The Leader: Difference between revisions
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I tried my hardest to engage with BlueSupergiant on the talk page, but thus far they have been unreceptive to anything I said; they are intent on pushing an opinion derived from a single interview and ignoring all contrary evidence from the novel and other statements by the author.
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(I tried my hardest to engage with BlueSupergiant on the talk page, but thus far they have been unreceptive to anything I said; they are intent on pushing an opinion derived from a single interview and ignoring all contrary evidence from the novel and other statements by the author.) Tag: 2017 source edit |
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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}} | ||
'''The Leader''' was the dictatorial [[President of Great Britain|President]] of the [[Republic of Great Britain]] and supreme head of the [[British Empire]] on the [[Inferno universe|Inferno Earth]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'') | |||
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]]: | 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]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)|Timewyrm: Revelation]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'') the [[War Chief incident]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[CIA File Extracts (novel)|CIA File Extracts]]'') 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]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)|Timewyrm: Revelation]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'') | ||
Another account was far more vague about his background; leaving it ambiguous whether he was [[human]] or an [[alien|extra-terrestrial]]. Commenting on his health he refers to his "hearts" in the plural. [[Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Inferno Earth)|Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] recalled meeting a Party "zealot" who believed the Leader used to have the ability to extend his life through a "[[regeneration|miraculous procedure]]" that had since been taken away from him. The Leader also showed a streak of paranoia when Lethbridge-Stewart suggested aliens may have infiltrated the Cabinet. Whatever the case, by [[1968]] the Leader was increasingly frail, despite his official portrait still depicting him as a healthy middle-aged man. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'') | |||
== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
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[[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]]'') | ||
Another account gave no overt clarification of the Leader's species, leaving it possible he was merely a human politician. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'') | |||
=== Rise to power === | === Rise to power === | ||
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=== Years in power === | === Years in power === | ||
By 1968, the Leader had become irritable and paranoid, sacking members of his Cabinet for perceived slights and failings, demoting Arthur Fless, Director of Information, to a remote colonial posting in West Africa for failing to locate an illegal radio transmitter interrupting [[BBC (in-universe)|BBC]] broadcasts with anti-Party propaganda in the London area. His health had severely declined and he was visibly elderly as his age caught up with him; he spent two months at his seaside retreat in Bognor Regis to convalesce from a condition afflicting his | By 1968, the Leader had become irritable and paranoid, sacking members of his Cabinet for perceived slights and failings, demoting Arthur Fless, Director of Information, to a remote colonial posting in West Africa for failing to locate an illegal radio transmitter interrupting [[BBC (in-universe)|BBC]] broadcasts with anti-Party propaganda in the London area. His health had severely declined and he was visibly elderly as his age caught up with him; he spent two months at his seaside retreat in Bognor Regis to convalesce from a condition afflicting his hearts but suffered a stroke soon after, confining him to a wheelchair. The Cabinet had started jockeying for power on assumption the Leader would not survive much longer, but he still retained his intelligence and cunning. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'') | ||
=== Death === | === Death === | ||
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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. | ||
* | * In ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'' it is implied the Leader may not be entirely human. (He could not be explicitly confirmed to be a version of the Doctor for legal reasons). At the very least it is hinted he may be a [[Time Lord]]. When speaking of his heart condition the Leader says that his "hearts are not what they once were"; there is a rumour that he could once [[regeneration|extend his life]]; when Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart starts referring to alien infiltration, the Leader initially seems about to have him dragged away (which Gordon takes as meaning he's not convincing him). | ||
* [[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> In the press release for ''I, Alastair'' Mammone mentioned that [[Andy Frankham-Allen]] had helped him with continuity references he may have missed, saying that; "I had a lot of fun throwing in bits and pieces that call back to events in the ''Doctor Who'' universe. Andy [Frankham-Allen] is as always a font of information about the setting, and was a great sounding board when I found myself lost in the weeds. His work editing [''I, Alastair''] has made it an even better book".<ref>[https://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/files/I_Alastair_Press_Release.pdf ''I, Alastair'' Press Release]</ref> | ||
== Footnotes == | == Footnotes == | ||
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[[Category:Feminists]] | [[Category:Feminists]] | ||
[[Category:Forced regenerations]] | [[Category:Forced regenerations]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Individuals of unknown species]] | ||
[[Category:Inferno Earth individuals]] | [[Category:Inferno Earth individuals]] | ||
[[Category:Murderers]] | [[Category:Murderers]] | ||
[[Category:Politicians]] | [[Category:Politicians]] | ||
[[Category:Revolutionaries]] | [[Category:Revolutionaries]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Wheelchair users]] | ||
