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The Prisoner
"The Uncertainty Machine" Part 2
The Prisoner: The Uncertainty Machine #2
Titan Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Original plot: David Leach
Artist: Colin Lorimer
Colorist: Joana Lafuente
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover: Colin Lorimer
June 2018 |
Breen finds he has some familiar company in the Village.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this issue
Agent Breen (Number 6)
Emil
(Agent Breen's boyhood dog, deceased; seen in Breen's memory
only)
Simon Maggs (mentioned only)
Mr. Breen (Agent Breen's father; seen in Breen's memory only)
Number 2
Village judge
Number 9 (Carey)
Section (aka Number 23)
Village guards
Section's nanny (mentioned only)
Routemaster conductor
Routemaster driver
Rovers
Didja Know?
The Titan Comics version of The Prisoner is a comic
book mini-series reimagining of
the classic 1967 TV series of the same name.
In a brief commentary on this issue provided by writer Peter
Milligan on
Newsarama, he states that the issue is titled "Dead Dogs
Don't Dance" (due to events and a line of dialog in the issue).
But the issues of this mini-series did not have
individual titles as published. I'm curious now what the titles
of the other issues were!
Didja Notice?
Page 1 reveals that the last name of Breen's friend Simon from
"The Uncertainty Machine" Part 1
is Maggs.
Number 2 wears a Village penny-farthing badge that has no number
on it. He is the only Village person seen to wear a badge at all
in this mini-series.
In this issue, the Village judge erroneously refers to Number 6
as Number 2! This error was corrected in the TBP collection
published a few months later.
On page 5, Breen reflects that he suddenly feels like an actor,
repeating lines said by another man. This is likely a nod to
similar lines spoken by actor Patrick McGoohan as Number 6 in
the
1967 TV series.
On page 9, Breen again mentions
1963 spy novel by British author John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in
from the Cold, as he did in
"The Uncertainty Machine" Part 1.
On page 9, panel 2 of this issue, Section is erroneously shown
speaking Breen's line, "Either way I'll still be known as a
traitor." This was also corrected
in the
TBP collection.
On page 10, Section is seen to be Number 23 in the Village and
he tells Breen he was grabbed as he was leaving the
Army
and Navy Club.
Breen is told that a tracking device has been implanted near his
rib cage and that if he tries to dig it out, a small explosion
will trigger a fatal heart attack.
On page 11, Breen looks up at the night sky and from the
position of the stars he knows he's in the northern hemisphere.
The lack of light pollution also tells him the Village is some
ways out from any city.
On pages 12 and 13, Breen detects a Yorkshire
accent on one of the guards and lulls the man into a bit of
sympathy by claiming his father was also from Yorkshire,
"Skipton born and bred."
Skipton is a town in the historic English county of
Yorkshire.
After knocking out the guards, Breen reflects on how his
father was actually "a South London borstal boy born with
bastardry in his blood." Borstals were youth detention
centers run by the British prison service intended to reform
youths sentenced for crimes. Borstals were abolished in 1982.
Page 13 shows that key cards are needed to enter Village
domiciles. In the original TV series, the doors of the domiciles
would just swing open automatically for the tenant or for Village
officials.
Page 16 shows that the Village uses old London Transport
Routemaster buses for deliveries. These are the famous
double-decker buses known in London since 1956 and mostly
retired in 2005. The bus even has a conductor to take tickets!
He and the driver both have what appears to be the logo of
London
Underground on their caps.
The bus Breen, Carey, and Section commandeer from the Village is
bus #621.
Just as
Breen, Carey, and Section think they've successfully fled the
Village in the stolen bus, a pack of about six Rovers is on
their tail.
On page 19, a Rover flings itself into the back of the fleeing
bus and breaks the rear window, then begins oozing into the
bus's passenger compartment.
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Prisoner Episode Studies