Number Two (The Prisoner)

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Number Two was title of the Chief Administrator^[1] of The Village in the 1967-68 British television series The Prisoner. More than 17 different actors appeared as holders of the office during the 17-episode series (some episodes featured more than one "Number Two", most notably "It's Your Funeral" which featured two Number Twos in major roles and images of two others).

The Village is openly administered by an official designated as "Number Two". The person assigned to the position is frequently changed.^[2] There are two Number Twos with repeat appearances: Leo McKern appeared in three episodes, and Colin Gordon in two. With the exception of "Fall Out", this was the result of the actors performing their roles in two consecutive episodes filmed back to back. Colin Gordon was filmed in "The General" followed immediately with "A. B. and C." McKern was featured in the series' second transmitted episode, "The Chimes of Big Ben," and then featured in the next production episode to be filmed "Once Upon a Time." Patrick Cargill and Georgina Cookson also appeared in more than one episode each, Cargill as Thorpe in "Many Happy Returns" and Cookson as a woman at the party which Number Six hallucinates in "A, B and C". However, there is no indication as to whether their characters in these episodes are the same people as their Number Two characters.

The various Number Twos seem to make use of several symbols of their authority. One of the most striking is the Seal, a large golden medallion, somewhat in the style of a mayoral chain, with the penny-farthing logo and the official title "Chief Administrator". This is only seen in one episode, "It's Your Funeral". The two more visible signs are a multicoloured scarf and a colourful umbrella stick (used as a cane). Most, though not all, of the Number Twos seem to use these symbolic objects.

The first episode, "Arrival", established that the people holding the position of Number Two were rotated on a regular basis. Some fans have interpreted the removal of a Number Two exclusively as a punishment for failure, but there were only two individuals who actually fit this categorization. These were Patrick Cargill in "Hammer Into Anvil", whom Number Six manipulates into reporting his own incompetence; and Colin Gordon in "A, B and C", who is repeatedly warned over the telephone about the consequences of failure. The episode "Free for All" maintained that Number Twos are "democratically elected by the people." However, this was a mock election.

Evidently this series was a favourite of Beatle George Harrison, whose son Dhani has formed a band named thenewno2 ("the new number two") in reference to this character.

[edit] List of actors who played Number Two

George Baker ("Arrival")
David Bauer ("Living in Harmony")
Patrick Cargill ("Hammer into Anvil")
Georgina Cookson ("Many Happy Returns")
Guy Doleman ("Arrival")
Clifford Evans ("Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling")
Colin Gordon ("The General" and "A, B and C")
Kenneth Griffith ("The Girl Who Was Death")
Leo McKern ("The Chimes of Big Ben", "Once Upon a Time" and "Fall Out")
Mary Morris ("Dance of the Dead")
Derren Nesbitt ("It's Your Funeral")
Eric Portman ("Free for All")
Anton Rodgers ("The Schizoid Man")
John Sharp (credited as "John Sharpe") ("A Change of Mind")
Andre Van Gyseghem ("It's Your Funeral")
Peter Wyngarde ("Checkmate")

Colin Gordon, Leo McKern, Mary Morris and Peter Wyngarde were the only Number Two actors whose voices featured in the title sequences of the episodes in which they appeared. The openings of "Arrival", "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling", "Living in Harmony" and "Fall Out" did not include dialogue. In the remaining seven episodes the voice of Number Two was that of Robert Rietty.