Liberty Hall (home video)

Liberty Hall
Main character(s):	Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart
Main setting:	Brendon Public School
Key crew
Publisher:	BBC
Writer:	Karen Davies
Director:	Brendan Sheppard
Release details
Genre:	Science fiction
Release date:	10 August 2009
Format:	1x7 minute mini-episode
Doctor Who mini-episodes
← Previous	Tonight's the Night
Next →	The Doctor and the Reindeer

Liberty Hall was specially-filmed mini-episode included as a bonus feature in the Mawdryn Undead ^[+]Loading...["Mawdryn Undead (TV story)"] DVD, released on 10 August 2009. It was written by Karen Davies.

The mini-episode was shot as an in-universe interview of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart; while certain details were omitted due to the Official Secrets Act, the Brigadier referenced the events of the television serials Mawdryn Undead ^[+]Loading...["Mawdryn Undead (TV story)"] and Battlefield ^[+]Loading...["Battlefield (TV story)"] as well as several explicit references to "expanded media", such as Kate and Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart from the independently produced film Downtime ^[+]Loading...["Downtime (home video)"] and his time in Malebolgia, a fictional US state introduced in Big Finish Productions's audio drama Minuet in Hell ^[+]Loading...["Minuet in Hell (audio story)"].

Synopsis

Phillip Clarke meets Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart on the grounds of Brendon Public School for an interview about his time there. Alistair speaks about his experiences at the school and after, often mentioning his run-ins with the Doctor, although not revealing any specific information about him due to the Official Secrets Act.

Plot

Journalist Philip Clarke prepares for his interview with Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, former head of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Philip internally monologues about Alastair's heroism, picking up a photograph of him as he does so.

The pair meets at Brendon Public School; it's the first time Alistair has been there since the 1970s. He and Philip walk whilst he is asked about the school, such as how he came be a maths teacher: he recalls that he had tried to argue with Geneva about retiring, not realising that tempus fugit — time flies. Lieutenant Sullivan had gone undercover at Porton Down, Benton became a car salesman, and Yates had gone down to the South Coast to try to change the world through politics. He sadly expresses that the old team had gone, but had held out hope for the Doctor to return, but had no such luck.

Upon hearing of the Doctor, Philip asks to know more, but Alistair refuses, doubting he had signed the Official Secrets Act. Pivoting away, Philip instead asks about what happen after he left UNIT. Alistair reveals that, much to his past self's embarrassment, he had been awarded a CBE.

more to be added

Cast

• Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
• Philip Clarke - Simon Ockenden

Flashbacks

(Archive footage; uncredited)

• Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
• Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
• Tegan - Janet Fielding
• Lieutenant Sullivan - Ian Potter
• Benton - John Levene
• Yates - Richard Franklin

Crew

• Writer - Karen Davies
• Director - Brendan Sheppard

Worldbuilding

Philip Clarke

• Philip is a feature writer for the Evening Echo.
• Philip wears a white shirt, a diagonally striped blue and black tie, a gold watch with a black strap and black trousers. He has a belt on. He later wears a black blazer.
• Philip's room has a table with sheets of paper and newspaper strewn across it. There are also candlesticks and a hole punch. Around the room is a cabinet, several lamps, shelves with books and glass cups on them, picture frames, and a couple of horse statues.
• Philip writes in a notebook with a pen about the Brigadier.

The Brigadier

• Most people have never heard of the Brigadier, as he "commanded an organisation that operates in the borders of the utmost secrecy." The world owes its continued existence to them.
• Philip considers the Brigadier to be part of a rare breed, as he is a hero.
• Alistair remembers shaking hands with the Doctor as he exited the TARDIS. Tegan and Nyssa had accompanied the Doctor.
• Philip inquires about how Alistair became a maths teacher after retiring from UNIT.

Brendon Public School

• There are picnic tables on the grounds.
• Alistair has happy memories of the school.

Notes

• This mini-episode is one of very few stories after 2005 to refer to UNIT as the "United Nations Intelligence Taskforce", as the real United Nations had taken legal action against the BBC following the launch of the U.N.I.T. website.

Filming locations

• Filmed at the original setting of Brendon Public School.

Production errors

to be added

Continuity

• The Brigadier reflects on meeting Doris by accident years before. (TV: Battlefield) He mentions that they had been sweethearts years before and that she had given him his golden watch. (TV: Planet of the Spiders) He explains that he left Brendon Public School to settle down with Doris. (TV: Battlefield) He called their new home "Liberty Hall". (TV: The Three Doctors) He also mentions running into the Eighth Doctor in Malebolgia in the United States in 2003 (AUDIO: Minuet in Hell) and he mentions Gordon and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. (HOMEVID: Downtime)
• Benton was established to sell used cars in TV: Mawdryn Undead ^[+]Loading...["Mawdryn Undead (TV story)"], which PROSE: Legacy of the Dominator ^[+]Loading...["Legacy of the Dominator (novel)"] clarifies is with a business known as JB Motors. Therefore, as the Brigadier's claim about Benton in this mini-episode is accurate, it lends credibility to his others, which otherwise could be taken as disinformative.

Home video releases

DVD releases

This documentary was included on the DVD release of the Doctor Who story Mawdryn Undead.

External links

• "Showreel 1" at Karen Davies' personal website