In the Doctor Who episode Twice Upon a Time, there is a world war one Captain whose name we learn. Is the character based on a real soldier who survived the 1914 Christmas Day Armistice?
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
No, it was intended as a callback to another set of famous characters in the show.
The character's name is
Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart
Which would make him probably
the grandfather of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the most long-spanning recurring human character in the original series (often just called The Brigadier or the Brig), and great-grandfather of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Chief Scientific Officer of UNIT in the reboot. The Brigadier was established as coming from a long line of soldiers, so it makes sense that one was also in WWI.
The request to 'check in on his family' therefore
becomes another retconned-in connection that partially explains why the Doctor had such a long and close association with him, and later his daughter... presumably that when they first met, the Doctor realized he was related to the brave man from the crater, and wanted to do his duty to check up on his family (he might have also checked up on the son, the Brig's father, at some point we didn't see).
It should be noted that
although the actor has confirmed it was meant to be the Brigadier's grandfather, there was some confusion as to his actual relationship, because the the copyright owners of the Lethbridge-Stewart IP considered the character the brother of the grandfather of the Brigadier (in part because in various extended universe properties they've established that the Brigadier was named after his grandfather Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart).
According to this tweet, a compromise was reached, and a short story written to support at least the implication that
Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart may in fact be the Brigadier's biological grandfather, however if this is the case, then the child (Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the Brigadier's father) came out of an affair, and Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart (the elder) is the recognized father of Gordon and therefore recognized grandfather of Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.
answered Dec 26, 2017 at 12:09
-
1Even if the Brigadier was named after his grandfather Alistair, it could still be possible for Archibald Hamish to be his grandfather. It's a human thing. Commented Dec 26, 2017 at 16:21
-
True enough, but the grandfather Alistair in question was also a Lethbridge-Stewart. Which, granted still doesn't leave it out. Cousin marriage wasn't as taboo then as it is now (at least in some areas), not to mention 'having an affair with your cousin's wife' could be a plausible explanation for the discrepancy. Commented Dec 26, 2017 at 16:37
-
What do you mean by “the copyright owners of the Lethbridge-Stewart IP”?– SimdCommented Dec 26, 2017 at 21:04
-
3@eleanora Doctor Who's got some weird rights issues. For example, the Daleks are actually owned by their creator, Terry Nation (or his estate, now), and the BBC has to get permission to use them, although the permission is generally perfunctory. Lethbridge-Stewarts are as I understand it the same way, the Intellectual Property connected to them are actually held by someone else, the show uses them more or less freely (by agreement) but they can also be used in spinoff material as long as that material doesn't actually use any Doctor Who stuff without permission. Commented Dec 26, 2017 at 21:08
-
1Where did you find the tidbit about the copyright owners saying he’s not the grandfather? I’d be intrigued to read more about that!– PLLCommented Jan 1, 2018 at 16:40