Vislor Turlough, usually referred to simply as Turlough, is a major character in Season 20 and the main tritagonist of Season 21 of Doctor Who.
He was portrayed by Mark Strickson, who has reprised the role for Big Finish.
Biography[]
Turlough was an exile from the planet Trion, who had been sent to a public boarding school on Earth by one of their agents. He was recruited by the Black Guardian, who promised to return him home if he killed the Doctor, who the Guardian claimed was a force of evil. The Black Guardian engineered a meeting between them and Turlough came close to killing the Doctor with a rock, being prevented by a sudden explosion. He began to realise the Doctor wasn't who the Black Guardian had claimed but was bound to their bargain. He sabotaged the Doctor's efforts to deal with the tortured immortal Mawdryn and later sabotaged the TARDIS, nearly causing it to break up in flight.
By the time he, the Doctor and Tegan Jovanka became caught up in the Eternals' race for Enlightenment, Turlough was eager to be free of the Black Guardian, at one point throwing himself into space to escape his torment. Although he seemed prepared to throw in his lot with the Eternal Captain Wrack, another agent of the Black Guardian, he ultimately helped the Doctor take control of her ship and win the race. The White Guardian offered him a share of the crystal of Enlightenment but the Black Guardian told him he could only have it if he gave him the Doctor. Instead, Turlough hurled the crystal at the Black Guardian, ending their pact. The Doctor remarked that Enlightenment was the choice.
Turlough remained with the Doctor and Tegan, helping them stop the Master's plans to change history and meeting the first three Doctors during President Borusa's quest for immortality. He could be self-serving at times however: At one point during a battle with the Silurians and Sea Devils on Seabase 4, he seemed willing to abandon the Doctor and Tegan to take shelter in the TARDIS. An encounter with the Tractators on Frontios brought to mind race memory of their invasion of Trion but ultimately helped him tip the Doctor off to the fact that the Tractators were useless without their leader, the Gravis.
After Tegan left following an encounter with the Daleks, Turlough found his past coming back to haunt him as he, the Doctor and new traveliing companion Peri Brown encountered the Master again during a visit to the planet Sarn. Turlough admitted his family had been on the losing side of a civil war and sent into exile. His father and brother were sent to Sarn but their ship crashed and his father was killed. His brother Malkon, a small child at the time, had grown up ignorant of his origins. With the natives in danger from volcanic activity, Turlough summoned a spaceship from Trion to evacuate them. On learning his exile had been lifted, he chose to go home.
The novel Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma involved Turlough experiencing multiple timelines while thwarting the plans of the Trion dictator Rectaht.
Trivia[]
- Turlough's first name was only given in his last story, "Planet of Fire". It was spelt Vizlor in the script, but the novelisation by the original writer changed it to Vislor.
- His rank is given as Junior Ensign Commander.
- He was the last regular male companion of the Classic Series in 1984. It wouldn't be until Rory Williams in Revived Series 2010 that the trend returned.
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