Honestly, if you ask any old-school fan who the most important person in Doctor Who is, they might not even say the Doctor. They’ll say the Brig.
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. It's a mouthful, yeah. But for anyone who grew up watching the show in the 70s, he was the anchor. While the Doctor was busy being alien and eccentric, the Brigadier was there with a clipped British accent and a mustache that could probably command its own battalion. He didn't just represent the military; he represented us. The normal people trying to make sense of a universe where plastic shop mannequins come to life and try to kill you in the street.
Who was the man behind the mustache?
The Brigadier didn't actually start as a Brigadier. When we first met him in the 1968 story The Web of Fear, he was just a Colonel. Played by the legendary Nicholas Courtney—who, fun fact, had already appeared in the show as a totally different character named Bret Vyon—he was brought in to handle a Yeti invasion in the London Underground.
The director, Douglas Camfield, actually wanted a different actor for the role, but when that guy backed out, Courtney stepped in. Talk about a stroke of luck.
What made him work immediately was his reaction to the Doctor. Most people in sci-fi spend twenty minutes screaming or fainting when they see a time machine. Not our Alistair. He basically looked at the TARDIS, accepted that it was a box that was bigger on the inside, and immediately asked how it could help him win the war. That’s the Brig in a nutshell: practical, slightly stubborn, but ultimately the most reliable guy in the room.
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The UNIT years and the "Five rounds rapid" vibe
When Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor got exiled to Earth, the show changed. It became a bit of a Bond-style thriller, and the Brigadier was the boss. He was the head of UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), and he hired the Doctor as a "Scientific Advisor."
Basically, he was the only man to ever really be the Doctor's boss.
They bickered. A lot. The Doctor would call him a "pompous bowl of porridge" or criticize his "military mind," and the Brig would just sigh and tell his men to "fire five rounds rapid" at whatever monster was currently melting the scenery. But beneath the eye-rolling, there was this deep, soul-level respect.
Why fans still love him
- He stayed when others left. Companions come and go, but the Brig was a constant for decades.
- The "Splendid Chaps" moment. He’s one of the few humans to have met almost every version of the Doctor. In The Five Doctors, he looks at the Second Doctor and just accepts the madness.
- He wasn't a superhero. He made mistakes. He famously blew up the Silurians against the Doctor's wishes, a moment that still sparks debates in fan forums today. He was human, flawed, and fiercely protective of Earth.
The Brigadier: What most people get wrong
There’s this idea that the Brigadier was just a "shoot first, ask questions later" kind of guy. That's a bit of a caricature. If you actually watch stories like Inferno or Mawdryn Undead, you see a lot of layers.
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In Inferno, Nicholas Courtney plays an alternate-universe version of the character—the "Brigade Leader"—who is a cruel, scarred fascist. It’s a chilling performance because it shows us what our Brigadier could have been if he didn't have a moral compass. It proved that his "stiff upper lip" wasn't just a British trope; it was a choice to be a good man in a crazy world.
Then you’ve got his retirement. By 1983, he was a maths teacher at a public school. Seeing this titan of Earth's defense trying to teach teenagers algebra was both hilarious and weirdly touching. He’d moved on, but the Doctor always came back for him. Because you don't just replace a guy like that.
The legacy lives on (literally)
Nicholas Courtney passed away in 2011, and the show handled it with incredible grace. In the episode The Wedding of River Song, the Eleventh Doctor calls the Brigadier's nursing home only to be told he passed away peacefully. It’s one of the few times you see the Doctor truly, visibly shaken by a human death.
But the name Lethbridge-Stewart didn't disappear.
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We now have Kate Stewart, his daughter, running UNIT. She carries his pragmatism and his "science leads, but keep the guns ready" philosophy. And let’s not forget that bizarre, slightly controversial moment in Death in Heaven where a Cyberman-converted Brigadier saves his daughter and then flies off into the sunset. It was weird, sure, but it showed that even in death, the Brig doesn't stop protecting people.
Key stories you need to watch
- The Web of Fear: The debut. See him before the UNIT fame.
- The Invasion: This is where he becomes the Brigadier we know.
- Inferno: For the incredible dual performance by Courtney.
- Battlefield: His final regular appearance, where he faces down a literal demon with a revolver and the line, "Get off my world!"
What this means for you
If you’re a new fan, don't sleep on the classic era. The Brigadier is the bridge between the "monster of the week" stories and the deep, emotional character work of the modern show. He taught us that you don't need a sonic screwdriver to be a hero; sometimes, a well-tailored uniform and a refusal to back down are enough.
Next time you see UNIT on screen, remember the man who started it. He wasn't just a soldier. He was the Doctor's best friend on Earth.
Your next move: If you want to dive deeper, go find the Big Finish audio dramas. Nicholas Courtney recorded dozens of them before he passed, and they explore his life in ways the TV show never had time for. It’s the best way to keep the mustache—and the legend—alive.