Joinson Dastari
Professor Joinson Dastari was a geneticist and Head of Projects on Space Station Camera.
Biography
Joinson Dastari lived in the Third Zone (TV: The Two Doctors) and was, in his youth, a champion sampola wrestler. (PROSE: The Two Doctors) He became a pioneer of genetic engineering, earning himself a number of qualifications which resulted in his name being followed by a great many letters. He became Head of Projects on Space Station Camera and there worked out the Theory of Parallel Matter in pen and ink, hating computers. He also used technological augmentation to turn Chessene of the Franzine Grig into a genius.
With Chessene, a prototype time machine and an unaltered Androgum, Shockeye of the Quawncing Grig, Dastari abducted the Doctor from the space station. Having landed in the city of Seville on the planet Earth, he worked to find the secret of the symbiotic nuclei for the Sontaran Stike. He later supervised the partial genetic transformation of the Doctor into an Androgum.
Dastari walked in on Chessene as she lapped up the blood of the Sixth Doctor, who had come to rescue his past self. Faced with this evidence, Dastari was forced to concede what the Doctor had tried to tell him earlier; regardless of her augmented intellect, Chessene was still fundamentally an animal at heart. Although he attempted to free the Doctor and Peri Brown, when Chessene discovered his treachery, she shot and killed him. (TV: The Two Doctors)
Legacy
By the 40th century, the Dastari Prize had been named in his honour. The prize was won by the Javaman in two consecutive years. (PROSE: Turnabout is Fair Play)
Personality
Dastari was a genius who believed that the people of the Third Zone had become effete and hoped to ensure progress continued through Androgum-T.A.s. He detested computers and instead used pen and ink. The Second Doctor told Dastari that he was a "stupid, stubborn, irrational and thoroughly objectionable old idiot". (TV: The Two Doctors)
Appearance
Dastari was a handsome man with fine, ascetic features and short, iron-grey hair. (PROSE: The Two Doctors)
Behind the scenes
- "Dastari" is an anagram of "A TARDIS".
- The reference book The Discontinuity Guide speculates, based on Dastari's knowledge of Gallifrey, that he hails from Minyos (TV: Underworld) or Dronid. (TV: Shada)
- Joss Ackland, Bernard Archard, George Baker, James Bree, Michael Craig, Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring, Neil Hallett, Bernard Hepton, Peter Jeffrey, Freddie Jones, Jeremy Kemp, Clifford Rose, Nigel Stock and John Woodnutt were considered for the role before Laurence Payne was cast.
