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Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''. An American
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
major from Fell's Point in
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,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, Peri is a companion of the Fifth (
Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...
) and
Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...
(
Colin Baker Colin Charles Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor. He played Paul Merroney in the BBC television drama series ''The Brothers (1972 TV series), The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the Sixth Doctor, sixth incarnation of The Doctor (Do ...
) and a regular in the programme from 1984 to 1986, appearing in a total of 11 stories (33 episodes).


Fictional biography

Peri begins travelling with the
Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...
in '' Planet of Fire''. Following the Doctor's regeneration into the
Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...
in '' The Caves of Androzani'', she continues to travel with him.


Production


Casting

English drama student Nicola Bryant had been spotted by an agent in a production of the musical comedy '' No, No Nanette'' at her drama school, the
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehen ...
, which was the last show she did before leaving the school. She had performed with an American accent during the show, and having mistaken her for a real American, the agent took note of "one American...". In less than a week after leaving the school, he phoned her up and secured her an audition for ''Doctor Who''.
John Nathan-Turner John Turner (12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002), known professionally as John Nathan-Turner, was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and the final producer of the ...
was only auditioning Americans, and the British actress had to feign an American accent during the process. The agent had promised to tell the production that Bryant was British if she was successful, but this was ultimately unfulfilled. Bryant therefore had to use her American accent in all public places, barring the pop to the local supermarket; this included BBC canteens and rehearsal rooms. The young actress simply "got on with it" throughout her entire run on the show and later described it as the "longest role heever played". Bryant described the audition process as "extraordinary" and "surreal". Bryant revealed her British accent to
Colin Baker Colin Charles Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor. He played Paul Merroney in the BBC television drama series ''The Brothers (1972 TV series), The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the Sixth Doctor, sixth incarnation of The Doctor (Do ...
at a dinner party; after his departure, Baker revealed her non-American origins to the newspapers, which he described as "doing era favour". Decades later, Bryant finds that her American accent can still subconsciously slip into conversation and notes that fans are often still surprised to discover that she is not American.


Makeup and costume

Announcing the new companion, Nathan-Turner said of Peri, "She'll often be wearing leotards and bikinis. A lot of Dads watch ''Doctor Who'' and I'm sure they will like Nicola." Peri's outfit for the first
Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...
serial, ''
The Twin Dilemma ''The Twin Dilemma'' is the seventh and final serial of the Doctor Who season 21, 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 to 30 March 1984. It was ...
'', was originally a blue trouser suit; however, Nathan-Turner opposed this as he felt she should wear something more revealing. Despite Nathan-Turner's intentions, some critics felt that Bryant's costumes were too revealing. Bryant disliked the costume that she wore on ''Doctor Who''. She remembered consistently having her
buttocks The buttocks (: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed of a lay ...
tapped while walking through the BBC lot and that she would have to laugh and say "thank you" in response and then walk a little faster or duck into the bathroom. She recalled a four- to five-hour makeup process for '' Mindwarp'' (1986) being artificially sped up by the makeup department, leading to the prosthetic being ripped from her face; while shooting in the sun the following days, her face was unbearably sore. The skimpy outfit she wore in her first story, '' Planet of Fire'' (1984), while appropriate for the Mediterranean weather of its setting, was inappropriate for British winter and caused her to get
frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...
and
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
.


Departure

As a consequence of the hiatus, Bryant's three-year contract expired halfway through season 23; Nathan-Turner did not renew her contract, as he did not wish for a companion to be part of the series for more years than previous Doctors. When Bryant's contract was coming to an end, Nathan-Turner asked her how she would like Peri to be written out of the show. She advised that she did not want to shake hands and say a generic line such as "bye Doctor, I'll send you a postcard", and that she wanted a dramatic storyline to "go out with a bang". She was pleased with Philip Martin's "powerful" ''Mindwarp'' storyline involving a mind transplant and a bald head sequence. She was displeased, however, with the
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
at the end of the season, which suggested that Peri had married King Yrcanos (
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...
), as she and Blessed had not played any romantic interaction between the two characters. She feels that the explanation of what happened to Peri in the Big Finish audio story ''Peri and the Piscon Paradox'' (2011) was preferable and should be considered
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
.


Characterization

As her first job after leaving drama school, Bryant expected to receive a character sheet to give her a window into Peri's backstory. After not receiving one, she opted to write one herself, expecting Nathan-Turner to have it incorporated into the scripts, which he did not do. She initially felt that a companion must either be an adrenaline junkie or someone running from their past, because otherwise, once someone realises how dangerous the Doctor's travels are, all they would want to do is go back. She also noted that in real life, a person finding themselves in the companion's situation would have a
nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
early on. Taking this into consideration, Bryant decided that it was Peri's choice to join the Doctor, that she was so miserable in the life she had on Earth that she wanted to do it, and that she would take on some of the Doctor's strength and courage throughout their adventures. Similarly to previous companions, Peri's role was often perfunctory in nature, running off and getting in trouble so that the Doctor could save her. For the purpose of enjoying the adventures, the actress was required to "sugarcoat the trauma" of the character nearly dying each episode. To avoid any suggestion of a romantic relationship, Bryant played to the
Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...
as a father figure; she had devised that he was reminiscent of Peri's deceased father, a touch that was never shown on-screen but that Nathan-Turner approved of. Bryant did not like the way that Peri was written in '' Timelash'' (1985), as she felt that she bore no resemblance to the character she had started out with and felt it was unnecessary that during her time on the show she spent "three out of four episodes" tied up. Bryant said the story "harked back to the 60s, where basically the companion gets tied up and left somewhere to scream a lot."


Reception

Writing for ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
'' Ben Rawson-Jones felt that her demise was "the most dramatic and heart-stopping exit by a ''Doctor Who'' companion ever."


Legacy

Bryant's first convention was in November 1983, just a few months after she started shooting, despite having no footage to show. She later described the experience as a hysteria on par with
Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...
. She required a
bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...
and stayed in a huge hotel suite. A man fainted after noticing her. At a later convention, she recalled a disabled man giving her a stuffed dog as a gift and describing Peri as his best friend. Bryant would later quasi-reprise her role as Peri in the form of 'Miss Brown' in the BBV video series '' The Stranger'', which co-starred Colin Baker as the titular Doctor-inspired role. She has also acknowledged that the bluntness of Peri's death upset many fans of the show. During a convention in 2017, Bryant discussed the positive impact that her time on ''Doctor Who'' has had on her life: she has been able to travel the world and make close friendships because of the show and expressed that she never expected it to become such a huge part of her life. She stated that there is not one of her stories that she would not wish to reshoot, noting her respect for '' The Caves of Androzani'' (1984) as a whole piece and believed the themes in '' Vengeance on Varos'' (1985) were still relevant. She also explained that the backstory of later companion Rose Tyler, the first companion of the revived series which began in 2005, was very reminiscent of the backstory she had constructed for Peri.
Peri Lomax Peri Lomax is a fictional character from the British Channel 4, E4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' and is portrayed by Ruby O'Donnell. Peri made her first on-screen appearance in episode 3705, originally broadcast on 4 October 2013. After being introduc ...
, a fictional character from the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'', played by
Ruby O'Donnell Ruby Victoria O'Donnell (born 26 October 2000) is an English actress. Since 2013, O'Donnell has portrayed the role of Peri Lomax in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. For her portrayal of Peri, she won the award for Best Young Performance a ...
, was named after Peri.


Character history

Peri first appeared in the Fifth Doctor serial '' Planet of Fire'', in which she encountered the Doctor and Turlough on the island of
Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...
. After an encounter with the Master and the shape-changing android Kamelion (who disguises himself as her stepfather, Professor Howard Foster), Peri asked to join the Fifth Doctor on his travels, while Turlough departed to return to his home planet of Trion. (The identity of Peri's mother was not revealed in the televised series – but see
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fred Belo ...
.) By the end of the Fifth Doctor's final story, '' The Caves of Androzani'', both the Doctor and Peri were suffering from spectrox poisoning, so the Fifth Doctor decided to give what antidote remains to Peri, sacrificing himself to save her. As she looks on, he regenerates into the Sixth Doctor, and she continues to travel with him, despite the temporarily unstable Doctor attempting to strangle her after his transformation (in his debut story, ''
The Twin Dilemma ''The Twin Dilemma'' is the seventh and final serial of the Doctor Who season 21, 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 to 30 March 1984. It was ...
''). Peri is a bright and spirited young woman, an
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
and thus likely around twenty years of age, who travelled with the Doctor because, like many of his companions, she wanted to see the universe. Although she shared a more abrasive relationship with the Sixth Doctor, there was an undercurrent of affection in their verbal sparring. Peri travelled with the Doctor for an undisclosed period of time; some sources say she travelled with him for mere months, while others say years. Between the events of ''
Revelation of the Daleks ''Revelation of the Daleks'' is the sixth and final serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 23 and 30 March 1985. This was the final serial to b ...
'' and the season-long story ''
The Trial of a Time Lord The twenty-third season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', known collectively as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986. It contained four adventures: '' The Mysterio ...
'', her character was shown to have matured somewhat (coinciding with an 18-month production break between the two stories), and her relationship with the Doctor became less combative. In the second segment of the ''Trial'' story arc, '' Mindwarp'', Peri was abducted by a gastropod-like creature named Kiv, who apparently transplanted his brain into her body. Soon after, the Doctor was led to believe that Peri was dead and was severely distressed by this. It was later revealed, at the end of ''
The Ultimate Foe ''The Ultimate Foe'' is the fourth and final serial of the larger narrative known as '' The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadc ...
'' (the fourth segment of the arc), that the evidence of Peri's death was faked by the
Valeyard The Valeyard (, ) is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is described by the Master as an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarn ...
. In fact, Peri had survived and been saved by – whilst also marrying – King Yrcanos of Thoros Alpha, a warrior king who had assisted the Doctor and Peri in ''Mindwarp''. It is not known what happened to Peri after she married King Yrcanos.


Other appearances

Peri has the distinction of being the first humanoid television companion to appear in the
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
within ''
Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
''; previously the strip, which began in 1979, depicted the Doctor either travelling alone or with companions created for the strip, while the robotic television companion K9 was featured in several ''DWM'' comic strips featuring the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
). Her first appearance was in "Funhouse Part 1" (DWM #102), in which she appeared in two panels as a scantily clad apparition manifested by a villain. Two issues later, in "Kane's Story Part 1" (DWM #104), she became a regular character in the strip, initially travelling with both the Sixth Doctor and his shape-shifting companion, Frobisher, and continuing until the final part of "Up Above the Gods" in DWM #129. "Kane's Story" established that, at one point during her travels with the Sixth Doctor, Peri left the TARDIS for reasons left unrevealed and went to live in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where she took a job in an office, a job she angrily quit for reasons also unrevealed just prior to encountering the Doctor again and voluntarily rejoining him. The epilogue to the
Target Books Target Books is a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became wel ...
novelisation of ''Mindwarp'', written by Philip Martin, stated that Peri returned to the 20th century with King Yrcanos, where the latter became a
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
. This tongue-in-cheek conclusion was not reflected in any televised story and is generally ignored by the fandom. In the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
''The Age of Chaos'', written by
Colin Baker Colin Charles Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor. He played Paul Merroney in the BBC television drama series ''The Brothers (1972 TV series), The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the Sixth Doctor, sixth incarnation of The Doctor (Do ...
, Peri lived out her life on Krontep as Queen Consort of Yrcanos and has at least three grandchildren, who are principal characters in the story. The
Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British Science fiction on television, science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from th ...
novel ''
Bad Therapy ''Bad Therapy'' is an original novel written by Matthew Jones and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It features the Seventh Doctor, Chris and Peri. Synopsis 1950s London, the Soho SoHo, ...
'' by Matthew Jones reveals that, although becoming the wife of King Yrcanos, Peri blamed the Doctor for abandoning her. In the novel, the
Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...
made peace with Peri after she found her way back to
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
through a temporal rift on Krontep and returned her to her time. The Telos novella ''
Shell Shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...
'' by Simon A. Forward reveals that Peri had been sexually abused by her stepfather. This is hinted at in the
Past Doctor Adventures The ''Past Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes known by the abbreviation ''PDA'' or ''PDAs'') were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books imprint. ...
novel ''
Synthespians™ ''Synthespians™'' is a BBC Books original novel written by Craig Hinton (the author's last) and based on the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It features the Sixth Doctor an ...
'' by
Craig Hinton Craig Peter Hinton (7 May 1964 – 3 December 2006) was a British writer best known for his work on various Doctor Who spin-offs, spin-offs from the BBC Television series ''Doctor Who''. He also wrote articles for various science fiction m ...
, which also reveals that her parents were Janine and Paul Brown and that her father died in a boating accident when she was thirteen. She has two step-siblings from her mother's marriage to Foster. Bryant has voiced Peri in several audio plays produced by
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
, alongside both
Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...
as the Fifth Doctor and Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. In several of these stories, the Fifth Doctor and Peri are joined by another companion, the Egyptian princess
Erimem This is a list of fictional characters who were companion (Doctor Who), companions of the Doctor (Doctor Who), Doctor, in various Doctor Who spinoffs, spinoff media based on the long-running British science fiction on television, science ficti ...
. The Sixth Doctor audio play ''
The Reaping ''The Reaping'' is a 2007 American supernatural horror thriller film, starring Hilary Swank. The film was directed by Stephen Hopkins for Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment. The music for the f ...
'' introduces Peri's mother, Janine Foster, played by American actress
Claudia Christian Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan, August 10, 1965) is an American actress, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on ''Babylon 5'', as Captain Maynard on Fox's ''9-1-1'', and as the voice of Hera on the Netflix series '' Blo ...
(although in reality, Christian is five years younger than Nicola Bryant). The play, set in 1984 as the Doctor takes Peri back to her time to attend the funeral of the father of a friend of hers, confirms Peri's late father's name as Paul and mentions that Howard and Janine Foster have gone their separate ways but does not mention Peri's step-siblings. After the Doctor and Peri thwart a Cyberman attempt to set up a conversion factory in Baltimore, Peri plans to stay with her family, but Janine is subsequently killed due to an accident involving remaining Cyber-technology, cutting Peri's last familial tie to Earth and prompting her to return to her travels with the Doctor when he comes to visit her at her mother's grave. In the audio play '' Her Final Flight'', the
Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...
finds Peri on a remote planet, where she apparently dies of a virus, although it is revealed that the entire story was part of a fantasy designed to make the Doctor kill himself. Another audio play, ''Peri and the Piscon Paradox'', states that the Time Lords made several adjustments to her timeline, resulting in at least five alternate versions of Peri with different fates, including one that thought she never travelled in the TARDIS but instead moved to California and eventually hosted a chat show called ''The Queen of Worries'' after divorcing her abusive childhood sweetheart. In the later audio '' The Widow's Assassin'', the Doctor travels to Krontep to attend Peri's wedding, only to be locked up for abandoning her. However, despite apparently spending five years in prison, the Doctor actually spends that time carrying out a complex long-term investigation into the death of King Yrcanos shortly after the wedding, eventually learning that 'Peri' is actually possessed by the Doctor's childhood imaginary enemy, Mandrake the Lizard King, who was 'extracted' from the Doctor's mind when he was exposed to Crozier's equipment. After transferring himself into Peri's body to expel Mandrake, the Doctor and Peri return to their true bodies and resume their travels together. In ''Masters of Earth'', they arrive on Earth during the Dalek occupation, a year before the events of ''
The Dalek Invasion of Earth ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' is the second serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six week ...
'' from Earth's perspective, forcing the Doctor to help a future famous rebel figure escape without compromising history. In '' The Rani Elite'', the Doctor and Peri visit a famous university and are nearly caught in a trap set by a version of
The Rani The Rani is a fictional character in the British BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She is a renegade Time Lord, and a nemesis of the series' title character, a Time Lord known as the Doctor. The Rani is an amoral biochemist ...
who has already experienced the events of ''
Time and the Rani ''Time and the Rani'' is the first serial of the 24th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 7 to 28 September 1987. It was the first to feature Sylvester McC ...
''; the crisis ends with Peri receiving an honorary degree in botany to accompany the Doctor's honorary degree in moral philosophy. Future showrunner
Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...
mentions an unnamed 'Warrior Queen on Thoros Beta' in his 1996 short story, "
Continuity Errors In fiction, continuity is the consistency of the characteristics of people, plot, objects, and places seen by the audience over some period of time. It is relevant to many genres and forms of storytelling, especially if it is long-running. Conti ...
". Bryant played the role of 'Miss Brown' in the first three instalments of the BBV video series '' The Stranger'', opposite Colin Baker in the title role; although her character was never explicitly identified as being Peri (much as The Stranger was never directly linked to the Doctor), there are nonetheless similarities in the two characters, with one major difference: Bryant used her natural English accent for Miss Brown, rather than affecting an American accent as she did with Peri.


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Peri Brown on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Peri Television characters introduced in 1984 Doctor Who companions American female characters in television Fictional characters from Pasadena, California Fictional botanists