Very sad to hear of the death of Nicholas Courtney known and loved by all Doctor Who fans for his role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
My late brother David was quite a shy person, did not go to many conventions, and would never have dreamed of going up to one of his childhood heroes and introducing himself. But, I had a mutual friendship with one of Nicholas's drinking companions and astounded my brother, at a convention, by dragging him along to have a chat with Nick!
Nick, as always, was charming.
Sadly, another of our childhood heroes died this week. Alfred Burke played the role of Frank Marker in the TV series Public Eye which ran from 1965-1975.
Network Video released many of the existing episodes in a series of DVD's from 2004-2008 and my brother and I eagerly awaited each release.
Many of ths situations portrayed in the series conclude imperfectly, often with Marker leaving the status quo as it is, in comparison to modern television the stories unfold at a leisurely pace.
It is full of subtleties - one understated aspect is Frank's relationship with his landlady. She gives him a mug with his name on for his new office. Many episodes later, when most of the viewers would have forgotten where he had got it from, his attachment to this mug becomes apparent. Blink and you'll miss it, but in an adjunct to the main action of the episode, the mug gets broken and, rather than throw it away, we see him repairing it - perhaps revealing his affection for her?
