Arrival

The PrisonerAn agent of the British Foreign Office unexpectedly submits his resignation, setting into motion a chain of events that will forever change his life. A black car trails him to his home, and he is gassed. When he awakens, he is in the Village, a gaily-colored, self-contained community whose residents seem to know nothing beyond its boundaries, and seem to be unwilling to question that oddity. No one seems to know who he is, and no one knows his name. A man identifying himself as Number Two invites him to lunch, and it is a most revealing meal. The reason for the abduction and enforced exile of the newly-christened “Number Six” is revealed – certain unnamed parties are stopping at nothing to prevent his classified knowledge from falling into the wrong hands…or perhaps from reaching the right hands. Number Two makes it clear that no one leaves the Village – and Number Six suspects that the penalty for doing so would be death, especially when Number Two demonstrates a deadly security device called Rover. Despite the danger and the vaguely implied threats, Number Six mounts a valiant escape attempt, but he is captured by the Rover and taken to the Village’s hospital. When he awakens, he is sharing a hospital ward with a fellow agent named Cobb, who also doesn’t remember how he came to be in the Village. Not long afterward, Cobb is reported to have committed suicide, though Number Six immediately suspects something far more sinister. But even most macabre speculation is nowhere near the truth of what happened to his colleague…or what is happening to him now.

written by George Markstein and David Tomblin
directed by Don Chaffey
music by Ron Grainer and Albert Elms

Cast: Patrick McGoohan (Number Six), Virginia Maskell (The Woman), Guy Doleman (Number Two), Paul Eddington (Cobb), George Baker (The New Number Two), Angelo Muscat (The Butler), Barbara Yu Ling (Taxi Driver), Stephanie Randall (Maid), Jack Allen (Doctor), Fabia Drake (Welfare worker), Denis Shaw (Shopkeeper), Oliver MacGreevy (Gardener/Electrician), Frederick Piper (Ex-Admiral), Patsy Smart (Waitress), Christopher Benjamin (Labour Exchange Manager), Peter Swanwick (Supervisor), David Garfield (Hospital attendant), Peter Brace (1st Guardian), Keith Peacock (2nd Guardian)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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