doctor who and UNIT

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I've been following doctor who by downloading random episodes off the torrents. Most of what I've seen is Tom baker's run (no surprise there ... is it really good), with a significant chunk of jon pertwee's. I'm curious about the doctor's association with UNIT and how far it progresses.

 

Afaik it started somewhere back with Troughton where we know the doctor met UNIT. Then Pertwee was stranded on earth and UNIT was there at every turn. The doctor gets his tardis working blah blah and finally Tom Baker. Tom Baker repels a few invasions and stuff and finally we have seed's of doom when sarah jane smith is the assistant.

 

2 episodes later, you have the hand of fear when the doctor has to head to a nuclear power plant and bluster past security guards. Get into a secure area and such. He never considers trying to pull rank using his affiliation with UNIT. After which he doesn't head back to 20th century earth till logopolis. Again no contact with UNIT, though he admittedly has no time. So is Seeds of doom the last episode involving UNIT? I've not seen much of doctor who with the doctors after TB.

 

The new doctor eccleston at one point gets his assistants to hack into the UNIT website suggesting that it still exists as an organisation (and he later gets brought in). Anything inbetween this incident and seeds of doom?

 

Another question, the new doctor has "psychic paper", very handy for getting into secure areas and the like. Is this something new?

[Fenriswolf]

Psychic paper: Yes, this is new to the new show.

 

IIRC Silver Nemesis was the last time the Dr. met UNIT as a group in the old series.

[GorunNova]

Actually, 'Battlefield' is the last one involving UNIT as a group... it's a season after Silver Nemesis... plus a cameo from Lethbridge Stuart.

[Fenriswolf]

Aha! Nicely done there, wasn't sure about that one, but you are indeed right. Must have been a timing malfunction, that's it...yeah...*hits console with a hammer*

 

*VWORRrrrP*

 

*VWooOORRRP*

 

that fixed it!

[coolcat13]

in fact Battlefield was one of the more pleasent Dr Who shows from the McCoy era.one of the few eps that I found enjoyable esp at the end

 

note * I believe that Lethbridge Stewart worked with every single Dr in the classic series.A run that does not include the movies however.he worked with Hartnell in the Three Drs .

[Antilles]

He also played Bret Vyon in The Daleks Master Plan, although Im speaking of the actor not the Brig :) SO yeah lucky guy getting to work with all Doctors up to McCoy!

 

The Seeds of Doom although it had UNIT in it, it didnt have the UNIT regualrs, no Brig or Benton (Mike Yates gone by then).

 

The Brig did show up in Mawdryn Undead but not really a UNIT story. Thats about it really, since Terror of the Zygons there was no real classic UNIT presence in the series until Battlefield.

 

I loved the Earth-bound UNIT era, brilliant stories!

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ah I see, that's kinda what I really meant. Thanks for answering that question. So the next time he really works with UNIT after tom baker is with sylvester McCoy.

[Fenriswolf]

Yep. McCoy is the last time he works with UNIT in the old series :)

[petra1989]

The thing I enjoyed about UNIT is that they were the first time I saw international coroperation. Granted we mainly seen British troops, until Battlefield, but you still had that feeling.

 

I always thought that a good spin off series would have been about UNIT. Thankfully they are doing them now with Big Finish.

[Fenriswolf]

There was talk way back of doing a UNIT spin-off but it never did get off the ground. The Big Finish audios are a good wqy of doing it though and I recently read that Peter Davidson would be reprising his role as the 5th Doctor for a new CD.

[Potato]

I'm assuming you mean for a new UNIT CD rather than the Doctor Who ones he does regularly.

 

If you read the books, The 5th Doctor works with UNIT during Deep Blue, which is actually set during the 3rd Doctor era. They also turn up regularly in the Virgin New Adventures, odd that as they turned down my submission for linking with the past so much.

[Fenriswolf]

I mean a new Doctor Who CD starring Peter Davidson, to add to the ones already out there. The name escapes me at the moment, I will track it down, caught it while scanning through a newspaper.

[taq22]

Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann will all be continuing there Big Finish stories for quite some time.

 

As for Unit, I'm suprised they haven't cropped up in any of the Doctor Who Big Finish stories apart from the Brigadier.

 

I hope they're in Series 2 (28) on BBC 1.

[coolcat13]

They were briefly introduced this year with the Aliens of London movie however I think that the UNIT eps of the past will never be back the way they once were where there is actual character development of key UNIT members .I was hoping they would go that route earlier in the season but they have not .

[dingding100]

A small gaggle of Brit Commandos, led by Colonel A G Lethbridge-Stewart, whacked a Yeti in "The Web of Fear", then they formed UNIT in "The Invasion".

[Fenriswolf]

Well if you play around in the UNIT website for the new show they have some interesting characters/conversations inside those pages so perhaps we will actually see those UNIT members show up in season 2.

 

Perhaps they'll be instrumental in helping the Doctor defeat the Cybermen or something.

[Potato]

or perhaps they'll be instrumental in helping our respective governments crack down on file sharing... ;)

[Fenriswolf]

I think they'll have bigger things to worry about soon.

[coolcat13]

yes they may want to break out thier anti-Dalek guns this week :))

[Fenriswolf]

I hope so, that would kick ass to see UNIT in that kind of action again :)