…but there are some great ones too!
Mark Strickson is impressive from his first scenes. Everything lifts the moment he arrives in ‘Mawdryn Undead’. He is, for once, a highly capable and charismatic actor. Over the top sometimes, certainly, but always enjoyable to watch. Edgy, precocious and a survivor, Turlough is probably the toughest and most streetwise companion we’ve seen up to this point. He’s one of my all-time favourite companions! Not only that, but his debut marks the return of Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier – last seen in ‘Terror of the Zygons’, way back in 1975. Older, retired from the military, and perhaps a little wiser, it is simply wonderful to have Lethbridge-Stewart knocking around again. His return in ‘The Five Doctors’ only a few stories later is an added bonus. I haven’t yet mentioned Janet Fielding as Tegan. She may be annoying at times, but she’s a great foil for the Fifth Doctor, and the backbone of his era. The brusque and confrontational manner of her departure is a good attempt to try something new, proving this approach would occasionally work.
