Once Upon a Time

Yes, even though my knowledge is inadequate to totally understand the theatre of the absurd, this sojourn into the realm of despair and existentialism is a masterpiece that I would bet most people are unaware. As our Prisoner, Number Six, is again manipulated with mind altering actions, he finds himself living as a child in a man's body. Once again, the purpose is to get him to reveal why he resigned as a spy. What is done is to take Shakespeare's "The Seven Ages of Man" and run our hero through these passages from birth, to infirmity, to death. Along the way, it is hoped that he will develop a bond with his "father" (Number Two) and reveal things that he previously will not. Number Two stakes his life on this. As Number Six passes through each of the ages, he develops knowledge and more resistance, the stubbornness and wonder of the child, if you will. The misfortune, if you can call it that, for Number Two is that he has done some programming to deny Six to the access of his past. The whole visual portrayal and the incredible acting of Patrick McGoohan and Leo McKern provide a tour de force that is hard to forget.