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Nicholas Courtney and The Brigadier
Imagine in your mind’s eye the archetypal army officer. You’ve probably given him matinee idol looks, a piercing stare and a finely-shaped moustache. Whichever characteristics the Season Six production team was looking for when casting commenced for UNIT’s commander-in-chief, Nicholas Courtney’s depiction of Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, soon to be promoted to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, gave us a character who, before the next decade was out, would become an icon of the series.
The story of how it all began for the Brigadier back in the heyday of Jimi Hendrix and the Soviet crackdown in Prague is common knowledge. Producer Peter Bryant and script editor-turned-producer Derrick Sherwin envisaged Doctor Who moving in very different circles to the ones it had previously frequented. They went on to map out an all-new trajectory for the good Doctor, eventually unveiled in The Invasion (1968). A season later and this action-packed format, replete with full-scale gun battles and alien invasions aplenty, became the standard recipe for writers and directors working on Doctor Who for the next five years.
However, all these bare facts can mask that special ingredient which turns a good idea into a great one. That ingredient was Courtney’s inch-perfect portrayal of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the character of the Brigadier anchored the UNIT backdrop. And let’s not forget, by helping to make UNIT a success, the Brigadier was a crucial player in promoting Doctor Who back into the premier league of television. Thus, to say that he was pivotal to the series at that time would be nothing short of an understatement.
Yet it could have been so very different. The Brigadier might simply have become just another supporting role, prone to the occasional over-the-top moment and wooden delivery. But this was never the case. Courtney took to the part with such panache that, in no time at all, the Brigadier became a series stalwart and, crucially, one who could be relied upon to make a script work.
Courtney first graced the set of Doctor Who as Space Agent Bret Vyon in the epic-length The Daleks’ Master Plan (1965/1966). Over the next twenty-three years he went on to appear alongside all but one of the next six actors to play the Doctor. His depiction of the UNIT leader saw him become part of the very fabric of the series; and one of the convention circuit’s most popular guests.
So what is it exactly about the Brigadier, or perhaps more importantly Courtney’s portrayal, that makes him such a huge part of Doctor Who? I think at least one reason lies in the charisma which Courtney was able to invest in the part. Playing a military type tends to leave an actor open to the near-irresistible temptation to ham it up for all he’s worth (eg barking orders at all and sundry; blasting bullets at all and sundry). Yet that’s precisely what the Brigadier is not. With some assured script writing in his early episodes it’s crystal clear he’s no mere scene filler; rather he’s a full-fledged, three-dimensional character with motivations and purpose. He’s a living, breathing on-screen figure – and that’s no mean feat for an actor who’s expected to play second fiddle to a television icon, whilst churning out scene after scene with little room for error.
The Brigadier is also very much his own man. And that, I feel, is another important reason for his enduring appeal. Of course, his duty is ultimately to UNIT, but he’s no government drone. More, he isn’t always seen to follow the Doctor’s advice either. Sealing the Silurians’ subterranean base at the close of The Silurians (1970) is probably the best example. You might not agree with his motives, but you’ve got to respect him for taking the tough decisions, even at the risk of alienating his much-needed Time Lord ally.
As well as being a thinker and a doer, the Brigadier is a hero to whom we can all aspire: a human being, with only one life to risk, just doing the best he can. He leads from the front, eschewing the mentality of the armchair strategist and facing the enemy shoulder to shoulder with his subordinates. In fact, whether he was fighting Autons or Axons the Brigadier was in the thick of things from the word go, setting an example for all to see and becoming the face of UNIT.
Interestingly, the Brigadier is one of the rare examples of a recurring guest character given no less than two character-developing story lines. In Inferno (1970) we encounter a Lethbridge-Stewart on an alternate Earth, shaped by a very different set of life choices. Incredibly, he is little more than a fascist glove puppet, who proves to be literally worlds apart from our Brigadier. Meantime, in Mawdryn Undead (1983), we find a post-UNIT Lethbridge-Stewart who is confined to Civvy Street as a mathematics teacher. Courtney’s performances on these occasions – especially the former – are outstanding, further evidencing the layer’s of the Brigadier’s character; and reinforcing his reputation as an iconic figure far beyond the category of the purely popular.
And when his now immortal line from The Daemons (1971) – “Chap with wings there, five rounds rapid.” – is proclaimed on T-shirts, websites and by any number of vocal fans, those seven words become the rallying cry to one of the series’ true gentlemen and long-established icons. Mr Courtney, we salute you.
This article originally appeared in Whotopia 18/© 2011 Jigsaw Publications
Sci-Fi Sea Cruises Come to Seattle/Vancouver
Hi all. Just wanted to pass on this message I got from old friend Dan who runs the Sci-Fi Sea Cruises. He wanted me to pass on the word about the Bon Voyage party for this year’s cruise out of Seattle/Vancouver featuring Sylvester McCoy, Daphne Ashbrook and Yee Jee So from the 1996 TVM. So if you’d like to spend a few hours partying with the stars, read on…
Hi Bob -
I’m sure you’ve heard something about the current Doctor Who Cruise to Alaska sailing out of Vancouver & Seattle next month, and the fact that we’re doing another Bon Voyage Party, this time in Seattle. We’ll also be touring a few of the Vancouver filming locations again just before heading over to the cruise port at Canada Place with Sylvester, Daphne, and Yee Jee.
I’d love to get as many of the local Vancouver area fans as possible into the loop, either as casual fans at the Bon Voyage Party, or as active event volunteer helpers as well. My old buddy Chas Martin is already driving down from Victoria to do the Bon Voyage Party in Seattle the evening of 6 May, and will be part of our little fleet of vehicles heading back up to Vancouver the morning of the 7th with Sylvester, Daphne, and the rest of us split up among them.
Right now I am actively recruiting “fans with vans”, LOL (or any other vehicles with spare seats to share) to help out with that aspect of the event, and you and any of your fellow Vancouver fans who might want to come down Seattle way for the party and share your empty seats on the ride back in the morning would be very enthusiasticly welcomed. Can I ask you to please pass this news & request for volunteers around to all in your area who may find it of interest? Also, full info on both the cruise itself and a linked sub page dealing with just the Bon Voyage Party, can be found exactly where you’d expect it, on our web site at www.scificruise.com
It will be a fun time for everyone involved, and I hope that includes you & many other local BC area Doctor Who fans.
All my best & hope to see you again in 2 weeks – Dan
Issue 18 Update
A quick update on the next issue – work continues apace on the layout and we’re getting closer day by day to having the issue completed. We’ve lined up a bundle of articles, reviews, opinion pieces, interviews and more. In fact we’ve got so much material for this issue that it’s probably going to exceed our usual 40 page count. If all continues to progress well we’re hoping to have the issue online ready for publication in the next few weeks. In the meantime, keep checking the Whotopia website for updates.
All New Look for Whotopia
We’ve been keeping quiet about this for the past few weeks now, sorting out the final details and everything, but the time has come to when we can finally reveal that beginning with issue 18, Whotopia will have a brand new layout and design courtesy of our new staff member Will Brooks.
Why the change you ask? Well, we figured after having the same basic look for the past 17 issues, it was time for a change. We had been looking to make a change for some time now but up until now we hadn’t found the right person to take over the layout and design duties. But Whotopia was lucky when Will came to our attention. It was his design for a recent issue of another fan publication that brought him to our attention and we sought Will out as our new designer. Luckily Will agreed to work with us and all of us here at Whotopia HQ are thrilled to have him on board.
All of us here at Whotopia are pretty excited by this and we can’t wait for our readers to see the all new look magazine. Will promises to deliver a fresh, bold, new exciting look for the magazine and we can’t wait to see what the final issue looks like. We hope our readers will like the new look as it’ll be taking us into a new realm and direction.
We can’t wait!
Update on the Forum
Unfortunately the Whotopia forums continue to be down and it looks like it will be for the next few weeks. After we realized that the forum had been hacked into, and upon investigating further into how and why, we’ve realized that the problem was far greater than we had thought. Unfortunately its going to be a while longer while we sort out the problems with the software etc. We apologize to the users of the forum for this inconvenience and we hope to have the forums back online as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Looking Ahead
Rumour has it that there are plans for another special issue from Whotopia. We’re not sure what the theme of the issue will be but there’s been some hint that it could be something to celebrate the David Tennant Years of Doctor Who.
THE DOCTOR WHO PROJECT: Season 36 News
The date has been set. Grab your pencil and/or pen and get ready to mark the following date down on your calendar. Ready? Here we go! Saturday, September 12, 2009. That’s the official launch date for TDWP Season 36 which features 5 brand new original adventures for the TDWP Ninth Doctor.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2009
STORY ONE – THE WEB OF TIME
Author: Robert Mammone
Returning to Gallifrey via the Timescoop, the Doctor seeks vengeance on the High Council for their actions in “Journey’s End”. But his task is interrupted by the reappearance of Silver. But this is not the Silver he knows – something more alien and sinister. Barely escaping with his life, the Doctor stumbles across a young orphan girl named Alienka. Together, they journey to the Capital, intent on seeking answers to the mystery around them. In the Capital, the mystery only deepens, for not only has the High Council vanished, but so have every Time Lord. The Capital is now a shadow haunted place, full of old memories and creatures that stalk the empty halls. As they journey towards the heart of the city, the Panopticon, they discover that a monstrous creature is weaving a new web of time, anchored on one side by the Matrix and on the other by the Eye of Harmony. Soon the Doctor is in a race against time to purge the Matrix of a race of extra-dimensional creatures known as the Teteo-Colotl before they are able to bind the Eye of Harmony to their web. But not all is as it seems. Before this adventure is finished, the Doctor will question not only the very nature of reality itself, but also his own motivations.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2009
STORY TWO – THE WAX MUSEUM
Author: Jez Strickley
Intent on taking his mind off of recent events, the Doctor pays a visit to the Celestial Exhibition, a rare showcase of artwork from across the Milky Way Galaxy. The Exhibition’s favorite son is the master-sculptor Nanos Mortich, a man for whom art is everything. Mortich specializes in waxwork models of the rich and famous – waxworks which just so happen to be atomically perfect. Suspicious of Mortich’s latest exhibit, the Doctor decides to take an unguided tour of the sculptor’s famous Wax Museum. However, the Doctor’s arrival is exactly what Mortich has been waiting for… Why are Mortich’s waxworks so lifelike? And just what sort of trap has the Doctor walked into this time?
SEPTEMBER 26, 2009
STORY THREE – THE BOX OF SECRETS
Author: Will Harvey
All the Doctor wanted was a peaceful holiday on Tensira, but fate conspires against him once again. Accidentally finding himself in the Imperial throne room, he can’t resist showing off his knowledge and realises too late that he’s just added his name to the top of the Emperor’s list. A list of scientists who are expected to open a mysterious, indestructible box… or die for their failure. The Emperor, his sanity dissolving in paranoia and isolation, has convinced himself that the box’s unknown contents are the only thing which can keep him safe. He has killed his own subjects in pursuit of his obsession, and will kill as many more as it takes. Rebellion and assassination hang heavy in the air. Someone is going to die, it seems, and soon. It may be that the best the Doctor can do is choose who it is to be.
OCTOBER 3, 2009
STORY FOUR – THE GOYELLERCANTH
Author: Simon Birks
Once upon a time a man named the Doctor did a shameful thing, something he had to do to save the lives of an entire planet. Now the guilt has come back to haunt him in the shape of a sphere; a silver sphere on its own journey home. But rectifying the problem is not going to be easy; scatter over space and time are others affected by it; manipulated by it; changed by it. Now they are coming together: Pamanzi, a trader with a hidden past; Jeremiah, a man drive to insanity in the search for his missing family; and the Goyellercanth herself. The Doctor is lost, following the instincts of a sphere, its instincts of survival, and hoping, at last, that he is doing the right thing…
OCTOBER 10, 2009
STORY FIVE – QUESTIONS
Author: Bob Furnell & Jez Strickley
A visit to the Gamma-Magna star system triggers an unexpected turn of events as the TARDIS is penetrated by a deadly foe that is able to unpack the Doctor’s memories at will. Forced to make a dark and disturbing journey down memory lane, the Doctor is confronted by long-gone companions and adversaries, as his anonymous interrogator seeks to discover what makes the Time Lord tick. As the Doctor struggles to distinguish reality from fiction, a deadly game of questions ensues which threatens to destroy him.
Each adventure will be published once a week over a five-week period and will be published in short-story format featuring covers designed special for each story by Philip Boyes, Kevin Mullen, Brian Taylor and Karen Kalbach. Each adventure will be available to download for free in PDF format for Adobe Acrobat Reader.
As an added bonus, readers will be to download exclusive related content such as the SEASON 36 AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES AND INTERVIEWS publication featuring biographies on each author and exclusive interviews. Plus you’ll be able to chat about SEASON 36 and TDWP with fellow TDWP fans on our exclusive new forum at www.whotopia.ca/forums. Join in the conversation and discuss your favorite stories, writers, and more on WHOTOPIA/TDWP FORUM.
So, don’t forget that date – SEPTEMBER 12, 2009. We expect to see you there.
TDWP/SEASON 36 is a TDWP Publication and edited by Samantha Warner. TDWP Range Editor is Bob Furnell.
The Doctor Who Project: www.thedoctorwhoproject.com
A Note About Hardcopy Subscriptions
All of us here at Whotopia would like to thank you for your continued support over the past few years. It has been very much appreciated and it’s nice to know that the magazine has such supporters. Without your support, Whotopia wouldn’t have been able to be around for as long as it has, and we wouldn’t have been able to publish the quality magazine that Whotopia has become. However, there comes a time when things must change and such a time has come for Whotopia.
For the past three or four years, we have seen both the production, and mailing, costs for Whotopia increase, while we have not seen an increase in our subscriber or single issue purchaser base. As a result these increased costs have been absorbed by the magazine and have not been reflected in an increase to subscription rates or the cover price. For example it costs approximately $500 per issue to produce Whotopia (this includes the production and mailing costs), which adds up to roughly $1500-2000 a year. Of this amount, subscriber and individual issue sales only cover about 20% of these costs. The remaining 80% has been subsidized out of pocket.
Please be assured we are not complaining, and we fully realize that it is virtually impossible to break even producing a fan magazine, but rather we are highlighting this information for your reference. Sadly the reality of the situation is now that it has come to a point were these costs are severely affecting the future of Whotopia. As a result, and after much consideration, the Editorial Board, and the Publisher, has decided to cease publication of the hardcopy edition of Whotopia – Issue 16 will effectively be the final hardcopy edition.
However, rest assured that this is NOT the end for Whotopia. Quite the opposite in fact.
All of us on the Editorial Board are committed to this publication, and we wanted to continue to publish the magazine. As a result, we have decided to make Whotopia an online publication which will be available to download for free in PDF format. To accommodate this change, we have completely redesigned and revamped the existing Whotopia website to make it a fully interactive Doctor Who community.
The all new Whotopia website can be found at www.whotopia.ca and features an exciting array of new features including:
- Free downloadable PDF copies of all current and back issues of Whotopia
- A free Mailing List for readers to subscribe to and be kept up-to-date on all Whotopia issues and events
- Special online publications, features and articles such as our upcoming Torchwood: Children of Earth mini-site
- Readers Forum and Message Board where you can meet with fellow Who fans to discuss Whotopia, The Doctor Who Project, Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood
- Plus many more forthcoming features
We hope all of you will drop by the new website and check it out. Join the forum and let us know what you think of the new site. Or if you would like to contact us directly, or have any questions regarding the above, please email us at whotopia@whotopia.ca or drop us a line at our mailing address.
Bob, Jez, Samantha & Nancy
