Episode no. Season 1
Episode 1 Production code 1 | Directed by Don Chaffey Original air date 29 September 1967 | |
Written by George Markstein and David Tomblin ← Previous
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"The Chimes of Big Ben" | ||
"Arrival" is the first episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 29 September 1967 and was first broadcast in the United States on CBS on 1 June 1968.
Contents
The episode introduced audiences to the character of Number Six, portrayed by Patrick McGoohan and introduced most of the concepts that would dominate the series throughout its run.
Plot summary
An unidentified British intelligence agent abruptly resigns from his job, storming its London office to turn in his identification papers. He returns home in his Lotus Seven and hastily packs a bag to go on travel, unaware that an undertaker has followed him home and releasing a sleeping gas into his home via the keyhole. The man collapses in his study. Later, the man wakes up in what appears to be his study, but finds it is a mockup located in "The Village". He asks the colorfully-clad residents of the Village what country he is in, but they cannot provide a satisfactory answer. He discovers the Village is surrounded by mountains save for its beachline that opens onto the ocean with no sign of land nearby. Frustrated, he returns to the mockup study to find it is attached to a modern flat. There, he receives a phone call and told that Number Two wants to meet him at the Green Dome.
At the Green Dome, where several technicians monitor all aspects of the Village, Number Two tells the man they only wish to know why he resigned and to whom he is loyal, as the intelligence he has gathered over his career is too valuable to simply let "walk away". Number Two strongly suggests they rather have his cooperation, but are prepared to use other means as needed. Number Two takes the man on a tour of the Village to show numerous security systems they have in place to keep those here in line, including Rover, a mysterious floating sphere that attacks those that flee. Later that night, the man attempts escape by sea but Rover catches him and renders him unconscious.
The man wakes in the Village's hospital, and finds a former colleague, Cobb, in the next bed over. The man learns Cobb is also incarcerated in the Village, but before he can learn more, the hospital staff take him away for examination. On his return, he is told Cobb committed suicide by jumping out of the window. The man is released, and he goes to accost Number Two, finding that a different person is there. The new Number Two explains they may change that position from time to time for unexplained reasons. He then explains that no one in the Village uses their names, but are instead assigned a number, and the man is now Number Six. Number Six refuses to use this title as he adjusts to life in the Village.
Number Six attends Cobb's funeral and observes a woman watching from afar, and proceeds to follow her around the Village before he talks to her directly. The woman, Number Nine, claims to have been working with Cobb on an escape plan, and suggests that Number Six can still use the same plan. She gives him an electropass that can keep Rover at bay, giving him time to escape via a helicopter. Number Six has doubts about her motives as he had seen her talking to Number Two, but accepts the pass. That night, Number Six uses the pass and acquires a helicopter, but as he flies off, one of the technicians remotely takes over the helicopter and returns it to the Village. Number Six is escorted back to his home in the Village. Number Two is watching these events with Cobb, who had faked his death to engage Number Six. With his assignment complete, Cobb prepares to move on to his next duty, but warns Number Two that Number Six will be "a tough nut to crack".