The Prisoner/Living in Harmony

Living in Harmony
Season 1, Episode 14
Airdate	January 14, 1968
Written by	David Tomblin
Story by	David Tomblin and Ian L. Rakoff
Directed by	David Tomblin
← 1x13 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling	1x15 → The Girl Who Was Death
The Prisoner — Season One

Living in Harmony is the fourteenth episode of the first season of The Prisoner. In a western setting a man who looks like Number Six is captured and forced to live in a town named Harmony.

Starring (end credits): Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner)

Guest Stars: Alexis Kanner (The Kid), David Bauer (The Judge), Valerie French (Kathy)

with Gordon Tanner (Town Elder), Gordon Sterne (Bystander), Michael Balfour (Will), Larry Taylor (Mexican Sam), Monti De Lyle (Town Dignitary)

and Douglas Jones (Horse Dealer), Bill Nick (First Gunman), Les Crawford (Second Gunman), Frank Maher (Third Gunman), Max Faulkner (First Horseman), Bill Cummings (Second Horseman), Eddie Eddon (Third Horseman)

Plot Overview

In the old west, a deputy for the sheriff turns in his badge and cornered by a man with a gun after he puts in his resignation. The marshal manages to get the best of the man, but is quickly carried off by a posse. The man is dropped in a village named Harmony and is greeted by a man who suggests that he shouldn't ask too many questions around these parts. He's directed to a saloon where the bartender gives him a shot of whiskey, but the shot explodes when he reaches for it. The man takes another shot of whiskey and punches out the man who shot his glass and sits with an affluent looking man. The judge asks him why he resigned from his position as a sheriff and offers him a new job, but he refuses both the offer and the question.

The ex-sheriff leaves the saloon and tries to buy a horse, but they're all far too expensive. He then inadvertantly insults the town, causing a mob to form in his opposition. Before the mob violence can begin, the ex-sheriff is brought to the jail by two of the judge's cronies and locked up for "protective custody." He's replaced outside by the man who was previously occupying his cell, who is strung up and hanged despite the protests of his sister, Cathy.

Later that evening in the jail, Cathy manipulates the ex-sheriff's young, drunk guard into turning his back while she steals the keys to the jail cells. She also brings him a new bottle of alcohol, which he proceeds to drink all of waiting for her to return. After he's passed out, the ex-sheriff uses the keys that were slipped to him by Cathy and sneaks out of his cell. The man then steals a horse and is advised by Cathy to ride north in order to escape. He does as she suggests, but is ambushed along the path and literally dragged back to town. The judge holds an impromptu court session to try Cathy for aiding the man in his escape, although the man himself was not a prisoner. She is found guilty, but her sentence is not passed until a later date. The judge offers the man a trade, if he agrees to work for Harmony, Cathy will be let go.

At dawn, the kid challenges the ex-sheriff to a duel but the sheriff refuses, instead allowing himself to be grazed by the kid's bullets. He's interrupted by the judge, who sends the kid to guard the jail so that he can restate his offer to the ex-sheriff. This time, he accepts the job and forces the kid to let Cathy go. The judge explains to him that she'll be safe so long as he remains on their side. But although he's willing to wear the badge of sheriff, he refuses to take the gun. The next day, he winds up in a fight with a man named Zeke and several other hooligans who are "teaching him a lesson" about not wearing a gun in Harmony. He takes a severe beating, but eventually knocks out the leader of the group. He returns to the jail to tend to his wounds and winds up meeting with Cathy, who tells him to get out before he's killed.

At the saloon that night, a drunk man who tries to buy Cathy a drink is shot down by the kid, who is still obsessively possessive about her. The sheriff comes in a bit too late to stop this, but he's told that because the drunk man drew first, it was well within the kid's rights to shoot him. The mob has no love for the sheriff, however, because he still refuses to wear the judge's gun. Although he's forced out of the saloon, a man comes in to tell him that he and several others are behind him because he stood up to the judge. He suggests that they clean up the town, but the sheriff isn't interested. There isn't much the goes on in the town that the judge doesn't know about, however, and has Jim killed as a message to the sheriff. Instead taking the gun out of fear for his life, the man decides that it would be best for him and Cathy to leave that night.

That night, the sheriff knocks out two members of the ambush party and waits for Cathy to arrive at the edge of town. But Cathy is held up by the kid, who has becoming even more deranged than before. He traps her in the saloon and strangles her to death. Instead of taking off, the sheriff gives Cathy a proper burial and returns to town. This is the event which tips the scales on him wearing the gun, but now that he has the gun, he removes the star. He faces down the kid outside in a duel and shoots him dead. The man then drinks a bit in the saloon and tells the judge that he's quitting because the bargaining chip against him is no longer in play. The judge tells him that quitting isn't an option and that the men station around him in the bar will see to it that he'll never leave. The sheriff manages to hit most of the men, but is shot by the judge.

Suddenly, the man shifts back into what Number Six looks like usually. He tears a headset off of his head and lunges at the judge, who turns out to be nothing more than a cheap cardboard cutout. He leaves the saloon and finds more stand-ups where anyone or anything living should be. He runs north down the path and finds himself back in the village. The western village was an elaborate ruse with the judge, kid and barmaid all being in on the hologram. Six sees the three in Number Two's chambers and leaves quickly. Number Two berates "the kid" for failing at breaking him. Although the two have nothing to say for themselves but whose fault it was, the woman is in tears because she's gotten "involved" in the ruse to the point of falling in love with Number Six.

She wanders back to the saloon set and climbs the stairs where Number Eight ("The Kid") meets and strangles her. Cathy doesn't seem to survive this attack either, despite the intervention of Number Six. When Number Two enters the set, Number Eight shouts that he'll never hit him again and commits suicide by throwing himself off the balcony of the bar.

Trivia

The Show

• Opening: This is one of two episodes what does not begin with the typical opening credits. In fact, it doesn't even say what show it is until the ending credits.

Behind the Scenes

• American Broadcast: This episode was not broadcast in the original CBS airing of the series in 1968/1969. The exact reason for why the network refused to air the episode is unclear, but it is often cited that it was either due to its apparent anti-war message or because of its drug content.