BY ANY OTHER NAME: LINKING "DOCTOR WHO" TO "FOYLE'S WAR"

At the end of the 'Doctor Who' episode "Victory of the Daleks", the Doctor gives Professor Bracewell - who had been revealed to be a Dalek-made android with a device inside its chest that could destroy the Earth - the chance to escape. It took a while for Bracewell to figure out what the Doctor and his Companion Amy Pond were talking about, but eventually he caught on and made good his escape.

Personally, I think this was a foolish thing for the Doctor to have done. He should have taken the Professor along for a ride in the TARDIS and dropped him off on a planet where he wouldn't be a threat to anyone should the device be triggered accidentally. Sarpeidon in its final years, perhaps ('Star Trek' - "All Our Yesterdays")*, or some Eden-like planet that was unpopulated.

But the Doctor left him on Earth Prime-Time during World War II. So what happened to Professor Bracewell afterwards? Was he ever seen again on our TV screens?

I would think the case could be made for several of the characters played by Bill Paterson in recent years could be Professor Bracewell under assumed names. However we couldn't go too far back in Paterson's resume to find such characters because of the difference in appearance due to the progress of Time. (I figure ten years, tops.)

The temptation would be to claim that his character of George Castle on 'Law & Order: UK' was actually Professor Bracewell, with a re-built mechanical hand. I've seen four episodes of that series so far, and although no personal information has been forthcoming yet (not something usually found in the 'Law & Order' franchise), there's always the possibility that we might meet his family members or have them discussed by the other characters. It would be better to use one-shot roles, guest appearances, as they're less likely to provide to many details that would negate the premise.

I do have one suggestion that would have taken place soon after the events transpired in "Victory of the Daleks". Bill Paterson played the brilliant RAF surgeon Patrick Jamieson in "Enemy Fire", an episode of 'Foyle's War'. I won't give away the plot to this brilliant mystery, but it wouldn't contradict the suggestion that the surgeon was really an undercover android. I could see Professor Bracewell assuming the role, perhaps as a way to assuage his guilt over his role in the Dalek fiasco at Churchill's headquarters. And as for the fact that he was now sporting a beard, perhaps his synth-skin made it possible for him to grow artificial follicles. Either that or he figured out a way to attach a fake beard after rebuilding his destroyed hand.

BCnU!

By the way.... This is my 5000th post!