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Alpha Centauri (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
Alpha Centauri, played by Stuart Fell
and voiced by Ysanne Churchman
, is a fictional alien
delegate
for the Galactic Federation who appears in two serials
of the BBC
television series Doctor Who
.
. It is tall, green, has one large blue eye, six arms and a high-pitched voice, wears a long yellow cape
and walks with a nervous gait
. It is prone to cowardice and hysterics. It has a low opinion of Earth, describing it as a "'remote and unattractive" planet, but regrets that its appearance can frighten humans. It regards females as unimportant.
Alpha Centauri is also the name of Alpha Centauri's native star system
. The Alpha Centauri binary star system is second only to Proxima Centauri
in proximity to the Solar System
, home to the Earth
.
as a delegate overseeing Peladon's admission to the Galactic Federation. It calls for the conference to be cancelled upon learning of the suspicious death of Chancellor Torbis but is persuaded by King Peladon that the delegates are safe. The Doctor
saves Alpha Centauri's life when Grun attempts to assassinate it, prompting another discussion as to whether the conference should continue. When there is later a threat of hostilities, Alpha Centauri again wants to leave Peladon.
As the situation on Peladon worsens with the treacherous delegate Arcturus being killed, the delegates vote that the Galactic Federation should intervene, although Alpha Centauri votes in favour of this officially under protest, unsure of whether such action can be justified. Alpha Centauri is unable to contact its orbiting spaceship as its communicator has been broken and is thus unable to leave Peladon as Hepesh's men advance. Alpha Centauri fears they will attack the delegates but the Doctor brings about an end to the crisis.
Half a century later, Alpha Centauri is on Peladon during the events of The Monster of Peladon
now as Galactic Federation Ambassador to Peladon. It is reunited with the Doctor, now accompanied by Sarah Jane Smith
(who has replaced Jo Grant
). Queen Thalira releases the Doctor and Sarah into Alpha Centauri's custody when the Federation representative offers to vouch for them, saving their lives. The Doctor is pleased to see Alpha Centauri again but the feminist Sarah is antagonised by its attitude towards women.
Alpha Centauri summons help when the Doctor goes missing and is later captured by Ettis along with Sarah. It opens the armory for Ettis when he threatens to kill Sarah, activating an alarm in doing do so which alerts Thalira and her men that the rebellion has begun. Ettis almost stabs Alpha Centauri, believing it to have known the alarm would sound, but Sarah stops him. Federation miner
Eckersley suspects Alpha Centauri may be in league with the rebels, but Thalira choses to trust it. The Ambassador encourages Thalira to overrule Chancellor Ortron in an attempt to save the Doctor and Sarah from being punished by Aggedor for their blasphemy
.
Eckersley convinces Alpha Centauri of the danger they face if the miners have got hold of Federation weapons and purports that the Ambassador would be held responsible for this. Scared, Alpha Centauri agrees to summon Federation troops. This angers the Doctor when he finds out, him believing such action will only inflame the situation and indeed this turn of events proves to raise tensions. Despite this, Alpha Centauri continues to defend the Doctor to the Peladon authorities.
To prevent the Pels rebelling against outside interference, Alpha Centauri complies with Sarah's plan to get the troops to leave by pretending everything is fine. Alpha Centauri temporarily suspects the Doctor of being in league with the rebels as surveillance
detects the Doctor breaking into the refinery
, but is quickly reassured by Sarah that they think Aggedor is a fraud controlled from the refinery.
Sarah's plan fails and Alpha Centauri protests the Ice Warrior
Azaxyr's actions when he declares martial law on behalf of the Galactic Federation. Alpha Centauri is shocked when the Doctor discovers that the Ice Warriors were in the refinery all along and are committing treason but is unable to report them to the Federation as the Ice Warriors' fleet is blocking communications. The Ambassador then sets about helping resist the Ice Warriors accompanying Sarah as they set out to retrieve its emergency distress beacon which will enable contact with the Federation. Evading their Ice Warrior guard, they collect the beacon but Alpha Centauri cannot remember how to activate it, accidentally switching on the monitor to reveal Eckersley and Azaxyr talking and that Eckersley is in league with the Ice Warriors. Later discovered by Azaxyr and Eckersley, Alpha Centauri reveals how their treachery was found out. Threatened, Alpha Centauri gives away Sarah's location.
Set free by the defeat of the Ice Warriors, Alpha Centauri is later knocked out by Eckersley as he captures the Queen. Once the Queen has escaped and Eckersley has been killed and disputes have been settled, Alpha Centauri reports to the Federation that the war is over.
to make the creature sound like a "gay civil servant". The same costume was worn by Stuart Fell for both appearances as the character, the character appearing in The Monster of Peladon in order to help recreate the atmosphere of Peladon depicted in the earlier serial The Curse of Peladon.
Ysanne Churchman voiced Lupton's Spider in Planet of the Spiders
, the Doctor Who serial following The Monster of Peladon.
Stuart Fell appeared as an uncredited Functionary in the Doctor Who serial Carnival of Monsters
between his appearances as Alpha Centauri. He later appeared in Doctor Who as a tramp
in Planet of the Spiders, the body of the Wirrn in The Ark in Space
, an uncredited double for Styre in The Sontaran Experiment
, Kraal in The Android Invasion
, the Morbius Monster in The Brain of Morbius
, an entertainer in The Masque of Mandragora
, an uncredited Tesh guard in The Face of Evil
, a guard in The Sun Makers
, a Sontaran
in The Invasion of Time
and Roga in State of Decay
. He also served as fight arranger for the Doctor Who serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang
and worked on stunts for the serials The Invasion of Time and The Ribos Operation
.
, a Virgin New Adventure
spin-off
novel set on Peladon, meeting the Seventh Doctor
and Benny
. Alpha Centauri and Benny appeal against the Doctor's death sentence for the murder of Lady Lianna, former handmaiden to Queen Thalira, to no avail, although the Doctor is later saved. Alpha Centauri also features in Fifth Doctor
Big Finish
audio drama The Bride of Peladon
, this time voiced by Jane Goddard. The canonicity
of Doctor Who spin-off media is unclear.
Stuart Fell
Stuart Fell is a professional actor and stuntman. He has appeared on British television many times, with his earliest role being in the LWT comedy series Hark at Barker, in which he plays the driver of a car that crashes when he's distracted by Ronnie Barker carrying a mannequin...
and voiced by Ysanne Churchman
Ysanne Churchman
Ysanne Churchman worked as an actor and narrator on British radio, TV and film for over 50 years . She achieved national fame as 'Grace Archer' in the long-running BBC drama series, when Grace died in a fire on the night when ITV launched in 1955.Ysanne Churchman was born on 14 May 1925 in...
, is a fictional alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
for the Galactic Federation who appears in two serials
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
Character traits
Alpha Centauri is a hermaphroditic hexapod from Alpha CentauriAlpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
. It is tall, green, has one large blue eye, six arms and a high-pitched voice, wears a long yellow cape
Cape
Cape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening around the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
and walks with a nervous gait
Gait (human)
Human gait is the way locomotion is achieved using human limbs. Different gaits are characterized by differences in limb movement patterns, overall velocity, forces, kinetic and potential energy cycles, and changes in the contact with the surface .- Foot strike :One variable in different gaits is...
. It is prone to cowardice and hysterics. It has a low opinion of Earth, describing it as a "'remote and unattractive" planet, but regrets that its appearance can frighten humans. It regards females as unimportant.
Alpha Centauri is also the name of Alpha Centauri's native star system
Star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars which orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large number of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a star cluster or galaxy, although, broadly speaking, they are also star systems.-Binary star systems:A stellar...
. The Alpha Centauri binary star system is second only to Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest known star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye...
in proximity to the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, home to the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
Character history
Alpha Centauri arrives on Peladon in The Curse of PeladonThe Curse of Peladon
The Curse of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1972.-Synopsis:...
as a delegate overseeing Peladon's admission to the Galactic Federation. It calls for the conference to be cancelled upon learning of the suspicious death of Chancellor Torbis but is persuaded by King Peladon that the delegates are safe. The Doctor
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
saves Alpha Centauri's life when Grun attempts to assassinate it, prompting another discussion as to whether the conference should continue. When there is later a threat of hostilities, Alpha Centauri again wants to leave Peladon.
As the situation on Peladon worsens with the treacherous delegate Arcturus being killed, the delegates vote that the Galactic Federation should intervene, although Alpha Centauri votes in favour of this officially under protest, unsure of whether such action can be justified. Alpha Centauri is unable to contact its orbiting spaceship as its communicator has been broken and is thus unable to leave Peladon as Hepesh's men advance. Alpha Centauri fears they will attack the delegates but the Doctor brings about an end to the crisis.
Half a century later, Alpha Centauri is on Peladon during the events of The Monster of Peladon
The Monster of Peladon
The Monster of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 23 March to 27 April 1974.-Synopsis:...
now as Galactic Federation Ambassador to Peladon. It is reunited with the Doctor, now accompanied by Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
(who has replaced Jo Grant
Jo Grant
Josephine "Jo" Grant is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
). Queen Thalira releases the Doctor and Sarah into Alpha Centauri's custody when the Federation representative offers to vouch for them, saving their lives. The Doctor is pleased to see Alpha Centauri again but the feminist Sarah is antagonised by its attitude towards women.
Alpha Centauri summons help when the Doctor goes missing and is later captured by Ettis along with Sarah. It opens the armory for Ettis when he threatens to kill Sarah, activating an alarm in doing do so which alerts Thalira and her men that the rebellion has begun. Ettis almost stabs Alpha Centauri, believing it to have known the alarm would sound, but Sarah stops him. Federation miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
Eckersley suspects Alpha Centauri may be in league with the rebels, but Thalira choses to trust it. The Ambassador encourages Thalira to overrule Chancellor Ortron in an attempt to save the Doctor and Sarah from being punished by Aggedor for their blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
.
Eckersley convinces Alpha Centauri of the danger they face if the miners have got hold of Federation weapons and purports that the Ambassador would be held responsible for this. Scared, Alpha Centauri agrees to summon Federation troops. This angers the Doctor when he finds out, him believing such action will only inflame the situation and indeed this turn of events proves to raise tensions. Despite this, Alpha Centauri continues to defend the Doctor to the Peladon authorities.
To prevent the Pels rebelling against outside interference, Alpha Centauri complies with Sarah's plan to get the troops to leave by pretending everything is fine. Alpha Centauri temporarily suspects the Doctor of being in league with the rebels as surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
detects the Doctor breaking into the refinery
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
, but is quickly reassured by Sarah that they think Aggedor is a fraud controlled from the refinery.
Sarah's plan fails and Alpha Centauri protests the Ice Warrior
Ice Warrior
The Ice Warriors are a fictional extraterrestrial race of reptilian-like humanoids in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The race originated on Mars, and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors where they encountered the Second Doctor and his...
Azaxyr's actions when he declares martial law on behalf of the Galactic Federation. Alpha Centauri is shocked when the Doctor discovers that the Ice Warriors were in the refinery all along and are committing treason but is unable to report them to the Federation as the Ice Warriors' fleet is blocking communications. The Ambassador then sets about helping resist the Ice Warriors accompanying Sarah as they set out to retrieve its emergency distress beacon which will enable contact with the Federation. Evading their Ice Warrior guard, they collect the beacon but Alpha Centauri cannot remember how to activate it, accidentally switching on the monitor to reveal Eckersley and Azaxyr talking and that Eckersley is in league with the Ice Warriors. Later discovered by Azaxyr and Eckersley, Alpha Centauri reveals how their treachery was found out. Threatened, Alpha Centauri gives away Sarah's location.
Set free by the defeat of the Ice Warriors, Alpha Centauri is later knocked out by Eckersley as he captures the Queen. Once the Queen has escaped and Eckersley has been killed and disputes have been settled, Alpha Centauri reports to the Federation that the war is over.
Behind the scenes
Ysanne Churchman was instructed by director Lennie MayneLennie Mayne
Lennie Mayne was an Australian television director, who started out as a dancer before becoming a choreographer and then spent much of his career working in British television....
to make the creature sound like a "gay civil servant". The same costume was worn by Stuart Fell for both appearances as the character, the character appearing in The Monster of Peladon in order to help recreate the atmosphere of Peladon depicted in the earlier serial The Curse of Peladon.
Ysanne Churchman voiced Lupton's Spider in Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
, the Doctor Who serial following The Monster of Peladon.
Stuart Fell appeared as an uncredited Functionary in the Doctor Who serial Carnival of Monsters
Carnival of Monsters
Carnival of Monsters is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 27 January to 17 February 1973....
between his appearances as Alpha Centauri. He later appeared in Doctor Who as a tramp
Tramp
A tramp is a long term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking or hiking all year round. In British English meanwhile a tramp simply refers to a homeless person, usually not a travelling one....
in Planet of the Spiders, the body of the Wirrn in The Ark in Space
The Ark in Space
The Ark in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 January to 15 February 1975.-Plot:The TARDIS materialises in a darkened room on board the station...
, an uncredited double for Styre in The Sontaran Experiment
The Sontaran Experiment
The Sontaran Experiment is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two weekly parts on 22 February and 1 March 1975.-Synopsis:...
, Kraal in The Android Invasion
The Android Invasion
The Android Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1975. It marks the last appearance of UNIT Character Sergeant Benton...
, the Morbius Monster in The Brain of Morbius
The Brain of Morbius
The Brain of Morbius is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1976...
, an entertainer in The Masque of Mandragora
The Masque of Mandragora
The Masque of Mandragora is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 4 September to 25 September 1976. It opened Season 14 of the series.-Synopsis:...
, an uncredited Tesh guard in The Face of Evil
The Face of Evil
The Face of Evil is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This serial starred Tom Baker as the Doctor and was the fourth story in Series 14 of Doctor Who. First broadcast in four weekly parts from January 1 to January 22, 1977...
, a guard in The Sun Makers
The Sun Makers
-Cast notes:*Michael Keating also appeared in the audio play The Twilight Kingdom as Major Koth and in Year of the Pig as Inspector Chardalot...
, a Sontaran
Sontaran
The Sontarans are a fictional extraterrestrial race of humanoids from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and also seen in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures. They were created by writer Robert Holmes.-Culture:...
in The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
and Roga in State of Decay
State of Decay
State of Decay is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1980. The serial was the second of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy...
. He also served as fight arranger for the Doctor Who serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 26 February to 2 April 1977.-Synopsis:...
and worked on stunts for the serials The Invasion of Time and The Ribos Operation
The Ribos Operation
The Ribos Operation is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1978. This serial introduces Mary Tamm as the companion Romana. After finishing his first year as producer of Doctor Who,...
.
Appearances
- The Curse of PeladonThe Curse of PeladonThe Curse of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1972.-Synopsis:...
— 29 January – 19 February 1972 - The Monster of PeladonThe Monster of PeladonThe Monster of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 23 March to 27 April 1974.-Synopsis:...
— 23 March – 27 April 1974
Other appearances
Alpha Centauri appears in LegacyLegacy (Doctor Who)
Legacy is an original novel written by Gary Russell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace, Bernice, the Ice Warriors and Alpha Centauri and a return for the Doctor to Peladon. A prelude to the novel, also penned by...
, a Virgin New Adventure
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
novel set on Peladon, meeting the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
and Benny
Bernice Summerfield
Bernice Surprise Summerfield is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures...
. Alpha Centauri and Benny appeal against the Doctor's death sentence for the murder of Lady Lianna, former handmaiden to Queen Thalira, to no avail, although the Doctor is later saved. Alpha Centauri also features in Fifth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
Big Finish
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio drama The Bride of Peladon
The Bride of Peladon
The Bride of Peladon is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Cast:*The Doctor — Peter Davison*Peri — Nicola Bryant*Erimem — Caroline Morris*Beldonia — Phyllida Law...
, this time voiced by Jane Goddard. The canonicity
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
of Doctor Who spin-off media is unclear.