot of businesses who don't have plenty of shekels in the coffers won't survive too easily in this climate. Not that that's so bad because you see a lot of established places fretting less than others.



That triangle is ALL our friend my friend - if you see imperfections in it perhaps you should check your eyeball for a mote

"I am not a number, I am a free man!" Patrick McGoohan's character Number Six shouted at the "triangle" at the beginning of every episode of The Prisoner and you know I think he was right.

Do you regularly feel chased down by a big man-sized bubble of chewing gum which threatens to squash the wind out of you against a wall ?

Auditor #9 wrote:

tonys wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

"It's still working" I would say is a relative statement. Working for whom? There are a lot of businesses goign out of business - they might have overstretched themselves during the Boom .... I'd imagine a lot of businesses who don't have plenty of shekels in the coffers won't survive too easily in this climate. Not that that's so bad because you see a lot of established places fretting less than others.



That triangle is ALL our friend my friend - if you see imperfections in it perhaps you should check your eyeball for a mote

"I am not a number, I am a free man!" Patrick McGoohan's character Number Six shouted at the "triangle" at the beginning of every episode of The Prisoner and you know I think he was right.

Do you regularly feel chased down by a big man-sized bubble of chewing gum which threatens to squash the wind out of you against a wall ?

The bubble was symbolic of the claustrophobic effect of the mob, of the price to be paid for being an “insider”. If you want to be free, stay outside the cosy consensus and always, always, question & resist the received opinion of the chattering classes. That’s what Patrick always told me anyway, triangles be damned.

tonys wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

tonys wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

"It's still working" I would say is a relative statement. Working for whom? There are a lot of businesses goign out of business - they might have overstretched themselves during the Boom .... I'd imagine a lot of businesses who don't have plenty of shekels in the coffers won't survive too easily in this climate. Not that that's so bad because you see a lot of established places fretting less than others.



That triangle is ALL our friend my friend - if you see imperfections in it perhaps you should check your eyeball for a mote

"I am not a number, I am a free man!" Patrick McGoohan's character Number Six shouted at the "triangle" at the beginning of every episode of The Prisoner and you know I think he was right.

Do you regularly feel chased down by a big man-sized bubble of chewing gum which threatens to squash the wind out of you against a wall ?

The bubble was symbolic of the claustrophobic effect of the mob, of the price to be paid for being an “insider”. If you want to be free, stay outside the cosy consensus and always, always, question & resist the received opinion of the chattering classes. That’s what Patrick always told me anyway, triangles be damned.

The Bubble Gum went out and killed off those who strayed from the Party line tonys. It was like the Chief Whip or something.

Auditor #9 wrote:

tonys wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

tonys wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

"It's still working" I would say is a relative statement. Working for whom? There are a lot of businesses goign out of business - they might have overstretched themselves during the Boom .... I'd imagine a lot of businesses who don't have plenty of shekels in the coffers won't survive too easily in this climate. Not that that's so bad because you see a lot of established places fretting less than others.



That triangle is ALL our friend my friend - if you see imperfections in it perhaps you should check your eyeball for a mote

"I am not a number, I am a free man!" Patrick McGoohan's character Number Six shouted at the "triangle" at the beginning of every episode of The Prisoner and you know I think he was right.

Do you regularly feel chased down by a big man-sized bubble of chewing gum which threatens to squash the wind out of you against a wall ?

The bubble was symbolic of the claustrophobic effect of the mob, of the price to be paid for being an “insider”. If you want to be free, stay outside the cosy consensus and always, always, question & resist the received opinion of the chattering classes. That’s what Patrick always told me anyway, triangles be damned.

The Bubble Gum went out and killed off those who strayed from the Party line tonys. It was like the Chief Whip or something.

That, is a complete misreading of the entire bubble phenomenon.
You obviously haven’t done your “prisoner” weekend workshop.

No it isn't tonys! It's been a while since I saw the Prisoner I admit but the nightmares are imprinted in my brain of seeing that Bubble squash the life out of good men - I used to see it all the time when I was a child down here in Clare.

Good men with the originality and the need for escape to new pastures just squashed out of them by a semi-organo mechanical half constructed, half bred, half evolved lifeform that deals mercilessly with those who stray even a bit from the party line.

It was almost as bad as those flying silver balls in Phantasm I.

Auditor #9 wrote:

No it isn't tonys! It's been a while since I saw the Prisoner I admit but the nightmares are imprinted in my brain of seeing that Bubble squash the life out of good men - I used to see it all the time when I was a child down here in Clare.

Good men with the originality and the need for escape to new pastures just squashed out of them by a semi-organo mechanical half constructed, half bred, half evolved lifeform that deals mercilessly with those who stray even a bit from the party line.

It was almost as bad as those flying silver balls in Phantasm I.

The bubbles squashing was reserved exclusively for those who began to question the conventional wisdom, any kind of lateral thinking was nicht tolerated, verboten in the extreme. In other words Irish Times readers were as safe as houses.
Your memory plays the tricks on you, simples.

I'll warn ye now. I'm going to watch this thread like a hawk. Wars were started over threads like this one.

So what's it about ? I've no time for bubblegum men.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

I'll warn ye now. I'm going to watch this thread like a hawk. Wars were started over threads like this one.

So what's it about ? I've no time for bubblegum men.

Neither had Patrick, welcome aboard my friend.

Who's Patrick then ? Is this the 1960's TV show ye'er on about ?

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Who's Patrick then ? Is this the 1960's TV show ye'er on about ?

Spot on, Skippy.

tonys wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Who's Patrick then ? Is this the 1960's TV show ye'er on about ?

Spot on, Skippy.

Is this the Dr. something who killed his wife and the one armed man really did it ?

Do you not remember The Prisoner evm ? It was about a group of free men and women trapped in a world of arbitrary mediocrity and Governed systematically by a semi organic fungus-like entity which was capable of semi-intelligent thought generally based on certain rules which worked remarkably well.

Anyone who could not comply fully with those narrow stipulations would be squashed to death by a giant bubble which followed you around a garden.


It used to be on the night after Sapphire and Steel.

Auditor #9 wrote:

Do you not remember The Prisoner evm ? It was about a group of free men and women trapped in a world of arbitrary mediocrity and Governed systematically by a semi organic fungus-like entity which was capable of semi-intelligent thought generally based on certain rules which worked remarkably well.

Anyone who could not comply fully with those narrow stipulations would be squashed to death by a giant bubble which followed you around a garden.


It used to be on the night after Sapphire and Steel.

Ah Jesus, them were the days, when you had just the one good programe a night to look forward to and look at us now, not even that.

Nope.

I don't remember Saphire and Steel either. Whatever that was.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Nope.

I don't remember Saphire and Steel either. Whatever that was.

On what pray then do you base your political philosophy on if not “The Prisoner”

Maybe it was a satire on being married ....

A big blob following you around the garden trying to kill you if you did something "wrong".





Feel free to mod my post anyone who can who finds it offensive but that's how it used to be with me and my late husband anyway ,.

tonys wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Nope.

I don't remember Saphire and Steel either. Whatever that was.

On what pray then do you base your political philosophy on if not “The Prisoner”

The written and sung word of Freddie Mercury , you lunatic.

Only a madman would choose Prisoner over Freddie.

Prisoner people should be evicted from society forthwith.

I'm writing a Dáil question now....

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

tonys wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Nope.

I don't remember Saphire and Steel either. Whatever that was.

On what pray then do you base your political philosophy on if not “The Prisoner”

The written and sung word of Freddie Mercury....

You could do worse and many do.

It was my lesson in 'How you find out about stuff'

I'll never forget it.

For some reason I'm reminded of a Fintan O'Toole piece talking about Larry Goodman, where, despite being one of the richest and most influential men in Ireland, he considered himself an outsider and an ordinary bloke outside the circles of power because he listened to Foster and Allen tapes in his helicopter. I'm sure his employees are in no mistake as to who runs their world. It's an old trick - those who run the country often believe that they are doing so against the wishes of some smart fellas in Dublin with posh accents who they believe really run the place.

No wonder we're talking about the Prisoner here, after all, Number Six is really Number One.



It's not surprising that we're banjaxed when those who run the country suffer from cognitive dissonance on such a massive scale.