Aloysius Parker
Aloysius Parker, usually just known by his last name, was the assistant of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, acting as her butler and chauffeur.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Meeting Lady Penelope[[edit] | [edit source]]
Prior to meeting Lady Penelope, Parker was a "burglar supreme" and an "absolute master" of his trade, having sometimes seen her picture in "the glossies" as he was casing joints.
One night, he was confronted by Penelope as he was in the process of depriving a house of its jewels, who claimed it was not difficult to learn his movements and plans. She recruited him as a chauffeur and butler, threatening to go to the police if he did not comply. They travelled to the Luthvian embassy where Parker used his skills to open a safe containing one-of-a-kind blueprints. They took them back to Creighton-Ward Manor but men hired by Mr Steelman attempted to storm the mansion. Having faith in her defences, she entrusted the plans to Parker before going to sleep. However, Parker was knocked out with a blow to the head by a masked man who turned out to be Roger Lyon, another of Penelope's agents, who had orders to destroy the plans.
After receiving a signal that Roger was in danger, Parker used FAB 1 to track him but when the signal indicated Roger was at sea, the duo boarded Penelope's yacht Seabird I en route for Naples. Mr Steelman blew up the boat with a missile but the garage was explosive-proof and they both survived to eventually meet Steelman in his base under Vesuvius. Steelman's men initially restrained Parker and he was forced to watch as Penelope was about to be executed but she tricked one of them into releasing a gas concealed in her lipstick, giving Parker and Roger the opportunity to overpower the rest of the men. After lava from the volcano started to engulf the base after an explosive was detonated during the fight, the trio escaped and, having defeated Steelman for the time being, Parker returned to England with Penelope. (COMIC: Mr. Steelman [+]Loading...["Mr. Steelman (comic story)"])
In an account dated to 1997, Lady Creighton-Ward lived not far from the Seventh Doctor's house on Allen Road. Consequently, Bernice Summerfield had often seen her being driven around the Kent countryside. (PROSE: The Dying Days)
Working for TV 21[[edit] | [edit source]]
Parker assisted Penelope in tracking down, and forcing a confession out of, the notorious gambler and gunman Count Lugosti, who they had deduced had been the hired gun who assassinated the 610th Kaplan of Astra during his official visit to Unity City. (COMIC: Assassination!, On the Trail of the Kaplan's Killer...)
Parker accompanied Lady Penelope to Paris when she went to write an article about the rebuilding of the city. He investigated the area beneath the Banque Nationale with Penelope after she suspected sabotage but they were both arrested after emerging from the hideout, which Penelope determined had been used by Mr Steelman. The duo escaped using one of Lady Penelope's devices which cut a hole in the cell wall and left Paris for Strasbourg. Parker used his expertise to break into the Trans-Europe Monorail Headquarters as Mr Steelman had done the previous day, with Penelope discovering that one thousand million pounds of gold was scheduled to be taken from Strasbourg to Berlin to pay for isotopes. (COMIC: The Return of Mr. Steelman) On 14 August, reports came into TV 21 that Parker and Penelope had broken their way into the bullion train. (PROSE: Ghost Ship Hunted!) Remaining on the train until Mr Steelman derailed the train into a lake in preparation for stealing the gold, Parker and Penelope returned to Strasbourg in order to get FAB 1. The next day, Parker engaged Steelman's robots in a firefight which was ultimately ended by Penelope throwing a case of explosive cigarettes from the car around them. Although Steelman himself escaped again, they told the German authorities of the gold and a police officer promised to arrange the dropping of the charges against them both. (COMIC: The Return of Mr. Steelman)
Parker was familiar with the Daleks and how deadly they were, and was thus reluctant when Penelope told him to accompany her to a dinner "with the Daleks", although she then explained that she was actually referring by shorthand to the actors who had starred in Dr. Who and the Daleks, (PROSE: Lady Penelope Investigates the stars of the Sensational new film Dr. Who and the Daleks!) a film released in 2065 and based on real events. (PROSE: Peaceful Thals Ambushed!)
In November 2065, Parker accompanied Penelope to the Isle of Arran in search of a valuable ruby. While on the island, they pursued a mysterious man who used the call sign "Hawk" and aimed to locate the ruby's hiding place first. The Hawk made several attacks on them both and, at some point, Penelope's vehicle Fab One was damaged beyond use, later being repaired. (PROSE: FAB1 Back in Action!)
As agents for International Rescue[[edit] | [edit source]]
Recruitment[[edit] | [edit source]]
After Lady Penelope received a mysterious invisible ray torch, Parker admitted to Creighton-Ward Manor that two parties were interested in stealing it, namely Steel of the British Secret Service and the Hood, both of whom used the cover of a salesman for the latest Universal Cook Book. They each left without the torch, partly thanks to Parker pickpocketing it from Steel. He and Penelope were then arrested by MI5 and taken to London for interrogation but were released from custody soon after. Later in the night, the Hood involved them in a brief car chase but Parker used the oil slip function of FAB 1 to quickly end it. When Penelope knocked the Hood unconscious with a chandelier after he attempted to infiltrate her home as a police officer, Parker drove back to London to annoymously hand him over to the Secret Service. The next day, Jeff Tracy and Brains visited and revealed to Penelope that the delivery of the torch had been a test to determine whether she was fit to handle the British end of International Rescue. Jeff subsequently offered her the role of London agent, a position she eagerly accepted, before Parker drove them all to the airport so he and Penelope could see off their new colleagues. (COMIC: The Vanishing Ray)
Further escapades with Lady Penelope[[edit] | [edit source]]
As Parker finished some shopping, he was arrested for the robbery of the London Silver Vaults but Lady Penelope was able to convince the inspector to let them investigate. Later, Parker admitted one of Mr Steelman's gynoids to Creighton-Ward Manor but was able to incapacitate her when it tried to kill Penelope. Following a lead to Steelman's abandoned hideout, they discovered he was planning to break the bank in the Monte Carlo casino. They watched as a gynoid cleared it out and then Parker followed her to discover the hiding place of the ill-gotten gains, a lake, before buying some fishing tackle from a sports equipment shop in the town to retrieve them. Lady Penelope subsequently returned to FAB 2 to pursue Mr Steelman after Parker observed him drive into the water with his car. Penelope completely foiled Steelman's plans and when he attempted to escape by resurfacing in his car, Parker fired a machine cannon at him and fished him from the water, later annoymously donating him to the police. (COMIC: The Great Silver Robbery!)
As they prepared to leave Monte Carlo, Lady Penelope received an emergency call signal from Roger Lyon, who told her that the Bereznik agent Hermutt Clinger was planning to assassinate the World Government Defence Minister, before the transmission was cut, leading to Parker driving her to Paris to help. They first went to the Hotel Scores-Vaneau, where Roger was staying, and while there Parker helped Penelope escape a fire started by Clinger. They then followed a clue to the Roof Top Club and he recognised the spy; Parker drank lemonade while Penelope unsuccessfully pursued him. Regrouping the next day, they finally figured out the location of Clinger's hideout and rescued Roger after Parker picked the lock and pushed him over the balcony. However, Clinger survived and chased FAB 1 in his car until Parker deployed the oil slip. Upon inspecting the crash site, Penelope was shot by Clinger. After Roger returned fire and killed him, he and Parker carried her back to FAB 1 and took her to the Reinstat Clinic, as specially requested by Penelope, where Doctor Reinstat treated her for her injuries. After her recovery, Penelope told Parker to ensure that the news of her death was published with her photograph to prevent Bereznik from coming after them again. The trio of special agents returned to Monte Carlo and rode FAB 2 back to England. (COMIC: The Assassination Threat)
Helping MI5[[edit] | [edit source]]
When Jeff sent Lady Penelope to Monte Carlo to meet with MI5 agent Jimmy Bondson regarding a stolen nuclear device, Parker travelled ahead of her and prepared her yacht FAB 2 for use when she got there, also picking her up from Nice airport in FAB 1. He drove her to the meeting place in the Forest of Digne and fired a warning shot at Bondson when he attempted to turn around and discover Penelope's identity. As her plan to draw out the culprits involved her being kidnapped alone, after he contacted the local newspaper, she gave Parker the night off and he ultimately decided to go gambling at the casino. When the affair was over and Parker had helped deliver the plans to the device back to Bondson, he reluctantly revealed to Penelope that he had lost at the casino and, after more questioning on her part, he finally told her he had lost her yacht. (TV: The Man from MI.5)
After some adventures in Australia, Lady Penelope returned home to find a letter from Century 21 Film Productions inviting her to meet with casting director Digby Short the following week. Short offered her a starring role in the next motion picture and, although she had initially decided to decline the opportunity at a luncheon with producer Mr Andershill, Jimmy Bondson slipped her a note telling her to take the role while posing as a waiter. After they finished, Bondson led her to Colonel Thomas, the head of the British Secret Service, who explained that her co-star was to be Paul Carson, a suspected Bereznik agent, a suspicion for which they wanted proof. The preliminary script discussions took place in London during which time she was the target of an assassination attempt by her old nemesis Mr Steelman. However, the attack failed and Parker escorted him back to the authorities once his cover was blown. Before they left for Hollywood, Penelope examined a script which Parker had stolen from Carson's dressing room and met with Colonel Thomas for a second time, both leads which confirmed that Carson's plan involved a World Government aerial car in the Borrego Desert. Once in California, she and Parker investigated the research station by breaking in. They had a close encounter with some guard dogs but Penelope used her atomiser spray to knock them out and she also knocked a a security guard to unconsciousness during their escape. She continued with filming for a time until she and Parker followed Carson to a rendezvous where he was given the plans to the aerial car. Carson noticed them and threatened Penelope at gunpoint but, after he failed to penetrate the bulletproof FAB 1, a chase ensued onto the winding roads of the high hills. Carson's vehicle was not designed for such terrain and he plummeted to his death. With no star, Penelope's film was cancelled and she and Parker returned to England and she briefed Colonel Thomas upon their return. (COMIC: Desert Drama)
Other references[[edit] | [edit source]]
On a spaceship, after finding a vehicle, the Fourteenth Doctor imitated Parker, saying "Your car, milady", with Donna responding "Thank you, Parker!". (TV: Wild Blue Yonder [+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"])
Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]
Lady Penelope described Parker as "an old snob"; though normally talking in a cockney accent, he put on "his poshest posh accent" when in front of Roy Castle and Jennie Linden to impress them. (PROSE: Lady Penelope Investigates the stars of the Sensational new film Dr. Who and the Daleks!)
Although it was initially a relationship born from blackmail, (COMIC: Mr. Steelman) Parker grew to be extremely loyal to Lady Penelope and was almost always by her side. (COMIC: Assassination!) Despite no longer being a criminal who stole for his own gain, Parker still occasionally honed his skills when the forces of good called for it, such as when he broke into the Trans-Europe Monorail Headquarters in pursuit of Mr Steelman (COMIC: The Return of Mr. Steelman) or when he pickpocketed the invisible ray torch from Steel, who had tried to take it without permission from Creighton-Ward Manor. (COMIC: The Vanishing Ray) It was not, however, a life he left behind easily, as Parker openly noted how he wouldn't have minded robbing the bullion train himself if Mr Steelman wasn't already planning on it. (COMIC: The Return of Mr. Steelman) When given a night off in Monte Carlo, Parker attempted to bring his burglary tools with him, only to give them up after he was caught by Penelope, telling a feeble lie in the process. As he left FAB 2, his sights now set on the casino, he muttered to himself "How she expects me to keep my hand in, I don't know". (TV: The Man from MI.5)
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
In A Good Man Goes to War, Madame Vastra's chauffeur is named Parker, and their brief exchange of dialogue, ending with Vastra's Parker quoting Aloysius Parker's signature phrase, "Yes, m'lady," was a tribute to the character.
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
