Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States (PROSE: Tricky Dicky) from 1969 to 1974. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut, Before the Flood) The Eleventh Doctor was not particularly fond of him due to the unfortunate events that happened during his term as president, such as Vietnam and the Watergate scandal, but managed to work with him. Nixon assisted the Doctor during his investigation of the Silence, often using his power as president to do so; he freed the Doctor after he was arrested and calmed down soldiers at Area 51 by giving a speech. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon)
Biography
Nixon was born on 9 January 1913 in Yorba Linda, California.
He served in the navy during World War II, eventually becoming a Lieutenant Commander.
By 1952, he served as a junior senator, and later became Vice President to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 1960, Nixon ran for President, but lost to John F. Kennedy. During a televised debate between the two, Nixon refused to allow make-up assistants to work on him, and as a result looked noticeably pale and sweaty. It was believed that this may have cost Nixon the election.
In 1968, he successfully won that year's presidential election. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky)
In 1969, Nixon received calls directly to him, wherever he was, from a child telling him she was scared of the monsters that were everywhere and that an astronaut was coming to eat her. (WC: Prequel (The Impossible Astronaut))
Nixon asked the child where and who she was, mistaking the location she was giving, "Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton", as her name and also mistaking her for a boy. However, she hung up before he could learn more. Unsure of how or why the child was calling him, and suspecting FBI involvement, Nixon had Canton Everett Delaware III brought in. Having been recently fired from the FBI, he was the second best choice for Nixon's task; he had the training needed, but wasn't with the Bureau.
At the White House, Nixon played Canton a recording of one of the calls. He found the Doctor writing down their conversation in his office and called security. They promptly overwhelmed the Doctor until River unveiled his invisible TARDIS and the Doctor came up with the alibi that he was on loan from Scotland Yard, sent to also help him with the case. Nixon allowed the Doctor to help, along with his companions, giving him whatever he needed to find the mysterious caller.
The Doctor worked out the caller's location from the names she had given Nixon and when Nixon received another call, he informed the caller that he had sent his best people to help: the Doctor, River Song, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, and Canton. As they left to go find the little girl, Nixon watched the TARDIS dematerialise from sight, leaving him shocked. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)
Three months later, Nixon came to the Doctor's rescue when he was detained by NASA security after implanting an extra device of his own into the on-board computer for Apollo 11. After travelling in the TARDIS to Area 51, he calmed the security team after Canton had spent days "inside" the prison. In the White House after the Silence threat had been eliminated, he asked the Doctor about his future. The Doctor said that he would always be remembered, and told him to say "hi" to David Frost for him. At the Doctor's urging, Nixon tried to be lenient and allow Canton to get married, believing he wished to marry a black woman. When Canton revealed he wished to marry a black man, Nixon was taken aback. Regaining his composure, he told Canton that "I believe the moon is far enough for now." (TV: Day of the Moon)
Nixon's recordings, referred to as the Nixon Tapes, were left for future presidents to know of the Doctor. (COMIC: Air Force Gone)
In the 1970s, President Nixon was involved in the Watergate scandal. When five burglars broke into the Democratic Party headquarters, they were caught and subsequently linked to Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President following an investigation. (PROSE: Dancing the Code, Tricky Dicky, TV: The Impossible Astronaut)
On 5 January 1972, Nixon ordered the building of a space shuttle. He was cagey when asked why, saying "You don't know who might be listening..." (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)
Nixon visited China and met with its leader, Mao Zedong, in 1972. He became the first US President to visit the country since its communist revolution. It was considered one of Nixon's greatest achievements. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky)
In 1974, he authorised the "omega solution", the complete nuclear obliteration of Great Britain, in order to stop the invasion of the Remoraxians. The attack was called off by the CIA when the Remoraxians left. (COMIC: In With the Tide)
Nixon resigned as President in 1974, being succeeded by his Vice President, Gerald Ford. Ford subsequently pardoned Nixon for any federal crimes he may have committed as President.
In 1977, Nixon was interviewed by British television presenter David Frost, who accused him of lying and committing criminal acts. These interviews were watched by over 45 million people.
He passed away in 1994, at the age of 81. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky)
Legacy
In 1995, the film, Nixon, was released, starring Anthony Hopkins.
The animated series, Futurama, featured a fictionalised version of Nixon as a major character. In the series, Nixon's villainous disembodied head is elected President of Earth in the year 3000. (PROSE: Tricky Dicky)
References
The Third Doctor and Liz Shaw passed by Nixon's wax replica whilst visiting Madame Tussauds to investigate the first Auton invasion of Earth. (TV: Spearhead from Space)
In San Francisco on New Year's Eve 1999, Walker General Hospital morgue attendant Pete wore a caricature mask of Nixon to a fancy dress party. Early that morning, the mask had been among the costume items discovered in the hospital's lockers and discarded by the newly-regenerated Eighth Doctor during his search for clothes. (TV: Doctor Who)
Behind the scenes
- Richard Nixon is one of only three real-world US presidents to be portrayed on-screen in televised Doctor Who. The others are Abraham Lincoln, who appeared in The Chase, and Barack Obama, who appeared in The End of Time. (A doctored archival photograph of John F. Kennedy (as himself) also appeared in Rose, and an image of Donald Trump briefly showed up in The Lie of the Land.)
- Nixon is the first US president to be shown travelling in the TARDIS.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
