Henry Smithers
Professor Henry Smithers (PROSE: Imaginary Friends) was a scientist who developed DN6.
Biography
Early life
Professor Smithers began working in agricultural research due to the amount of people starving around the world. When he was young, he worked on famine relief projects for the United Nations and saw hundreds die as a result of locusts, the sights that he saw burning into his memory. (PROSE: Planet of Giants)
Supposed breakthrough
Smithers was "bought" by Mark Forester during the 1960s, who moved him into a cottage and provided him with scientific equipment to develop DN6. (PROSE: Planet of Giants) His early experiments were welcomed by the Ministry and he spent a year working on it, working fifteen to sixteen hours a day, (TV: Planet of Giants) but he refused to face the truth when Arnold Farrow told him of its dangers. (PROSE: Planet of Giants)
Forester showed Smithers Farrow's body after shooting him dead. Whilst he did not believe that Farrow had been killed accidentally, Smithers bought Forester's story about Farrow attempting to blackmail him and, to ensure that DN6 went into production, he helped to cover up the murder. However, upon finding that a cat had been killed by DN6, he realised how dangerous his creation was and, when PC Bert Rowse entered the cottage after Forester was left unconscious by an explosion, Smithers began to tell him what had happened (TV: Planet of Giants) and showed him Farrow's body. (PROSE: Planet of Giants)
The remaining DN6 was confiscated by Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. (PROSE: The Grandfather Infestation)
Personality
Haunted by what he saw whilst working for the United Nations, Smithers was dedicated to eliminating famine. His obsession resulted in him refusing to face the truth when Farrow told him about the risks of DN6 (PROSE: Planet of Giants) and willing to assist Forester in covering up his murder. (TV: Planet of Giants)
Appearance
Smithers was a sharp-faced little man who wore a white lab coat. (PROSE: Planet of Giants)
Behind the scenes
- Smithers was finally given a first name almost sixty years after his original appearance, with the 2023 novel Imaginary Friends dubbing him "Henry".
- Paul Jones voiced Smithers in the 2012 reconstruction of parts 3 and 4 on the Planet of Giants DVD release.
