Mark Forester
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Foresterfor other, similarly-named pages.
Mark Forester (PROSE: Planet of Giants) was a British businessman who owned a chemical company which depended on government approval of DN6.
Biography
Early life
Mark Forester owned a company based in London and gained a reputation as a hard-driving businessman, establishing a vast empire (PROSE: Planet of Giants) and crediting his success in business to his refusal to accept the word "can't", believing that there was always a way. Over the years, he spent a lot of time dealing with Whitehall and knew of Whitmore. (TV: Planet of Giants) He "bought and sold" scientists — including Professor Smithers, whom he based in a cottage which he bought and filled with scientific equipment. (PROSE: Planet of Giants)
Farrow's murder
Forester's business was in a "shaky" financial situation (PROSE: Planet of Giants) when, following a welcome reception by the Ministry, he prepared factories and advertising for the production of DN6 before getting Whitehall's final approval. When Arnold Farrow refused to grant said approval due to the disastrous effects that the pesticide would have on the Earth's environment, killing insects without discrimination, Forester, who would be ruined if DN6 did not go into production soon, (TV: Planet of Giants) shot him in the heart (PROSE: Planet of Giants) after a failed attempt to bribe him.
Forester claimed that Farrow had pulled out a gun and died in a struggle, but Smithers knew that he was lying and advised him not to tell that story to the police. He instead decided to hide the body and wreck his boat as a cover-up, making it look as though he died at sea, and doctored his report to approve DN6's production. He called Whitmore, pretending to be Farrow, to get the necessary authorisations and decided to kill Smithers when he learnt how dangerous DN6 really was.
An explosion caused by a miniaturised First Doctor, Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright left Forester unconscious, after which PC Bert Rowse entered the property and Smithers began to tell him about the murder. (TV: Planet of Giants) The DN6 was confiscated by Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. (PROSE: The Grandfather Infestation)
Personality
Although Forester could come across as polite, he was a formidable man who earnt himself a reputation as an uncompromising businessman. He was willing to do anything to achieve his goals, which he believed was responsible for his success, (PROSE: Planet of Giants) and held his own financial situation to be more important than the disastrous effects that DN6 would have on the environment, even being willing to murder two people. (TV: Planet of Giants)
Appearance
Forester had dark hair and a heavy jaw and was thick-set and beetle-browed. He gave off of a feeling of power despite not being an especially big man. (PROSE: Planet of Giants)
Behind the scenes
- Toby Hadoke voiced Forester in the 2012 reconstruction of the original version of the third episode, "Crisis"; and the planned fourth episode, "The Urge to Live", on the Planet of Giants DVD release.
- Forester's first name, Mark, was given only in Terrance Dicks's novelisation of the story. This was not derived from any information given in the televised version.
- Forester's ultimate fate after his arrest has never been revealed on television or in any expanded universe media. The penalty for first degree murder at the time of the original UK transmission of Planet of Giants was death, so the audience were likely expected to assume he was executed.
