Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Sad News

Sad enough that I couldn't quite bring myself to blog about it last night. But...

Goodbye, Nicholas Courtney. Courtney's character of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart -- the Brigadier to fans -- was one of the most enduringly wonderful parts of Doctor Who, and will continue to be for as long as the show is watched and remembered. But the man who brought him to us will be very deeply missed.

5 comments:

  1. Yeah, I noted his passing last night on Twitter. I'm not as well-versed in his appearances as others -- I've seen precious little of the Pertwee years thus far -- but he was an invaluable part of the show and always seemed like a class act.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sad news. The Brigadier was a great character. I liked the way that he developed over the years from someone who at times was perilously close to being a buffoon into someone one really respected and deeply cared for. And from all accounts Nicholas Courtney was a lovely man. Anyone who would call their autobiography "Five Rounds Rapid" has to be a good chap.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fred: The Brig was a great character, easily one of the series' best. And the fact that he kept coming back and making appearances over the years added a lovely touch of continuity to an ever-changing show. I will admit that very nearly my first thought at the news of Courtney's passing was disappointment that we'd now never see him on the new series, something I'd been holding out hope for from the beginning. He did do a nice guest appearance on The Sarah Jane Adventures, though, which I'm glad of.

    JH: I've heard nothing but good things about him personally, as well, and I'm sorry that I'll never have the chance to meet him. I'm thinking perhaps I should read that autobiography. (And "Five rounds rapid!" is surely one of the all-time classic lines in Doctor Who.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Apparently "Five rounds rapid!" was published in 1998, but there was an updated authobiography entitled "Still Getting Away With It" published in 2005. But I think the item that I shall get to remember him by is a CD of him reading his memoirs called "A Soldier in Time", which came out in 2002.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've added Five Rounds Rapid to my (ever-growing) wishlist. It seems like a good place to start, and the reviews make it sound like an interesting read.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.