THE PRISONER 1.7 – "Many Happy Returns"

Writer: Anthony Skene

Director: Patrick McGoohan

Cast: Patrick McGoohan (Number Six), Donald Sinden (The Colonel), Patrick Cargill (Thorpe), Georgina Cookson (Mrs. Butterworth), Brian Worth (Group Captain), Richard Caldicot (Commander), Dennis Chinnery (Gunther), Jon Laurimore (Ernst), Nike Arrighi (Gypsy Girl), Grace Arnold (Maid) & Larry Taylor (Gypsy Man)

Number Six wakes up to find the Village has been deserted, allowing him to make his escape...

"You resign. You disappear. You return. You spin a yarn
that Hans Christian Andersen would reject as a fairy tale."

-- Thorpe (Patrick Cargill)

It's perhaps wrong to have Number Six (Patrick McGoohan) escape the Village twice in the first 7 episodes, even if each escape does prove to be a cruel trick. What's strange is that Six continually falls for these elaborate schemes. I mean, really, if you wake up to find the Village deserted, you should guess something's wrong, surely. That said, Many Happy Returns is a great episode, primarily because it allows us to witness Six's ingenuity as a (probable) secret agent...

So yes, Number Six wakes up to find the Village has been abandoned. After roaming around trying to find any signs of life, he eventually comes to believe he's alone. Consequently, he fashions himself a yacht (Six is very good at building makeshift vessels out of tree trunks), and sets sail across the ocean with a homemade compass.

Days pass in Six's journal, as he grows increasingly weak and weather-beaten through exposure to the elements, until he loses consciousness and is boarded by two "pirates" – who steal his provisions and push him overboard to drown. Fortunately, Six isn't quite as weak as he's led them to believe, and clambers aboard their boat unseen. Now with the element of surprise, Six commandeers their vessel and locks them in a cabin. Six reaches the coast, as the pirates escape and a struggle ensues – eventually leading to Six abandoning ship and making a swim for the shore...

Arriving on dry land, Six wanders across the desolate country landscape, eventually coming across a small group of gypsies who don't speak English, but who offer him a drink. Eventually, Six sneaks aboard a vehicle bound for London and arrives in the capital city – still suspicious that even the panorama of a bustling metropolis might somehow be a deception, and paranoid about ordinary passers-by.

Six goes to his London apartment, where he discovers a Mrs Butterworth (Georgina Cookson) now lives. She even has custody of his pride-and-joy; his self-made yellow Lotus. Six later heads to his workplace, where he tries to convince his superiors of his tall story about a mysterious Village where he was held captive all this time. They eventually allow Six to spend some time figuring out where the Village might be located (narrowing down its likely location as somewhere between southern Spain and northern Africa.)

A fighter jet is dispatched with Six in the back, hoping to find the Village during systematic sweeps of the area by air. After hours of work, Six finally notices the familiar Village nestled on the coastline below and signals to the pilot – who turns around saying "be seeing you", before pulling Six's ejector seat. Six parachutes down to the beach and traipses back to his cottage, dejected. The Village is still deserted, but Mrs Butterworth arrives with a birthday cake for him, revealing herself to be the new Number Two. The Village suddenly explodes to life outside, filled with the usual brightly-dressed bandsmen and villagers.

Anthony Skene's script is one of the best, as the story gradually unfolds at an enjoyable pace and almost manages to trick you into thinking Six really has made it home. If it wasn't for the fact I know there are 10 more episodes left, that is. But seeing this episode back in 1967 must have made the late surprise even more devastating.

Directed by co-creator/star Patrick McGoohan, it's also a very slick episode with plenty to recommend as Six's escape gets underway. Amazingly, there isn't a line of spoken dialogue for the first 20-minutes, making the whole episode twice as compelling as it would have been otherwise. These days, there are quite a few examples of TV shows with minimal dialogue (most memorably Millennium's Halloween episode The Curse Of Frank Black), but it must have been quite extraordinary back in the late-60s. It's actually a shame the episode gets so talky towards the end, as those opening near-silent 20-minutes are TV gold.

It stretched credibility that the Village superiors would allow Six to escape (as he might not have been so predictable in going back home, especially with his track record of fooling them), but it works well as a crushing blow to his resolve. And it was great to be reminded of how focused, determined, inventive and skilled Six is. But what's really unsettling is how deep the Village's roots go, as all of Six's superiors are clearly involved in the plot to get answers about why he resigned. That answer must be terribly important if they were willing to empty the Village to instigate his escape – as we've been led to believe that many people in the Village are there to be "interrogated", too. But it never really feels that way. The whole place seems designed to expose Six's secrets, specifically.

Overall, this is a favourite episode of mine. It's well-paced, exciting and tense, with an inevitable rug-pulling end that's still great fun. The script and direction are excellent, while there's a nod to the Village's whereabouts and the whole episode makes Six's situation look hopeless. Even if he does escape, everyone he's worked for will only orchestrate his return, so if he ever does get out – he'll have to disappear.

Trivia

-- The actor playing Number Two is not shown in the opening credits. The only other time this happens is in Arrival.

-- This is the only episode where co-creator George Markstein (who plays the man behind the desk in The Prisoner's opening credits) appears in the show. He makes an uncredited appearance as the man Number Six confronts at a desk after leaving Mrs. Butterworth's.

-- This is the only episode directed by Patrick McGoohan which he didn't also write.

-- Georgina Cookson (Mrs. Butterworth/Number Two) previously played Blond Lady in A. B. And C. She is also the only Number Two to wear a black badge with a white penny farthing symbol.

-- Number Six returned to London on 18 March, approximately 30 days after leaving The Village. This means he escaped around 23 February.


First Aired: 12 November 1967