The Second RTD Years: 2023 -

 Coming soon...

The Chibnall Years: 2018 - 2022

“Doctor Who: Flux”

"Survivors of the Flux"

After a 5-year absence, UNIT finally returned in the series 13 episode “Survivors of the Flux”, which was Part 5 of the Doctor Who Flux story arc. Notably, not only did we see modern, current-day UNIT, we also saw the earliest chronological appearance of UNIT, pre-dating their first appearance in “The Invasion”.

I am not going to go into the timeline, and the dating of the UNIT stories here, because there are other websites that will go into far more detail about it than I. Needless to say, this episode merely added to the already confused chronology of UNIT and certainly raised a whole host of questions.

We learn in this episode that the very first Commanding Officer of the British branch of UNIT (and indeed the man who set it all up – presumably as part of a concerted United Nations operation) was General Farquhar. The general wears a standard British Army general’s Service Dress uniform.

 

On his upper left arm he wears a UNIT patch, which matches the patches worn by the likes of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Captain Yates, and Sergeant Benton on their Service Dress uniforms.

 

Farquhar was also correctly wearing the red lanyard that we saw UNIT officers wearing during this period – except he was wearing on the wrong arm. The Brigadier and other officers always wore their lanyards on the right. It should be noted that we did sometimes see Sergeant Benton wearing his lanyard on the left, however.

 

One final observation about the general (technically an error, but an eminently forgivable one); you can see on a number of occasions that the rank insignia on the general’s epaulettes are attached using clip pins. 

This is the modern way to attach rank insignia.

In the 1960s it would have been attached using split pins.

This is very nit-picky and I wouldn’t expect the costume department to go to the lengths of finding old-style insignia. I merely mention it as interesting.

The UNIT soldiers in this episode are wearing British Battledress uniform.

This is an anachronism for two reasons. Firstly, UNIT troops in these early years wore the beige uniforms seen in “The Invasion” and “Spearhead from Space” etc. (UNIT Uniforms: The Early Years: 1968 - 1970) – of course, it’s entirely possible that UNIT troops were initially kitted out with uniforms from their home-country’s armed forces, before switching to the beige uniform a year or two later. But that brings us to the second problem; the British Army stopped wearing Battledress uniforms in 1961, so they are seven years out of date. But look closer and it’s even more anachronistic that it seems.

 

There were three styles of Battledress worn by the British Army – 1937 pattern, 1940 pattern, and 1949 pattern.

1937 pattern

1940 pattern

1949 pattern

 The style worn by the UNIT soldiers in this episode is the 1937 pattern, so it is the oldest and most out-of-date of all the Battledress uniforms. This style was not seen worn much after the Second World War, 20 years before the events of this episode.

 

Having said all that, there is precedent for UNIT troops wearing out-of-date uniforms. During the Golden Years of Pertwee’s Third Doctor, UNIT were kitted out in 1960s combat fatigues, despite being in the 1970s (or was in the 80s?). Ironically, the combat fatigues they wore in those days are what they should more correctly be wearing in this episode, since it is set in 1967.

 

The soldiers in this episode wear their Battledress open at the collar, with a shirt and tie beneath.

 Like Farquhar, they have a UNIT patch on their left sleeve.

The soldiers wear the correct sand-coloured beret for this era, but for some reason, they all wear it backwards! The badge should be above the left eye with the beret folded over the right ear, but Jennings and the two soldiers in the corridor wear them the opposite way around.

 

 You can just about see that the beret has the old-style UNIT badge on (although slightly smaller than the original). Private Jennings also wears this UNIT badge on the collars of his Battledress uniform, which is a nod to the collar badges worn by Yates and Benton on their Service Dress uniforms.

 So, in summary, the UNIT soldiers in this scene certainly evoke the feel of the 1960s UNIT troops, but on closer inspection are in fact, entirely anachronistic.

 

We also get a very brief glimpse of modern UNIT in this episode. In addition to Kate Stewart, we see a female UNIT soldier ordered to aim missiles at Earth. She is wearing a black shirt which was last seen being worn by UNIT personnel at the UNIT command post in Turmezistan in “The Zygon Invasion”.

 Like the UNIT troops in Turmezistan, this soldier wears the new UNIT logo on a badge on her chest. At first it appears that this badge is now on the left breast rather than the right – but if you look closer you can see that UNIT is written backwards on it, and also on the screens behind her. This means that this image has been flipped in post-production, so the badge was still actually worn on the right. Here's how it should have looked...

She also wears the old RTD style UNIT wings as a patch on her upper sleeves, and as a badge on her red beret, which is folded under her epaulette.

 A final note:

 

In the scene at UNIT HQ, General Farquhar hears the voice of Lethbridge-Stewart (taken from an audio-clip of Nicholas Courtney in the episode “Terror of the Autons”). Farquhar then says, “That’s our new Corporal”.

This line entirely ruins the whole UNIT scene for me. Corporals are NCOs, whereas Lethbridge-Stewart was an officer. These are two entirely different career routes in the army, and someone who was a corporal (which is a very junior rank), would never rise to the rank of Brigadier – as you can see from the table below.

 It is certainly possible for someone to be ‘promoted from the ranks’ – for example, experienced Warrant Officers will be given officer training and granted a commission, thusly then being promoted to a junior officer rank like captain - but in these cases you have older soldiers in junior officer roles, and Lethbdridge-Stewart is not old enough for this to be the case.

 If he were a corporal in 1967, there is no way he could then be a lieutenant colonel in 1968 in “The Web of Fear”. And he certainly wouldn’t rise to the rank of brigadier.

(And on another note, based on this episode, are we now also assuming that he was with UNIT all along in “The Web of Fear”?)

 

Frankly, the “Corporal” line was an example of lazy writing and no research on how the military works. What would have been better is if Farquhar had said, “That’s our new Colonel.” That would have made far more sense.

 

The Lethbridge-Stewart cameo had the potential to be a highlight of the episode and have me squealing in delight. Instead, the glaring mistake just had me sighing and rolling my eyes.

 

It is not just Doctor Who that is guilty of this (although it has been a major offender in recent years), but I do wish that if modern writers are going to write about the military, they would actually do some research to find out how it actually works. The Ministry of Defence has a very useful page on their website about it:

 

Rank Progression - British Army Jobs (mod.uk)

Doctor Who Figurine Collection

 The Doctor Who Figurine Collection has released this wonderful "Day of the Daleks" set - highly recommended.

The Third Doctor, Jo Grant, Brigadier & Benton Figurine Set | All Doctor Who Collectables and Memorabilia (eaglemoss.com)

I was lucky enough to be able to provide some insight into the UNIT uniforms in the accompanying magazine.

The Moffat Years: 2010 – 2017

From the eras of the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors:

“The Power of Three”

UNIT’s first appearance in the Moffat era is in “The Power of Three”, where they turn up unannounced at Amy and Rory’s house; a scene that introduces us to the character of Kate Stewart, the daughter of Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.

The UNIT soldiers themselves look a little more ‘heavy duty’ than they did in the RTD era. They still wear black jumpsuits and tactical vests, but in addition to the armoured gauntlets they also wear armour on their legs and protection on their shoulders/upper arms.

The UNIT logo is still on the right breast of the vests, but it is no longer worn on the sleeves of the jumpsuits (or, if it is, it is no longer visible due to the shoulder pads). The UNIT ID cards, previously worn on the right breasts, are also now absent.

The red UNIT beret has been replaced by a black helmet and protective goggles. In this serial, they actually wear the goggles too (unlike their later appearances when they are just worn on the helmet).

“The Bells of Saint John”

UNIT soldiers made a very brief appearance at the end of “The Bells of Saint John”. Their appearance was consistent with their look in “The Power of Three”.

“The Day of the Doctor”

In the 50^th Anniversary Doctor Who Special, UNIT troops again appear in their ‘heavy duty’ SWAT gear, but the goggles are now pushed up on to their helmets rather than being worn over the eyes.

This would also mark the last appearance of the winged UNIT globe, worn on the left breast of the tactical vests.

At the end of this episode we get a glimpse of a new UNIT logo in the Black Archive. It consists of a globe with stylised wings that point upwards, rather than outwards.

“Death in Heaven”

For their appearance in this story UNIT are now emblazoned with the new logo seen briefly in the Black Archive in “The Day of the Doctor”. It appears to have completely replaced the winged globe used since “The Christmas Invasion”, and appears on uniforms and hardware.

UNIT troops again wear black jumpsuits, with tactical vests, armour and helmets, but the patch on their left breast is now the new logo.

For the first time in the Moffat era we get to see some UNIT officers in this episode, aboard Boat One (the UNIT aircraft), in the form of Colonel Ahmed, and two other officers (a male and a female). Similar to the uniform worn by Captain Magambo, the officers are clad in black Service Dress-style jacket and trousers over shirt and tie. Medal ribbons are worn, but there are no insignia on the lapels; nor is there a UNIT patch on the breast or any sign of the white lanyard. Rank is displayed on the epaulettes.

Something to note is that the buttons and rank insignia on these uniforms are silver, not gold. This suggests that the costume department used police uniforms rather than army uniforms when assembling the costumes.

The uniforms are worn with a leather belt and pistol holster.

This story also witnesses the return of the red beret, worn by one of the officers as they board the plane. However, it is too far away to see what cap badge they are wearing.

“The Magician’s Apprentice”

UNIT have a brief cameo in the Series 9 opener, focussing mostly on the scientists (such as Kate and Jac). However, a number of UNIT troops are briefly glimpsed in both the Tower of London and when Clara meets Missy. Their uniforms remain the same as those worn in “Death in Heaven”.

There are also UNIT Agents who appear to be close protection bodyguards. They are dressed in the style of the so-called ‘Men In Black’, with dark suits and dark glasses.

On a slightly unrelated note, this was the episode of Doctor Who that I appeared in playing a Dalek. My own Dalek, as it happens. To read about my experiences please check out my other blog: http://thatwasmydalek.blogspot.co.uk/

That's me, in my Dalek (left) exterminating Missy

“The Zygon Invasion” / “The Zygon Inversion”

This two-part serial tweaked UNIT’s look slightly to keep up with the times and make it a little more modern. The tactical vests, which have been worn by soldiers since NuWho returned, have now been updated to a newer style.

The new UNIT logo is now worn on the right breast instead of the left.

They continue to wear the helmets, gauntlets and leg protection that they have worn throughout the Moffat era.

UNIT troops now no longer appear to wear the jumpsuits under their armour. Instead, they wear black trousers and a black roll-neck (similar to the roll-necks they used to wear under the jumpsuits).

When on Boat One, the UNIT soldiers substitute their helmets for the red UNIT beret. However, despite the updated UNIT logo being displayed prominently on clothing and hardware, the beret cap badge is still the old style of the winged globe.

Officers, such as Walsh and Hitchley, when taking part in military operations, now don the same tactical vests and combat armour that the UNIT ORs do. However, officers wear military-style jumpers over their roll-necks.

Behind the scenes photo showing UNIT officers wearing jumpers under their tactical vests

Colonel Walsh wears what appears to be a police jumper rather than a military jumper. It is V-necked and has a pocket patch on the left sleeve. It is also made from thinner wool than the military equivalent. Her rank is displayed on the epaulettes.

The character of Hitchley is only referred to in the episode as “Johnny” Hitchley, but we can see that he wears crowns on his epaulettes, which identify him as being an officer holding the rank of Major.

Under his tactical vest, Major Hitchley wears a standard black military V-neck pullover.

Colonel Walsh also wears her Service Dress in this story, which again is shown to be the black jacket over shirt and tie. Unlike previous female officers, Walsh wears trousers instead of a skirt (Note that Walsh’s uniform only has a three-button fastening up the front, unlike Captain Magambo who had four buttons).

The uniform buttons and rank insignia are once again gold, unlike the silver ones the officers wore in “Death in Heaven”. Also, the ‘grenade’ insignia on the lapels has returned. Oddly, Walsh wears these lapel badges despite being a full Colonel and entitled to scarlet gorget patches.

A bonze-looking badge displaying the UNIT logo is now pinned to the right breast of the uniform jacket.

The uniform is topped off by the red UNIT beret.

Another UNIT uniform is worn by the personnel at Colonel Walsh’s command post in Turmezistan. It consists of black trousers and a long-sleeved black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The bronze UNIT badge is worn on the right breast.

It appears, from this blurry image of a background character, that the old UNIT logo of the winged globe is worn as a patch on the shirt’s left sleeve.

“The Return of Doctor Mysterio”

UNIT made a brief appearance in the 2016 Christmas special, where they were represented by a squad of American UNIT soldiers. The uniforms they wore were the same as those worn by the British contingent in their previous appearance in “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion”. Clearly the slight modification to the UNIT uniforms that we saw in series 9 was a UNIT-wide change for all divisions around the globe, and not just limited to the UK branch.

 And that bring us up-to-date with the uniforms worn by UNIT in stories thus far appearing in Doctor Who. We have one more series under Moffat's tenure, and if UNIT appear I will update this post accordingly. After that, we will be on to the Chibnell years...


SPECIAL MENTION

“The Pyramid at the End of the World”

UNIT do not appear in this episode, but the United Nations does, and since UNIT is (or was) part of the UN, I thought I would include these UN troops as an addendum.

The first soldiers we see are in Bill’s flat in London, accompanying the United Nations Secretary General (and interesting change since previously in the show, it was said the UN was commanded by a “Commander General” See: “The Stolen Earth”). They are dressed in Combat Soldier 95 camouflage uniforms, which are actually now years out of date. This DMP pattern has since been superseded by a uniforms known as PCS-CU that was introduced in 2011! Having said that, the UNIT soldiers of the 1970s also wore combat uniforms that were out of date. In truth I suspect these older uniforms were easier to acquire by the production team.

The UN soldiers wear UN blue berets with the wreathed United Nations badge, as well as blue United Nations patches on the sleeves.

 

The officer in charge is simply credited as “the commander”, but since he wears a crown on his rank epaulette, he would actually be a Major. Two observations I’d make about him are that 1) the badge on his beret is metal, whereas British officers, including UN ones, wear cloth beret badges, and 2) his rank insignia is a cloth crown sewn onto his uniform, which is a practice that is decades out of date. Rank these days is printed onto slides.

Having said that, he may not be a Major after all. The size of the rank crown is actually too large to be that of a Major, and is actually the crown of a Warrant Officer Class 2 (a rank usually given the position of Sergeant Major). So if he is a Warrant Officer and not an commissioned officer, this would explain the metal cap badge too.

What it doesn’t explain is why his right ear is tucked under his beret!

When we arrive in Turmezistan (the fictional country that we last saw in “The Zygon Inversion”), we see further UN soldiers. They are dressed in UN blue helmets and body armour, as well as desert combat uniforms that, like the Combat 95 uniform, is also out of date. In 2017, they too should be in PCS-CU.

I feel I should also point out the character of Don Brabbit. He was not a member of the United Nations forces, and was actually the commander of the US troops. He was addressed numerous times as ‘Colonel’, yet the rank insignia on both his chest and beret clearly show that he is in fact a four star General! Which leads one to wonder whether it was the script writer or the costume department who was at fault.

It pains me to say it, but Doctor Who these days shows a complete disregard for showing the military accurately on screen. Whether it is down to sheer laziness, or lack of resources, or bad research, I’m not sure; but it just seems to be a case of stick any old uniform on a character and the audience will believe he’s in the army. Alas, the more mistakes I see, the more it draws me out of an otherwise fantastic programme. I don’t blame Moffat for this, but it is certainly under his tenure that this trend has reached its nadir.