 "Rover", the menacing white balloon that acts as a surreal sentry in  The Village, was supposed to have been a large robotic machine.  During the filming of the first episode, it was supposed to travel  across water on a pair of rails hidden under the surface. The  machine fell off the rails and into the water, damaging the motors  inside. Just then, a weather balloon passed by, and McGoohan came  upon the idea of "Rover" being a large white balloon that traveled  by itself. The reason the cast stands still as Rover wanders past is  because the balloon is being pulled by a wire. The shots were then  run backwards, and edited into the film (In one episode, smoke can  be seen drifting back into a chimney in the distance as Rover passes  by).