Doctor Who: Greatest Characters: Numbers 40 to 38

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[highlight]40. Henry Gordon Jago & Professor Litefoot[/highlight]

PLAYED BY: Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter
ONSCREEN: 1977
RATING: 69.52%

Robert Holmes had a knack for creating memorable duos. Jago and Litefoot represent one of his most fondly remembered "comedy double acts" - which is unusual, considering they have just two episodes together on screen. The reason for their popularity, however, is understandable. Unlike his other double acts, with the sort of "leader and comedy side-kick", Jago and Litefoot are presented as two individual characters in their own rights; before they encounter one another, we get to know each rather well, and they are in fact two rather different characters. It is this difference between them, however, which led to such an enduring appeal. After The Talons of Weng-Chiang, the pair's original story, had broadcast, a spin-off series was genuinely considered for the two, and over 30 years later, [audio company] Big Finish took it upon themselves, with Jago & Litefoot now being one of the most popular audio series which they produce.

REMEMBERED FOR: Their enduring appeal. Litefoot eating the meat with Leela. Oh corks. Thinking the Doctor was from Scotland Yard.


[highlight]39. The Master (Anthony Ainley)[/highlight]

PLAYED BY: Anthony Ainley
ONSCREEN: 1981-86, 1989
RATING: 69.85%

Anthony Ainley chuckled onto our screens as the Master at the end of Tom Baker's tenure as the Doctor. Not too dissimilar from Roger Delgado in appearance, he appeared in the show more sporadically than his predecessor, meaning that when he did turn up, it was perhaps more unexpected and exciting for the audience. Possibly more comical but just as evil, this version of the Master came to be when the dying, decaying corpse of his final regeneration assimilated itself with Tremas, a consul of Traken and father of soon-to-be companion Nyssa. His manipulation of Nyssa's misconception of him as her father in Logopolis proved to any doubting viewers that the Master was just as evil as he had been, if not worse, and although his disguises varied from the brilliant to the laughable, his presence always brought a strong sense of menace to any adventure which he featured in. His last appearance was in Survival, the final broadcast episode of the original series, although Anthony Ainley returned to the role for the 1997 computer game Destiny of the Doctors. He died in 2004.

REMEMBERED FOR: His laugh. Oh my dear Doctor you have been naive. His beard. Won't you show mercy to your own...?


[highlight]38. Liz Shaw[/highlight]


PLAYED BY: Caroline John
ONSCREEN: 1970, 83
RATING: 70.00%

Liz arrived on our screens in 1970 for Doctor Who's first colour season, recruited by the Brigadier due to her vast scientific knowledge. Although at first reluctant, Liz soon became a fixture, and despite that she often clashed with the Brigadier, she proved to be important in cementing the Doctor's relationship with Lethbridge-Stewart. Degrees in medicine, physics and "a dozen other subjects", Liz could easily understand the Doctors 'technobabble', and was much more independent than many previous female companions had been. Her witty remarks and sarcastic nature appealed to the Doctor, and the two had a strong relationship, Liz seeming much more of an associate than an assistant. The Doctor was naturally very frustrated when she left to return to Cambridge, citing that he didn't need her, but rather someone to "pass him his test tubes and tell him how brilliant he was". Liz's arrival in the show came with its new "down-to-earth" format, and although she was exactly what the Doctor needed in that first series, producer Barry Letts decided that a more typical companion was needed than Liz, and she left after the end of Inferno. Actress Caroline John continued her involvement with the series in many other ways: she returned to the show in 1983 for a cameo in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors, recorded several audio adventures as Liz for Big Finish and was even given her own straight-to-video spin-off series in the 1990s - P.R.O.B.E. She died earlier this year, and was honoured by fans and production staff alike, with [current executive producer] Steven Moffat calling her "a brilliant actress and a tremendous co-star for Pertwee."

REMEMBERED FOR: Her various hairstyles. Her miniskirts. Alien invaders? Little blue men with three heads! Her scientific knowledge. Her smirk. Her parallel double.

Any thoughts? Do these characters deserve their placings? Let me know.

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Comments

  • DavetheScotDavetheScot Posts: 16,623
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    Jago and Litefoot were an excellent duo and I think they deserve their placing. Anthony Ainley's Master I'm less keen on - I think he's good when Anthony was allowed to play him as more quietly menacing, as in Survival, but all too often he was made to ham it up. Liz I've only seen in The Silurians, but she seemed very good from what I saw.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 241
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    Jago and Litefoot were an excellent duo and I think they deserve their placing. Anthony Ainley's Master I'm less keen on - I think he's good when Anthony was allowed to play him as more quietly menacing, as in Survival, but all too often he was made to ham it up. Liz I've only seen in The Silurians, but she seemed very good from what I saw.

    Agree about Ainley - I'd say his first and last are probably his best
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