Arrival

"I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own!"

And so begins "the Prisoner", a pilot episode that hits the ground at full speed, the unnamed secret agent furiously slamming down his resignation and storming off - only to be gassed and awakened in a cheerily conformist seaside resort. And it never really slows down; this is bursting at the seams with plot and setup, infused with a primal energy as Number Six (Patrick McGoohan, stripped of individuality) saunters, paces and seethes with contempt. Who exactly did he work for, and why was his exit so bitter? Who runs the Village? What happens if he gives up their so-coveted information?

And what a peculiar place this is, as mystifying as it is idyllic, menacingly patrolled by a weather balloon. The world-building that goes on here is fantastic.

It's no wonder this show was a hit; it practically dares yo not to tune in next week.

9/10