Plot
The series follows a British agent who abruptly resigns his job and then finds himself captive in a mysterious seaside "village" whose leader tries to find out why he quit. Throughout the series, the unnamed prisoner, labelled "Number Six" by his captors, tries to escape while defying all attempts to break his will. He also tries to discover for which "side" his captors work and the identity of the never-seen "Number One", who presumably runs the Village. Number Six often thwarts the various individuals serving as the Village's chief administrator, "Number Two." As the series reaches its climax, Number Six's indomitable resistance and mounting blows against the administration threaten the viability of the Village itself, which forces its desperate warders to take drastic action. The series features striking and often surreal storylines, and themes include hypnosis, hallucinogenic drug experiences, identity theft, mind control, dream manipulation, and various forms of social indoctrination. A major theme is individualism versus collectivism.
Title  | Original airdate (UK)[1] | Number Twoplayed by | Plot | KTEH | 6of1 | ITC | 1st | McG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival | October 1,1967 | Guy Doleman George Baker | After waking up in the Village and discovering his captivity there, Number Six encounters a friend from the outside who may have a possible escape. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The Chimes of Big Ben | October 8,1967 | Leo McKern | A new prisoner, Nadia, may have information about the Village that makes an escape attempt possible. | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| A. B. and C. | October 15,1967 | Colin Gordon | A desperate Number Two tampers with Number Six's dreams to discover where his loyalties lie. | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | - |
| Free For All | October 22,1967 | Eric Portman Rachel Herbert | Presented with the opportunity, Number Six runs for election to the post of Number Two. | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| The Schizoid Man | October 29,1967 | Anton Rodgers | Number Two replaces Number Six with a duplicate to weaken the real Six's sense of identity. | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | - |
| The General | November 5,1967 | Colin Gordon | An important prisoner's new speed-teaching machine poses perhaps the greatest threat to Number Six's independence. | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | - |
| Many Happy Returns | November 12, 1967 | Georgina Cookson | After waking to find the Village deserted, Number Six returns to England but doesn't know whom he can trust there. | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | - |
| Dance of the Dead | November 26, 1967 | Mary Morris | Number Six tries to save an old friend headed for destruction at the hands of the Village. | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| Checkmate | December 3,1967 | Peter Wyngarde | Number Six thinks he has a means to tell the prisoners from the warders, and assembles a group for an escape attempt. | 3 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 4 |
| Hammer Into Anvil | December 10, 1967 | Patrick Cargill | Number Six takes revenge on a sadistic Number Two for the death of another prisoner. | 14 | 12 | 14 | 10 | - |
| It's Your Funeral | December 17, 1967 | Derren Nesbitt Andre Van Gyseghem | To save the prisoner who is being set up to take the fall, Number Six must intervene in a Village power struggle and prevent the assassination of a Number Two. | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | - |
| A Change of Mind | December 31, 1967 | John Sharp | Number Two stirs the Village to ostracize Number Six, and then takes even more drastic measures to cure Six's "unmutuality". | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | - |
| Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling | January 7,1968 | Clifford Evans | Deprived of his memory and placed in another man's body, Number Six travels back to England to seek a missing scientist. | 12 | 13 | 9 | 13 | - |
| Living in Harmony | January 14,1968 | David Bauer | In an Old West setting, a lawman who resigned is trapped in a town called Harmony where the Judge wants him to be the new sheriff -- by hook or by crook. | 10 | 14 | 12 | 14 | - |
| The Girl Who Was Death | January 21,1968 | Kenneth Griffith | Number Six tells a fairy tale in which he avoids the assassination attempts of a beautiful woman while foiling the plots of her megalomaniac father. | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | - |
| Once Upon a Time | January 28,1968 | Leo McKern | Number Two subjects Number Six to a desperate, last-ditch effort to subdue him, Degree Absolute -- an ordeal that will not end until it breaks one of them. | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 6 |
| Fall Out | February 4,1968 | Leo McKern | Number Six finally discovers the identity of Number One, and escapes the Village. Or does he? | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 7 |
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