Josiah Samuel Smith
Survey, or, as he styled himself later, Josiah Samuel Smith, was a long-lived being involved in Light's survey of ancient Earth.
Biography
Josiah changed form to match the dominant species of the planet, leaving behind still-mobile and at least partially sentient Husks.
With Light temporarily dormant, he adopted the form of a Victorian gentleman, living in the mansion called Gabriel Chase in Perivale, which had a cellar in which Light's ship resided. By 1883, Josiah was the owner of Gabriel Chase, and with Mrs Pritchard and his "ward" Gwendoline, servant Nimrod and house guest/prisoner Redvers Fenn-Cooper, whom he trained as an assassin, presided over a distorted version of a well-to-do 19th century household.
Josiah planned to take over the British Empire by having Fenn-Copper murder Queen Victoria, using an invitation to meet her that he had somehow obtained. The plan was thwarted when Redvers decided to take Control instead. After Control reverted Josiah to his former unevolved state as a form of punishment, he left Earth with the others in Light's ship. (TV: Ghost Light)
Behind the scenes
- A scene set in Gabriel Chase's upper observatory featuring Josiah, Nimrod and Light was rehearsed for Ghost Light part three, but was cut from the script and never actually recorded. This featured Nimrod informing Josiah that he wishes to resign his position as butler; after Josiah storms off angrily, Light appears and tells Nimrod "I think we shall be late for dinner." (PROSE: Doctor Who: The Scripts - Ghost Light) However, Marc Platt reinstated this scene for the novelisation.
- Ian Bannen, Michael Caine, John Carson, Kenneth Colley, Frank Finlay, Michael Gothard, Del Henney, Bernard Hill, Denis Lill, Anthony Valentine and David Warner were considered for the role before Ian Hogg was cast.
