I AM (noT) A nuMBer

released OuT nOW! 206 pages | Paperback/ebook

Author alex Cox Publisher Kamera Books

Who is Number 6? Fifty years on from the debut of Patrick McGoohan’s surreal TV series The Prisoner, it’s a question that has yet to be definitively answered. But does it really matter? Surely it’s the subjects the series tackles – surveillance, individualism, conformity – that are important, not its protagonist’s CV?

Agree? Then you may find this book a little guilty of tunnel vision. Repo Man director Alex Cox (a fan since the series’ first transmission) sets out to identify why Number 6 resigned, where the mysterious Village he’s imprisoned in is located, and who’s running it. He has a theory, which he sets about proving by going through every episode, combing for clues. His conclusion: Number 6 is not a spy, but a rocket scientist.

It’s a slim volume, and though Cox does bring in some of the historical context and behind-the-scenes story, one often rather heavy on synopsis. And in making his case, Cox can be awfully reductive: arguing, for example, that Number 1 is a rocket, rather than a metaphor for how we’re all “imprisoned” in our own minds. Still, it’s amusing to see a famous filmmaker expounding their pet theory, like a fan on a forum. And even if you wildly disagree with Cox’s conclusions, his close reading does highlight details you may never have previously considered. Ian Berriman