With the TARDIS trapped on a collision course with a strange, orbiting spaceship, locked in time as well as space, the Black Guardian recruits a deceitful and ill-natured British student to ... Read allWith the TARDIS trapped on a collision course with a strange, orbiting spaceship, locked in time as well as space, the Black Guardian recruits a deceitful and ill-natured British student to kill the Doctor.With the TARDIS trapped on a collision course with a strange, orbiting spaceship, locked in time as well as space, the Black Guardian recruits a deceitful and ill-natured British student to kill the Doctor.
Russell Brook
- Schoolboy
- (uncredited)
John Cannon
- Police Sergeant
- (uncredited)
Les Conrad
- Schoolmaster
- (uncredited)
Mark McBride
- Van Driver
- (uncredited)
Richard Olley
- Mutant
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Peter Grimwade
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWilliam Russell was originally scripted to reprise his role as Ian Chesterton, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. This resulted in the choice to instead bring back the Brigadier.
- GoofsIn this story, the Brigadier has been retired from UNIT and teaching at a school since 1977. But the UNIT stories from the Third Doctor's time on Earth were set in the 1980s so the Brigadier should be much younger and still be working at UNIT from 1977 to 1983.
- Quotes
Vislor Turlough: Am I dead?
Black Guardian: Merely sleeping.
Vislor Turlough: I don't think I'd really care if I were. I hate Earth.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Who Wants to Live Forever? (2009)
Featured review
Good To See The Return Of The Brigadier In A Very Forgettable Story
Arriving in 1983 England The Doctor is surprised to find his former friend Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart is teaching at a boarding school . One of the pupils there is a Trion called Turlough and The Black Guardian promises him passage home if he kills The Doctor
I was climbing the walls looking forward to this story when it was revealed that Lethbridge Stewart was returning to the show . The Brigadier was as much .as a part of my childhood as the third Doctor was . It's impossible to think of the Pertwee era without thinking of The Brigadier charging to the rescue of the Doctor and battling bullet proof monsters every Saturday afternoon . It might seem strange that Lethbridge Stewart is now a teacher but Ian Chesterton was supposedly written to be that character and due to William Russell being unavailable the role was changed to accommodate Lethbridge Stewart . This is a pity and once you know about this character change it does jar somewhat . If you're expecting a battle scene of soldiers against monsters that look like giant melted condoms then you'll be very disappointed . Perhaps that's why the highlight is the flashback scene in episode 2
It also leads to a very annoying continuity problem that wouldn't have happened with Ian Chesterton in the role that is the plot revolves around the Brigadier existing in two time streams , one in 1983 and one in 1977 set during the Queen's Silver jubilee . . " So what ? " Mr Casual Viewer asks and you'd be right but the UNIT era would always be set in a non specific near future and in 1977 Lethbridge Stewart would still be the commanding officer of UNIT .
I don't want to sound too anal but this plot point is very annoying It wouldn't have mattered if the continuity had been sacrificed for the sake of a great story but Mawdryn Undead is very average stuff . Perhaps even more sadly is that amongst the nostalgia there is a great story trying to get out . DOCTOR WHO in its original incarnation didn't really concern itself with the dynamics of time travel and used time travel as a mere plot device to send the Tardis on a new adventure every few weeks and director Peter Moffat fails to develop Peter Grimwade's script to its full potential . It should be pointed out that Moffat was much better in creating historical adventures and this type of glossy time travel space opera shows he's a bit out of his depth
Mawdryn Undead also features the debut of Mark Strickson as Turlough a humanoid with a dark secret . Turlough is slightly better regarded than Adric but that's not saying much and once again a character of great potential seems rather poorly developed . It's also noticeable that Strickson seems to be a little too old to be playing a public schoolboy and lacks a menacing edge needed for the character . Perhaps if the premise had Lethbridge Stewart teaching at a dead end school on a rough council estate we'd see a working class character with a Scouse or Glasgow accent played with a violent intensity by an unknown actor with a big future like Robert Carlyle . This confirms a criticism that the original series did pander to the middle classes too much and Russell T Davies made the new show identifiable to the proletariat
I was climbing the walls looking forward to this story when it was revealed that Lethbridge Stewart was returning to the show . The Brigadier was as much .as a part of my childhood as the third Doctor was . It's impossible to think of the Pertwee era without thinking of The Brigadier charging to the rescue of the Doctor and battling bullet proof monsters every Saturday afternoon . It might seem strange that Lethbridge Stewart is now a teacher but Ian Chesterton was supposedly written to be that character and due to William Russell being unavailable the role was changed to accommodate Lethbridge Stewart . This is a pity and once you know about this character change it does jar somewhat . If you're expecting a battle scene of soldiers against monsters that look like giant melted condoms then you'll be very disappointed . Perhaps that's why the highlight is the flashback scene in episode 2
It also leads to a very annoying continuity problem that wouldn't have happened with Ian Chesterton in the role that is the plot revolves around the Brigadier existing in two time streams , one in 1983 and one in 1977 set during the Queen's Silver jubilee . . " So what ? " Mr Casual Viewer asks and you'd be right but the UNIT era would always be set in a non specific near future and in 1977 Lethbridge Stewart would still be the commanding officer of UNIT .
I don't want to sound too anal but this plot point is very annoying It wouldn't have mattered if the continuity had been sacrificed for the sake of a great story but Mawdryn Undead is very average stuff . Perhaps even more sadly is that amongst the nostalgia there is a great story trying to get out . DOCTOR WHO in its original incarnation didn't really concern itself with the dynamics of time travel and used time travel as a mere plot device to send the Tardis on a new adventure every few weeks and director Peter Moffat fails to develop Peter Grimwade's script to its full potential . It should be pointed out that Moffat was much better in creating historical adventures and this type of glossy time travel space opera shows he's a bit out of his depth
Mawdryn Undead also features the debut of Mark Strickson as Turlough a humanoid with a dark secret . Turlough is slightly better regarded than Adric but that's not saying much and once again a character of great potential seems rather poorly developed . It's also noticeable that Strickson seems to be a little too old to be playing a public schoolboy and lacks a menacing edge needed for the character . Perhaps if the premise had Lethbridge Stewart teaching at a dead end school on a rough council estate we'd see a working class character with a Scouse or Glasgow accent played with a violent intensity by an unknown actor with a big future like Robert Carlyle . This confirms a criticism that the original series did pander to the middle classes too much and Russell T Davies made the new show identifiable to the proletariat
helpful•23
- Theo Robertson
- Jan 30, 2014
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