The Peter Davison era saw many classic foes and faces from the past reappear for the 20th anniversary. Most-anticipated among these was Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, played by the late, great Nicholas Courtney. A mainstay of the Jon Pertwee years, he provided the brawn to the Doctor's brain and the hats of fans couldn't have been higher for this noble military man. Unfortunately the 80s were a bit on the namby-pamby side, so the Brig had quit shattering gargoyles with bullets and settled down to life teaching at a boys' school in Mawdryn Undead. Also he got caught up in one of those trademark Fifth Doctor plots where a dense and not particularly interesting slab of sci-fi required him to wander round a spaceship resembling a cheap hotel looking baffled. The Five Doctors later that year welcomed Stewart back again, in full moustachioed glory. It was as if the whole bland affair never took place, and by 1989's Battlefield Courtney, had returned to the ranks. Nevertheless, this strange slice of anaemic adventure remains, showcasing what many Whovians regard as a lacklustre resurrection.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
