Theory:Timeline - The Brigadier
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This page lists the appearances of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the order in which he experienced them.
Timeline[[edit source]]
Early Life[[edit source]]
- Alistair is 7 years years old and James is still alive. They live with their mother Mary Lethbridge-Stewart in Bledoe. James is a member of the Bledoe Cadets, though Alistair is told he's too young to join.
- PROSE: The Forgotten Son (flashbacks)
- Alistair is a 7-year-old child and has his 8th birthday. James dies.
- Alistair's father is still at war, though he briefly returned for James' funeral. Alistair still lives with his mother at Redrose Cottage in Bledoe.
- 1945 - PROSE: In His Kiss
- Alistair is a 15-year-old boy. Jemima Fleming shares a kiss with Alistair before she is taken away to apparently have a baby.
- Following the pronouncement of Alistair's father as MIA at the end of World War II, his extended family visit Bledoe for the funeral. His grandfather recieves a note from his deceased son which reveals he knows Archibald is the biological father of Alistair Jr. It is not revealed whether he tells his grandson at this point.
- (SEGMENT) Following the events of The Note, Alistair and Mary depart Bledoe for Lancashire. Alistair has forgotten his brother by now. Jemima returns to Bledoe and finds Alistair has forgotten her as well. (PROSE: In His Kiss)
- PROSE: Deadly Reunion (part 1)
- Set just after WWII.
- Alistair is called upon for National Service in the Korean War.
- 1956 - PROSE: The Lock-In (flashbacks)
- Alistair is a Captain of the Scots Guards. The Great Intelligence, heading backwards in time, attempts to kill Alistair, but fails.
- Set in 1967. Alistair has recently been recruited into UNIT and is a Corporal. He makes a call to the RAF.
First Contact and HAVOC[[edit source]]
- Set in February 1969.
- Direct prequel to The Web of Fear.
- Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart meets the Second Doctor for the first time.
- Set directly after The Web of Fear. Set in March 1969 according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in April 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in April 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in May 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in May 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in May 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set from May to June 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in June 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in July 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in July 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in July 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in August 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in September 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in September 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- : Set in September 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in October 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in October 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating and set concurrently with Times Squared.
- Set in October 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in December 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in December 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in December 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in December 1969, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Set in August 1970, according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- The Brigadier meets Fiona for the first time.
- Set shortly after Domination Game.
- Set a few months after Domination Game.
- Set after Warriors of Montu.
- Set after Blue Blood.
The UNIT Years[[edit source]]
- With his "new unit" newly-formed, the young Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart oversees their moving into new HQ.
- The Brigadier's previous encounter with the Doctor was during the events of The Invasion.
Working with the Doctor and Liz Shaw[[edit source]]
- The Doctor has regenerated from his previous incarnation. Upon recovering, he assists UNIT in combating the Nestene Consciousness's Auton invasion and is asked by Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart to become UNIT's scientific advisor with Dr. Liz Shaw, and he accepts in return for a car.
- (FLASHBACK)
- The Brigadier buys a car from a dealership as a "sweetener" for the Doctor, who has recently joined UNIT. She is taken back to UNIT HQ where she is unveiled to the Doctor. The Doctor names her Bessie and begins work on refurbishment. (AUDIO: Bessie Come Home)
- Liz is examining the leftovers of the Auton invasion, setting this shortly after Spearhead from Space.
- The Doctor has not yet had an adventure on Earth without the Brigadier since his exile began.
- The Doctor encounters the Silurians for the first time, but, to his dismay, they are killed and their city destroyed on the Brigadier's orders.
- The Brigadier tracks down the Doctor after he absconded following Doctor Who and the Silurians.
- The outcome of Doctor Who and the Silurians is still fresh on the Doctor's mind.
- RAF Lieutenant Mike Yates is asked to join UNIT, with a promotion from lieutenant to captain.
- The Doctor is still unhappy about the outcome of Doctor Who and the Silurians. Liz mentions Captain Yates, setting this after Vengeance of the Stones.
- Set a few weeks after Doctor Who and the Silurians.
- The Doctor has yet to forgive the Brigadier for the outcome of Doctor Who and the Silurians. Corporal Benton has only recently been promoted to Sergeant.
-
- Set concurrently to The Ambassadors of Death. Set in 1973 according to Candy Jar Books dating.
- Liz has been working with UNIT for "a few months", and her complaints about her job here are similar to those that the Brigadier cites as her reason for leaving. The TARDIS console has also been removed from within the ship, as it was in The Ambassadors of Death.
- This is the second time the Doctor has visited a zoo, setting this after The Arkwood Experiments.
- The Brigadier finds it doubtful that the Doctor can get the TARDIS to work, setting this before Inferno.
- The Doctor uses the TARDIS console to transport himself, Liz and the Brigadier a short distance.
- Concludes shortly before Inferno.
- In an attempt to get his TARDIS working, the Doctor is transported to a different dimension, where the Earth is destroyed as a result of the Inferno Project. Returning to his own dimension before the destruction, the Doctor is able to prevent the Inferno Project from destroying it.
- Set immediately after Inferno.
- It is summer.
- Sergeant Mike Yates sees inside the TARDIS for the first time, and the Doctor mentions visiting the parallel universe from Inferno.
- Liz decides to leave UNIT.
- Liz announces her intentions to leave UNIT.
- Liz officially leaves UNIT, Yates is promoted to from sergeant to captain, and the Doctor is in a new laboratory.
- Liz has just recently left UNIT.
- Set after Doctor Who and the Silurians.
- Liz is called back to UNIT, and has been absent long enough for the Doctor to admit missing her company.
- The Master is at large, setting this after Prisoners of the Sun.
- Liz has decided to tell the Doctor about her decision to officially leave UNIT, setting this after the Doctor found out from the Brigadier during Prisoner of the Sun.
Jo Grant[[edit source]]
- Jo Grant joins UNIT as the Doctor's new assistant, just in time for UNIT's first open battle with the Master. The Doctor steals a dematerialisation circuit from the Master's TARDIS, stranding his new enemy on Earth with him.
- Set in either 1970 (AUDIO: The Other Woman) or 1972 (AUDIO: The Sacrifice of Jo Grant).
- Though the audio's blurb places it between The Dæmons and Day of the Daleks, Jo is still quite new to UNIT, and is unaware of the true nature of the TARDIS, setting this before The Claws of Axos.
- The Master reclaims his dematerialisation circuit, and promptly leaves in his TARDIS.
- The Master has a working TARDIS, setting this after The Mind of Evil.
- The Doctor hasn't seen the Master since Deadly Reunion.
- Set during Jo's first year at UNIT. The Doctor doesn't have the TARDIS working yet, and UNIT considerers the Master a threat to Earth safety, setting this between The Mind of Evil and Colony in Space.
- From a deal with the Master, the Doctor is able to restore his TARDIS back to working order, only to discover the Time Lords have programmed it to always return him to 20th century Earth.
- The Mega received advice from the Master, setting this after he got his TARDIS working in The Mind of Evil. The Nuton Power Complex is referenced, setting this after The Claws of Axos.
- Jo visits her first alien planet.
- After his failed escape attempt upon his defeat in Devil's End, the Master is arrested by UNIT.
- Set after the Master's arrest in The Dæmons.
- The events of Freedom are mentioned.
- Set between The Dæmons and Day of the Daleks.[source needed]
- Set sometime after The Dæmons, and not long before The Face of the Enemy, as the Master is being held in Aylesbury Grange Detention Centre.
- The Eighth Doctor claims that the Third Doctor is about to have his exile ended by the Time Lords, setting this not long before The Three Doctors. The Brig initially assumes an Ogron he encounters is left over from the events of Day of the Daleks, setting this soon after that story.
- The Doctor refers to the events of Day of the Daleks.
- Set between The Dæmons and The Sea Devils, as the Master is still in prison. The Brigadier mentions the Daleks, setting this after Day of the Daleks.
- Set concurrently with The Curse of Peladon.
- Set shortly after The Curse of Peladon.
- The Master changes the internal configuration of the Doctor's TARDIS, setting this after The Curse of Peladon, and before The Sea Devils, as the Master is sent to Fortress Island.
- The Master is said to be locked up on a secure island, setting this shortly before The Sea Devils.
- Set after The Sea Devils, as the Doctor is making a device to track the Master and Jo has encountered the Daleks.
- Set after The Mutants, as Jo hasn't been in the TARDIS very often, the Master is free and the Doctor is anticipating being freed from his exile soon.
- Authorial intent places this between Day of the Daleks and The Time Monster.[source needed]
- The events of The Mutants are mentioned.
- Set three years after Spearhead from Space. The Doctor lists his work for the Time Lords, with The Mutants being the last one he mentions. This is also where UNIT acquires the manor house seen in The Three Doctors.
- Jo recalls the events of The Sea Devils. Jo and Liz meet for the first time, and the Doctor and Liz last saw each other in The Sentinels of the New Dawn.
- The Doctor and Liz spend some time together and reference her departure from UNIT, setting this after Primord. Supposedly set in January 1971.
- Jo recalls her recent encounter with Liz, setting this shortly after Primord.
- Jo recalls the Daleks and Ogrons, setting this after Day of the Daleks. Likewise, the Doctor confesses that sheep have never filled him with dread before, setting this before Verdigris.
- Jo comments on the TARDIS's new interior design, which the Doctor dismisses as a "redecoration".
- Ending leads directly into The Three Doctors.
- The Doctor's knowledge of time travel is restored to him as a reward for defeating Omega. However, he doesn't leave immediately, as he needs to fix up the TARDIS further.
- The Scorchies song mentions the Gell guards, setting this after The Three Doctors. The Doctor is still working on the TARDIS.
- In the first artificial scenario, the Brigadier refers to the Doctor recently being released from his exile on Earth by the Time Lords, setting this shortly after The Three Doctors.
- The Doctor has had his ability to pilot the TARDIS returned to him recently, setting this shortly after The Three Doctors.
- The Doctor admits to Jo that he has come to find comfort in Earth since his exile was lifted, and that he reason he keeps returning is to see his friends there. Some of his abilities that were previously blocked by the Time Lords are still returning, setting this shortly after The Three Doctors.
- The Doctor's exile has been recently lifted, setting this shortly after The Three Doctors.
- Set before Frontier in Space.[source needed]
- The Doctor has recently been to Spiridon, setting this after Planet of the Daleks.
- Set a week after Planet of the Daleks. The Doctor and Jo have spent the past few weeks trying and failing to get to Metebelis III.
- Jo is familiar with the Doctor entering comas, setting this after Planet of the Daleks.
- Jo demonstrates her growing environmental awareness, setting this after Come Friendly Bombs....
- Set between Planet of the Daleks and The Green Death.[source needed]
- Jo leaves UNIT, and the Doctor's company, to marry ecologist Professor Clifford Jones.
- Benton refers to the events of The Green Death.
- The Brig encounters the Fifth Doctor while the Third is having a break from UNIT.
- Set before The Time Warrior.
Sarah Jane[[edit source]]
- The Doctor meets Sarah Jane Smith, who becomes a reluctant stowaway aboard the TARDIS.
- Set immediately after The Time Warrior, with the Doctor returning Sarah home. She decides to officially join the Doctor's company.
- The Doctor is driving the "Whomobile", setting this after Invasion of the Dinosaurs. The Doctor and Sarah have been absent from UNIT long enough for it to have been infiltrated by the Remoraxians. Liz, Sarah Jane and the Brigadier are kidnapped Adam Mitchell, leading directly into Endgame.
- Sarah mentions her vacation in Sicily, setting this after The Ghosts of N-Space.
- Set after The Monster of Peladon.[source needed]
- Set shortly before Planet of the Spiders.
- Confronting the Great One of the Eight Legs, the Doctor receives a lethal dose of radiation, but is able to escape in the TARDIS.
- The Doctor is using the secondary control room, setting this after The Masque of Mandragora.
- The Seventh Doctor implants the idea of the Brigadier retiring.
- Both Benton and The Brigadier work for UNIT, setting this at least before the Brigadier's retirement in 1976.
Retirement[[edit source]]
- Story concludes with the 1981 Brigadier visiting the bar at the Hotel de Rois, leading directly into The Revisionists.
- The Brigadier visits Geneva to finalise the details of his retirement. He has left Colonel Cosworth to run UNIT in his absence.
- On his last day at HQ, the Brigadier is briefly transported back in time to his first, meeting his younger self.
- Shortly after retiring, and a week before taking on his new post as a maths teacher, Alistair takes a holiday in Yorkshire and helps put an end to a murder spree.
Working at Brendon school[[edit source]]
- In 1977 and while working at Brendon school, the Brigadier comes into contact with his future self and loses his memories of the Doctor because of this.
- Set in 1979, two years after the Brigadier lost his memories. The Brigadier is working at Brendon Public School.
- Set in 1982. The Brigadier is still working at Brendon Public School.
- In 1983, the Brigadier regains his memories of the Doctor after coming into contact with his past self from 1977.
- The Brigadier attends a UNIT reunion and meets with his successor, Colonel Crichton.
- Set during The Five Doctors.
- Set in 1989. The Brigadier meets the Sixth Doctor for the first time and the last time he saw the Doctor was during The Five Doctors. He is still working at Brendon school and after being reminded of Doris, begins thinking he should get back in touch with her.
- Set in September to December 1989. The Brigadier is visited by Kate, who tells him that she's pregnant.
- Set January 1st 1990. The Brigadier discovers that he has a son with Doris Wilson.
- The Sixth Doctor accidentally orchestrates a reunion between the Brigadier and Doris, setting this after Business Unusual.
- Set in 1995, The Brigadier hasn't seen Kate since 1989. He claims to have been working at Brendon Public School for "twenty-odd" years and is retiring soon.
Return to UNIT[[edit source]]
- Set during Christmas 1995 according to Not in My Back Yard. The Brigadier is in his 70s, despite the fact that the Brigadier would be 65 in 1995. He has retired again and buys a speed boat, but the First Doctor warns him about it, hinting that it could cause a death in the future.
- Set in 1997. The Brigadier has retired from teaching and is married to Doris.
- The Brigadier and Doris reminisce over their wedding photographs, only to discover that the Seventh Doctor has changed the timeline so that he could be there.
- The Brigadier has already met the Seventh Doctor. The Brigadier appears to have returned to active duty, but is not yet a general, setting this before The Dying Days.
- The Brigadier has come out of retirement to aid Brigadier Bambera. He spends Christmas with Doris and his nephew's family.
- Set in 1997. The Brigadier is promoted to the rank of General.
- Set in 1999.
- Set in 1999. The Brigadier has met nine incarnations of the Doctor.
New Millenium, New Challenges[[edit source]]
- Set in 2000.
- Set in 2001.
- Set in 2003.
- Set in late 2004, according to Rise of the Dominator.
- Set in early 2005, according to Rise of the Dominator.
- Set on 2 June 2005. The Brigadier is present for the birth of his granddaughter, Lucy Wilson.
- The Brigadier is plucked out of time from 2005, shortly after the birth of Lucy Wilson.
- Set in the late 1990s or early 2000s. The Brig meets the Ninth Doctor for the first time. Ending leads directly into The Forth Generation.
- The Brigadier meets the Tenth Doctor for the first time. If the Doctor is synchronised with Earth then this would be set roughly around 2006 or 2007.
- Set in 2009.
- The Brigadier is retired and still married to Doris. He refers to his encounter with the Eighth Doctor in Malebolgia in 2003.
Losing Doris[[edit source]]
- Set in 2010. The Brigadier regains his youth.
- Doris passed away in a boating accident some time before 2012. He presumably spends many years in Avalon before reurning to Earth only a few years later.
- According to one account, The Brigadier is still alive on 25 September 2050 at the age of one-hundred-and-twenty-one. He physically appears to be around 75 years old and returned to Earth from Avalon roughly twenty years after he left.
- (NOTE)
- The First Doctor in collaboration with his other incarnations, visits the Brigadier in December 1995 and convinces him to get rid of his newly acquired boat, vaguely implying that something bad would happen if he kept it. (PROSE: The Gift) Evidently the Doctor was successful and erased The Shadows of Avalon from the timeline, creating a new version of history where the Brigadier and Doris live happily in Cheldon Bonniface until at least 2017. (PROSE: Not in My Back Yard)
Retiring to Cheldon Bonniface[[edit source]]
- Set in 2010. The Brigadier regains his youth.
- According to one account, the Brigadier and Doris remained it Cheldon Bonniface following the events of Happy Endings and were both still alive by 2017. The Doctor claims that the Brigadier and Doris still owe him for "Christmas 95" seemingly referencing the events of The Gift and implying that Doris would’ve died if not for his intervention.
The Laughing Gnome[[edit source]]
- Set directly after Fear of the Web.
Final days[[edit source]]
- Set between November and December 2011.
- The Brigadier is on his death-bed. He has a brandy out for the Doctor.
- Set on Friday 16th December 2011. The Brigadier passes away.
- According to one account, The Brigadier passes away after a period infirmity at a duchy in Geneva.
- Set in 2014. The Brigadier is resurrected as a Cyberman.
Alternate timelines and universes[[edit source]]
Silurian Earth[[edit source]]
- When Mortimus meddled with the timeline and caused the Doctor to be killed during his first encounter with the Silurians, a parallel universe came into existence. In this universe the Silurians took back control of the planet Earth. An alternate version of the Brigadier inhabited this universe.
Wolfsbane[[edit source]]
- In a timeline where Harry Sullivan turned into a werewolf and killed Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor responded to The Brigadier's distress call in Scotland alone.
Sympathy for the Devil universe[[edit source]]
- In 1997, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart joins the Doctor in his travels.
Bloodlines[[edit source]]
- Set in an alternate timeline February 1969, where the Brigadier is called Archie Lethbridge-Stewart.
- Set in an alternate 2021 and features Archie Lethbridge-Stewart.
Unsorted stories[[edit source]]
- The Brigadier is working with UNIT and encounters the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough, suggesting a setting after The Five Doctors.
- Doris has been dead for some years. The Brigadier is a general and has already met Charley Pollard, setting this after Minuet in Hell. Colonel Emily Chaudhry appears to be in charge of UNIT.