On 22nd February 2011 the Doctor Who universe lost one of its greatest stars when actor Nicholas Courtney passed away at the age of 81 years. Familiar to millions as the face of the Doctor’s lives-long friend Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart – or, simply, “the Brigadier” – Courtney is held in the same sort of esteem as the eleven actors who’ve played on the Doctor on television. It is hoped that this mini-tribute will reflect such sentiments, as our regular contributors and readers gather to share their thoughts on the man, the legend, or both; each in his or her own way.

Staunch ally and redoubtable warrior he may be, but for me many of the Brigadier’s most memorable moments have been those where he’s been armed with nothing but a deliciously dry quip. Amongst my favourites are those where it’s not clear whether the Brig’s being incredibly droll, or spectacularly pig-headed. The finest example of such a one-liner is found in The Three Doctors: presented with a beach so very alien that it looks uncannily like a crude stab at colour separation overlay, he resolves to venture out onto it to look for a phone. Why? Because he’s “fairly sure that’s Cromer.”

Quote number two, from The Dæmons, is probably even better known, having being replayed time and time again since it first aired in 1971 – and rightly so. As his men frantically wrestle with hellish creatures, the Brigadier locks his gaze on a diminutive dæmon, and then, with about as much gusto as if he were ordering a pint at lunch, he calmly commands “Chap with the wings. Five rounds rapid.”

My middle moment builds a bridge from the “Blood and Thunder Days” of Jon Pertwee’s tenure and the frantic frolics of Tom Baker’s first season. As the Brig’s dear friend and trusted advisor lies on the floor of his laboratory, his body dying of radiation sickness, the Brig is the perfect picture of studied nonchalance. “Here we go again,” he mutters, stifling a sigh, the total sum him of his awe vested in a solitary raised eyebrow.

Nevertheless, the Brigadier has always had a degree magnificence in his soul, and never was this more evident than in the final episode of Battlefield, which saw him knock out the Doctor so that he could face down the monstrous “Destroyer” himself. Armed with an old service revolver and his own steely resolve, with commensurate poise the old soldier orders the monster “Get off my world.” The hail of silver bullets that follow ensure that the foul creature does precisely that.

My favourite Brig scene follows only moments afterwards. Having apparently sacrificed his life to save the world from the Destroyer, the Doctor cradles the Brigadier’s broken body in his arms. “You were supposed to die in bed,” he yells, his Scots burr burning with ire. But then the Brig’s eyes snap open. He’s not supposed to die here. He’s not supposed to die in bed. He’s not supposed to die at all.

And, as long as the Doctor’s about, he never will - and nor will Nick Courtney.

Back in the 1980s I attended a Doctor Who convention in California. Colin Baker was the Doctor at the time, and Nicholas Courtney was one of the other guests. He was a real gentleman, very courteous to everyone asking for his autograph or to have a word. I have a photo taken of me standing next to him, and he was so kind in attempting to make sure it was a memorable occasion for me.

When asked who was his favourite Doctor he replied, “Splendid chaps, all of them” and was loyal to each actor, although he was very open in stating that The Dæmons was his favourite episode. Something of the timelessness which is the Doctor seemed to have rubbed off on both him and the character which he portrayed, and I am as sad at his departure as I have been at those of Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee.

I once met Nicholas Courtney. Shook him by the hand. He said that I had a firm handshake. I am quite absurdly proud of that. It was during the course of a rather strange evening, which started with Doctor Who Magazine’s little ‘launch party’ for Doctor Who Series 2, then carried on, with a few gents we’d met, further into London. One of them mentioned that he knew where the Brigadier drank. The poor man was assailed by overzealous fan boys cluttering up his personal space. For my part, I think I behaved rather well. I said hello, shook his hand, and introduced my best friend Shelly to him (as a new series fan, she had no idea who he was, but I assured her that she’d look back on this as being important some day). Then I left him to his pint. The fine man was charming and gracious, even surrounded by a plethora of nerds. He didn’t make his excuses and leave for over an hour. Sir, I salute you.

Nicholas Courtney will be forever remembered by Doctor Who fans as one of the series’ greatest heroes, both on and off-screen. So, while above is my top Courtney moment, here are my top Brigadier moments:

Inferno: Transported through quantum reality to a parallel world, the Doctor is taken prisoner by UNIT’s fascist equivalent. He is frog-marched to the commanding officer’s HQ. the man has his back to us. Swivelling on his chair, we see the familiar face of the Brigadier - disfigured by a lengthy scar and obscured by an eye-patch. The Brigade Leader is at once recognisable as the man we know, while being an utterly twisted version of him. An excellent performance by Courtney.

Terror of the Zygons: The Brigadier calls the Doctor back to Earth to assist with events involving the destruction of oil rigs in Scotland. While the Doctor complains about being dragged back from his fun to look after some “mineral slime,” the Lethbridge-Stewart calmly but firmly reminds him that lives have been lost. The Doctor is quietly shamed into agreeing.

Doctor Who and the Silurians: He may be one of the Doctor’s longest serving friends, but the Brigadier and our Time Lord hero don’t always see eye-to-eye. While the Doctor still holds hope for an eventual peaceful discourse with the reptile people, Lethbridge-Stewart goes behind his back and destroys the entrance to their base, and possibly the whole base and the reptiles too. The Doctor is quietly furious, but we can understand exactly why the Brigadier decided to dispose of this threat to humanity.

The Three Doctors: Although late in the Pertwee-era the Brig’s character was eroded somewhat, you can just pick any moment you like from this special story. From the sublime moment when he claps eyes on the second Doctor to his exclamation of “Three of them? I didn’t know when I was well-off!” From the aforementioned Cromer moment to his stoic send-off to the Doctors, this serial is brimming with classic Brig moments.

Sympathy for the Devil: In this Unbound audio, we meet a Lethbridge-Stewart whose life has gone awry. Now running a pub in Hong Kong, this man’s time in UNIT was far more difficult, for he had to fight his battles without the Doctor. Alistair’s desperate attempts to defend himself from David Tennant’s Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood, attacking him for his UNIT failures, bring home the sad facts of this Brigadier’s life, and you can’t ignore the implication that this universe is fundamentally wrong.

 |  |  |  |  |  |    

Typset in Arial, Assiduous, Baskerville, Cheltenham Bold, Dalek, Deviant Strain, Franklin Gothic Extra Condensed,

Gazz Regular, FuturaDisD, Morpheus, Secret Service Typewriter, Tahoma & Verdana.

Hosted by . ‘The History of the Doctor’ is Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006.