Unique But Similar: The Prisoner Compared by Andrew K Shenton

Much has been written on the subject of THE PRISONER, Patrick McGoohan's elliptical, surreal cult fantasy show first broadcast in 1967-8. Much of that can be boiled down to the fact that there was nothing like it ever before and there has been nothing like it since.

That, though, is apparently a fallacy, as this book by Andrew K Shenton sets out to demonstrate.

Taking the major themes of the this landmark show, Dr Shenton shows how they have been used in other shows such as DOCTOR WHO, BLAKE'S SEVEN, UFO, JOE 90, CHILDREN OF THE STONES, THE OMEGA FACTOR and others either before or since, rustling up an impressive array of references from other commentators on the show and the genre in general to back him up.

There is always room for another book about THE PRISONER, especially by such a scholar as Dr Shenton, but I am hard-pressed to see who this particular book is aimed it. It reads like a textbook and might be immensely useful for anyone studying a course in comparable Prisonerology (assuming there is such a thing), and Prisoner completists will, of course, want to see what he has to say, but it's hardly the most entertaining presentation for someone wanting a little light reading.

You also have to question the subject matter. It's true that the themes of THE PRISONER have cropped up elsewhere, not least since they first appeared in the show, but every influential show is going to leave a legacy. An informed examination of that legacy would be interesting, to be sure, but that doesn't seem to be what Dr Shenton is trying to say. What he is trying to do is to challenge the popular perception of THE PRISONER as something quite unique.

The success of that will depend on whether you agree with him or not, but having some chapters devoted to a single episode of another show does weaken his case. I mean one single episode of THE CHAMPIONS sharing some ideas doesn't exactly bring down the walls of the case for THE PRISONER 's reputation.

If you want to see what the talking points are then head over to Amazon.co.uk , Amazon.com, or all good bookstores.

Richard Matheson dies.

Richard Matheson, author of (amongst others) I AM LEGEND, HELL HOUSE, THE SHRINKING MAN and WHAT DREAMS MAY COME has died at the age of 87.

A prolific writer, he provided stories and screenplays for the legendary TWILIGHT ZONE series.

His most famous work, I AM LEGEND was filmed thre times (the Last Man On Earth, The Omega Man and I Am Legend) and the film The Incredible Shrinking Man is one of the great 50s science fiction films.

He was also responsible for the short story that launched Steven Spielberg's film directing career (Duel).

Though not often quoted as one of the great science fiction writers in the way that Isaac Asimov or Arthur C Clarke might be, Matheson is a giant of the genre and certainly deserves every credit and plaudit that is sure to be heaped onto him in the wake of his death. His was always a name that made me feel that I was in for something with a bit of quality about it whether it was a book, film or TV show.

Just in case you hadn't noticed, there's a new Superman film coming out soon entitled Man Of Steel. Exactly how many times a single franchise can be rebooted in TV in films is a good question, but Superman is giving it a good go in finding out with the likes of Lois and Clark and Smallville joining the big screen interpretations.

This, though, is as nothing to the number of incarnations of your friendly neighbourhood Kryptonian that have appeared in comic books over the years.

DK books have produced this glorously visual book (because gloriously visual is what they do) to show you just what you've been missing if you haven't been getting your dose of Clark Kent's alter ego from DC's comic books.

Now we know more about the Lego video game Superman than we do about the comic book one, so we're not best placed to tell you just how much of this information you need to know, but there certainly seems to be an awful lot of it stuffed in between the beautiful comic book imagery from the earliest days of the man you'll believe can fly (sorry, we never did) right through to the latest reinvention.

Superman: The Ultimate Guide To The Man Of Steel is a lovely, lovely book to look at (gold edged pages and all!) for anyone who is a Superman, DC or just plain comic book fan. Heck, we even loved it without any reference to TV and movies!

It's out now.

Bill Dare's Wins - or rather doesn't - with Brian Gulliver's Travels

We have it on good authority that Brian Gulliver's Travels is a very funny radio series. Something has gone seriously wrong in the translation from show to book then as the one thing that is missing from this is the funny.

Brian Gulliver is a travel writer (did a bit of telly apparently) who has gone missing for some time. Now he's back and in an asylum recovering. His daughter meets with him to write down the stories he has to tell of his crazy journey.

Swift's Gulliver's Travels is possibly the most famous satire ever, although it is probably most known now from the bastardised Jack Black film and other movie versions. The book has lasted the test of time and so if you're going to do a new version then you better have something interesting and new to tackle. The book, however goes after some very obvious targets that have been widely covered before. Celebrity culture - yep that's in here, including the obligatory reality TV sideswipe. Our obsession with health and our bodies? Yep, you can tick that box as well. Crazy religions? Well of course. These are all barn doors to be hit with a shotgun.

The main issue for me was for the main characters. Brian Gulliver is an out and out selfish git with little to no thought for anyone else and happy to go along with anything as long as his life is a comfortable one. He's not the kind the character to idolise or empathise with and his ability to apologise it all away is infuriating.

His daughter, the chronicler of his story plays the foil for him, challenging him on all of his behaviour just in case we, the reader, didn't get the point or understand the theme being discussed.

For all that, it's easy to read and moves at a pace that actually robs it of depth since none of the places that Gulliver ends up in is much described beyond the theme that is being put forward there.

On finishing the book, you won't hate it, but you won't be singing its praises either. Oh well, back to Swift.