Is Lovegroove the key? Who is David Stone?
Very much speculation has been poured upon the notion that the genesis of Patrick McGoohan's 'The Prisoner' series lies within the Danger Man series.
In spite of Patrick McGoohan insisting that Drake is NOT Number 6, we also learn that due to legal ramifications with the show's creator Ralph Smart owning the name "John Drake", McGoohan may not have been in a position, either at the time The Prisoner was launched, or perhaps anytime thereafter, to confirm the connection between the two characters.
But we know the answer, don't we? Drake IS Number 6! I mean, come on!
But does Danger Man actually corroborate this notion of Drake as 6? We know of course that the location for shooting The Prisoner stemmed from McGoohan shooting several DMs there. And we know of many many Danger Man episodes where Drake expresses disgust over the methods employed by his employers. Drake was an independent, if not an outright rebel. Just like Number 6.
We get other Prisoner hints throughout the series. One example prominent in my mind is the ending to 'The Paper Chase'. That's the episode where character actor Aubrey Morris, as the irascible 'Tomasio', steals a diplomat's briefcase full of classified documents. Recall Drake escaping from his would-be killers in a go-cart. He runs hi-speed circles around his enemies in the tiny vehicle, dazing and confusing them, then drives off alive. It is a very Prisoner like sequence.
And of course the most profound example of The Prisoner within Danger Man comes from "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegroove'. The episode is a template for The Prisoner. Stand out clues are the "6" on Drake's apartment door (hint hint), and of course THE SEQUENCE WITH DRAKE POUNDING HIS FIST ON THE DESK OF HIS SUPERVISOR!! Prisoner fans, you know what I'm talking about. And if you read the four IMDB reviews for that episode you find that every single reviewer mentions ties to The Prisoner. So clearly proof of Drake as 6 is demonstrated here. Right?
Except for one thing. McGoohan did not write that episode. He just acted in it. Some guy named David Stone wrote it. Although The Prisoner was the brainchild of McGoohan, Lovegroove appears not to have been. So at most McGoohan simply took some ideas from that installment. Like he could have taken ideas from any other story from any other source. So that fact sort of neuters the link between Danger Man and The Prisoner. Right?
EXCEPT, who is David Stone? If you check IMDB, Stone has almost zero writing credits. EXCEPT, seven 1 hour Danger Man Episodes. Who is this guy that wrote only for Danger Man? Was David Stone possibly to McGoohan what Mark Twain was to Samuel Clemens? Perhaps instead of asking; 'Is Number 6 Drake?' ... we should instead be asking; 'Is David Stone Patrick McGoohan?' If so, we would indeed have a direct connection between the two series.
I think this area of inquiry could use some attention.