Peter Milligan Talks The Prisoner And More

Entering The Village

Peter Miligan’s take on The Prisoner, out now as a trade paperback from Titan, and Tripwire’s contributing writer Tim Cundle just spoke to him about the series and more…

TRIPWIRE: What initially piqued your interest in, and drew you into the Village and the world of The Prisoner? I’m assuming that you were (and still are) a fan before you started writing The Uncertainty Machine?

PETER MILLIGAN:   Fan is a big messy word, I was intrigued by the show and the world and I think McGoohan was terrific. Because the original TV show was so oblique,

I always thought there was something in the Village and the Prisoner that could say something about our modern world.

TW: Given The Prisoner’s multi-generational fanbase and the rabid devotion to the show that some elements of said fanbase have, were you at all worried about expanding upon its established mythology and canon?

PM:  No. I’ve been asked this before and though I knew not everyone would like what we produced – do they ever? – the fact that the original series was so important to so many people meant that they’d take an interest in what we were doing. Which is good. Also, the fact that the original series was fairly obscure when it came to Number 6’s backstory and the full meaning and objectives of the Village seemed to allow us a pretty free hand to put our own stamp on this and to coax out the themes and meanings that I thought were relevant to today.

TW: And sticking with that theme, when you started writing and then devising the plot for The Uncertainty Machine did it develop exactly as you thought it would, or did it take on a life of its own and veer off in directions that you hadn’t originally envisioned?

PM: The plot was a collaboration between me and Titan editor David Leach. As usual, when I started writing the thing new scenes and new connections developed – and even a few new characters – and there was certainly a bit of ‘veering off” going on.   I always like leaving room in a story for this kind of creative serendipity.

TW: How, if at all, in your opinion does Breen differ from the original Number 6 and what common or similar character traits do they possess?

PM:   For a start, we see more of his backstory. In the original Prisoner it was hinted at that Number Six was some kind of spy – in our story we clearly see that he worked for British Intelligence. In The Uncertainty Machine, before we get into the Kafkaesque world of the Village we are in what you might call the John Le Carre-esque world of spies, traitors, and the moral vacuum of truth of lies. Also, Number Six remained pretty much a cipher, in our story we have a flashback to a boyhood event that had a crucial impact upon what makes Breen the way he is, which is a stubborn bastard who’s good at keeping secrets.  Maybe Number Six also had this stubborn streak, this unwillingness to be broken down, so I suppose in that one way they are a bit similar.

TW: Have you been surprised by the reaction to The Uncertainty Machine? And if so, what’s surprised you the most about the response to the book?

PM:   I don’t know about surprised exactly. As you mentioned above, there are a lot of die-hard fans of the original series out there and you didn’t exactly know how they’d react—though they for the most part seem to be positive and I think get that this is a new story for a new time. What’s surprised me most is I haven’t been attacked in the street by a man riding a penny farthing bike and wearing a black jacket with white trim.

TW: With it being such a relatively short lived series, why do you think The Prisoner, fifty years after it was first broadcast, has such an enduring appeal? Why does The Prisoner continue to find new devotees half a century later?

PM:   Maybe for the very reason that it was such a short series. In the same way that rock stars, poets and American presidents whose lives are cut short maintain a level of mystique and unfulfilled promise—rather than growing old, repeating yourself, failing miserably and getting ensnared in sleazy sex scandals.

TW: With its central themes of the erosion of individuality, the omnipresent power of state and the surrender of freewill for the common good, in the modern age of political duplicity, do you think the Prisoner has become more relevant than it ever was, and if so why? Do you think individuality can ever triumph over the collective will of the hive mind, and what’s your take on the current state, both socially and politically, of the word we live in?

PM: Bloody hell, talk about a complex question. I think the prisoner CAN be relevant but in a different kind of way.   Back when it was made for TV the prevailing concern, in the counter culture and much of the young, was about freedom of the individual, finding yourself, fighting the machine and answering the question: who am I? Which is why Number 6’s cri de Coeur – I am not a number I am a human being – was so relevant.   It seems the question now is less “who am I?” than “who can I believe?” Which is one of the themes of The Uncertainty Machine.  My current take on the current world? We’re probably fucked.

TW: Are there further adventures planned for Breen? Are you going to continue to explore the the Village and the world of the Prisoner? If so, can you maybe share a few details or musings about where the direction in which you might head?

PM: Nothing certain yet but I think there’s a very good chance it’ll happen. I have ideas I’m working on, where Breen and Number 6’s nightmare spreads…

TW: With his famously guarded and forthright opinions and ideas about The Prisoner, what do you think Patrick McGoohan would have thought of, and about, The Uncertainty Machine?

PM: That’s really hard to see. I would have hoped he’d take pity on a fellow Celt and say he liked it, even if he didn’t.

TW: What’s next for you Peter? What other project lay beyond the confines of the Village?

PM: I have a lot of projects on the go but can’t talk about some of them. What I can talk about is a series I’m starting for Tom Peyer’s new company: AHOY.   I’m also doing a new series for 2000AD, to be drawn by Rufus Dayglo.   I’m almost definitely going to be doing something with another new-ish company but more of that later. What I can talk about is a new Special and a series I’m doing for Marvel. Probably can’t give many details but the fact that it’s an X book to be drawn by Mike Allred might give you a clue.

The Prisoner is out now in trade from Titan

Peter Milligan The Prisoner interview www.tripwiremagazine.co.uk