Over the years with
“Doctor Who”, there have been quite a few guest characters that
make such an impression that you fervently wish they would go with
the Doctor at the end of the story and become fully-fledged
companions. In Classic Who, the one character who, for me, stood head
and shoulders above everyone else was Professor Rumford from “The
Stones of Blood”. She was a fantastically eccentric old lady who
took everything in her stride and was not just a perfect foil for Tom
Baker’s Doctor but also formed quite a touching relationship with
K9 – her very concerned “are you alright, dear” to K9 was
simply adorable.
Since the return of the
show in 2005, nobody really stood out until recently. A lot of this
has to do with the format – one x 45 minute episode doesn’t
really give the writer much of a chance to build a character in the
way 4 x 25 minute episodes could. The odd character DOES sneak
through – Wilf, for instance, or maybe Brian Williams but they’re
mostly in multiple episodes. For me though, the one character I SO
wanted to go with the Doctor – even though it would have been
completely the wrong time and thrown the following episode into total
confusion – was Kate Stewart.
(Beverley Cressman in "Downtime" - courtesy tardis.wikia.com)
The character of Kate
Stewart was known in Who fandom prior to her first televised
appearance in “The Power of Three” – she was originally created
by Marc Platt for the spin-off video “Downtime” where she was
played by Beverley Cressman. In “Downtime”, Kate was estranged
from her father and lived on a houseboat with her son, Gordon
Lethbridge-Stewart. Interestingly, in “Downtime”, the villain of
the piece was the Great Intelligence who tried to use Kate via a cult
at a university to lead them to the Brigadier – who, it was
thought, had something the Great Intelligence needed. This led to a
reconciliation between Kate and her father. Kate was mentioned in two
books – “Scales of Injustice” and “The Dying Days” and then
reappeared in a second spin-off video called “Daemos Rising”. In
this spin-off she joined forces with an ex UNIT agent to defeat one
of the Daemons – maybe this gave her the greater insight she needed
in order to really understand what her father did and the sacrifices
he had to make.
I think it has to be
accepted that the Kate Stewart who appeared in “The Power of Three”
is the same Kate Stewart who experienced the events of “Downtime”
and “Daemos Rising”. Moffat is a Who fan – he always has been –
he would have known the name “Kate Stewart/Kate Lethbridge-Stewart”
and, honestly, if they’d wanted to depart from the two spin-offs
they would have simply changed the character’s first name. They
didn’t – so effectively they’ve “canonised” them. Taking
this premise to its obvious conclusion, “Downtime” and “Daemos
Rising” were important steps along the road for Kate Stewart.
Obviously, there was no mention of any estrangement in “The Power
of Three”, therefore the reconciliation in “Downtime” was
complete and, presumably, led to Kate accepting guidance from her
father and, to a certain extent, following in his footsteps.
You can certainly
understand why Kate decided to drop “Lethbridge” from her
surname. The reverence her father received in some quarters would
certainly have opened doors for her – but conversely it would have
closed others. The very fact that she has risen to the position of
Head of Scientific Research and also changed the essence of UNIT to a
military organisation led by scientists is a huge testament to her
dedication, character and determination. There’s obviously more
than a bit of the old Lethbridge-Stewart steel running through her.
And, believe me, UNIT most definitely needed changing. During the
Third Doctor era when UNIT really came to the fore, it's basic remit
was simple and understandable – to investigate and combat alien
activity. And whilst this occasionally led to disagreements with the
Doctor (Silurians, anyone?) and their methods sometimes resembled a
bull in a china shop, at heart there was an honesty and simplicity
about the organisation. Growing up in that era, I loved UNIT – it
was comforting in a way to think that they were there – that loyal
band of soldiers protecting us from all manner of monsters and
beasties.
During the Tenth Doctor
era, it seemed to have lost its way somewhat – in the name of
“homeworld security” for example it had established secret
prisons – and was in danger of becoming almost malevolent. UNIT had
changed with the times – seeming to be more of a reflection of our
somewhat corrupt, conspiracy-led society – and, for those of us who
loved the old UNIT, this was rather unpleasant and remarkably
difficult to watch.
How much of this change
the Brigadier was aware of is unclear and, in fact, they seemed to
constantly be sending him to Peru of all places – quite probably in
order to keep him out of the way. I like to think that he was
certainly aware of undercurrents and his mentoring of Kate may well
have emphasised the need for change. So, with her father’s
guidance, Kate managed to adapt UNIT – or, as she put it “dragged
them along, kicking and screaming”. With Kate at the helm, the UNIT
we saw in “The Power of Three” was a much more “trustworthy”
organisation than it had been in recent years, so much so that that
Doctor felt quite able to call on them again briefly in “The Bells
of Saint John”.
“The
Wedding of River Song” certainly implies that, whilst the Doctor
may not have visited the Brigadier in the nursing home, he at least
kept in contact via telephone. The Doctor didn’t need to look up
the number of the home and the nurse who answered the phone knew who
he was and who he was calling for without asking. It’s not a huge
leap then to assume that both UNIT and Kate would have cropped up
during their conversations. After all, what proud father would be
able to resist talking about his daughter with his oldest friend? And
vice versa – no doubt Kate was constantly bombarded with tales
about the Doctor. This was obvious during the first scene with Kate
and the Doctor in “The Power of Three”. Look at the Doctor’s
face – he knew exactly who she was – and, as for Kate, her “I
hoped it’d be you” was full of emotion. There she was – finally
face-to-face with the dual hearted alien who had been such a loyal
friend to and huge influence on her father. This “mutual admiration
society” between the two continued throughout the episode – for
example, even when Kate is more in the background of scenes she’s
generally regarding the Doctor with a mix of awe and delight and the
two of them slide into a trusting relationship with remarkable ease.
How much of this emanates from the writing and how much emanates from
having two consummate actors working opposite one another… we will
probably never know.
The casting gods were
definitely smiling down when Jemma Redgrave was cast as Kate Stewart.
A very experienced actress from a highly regarded acting family, she
just makes it all seem so effortless. When she’s on screen, there’s
no doubt that she IS Kate Stewart – she’s one of those actresses
who seems to inhabit a role – similar, in a way, to Matt Smith’s
portrayal of the Doctor. You’re hard pressed a lot of the time to
know where Matt stops and the Doctor begins.
It’s very fitting
that Jemma Redgrave will be bringing her considerable talents back to
the screen for the 50th Anniversary Special – and I
admit I was far happier upon learning that Kate Stewart would return
than I was for any other announced returning character. A link to a
well-loved character like the Brigadier is only right and proper
during this very important year but Kate also stands as a great
character in her own right. So much so that, whilst I’ll happily
accept her back as a recurring character, how much better would it be
to have a UNIT spin-off with Kate in charge? If we can’t have her
as a full-time companion on the Tardis then let’s see her on her
own show. After all, who needs Torchwood when we have UNIT?
Thanks to:
grande-caps - for the Kate Stewart screencaps from "The Power of Three"
Shelley - beta reader extraordinaire
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