| ARRIVAL
|
First UK showing: Friday the 29th September 1967 at 19:30 on ATV Midlands |
The man awakes, apparently still in his London apartment. He goes to the window but instead of the familiar tall buildings he sees a colourful village. Leaving the apartment he finds the Village at first deserted, then as the bell in the tower starts to ring, he starts to encounter others, but his questions are met with evasive answers. The cafe waitress simply informs him that he is in "the village", an attempted phone call simply tells him he needs "a number" before he is allowed to call and he also learns that taxis are only "local". The Village store offers to sell him a map but it covers only the immediate village buildings, surrounded by "the sea" and "the mountains".
Summoned to "The Green Dome", he meets No.2, who explains that they know a great deal about the prisoner's life but want to know why he resigned. He resolutely declines to cooperate in any way. The Prisoner is shown around the Village and receives a chilling demonstration of the deadly efficiency of the Village guardian, a white sphere which materialises over the Village square. No. 2 warns everyone to "Be still", but a villager panics and starts to run, whereupon the sphere swoops down with a bloodcurdling roar and suffocates him. "What was that?" enquires the Prisoner. "That would be telling!" is the reply. Clearly, he isn't about to learn anything and decides to go along with whatever comes up and take his chances when they occur.Later, the Prisoner attempts his first escape and hijacks a vehicle down on the beach but finds another of the deadly white spheres blocking his escape. He attempts to fight it, but is badly beaten and wakes up in the hospital. An old colleague of his, Cobb, is also a patient in the hospital but apparently commits suicide by jumping out of a window. The Prisoner is released, but is told his clothes have been destroyed and he is given "Village" clothing to wear, including the now-familiar dark blazer with white piping. He is also given a numbered badge, but throws it away immediately.  Trying to force explanations, he goes to the Green Dome to face Number Two, only to find that even this short-lived aquaintance has been replaced - something which recurs in virtually every episode. It's also hammered home that he's now a number. "For official purposes, everyone has a number. Yours is Number Six!"Still without answers, he finds a new ally in a young woman who seems to be very emotional at Cobb's funeral. She convinces No. Six that he might be able to escape by helicopter using an "electropass" which she is willing to supply. The attempt is made and fails as the helicopter can be controlled remotely by the Village. The new prisoner has been set up once more, as Cobb is revealed to be very much alive, part of the Village hierarchy and with No. 2 in the control room watching the helicopter being brought back. As another white sphere shepherds the Prisoner back towards the Village, the desperate, bewildering terror of the situation he has found himself in starts to become apparent, and with it comes the realisation that he can trust no-one but himself. |
Trivia:  Originally filmed as "The Arrival", this episode went into production at Portmeirion in the late Summer of 1966 with Don Chaffey as director. This is the only episode to feature the full title sequence along with the extended version of the title theme music which was written and recorded to exactly match the film sequences.  The opening titles sequence continues with the McGoohan character awakening in a replica of his room and we're introduced to the first of many continuity gaffs - the mysterious vanishing table. One second it's there under the window, next it's gone! Only one of Number Six's main protagonists in this first episode was actually at Portmeirion. However, although Guy Dolman had exterior scenes, he broke his foot just as filming began, so apart from one short sequence at the "Old Peoples Home" just before they get in the taxi, his "walking bits" are done by a stand-in, with close-ups done later against studio backdrops. Even in this first episode, fiming isn't as thorough as it perhaps should have been and the editors struggle to maintain continuity. Note the first appearance of Rover as it swoops down on the panicky stripey T-shirt man. Stripey T-shirt falls backwards, Rover presses close and engulfs what now has become a man in a mauve blazer and as his face pushes against Rover's skin it's McGoohan dressed in black! Call it surreal if you like - I still say it's sloppy.  In fact, as the release of the "alternate" version of this episode reveals, the Rover attack wasn't in the original at all and it was possibly constructed from bits and pieces after the event to heighten the drama. Mind you, continuity is a nightmare in parts. There's a scene in the script where two croquet players fall out and start fighting in the central pool whereupon two guards leap in and drag them out. If you're quick you can just see the fight start as Number Two picks up his megaphone. A second later and "Poof", no fighting croquet players, just an elderly gentleman in a shallow boat! |
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