Episode 1: Arrival (15 Nov. 2009)

A man wakes up in the middle of the desert not knowing where he is or who he is for that matter. He comes across an elderly, dying man who tells him to find 544. The man soon makes his way ... See full summary »

Director:

Nick Hurran

Writer:

Bill Gallagher

Stars:

Ian McKellen, Jim Caviezel, Hayley Atwell

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Ian McKellen	...	2
Jim Caviezel	...	6 / Michael
Hayley Atwell	...	Lucy
Ruth Wilson	...	313
Lennie James	...	147
Rachael Blake	...	M2
Jamie Campbell Bower	...	11-12
John Whiteley	...	93
Jessica Haines	...	554
Matthew Wild	...	Service Rep
Will Kemp	...	23-30 - Wonkers
Isabella Calthorpe	...	765 - Wonkers
David Butler	...	Shopkeeper
Renate Stuurman	...	21-16
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Whitely	...	93

Storyline

A man wakes up in the middle of the desert not knowing where he is or who he is for that matter. He comes across an elderly, dying man who tells him to find 544. The man soon makes his way to what everyone refers to The Village. It seems to be in the middle of nowhere and while the residents all seem happy, they are also unquestioning about anything about the outside world. They are also nameless, being referred to only by number. The man from the desert learns that he is Number 6 and lives in a luxurious home. People seem to know him but he has no recollection of ever having been in The Village. He has bits and pieces of memory and remembers an encounter in New York City, but little else. He tracks down 544, a waitress in a restaurant, but while it is clear that she knows more that she will admit, she is also clearly afraid.

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Plot Keywords:

village | desert | number | memory | new york | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 2009 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the final escape attempt of this episode, 6 picks up a rock and throws it, just like in the opening sequence of the original series.

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Goofs

In the opening scene in the desert, James Caviezel carries the elderly man down the mountain. In one frame Caviezel is wearing a black jacket over a t-shirt - in the next frame he is mysteriously jacketless and is now wearing a long-sleeved purple shirt over the t-shirt.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Number Six: Why are they after you? Something happened to me. How...
Number 93: [hoarsely] Listen to me. Tell them *all* I got out.
Number Six: Something happened to me. I-I was in New York.
Number 93: Go to 554...
Number Six: 554 what?
Number 93: ...tell her...
Number Six: [angry] What's - dammit, where am I!
Number 93: [with confused surprise] You're... you're not from here.
Number Six: I don't even know how I got to this place.
[...]

User Reviews

Back to the Village!

I've long been dreading the new 'Prisoner', not only because of my love for the original but also for the alarmingly number of bad remakes we have unfortunately endured in recent years.

'Arrival' opens with the Prisoner ( Jim Caviezel ) waking up in the desert, suffering from amnesia. He sees an old man ( John Whiteley ) chased by guards, and goes to help. The man - 93 - tells him to find 554. The Prisoner encounters a place called The Village, where everyone seems happy although no-one knows why. No-one has names either, only numbers are used. The Prisoner's is '6'. He keeps having flashbacks to an earlier life, when he resigned angrily from his job. Other Villagers also dream about their pasts. 554 ( Jessica Haines ) turns out to be a waitress, and she pays a terrible price for helping 6...

I liked this more than expected. They were right to just use the basic idea and not slavishly copy the original. The Village as seen here put me in mind of Jean-Luc Godard's 'Alphaville', a community that looks normal but is not. Ian McKellen's '2' is as silkily smooth as any of his 1960's counterparts. As '6', Caviezel is less impressive, coming across as far too bland. Maybe he will grow on me. The references to the original series were nice. 93's house was almost a replica of Number 6's in the original, and the appearance of the Rover balloon at the end startlingly welcome.

The earlier series was tied into the Cold War, so we knew exactly from the start what the Village was for - to intern potentially dangerous ex-agents. But the reason for the existence of the new Village is not yet clear. Maybe its some madman's idea of Utopia. Or, like the death trap-infested prison in the 'Cube' movies, it does not need a purpose, its just there.

So a grudging thumbs-up from me for the first episode. Wish they'd retained Ron Grainer's theme though.