Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Goodbye Brigadier

Nicholas Courtney, rest in peace. [Link]

In many ways, Nicholas Courtney was the most essential actor in classic Doctor Who. From his first appearance in 1965 to his final outing two years ago, he was the most trustworthy friend of that mysterious time traveler from another world.
Courtney died today, aged 81.
His first appearance on Doctor Who was in the 1965 story "The Daleks Master Plan" as Space Agent Bret Vyon, but it was in 1968 that he first played the role that he's remembered for: that of Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. The Brigadier, as he was usually just called, was a soldier who helped the Doctor to battle alien and other-worldly threats to the human race. After his first adventure, he came to be in charge of an international military organization called U.N.I.T., starting in late 1968.
The Brigadier appeared regularly on the show from 1970 through 1975, and his presence was the single most defining factor of the show's "U.N.I.T. era," in which the Doctor was trapped on Earth and conveniently encountered a larger than usual contingent of deadly threats to 20th Century humanity. The Brigadier frequently seems out of his depth, but never lets that slow him down, whether he's facing plastic dummies come to life, or unstoppable cyborg armies.
It's a tribute to Courtney's acting that the Brigadier became such a beloved figure. Sort of a Commissioner Gordon to the Doctor's Batman, the Brigadier could easily have been a doddering straight man, the butt of the Doctor's jokes or just a source of muscle. But no matter what bizarre situation the Brigadier found himself in, Courtney always found a way to let the character's intelligence and strength of will come through. Famously, at least one real-life Army officer complimented Courtney on how closely he'd managed to imitate the way real young officers behaved. And because Courtney was also an incredibly likable actor, he was able to portray a Brigadier who sometimes resorts to violence even when violence is clearly the wrong answer.

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