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The Leader: Difference between revisions
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See talk page. The Leader was written to be a human in I, Alistair, even if they were not explicitly confirmed as such. If we were to go only acknowledge what is explicitly confirmed and ignore the intentions, then we would also have to ignore the account of the Leader being an alternate Doctor, as that is never explicitly confirmed in Timewyrm either. This article instead treats these as two differing accounts.
(The Leader is never explicitly identified as human in I, Alastair; this came from an interview, not from the book itself. The novel itself is extremely vague about the Leader's background and does not explicitly contradict Timewyrm) Tag: 2017 source edit |
(See talk page. The Leader was written to be a human in I, Alistair, even if they were not explicitly confirmed as such. If we were to go only acknowledge what is explicitly confirmed and ignore the intentions, then we would also have to ignore the account of the Leader being an alternate Doctor, as that is never explicitly confirmed in Timewyrm either. This article instead treats these as two differing accounts.) Tag: Reverted |
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|appearances = {{il|[[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]''}} | |appearances = {{il|[[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]''}} | ||
}}{{Third Doctor counterparts}} | }}{{Third Doctor counterparts}} | ||
In the "[[Inferno universe]]", '''the Leader''' was the dictatorial [[President of Great Britain|President]] of the [[Republic of Great Britain]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Inferno (TV story)}}) Accounts of his origins were conflicted. | |||
One account suggested that he was the version of [[the Doctor]] native to this reality; specifically, instead of rejecting all the faces suggested to him at [[the Doctor's trial (The War Games)|the Doctor's trial]] following ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)}}, [[TV]]: {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}) the [[War Chief incident]], ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|CIA File Extracts (novel)}}) this reality's [[Second Doctor]] had accepted the "thin" face, thus becoming the Leader instead of [[the Doctor's universe|another reality]]'s more heroic [[Third Doctor]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)}}, [[TV]]: {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}) | One account suggested that he was the version of [[the Doctor]] native to this reality; specifically, instead of rejecting all the faces suggested to him at [[the Doctor's trial (The War Games)|the Doctor's trial]] following ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)}}, [[TV]]: {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}) the [[War Chief incident]], ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|CIA File Extracts (novel)}}) this reality's [[Second Doctor]] had accepted the "thin" face, thus becoming the Leader instead of [[the Doctor's universe|another reality]]'s more heroic [[Third Doctor]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)}}, [[TV]]: {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}) | ||
However, another account suggested that, despite "rumours" about him having an augmented lifespan, the Leader was in actuality just a [[human]] tyrant with a strong propaganda machine; indeed, by the time of the [[Inferno Project]], age was beginning to catch up with him beyond what he could disguise in his public appearances. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|I, Alastair (novel)}}) | |||
== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
=== Origins === | === Origins === | ||
[[File:Thin Doctor on screen.jpg|thumb|left|One of the faces suggested to the [[Second Doctor]] by [[Court (The War Games)|the Time Lords]] who [[The Doctor's trial (The War Games)|passed judgement on him]], which, in the usually-depicted course of events, the Doctor rejected for being "too thin", ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'') resembled a younger version of the Leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)|Timewyrm: Revelation]]'')]]According to one account, the Leader came into being because [[Inferno universe]]'s version of the [[Second Doctor (Inferno Earth)|Second Doctor]] selected one of the bodies offered to him by the [[Time Lord]]s after [[the Doctor's trial (The War Games)|his trial]], before being [[exile on Earth|exiled]] to [[Earth]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)|Timewyrm: Revelation]]'') Indeed, one of the faces rejected by the Second Doctor in the conventional version of event was a thin man ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'') with a certain resemblance to the Leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'') | [[File:Thin Doctor on screen.jpg|thumb|left|One of the faces suggested to the [[Second Doctor]] by [[Court (The War Games)|the Time Lords]] who [[The Doctor's trial (The War Games)|passed judgement on him]], which, in the usually-depicted course of events, the Doctor rejected for being "too thin", ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'') resembled a younger version of the Leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)|Timewyrm: Revelation]]'')]]According to one account, the Leader came into being because [[Inferno universe]]'s version of the [[Second Doctor (Inferno Earth)|Second Doctor]] selected one of the bodies offered to him by the [[Time Lord]]s after [[the Doctor's trial (The War Games)|his trial]], before being [[exile on Earth|exiled]] to [[Earth]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)|Timewyrm: Revelation]]'') Indeed, one of the faces rejected by the Second Doctor in the conventional version of event was a thin man ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'') with a certain resemblance to the Leader. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'') | ||
However, another account, while it did not reveal his civilian name, suggested the Leader was merely a human politician, despite propaganda-based rumours of him having a supernaturally-long lifespan. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'') | |||
=== Rise to power === | === Rise to power === | ||
As recounted in the account | As recounted in the account which depicted him as human, the Leader first gained prominence in [[1930s]] [[England]] when he became an associate of [[Oswald Mosley]]. The two were regulars at the Revolutionary Arms pub in Westminster, and a photo from the era showed the future Leader drawing a beer for one of his colleagues — in public, he projected a kind avuncular personality, covering a cold and ruthless core. | ||
He soon became the new leader of the revolutionary movement, following Mosley's assassination while giving a speech at the Free Trade Hall in [[Manchester (city)|Manchester]] in [[1936]]. The Leader crafted Mosley's legacy as a martyr of the British people and successfully broadened the Party's appeal, turning it into a mass movement capable of threatening the establishment. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'') | He soon became the new leader of the revolutionary movement, following Mosley's assassination while giving a speech at the Free Trade Hall in [[Manchester (city)|Manchester]] in [[1936]]. The Leader crafted Mosley's legacy as a martyr of the British people and successfully broadened the Party's appeal, turning it into a mass movement capable of threatening the establishment. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'') | ||
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=== Death === | === Death === | ||
The Leader was | The Leader was killed in 1968 when [[Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Inferno Earth)|Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] opportunistically used his wheelchair as a battering ram during an alien attack on [[Downing Street]]. After his death, the Leader's popularity with the public remained high and years later portraits and posters of him remained omnipresent to cement the legitimacy of President Lethbridge-Stewart's regime. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Night of the Intelligence (novel)|Night of the Intelligence]]'', ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'') | ||
President Lethbridge-Stewart perished during a volcanic catastrophe in the 1970s, when a secret [[Inferno Project|British science project]] conducted at [[Eastchester]], which involved drilling beneath Earth's crust to gain access to pockets of a potential new [[Stahlman's gas|energy source]], went terribly wrong — not only releasing an unidentifiable [[Stahlman's ooze|green, viscous substance]] that transformed humans into savage [[Primord|werewolf-like creatures]] on contact, but also enough energy to devastate the planet beyond recovery. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Face of the Enemy (novel)|The Face of the Enemy]]'') | |||
=== Legacy === | === Legacy === | ||
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== Behind the scenes == | == Behind the scenes == | ||
* A black-and-white photograph of the [[BBC]] [[special effects]] designer [[Jack Kine]] were used to depict the Leader on the ''UNITY IS STRENGTH'' poster in the Technical Store, the Doctor's hut on the regular Earth timeline; and the framed picture on the wall of [[Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigade Leader Lethbridge-Stewart]]'s office in ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]''. However, the Leader never appears on-screen in person and there is no on-screen evidence to suggest that the Doctor and the Leader had any connection; this connection was made only in the novels. | * A black-and-white photograph of the [[BBC]] [[special effects]] designer [[Jack Kine]] were used to depict the Leader on the ''UNITY IS STRENGTH'' poster in the Technical Store, the Doctor's hut on the regular Earth timeline; and the framed picture on the wall of [[Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigade Leader Lethbridge-Stewart]]'s office in ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]''. However, the Leader never appears on-screen in person and there is no on-screen evidence to suggest that the Doctor and the Leader had any connection; this connection was made only in the novels. | ||
* It remains unclear as to whether the Leader who perished in the devastation of Earth following the disastrous events at Eastchester in the 1970s was the alternate Doctor or Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. | |||
* [[Robert Mammone]], interviewed in 2021, noted that the Leader's paranoia and tendency to play cabinet members off against each other are based on [[Joseph Stalin]]. He also admitted that when writing it, he had forgotten about Paul Cornell's implication that the Inferno Earth ruler was a version of the Doctor; "in my head, the Leader was just another in a long line of very human tyrants".<ref>Interview in ''Doctor Who - The Mind-Blowing Secret Of This 1970 Photo''.</ref> | * [[Robert Mammone]], interviewed in 2021, noted that the Leader's paranoia and tendency to play cabinet members off against each other are based on [[Joseph Stalin]]. He also admitted that when writing it, he had forgotten about Paul Cornell's implication that the Inferno Earth ruler was a version of the Doctor; "in my head, the Leader was just another in a long line of very human tyrants".<ref>Interview in ''Doctor Who - The Mind-Blowing Secret Of This 1970 Photo''.</ref> | ||
