"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered! My life is my own." ---Number 6, "The Prisoner: Arrival" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Carmen Sandiego is... IMPRISONED by Erin Mills ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (We open on a long shot of San Francisco. It is overcast and thunder roars. We cut to a long shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. We see a red convertible driving towards the camera. It speeds past and then we see a close up of the driver, an attractive young woman with flowing black hair dressed in a white shirt and red vest, with a gray fedora, the brim of which obscures one of her eyes. (The camera follows her through the streets of the city until she pulls into an underground parking garage. She takes the ticket and pulls into the garage, stopping at the curb and getting out. She passes through a set of double doors marked with the logo of the Acme Detective Agency, walks down a long corridor, and comes to an office where an elderly man sits behind a desk. Thunder strikes again as Carmen begins to yell at the man. There is no sound so we cannot make out what she is saying. She slaps an envelope on the table, upon which is written "Private, Personal, By Hand," turns and walks out of the office. (Cut back to the outside of the garage. Carmen drives out, while the front of a black car comes into view. Dissolve to a shot of typewriter key arms, one in particular is working repeatedly, the scene shifts to show that the typewriter is typing "X's" over a photo of Carmen. Cut back to traffic, Carmen passes the same black car. It continues to follow her. Cut back to the photo, a second line of "X's" offset from the first is now going across the photo. Cut to a townhouse in the residential area of San Francisco. Carmen pulls up to the curb, gets out and goes into the house. The black car pulls up behind her. Cut to a room with a long row of filing cabinets, a automatic filing machine runs across the ceiling. We see a close up of a computer punch card with the now X-ed out photo of Carmen dropped into an open drawer. The drawer closes and we see that it is marked "Resigned." Cut back to the outside of Carmen's house, a man in a black top hat and coat gets out of the black car and walks to the door. Inside, Carmen grabs a suitcase and opens it. She gets some clothes off a waiting chair and places them in the suticase. She grabs her passport and an airline ticket out of the desk and throws them on top. Suddenly, gas starts pouring in through the keyhole of the townhouse. Carmen stops in mid-pack and looks dizzy. The world begins to spin and she collapses on the couch, unconscious. Fade out.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode 01: ARRIVAL --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Fade in. Carmen wakes up on the couch, feeling like she just came off a three-day bender. And considering that she doesn't drink, that's pretty bad. She gets up and looks around. It still looks like her living room. She walks over to the window, trying to clear her head. She opens the curtains, looks out, turns away, then immediately turns back again. Outside the window is definitely NOT San Francisco. Instead is what looks like a small town, but all the buildings are each from a different school of archetecture. There are well manicured lawns and gardens, all in all a seemingly nice place, except that it's totally deserted. Carmen leaves the room and goes outside, to find that she is now residing in a small, round, yellow house. There's a small patio with a lawn table and two chairs. She leaves and begins to explore. After a few moments, she spots a bell tower and begins to climb the steps leading to it, trying to get a better view. As she looks around, she can see a beach off towards the west, but the tide is so far out that the ocean appears to be a good mile from the rest of the town. Outside the boundaries of the town is a large grove of trees, that blocks any further view of what might be out there, or if there is another town anywhere nearby. Carmen turns her attention back to the town and sees a woman in a waitress uniform opening umbrellas on tables across the main courtyard. The bell begins to strike the hour. Carmen, upon finding another person here, rapidly descends the stairs and dashes to the building, where a sign proclaims it to be "The Cafe.") Waitress: (Noticing Carmen) Oh, hello. We'll be open in a few minutes. Carmen: Where is this place? Waitress: The Village? Carmen: Yes. Waitress: Do you want some breakfast? Carmen: Where can I make a call? Waitress: There's a phone booth around the corner, but it-- Carmen: (cutting her off) Thank you! (Carmen walks around the corner to a kiosk that says "Public Telephone--lift and press." Inside is a cordless phone with only one button. Carmen looks at it for a moment, puzzled, then presses the button. An operator comes on the line.) Operator: (through phone) Number please? Carmen: What company is this? Operator: What is your number? Carmen: I want to make a collect call to-- Operator: (sharply) Local calls only. Could I have your number? Carmen: (perplexed) I haven't got a number. Operator: No number, no call. (She hangs up.) (Carmen stares at the phone for a moment, thoroughly confused. She puts the phone down and looks around, finally spotting another kiosk that says "Free Information." She walks over and looks at the kiosk. It is a board with about 1000 push buttons, all with a different number. Carmen glances at the index and sees a listing for the taxi service. She pushes the button. There's the roar of an engine and the sound of squealing brakes. She turns to find a golf cart being driven by a young hispanic man dressed as a gaucho waiting for him. He is wearing a badge that says "24.") Taxi Driver: Taxi, senora? (Carmen looks at him. He repeats the question in Spanish.) Carmen: (Getting into the cart.) Take me to the nearest town. Taxi Driver: Oh, sorry, we're only the local service. Carmen: Take me as far as you can then. (They begin to drive through the streets of the town.) Carmen: Why did you speak to me in Spanish? Taxi Driver: Actually I thought you might be Brazillian or perhaps Colombian. Carmen: What would Brazilians or Colombians be doing here? Taxi Driver: Oh the Village is very cosmopolitan, you never know who you'll bump into next. (The taxi pulls to a stop.) Taxi Driver: I did say we were only local. (Carmen nods and gets out.) The charge is two units. Carmen: Units? Taxi Driver: Credit units. Oh, well, you can pay me next time. Be seeing you. (He salutes in a most peculiar way. He makes the "OK" symbol with the fingers of his right hand, raises them to the brim of his hat and drops them again, before driving off.) (Carmen watches him drive off, shakes her head, and reads the sign posted near where she's standing; "General Stores." She shrugs and walks into the nearest store. It is indeed a general store, the walls and tables are covered with everything one could possibly need, from food to furniture. There is an elderly woman conversing with the shopkeeper, a grossly overweight man dressed in Austrailan hiking gear.) Shopkeeper: Would you help yourself to a pineapple, madam? (The elderly lady does so. The shopkeeper places it in the bag, and runs a black card through a credit card reader.) Shopkeeper: Thank you very much, ma'am. Be seeing you. (He does the same salute the Taxi Driver did. Carmen frowns at this behavior. The Shopkeeper addresses her.) Shopkeeper: And what can I do for you, madam? Carmen: I'd like a map of this area. Shopkeeper: Map? Color or black and white? Carmen: Just a map. (The shopkeeper turns to a cabinet and emerges with a folded pamphlet.) Shopkeeper: Here you are, madam, I think you'll find that shows everything. (Carmen unfolds the map, only to discover that it only shows the Village and it's immediate environs. Not that it's much help as everything is labled generically: "The Mountains," "The Forest," "The Sea," etc.) Carmen: Um, no. I meant a...larger map. Shopkeeper: Only in color, ma'am, much more expensive. Carmen: That's fine. (The Shopkeeper hands over a color map. Carmen unfolds it. It is indeed a bigger map, but it still shows only the Village and it's environs. Carmen swallows a curse.) Carmen: I meant a larger area. Shopkeeper: I'm afraid that's all we have, ma'am. There's no demand for any others. Carmen: (sighs) Shopkeeper: You're new here, aren't you? (Carmen is about to answer when another customer enters the store. The Shopkeeper walks away from Carmen.) Shopkeeper: Well, I'll be looking forward to your patronage, madam. (Carmen walks out, frustrated but just as she's about to leave...) Shopkeeper: (saluting) Be seeing you. (Carmen stops for a moment, thinking, then continues out. She begins to walk back to the house she arrived in. As she gets closer, she sees a maid standing on the balcony of her house, airing out linen. Carmen quickly navigates her way through the maze like streets of the Village, arriving at her door. She stops short at the sign which now hangs next to her house: "6, Private." She ignores the sign and enters the house.) (The house is deserted. Carmen takes a quick look around, then out the window. The retreating form of the maid is visible. Carmen is about to go afterher when the phone rings. Carmen looks at her phone, an pushbutton with the old fashioned cradle, except that now there is a label underneath the buttons that says "6" where the phone number usually is. Carmen picks up the phone. The operator is on the other end.) Operator: Is your number six? Carmen: (thinks for a moment, then answers.) Yes. Operator: One moment, please. I have a call for you. (There is a pause and then a youthful, laid back voice comes on the line.) Voice: Hello there! I hope you slept well. Come and have breakfast with me. Number Two. The green dome. (Number 2 hangs up. Carmen stares at the phone, considering.) --- Commercial Break.