Doctor Who companion
Fictional character
Vislor Turlough is a fictional character played by Mark Strickson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a companion of the Fifth Doctor, being a regular in the programme from 1983 to 1984. Turlough appeared in 10 stories (33 episodes).
Character history
When Turlough first appears in the serial Mawdryn Undead, he is a student of retired Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart[1] (himself a former companion of the Doctor) at the Brendon Public School, but it becomes apparent that he is not what he seems. He is contacted by the malevolent Black Guardian, who offers to take him home if he kills the Doctor. He also appears familiar with concepts of time travel and matter transmission. At the end of the serial, Turlough asks to accompany the Doctor. Despite Tegan and Nyssa's suspicions, the Doctor accepts Turlough as part of the TARDIS crew.
During the course of the next two serials, Terminus and Enlightenment (collectively known, together with Mawdryn Undead, as the Black Guardian Trilogy), Turlough finds himself unable to decide whether or not to carry out his assignment from the Black Guardian, but eventually rejects him in favour of loyalty to the Doctor. Although always slightly cowardly,[2] with excellent instincts of self-preservation and a streak of ruthlessness, his relationship with the Doctor and Tegan improves with time (Nyssa having departed at the end of Terminus). He is one of the few companions capable of operating many of the TARDIS's systems, being able to run a diagnostic in The Five Doctors and program the TARDIS to retrieve the Doctor in Planet of Fire. Initially expressing a desire to return home, he continues travelling with the Doctor and Tegan until Tegan leaves at the end of Resurrection of the Daleks.
In the next serial, Planet of Fire, it is revealed that Turlough is a junior ensign commander from the planet Trion. Following a civil war on his home planet, in which his mother was killed,[3] Turlough's family were arrested as political prisoners. His father and younger brother Malkon were exiled to the planet Sarn whilst Turlough himself was exiled to Earth, supervised by a Trion agent disguised as a solicitor in Chancery Lane. Revealed for the first time in this serial is Turlough's first name, Vislor. At the end of the serial, Turlough discovers that political prisoners are no longer mistreated on Trion and decides it is time to return home.
An image of Turlough appears during the Fifth Doctor's regeneration scene in The Caves of Androzani.
Strickson has humorously commented that, not knowing what to do with him, the writers of the television series would often have the villains capture or lock him up, leading to Turlough ending up in various "states of bondage".
Reception
Sean Ferrick from WhatCulture placed Vislor at #10 on his list of the "10 Most Hated Doctor Who Characters", commenting that "there seems to be a schism in the fandom on this character. He was initially introduced as a double-agent, which made it hard for people to get on board with him. Even the other companions at the time struggled to empathise and this was before his true colours were revealed. Much of his story seemed to be added as an afterthought in the show, with him being almost constantly subdued or captured. This led to a present-but-not status for this Fifth Doctor companion, something that even Big Finish has not remedied in the expanded universe. His scepticism against the 'fools rush in' mentality of so many Doctors and other companions made him stand out that bit more, though often put him at odds with the others in the TARDIS. Unfortunately, his time on-screen was all too short for a proper exploration of this rational thinker, which left him in the dust as the show moved on without him. Perhaps in the years to come, he will be reevaluated but for now, its the scrap heap for poor Vislor!"[4] However, MaryAnn Johanson from flickfilosopher called Vislor her favourite companion, saying that "Turlough was never easy to like, but he was always intriguing and frustrating, in the most interesting kind of way. He upended ideas about who could be a companion, and why: he never really seemed to like the Doctor, and indeed bullshitted his way onto the TARDIS only as a way to escape an intolerable situation, not because he was seeking adventure or excitement. And of course there’s the small detail of how he tried to kill the Doctor, more than once, at the behest of the Black Guardian, who misled Turlough about the Doctor’s nature. Turlough was smart and sarcastic, which always appeals to me, but more importantly, he was a different sort of companion, and his presence pushed the drama into new corners. I’d love to see what the new incarnation of the show would do with someone like him."[5]
