| "A. B. and C." | |||
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| The Prisoner episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
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| Directed by | Pat Jackson | ||
| Written by | Anthony Skene | ||
| Original air date | 13 October 1967 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
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Number Two - Colin Gordon |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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"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 starred Patrick McGoohan in the character of Number Six and featured as Number Two Colin Gordon, the only actor other than Leo McKern who would play Number Two in more than one episode.
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Number Two is directed by (presumably) Number One to step up efforts to extract information from Number Six, prompting him to push forward an experimental method developed by Number Fourteen, despite her warnings on the harm it could cause. Number Six is sedated with a special drug and brought into a laboratory, and his head is hooked up to electrodes leading to a machine. As the machine runs, it displays images from Number Six's mind for Two to watch. The machine is able to influence what Six dreams by adding in data on one of three agents that The Village knows about and that Two believes Six was planning to sell out to; this information is contained in dossiers labeled "A", "B", and "C". Two hopes to see what hypothetical events would have played out should Six have met each individual at a party hosted by "the celebrated Madame Engadine" to gain insight on Six's resignation.
Two starts with "A", a dark-haired, moustached man known to be a defector. When Six encounters him at the party, the man seems to want to buy Six's secrets, but Six refuses. The man and his henchmen kidnap Six from the party, take him to a foreign embassy, and beat him up, but Six is able to get the upper hand and escape. Two deduces that "A" is not who they want. With the night almost up and the drug nearly out of Six's system, Six is returned to his home. Six has no recollection of the events, but does recognize Fourteen and sparks a connection between that and a needle mark on his wrist.
That night, Six is drugged again and brought back to the laboratory. This time, Two uses "B", an auburn-haired woman and known spy who Six seems to be on familiar terms with. At the party, Six refuses to answer her questions about his plans and instead offers to dance with her. Two forces Fourteen to attempt to vocally interact with Six, with Fourteen's words being said by "B". Six become suspicious of "B", and even when thugs arrive and prepare to kill her, Six disbelieves that "B" is who she claims to be, the simulation of "B" failing to lack key information that Six knows.
Six wakes up the next day, finding a second needle mark, and suspicious of his dim memories of the night before. He trails Fourteen around The Village and finds the laboratory. He finds the three dossiers and the equipment, and takes steps to dilute the drug shot intended for him that night. He returns to his home, and though he attempts to avoid being sedated again, is apparently put under by something in the tap water. He is brought to the laboratory, injected with the drug, and placed in the machine with dossier "C"; however, the problem is that they don't know who "C" is exactly. The images of the party are more jumbled, a fact Fourteen attributes to the effects of repeated use of the drug. Agent "C" is revealed to be Madame Engadine, but she implies there is yet another mastermind behind his sell-out, whom Fourteen sarcastically calls "D". Madame Engadine takes Six to this agent, but clearly Six is in control of the dream state, as he reveals that "D" is none other than Two himself. Six's mind shows images of him returning to The Village and the laboratory, aware of the experiment, and Six reveals that an envelope he carried at the party, thought to contain information he was selling, only contained travel brochures. With that, the experiment is ended and Number Two receives an ominous phone call from Number One.
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 killed 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.
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