Five Rounds Rapid!: The Autobiography of Nicholas Courtney [Hardcover]

Virgin Publishing (Author), Nicholas Courtney (Author), N. Courtney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

Nicholas Courtney was the only actor to play alongside every incarnation of Doctor Who. Courtney played the part of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the uncompromising, stiff-upper-lipped quintessentially British soldier who did battle with Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Yeti and Autons. This book explores Courtney's life from youth to television stardom, looking at his setbacks and triumphs, his career, divorce and his new-found happiness, but focusing on his years in "Doctor Who". He discusses every "Doctor Who" story he has appeared in, narrating anecdotes from behind the scenes with Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker and the rest of the "Doctor Who" incarnations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Virgin Publishing (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852277823
• ISBN-13: 978-1852277826
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,075,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brief moment of escape, October 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Rounds Rapid!: The Autobiography of Nicholas Courtney (Hardcover)

All of my life, I have been a no-nonsense man, who knows nothing but work. In 1986, I began to watch Dr. Who, just as a whim in a miltary barracks, on a TV set in the barrack day room that was chained to the floor so no one would steal it. At first it seemed rather cheesy, but then I found that I could not miss a single episode and if I had to miss it, I would record it. Once, I brought a VHS out to a live fire gunnery tank range, where we were to fire all day and all night for two nights.

In one of the tents where the crews were de-briefed and rested, I set up a small TV and the VHS and powered it up by using a military 15kw gas generator. We and the tank crews of my battalion watched Dr. Who.

My first experience with Dr. Who were the Pertwee years and the Brigadier played a large roll. I enjoyed these immensley and bought each one for my collection...and I am still watching them today..(In fact "Planet of Spiders" parts three and four are on tap this weekend).

In short, buy this book. By any book associated with any character who played in this marvelous series.

Thank you Brigadier for your part in allowing an ordinary man,for a few moments anyway,to escape the inescapable life of medocrity.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid Chap!, October 7, 2002

By 

D. M. Farmbrough "Dave Farmbrough" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Rounds Rapid!: The Autobiography of Nicholas Courtney (Hardcover)

This is the sort of autobiography you would expect from The Brigadier. Solid, dependable, traditional...but Nicholas Courtney isn't the Brigadier, and this also tells the story of his off-screen life, and life before Doctor Who stardom.

The first part of the book tells the story of the actor's early life, his parent's separation. Then follows the customary section on National Service, weekly rep, meeting Donald Wolfit and John Geilgud. It's good to hear Nick tell the familiar "actor's autobiography", because his style is friendly, humorous, and honest. This makes the book so enjoyable that the pages zoom by. We learn about the author's successes with the ladies, and, to his credit, his failures, and the breakdown of his marriage is dealt with in what seems to be a very honest manner.

The section on his Doctor Who work is well-written, and leaves out a lot of familiar material. This could be due to the work of Courtney's editor, John Nathan-Turner. For whatever reason, this remains fresh and exciting even thirty years after the fact.

The last part of the book details the post-Doctor Who work, and it is remarkable to see that since Courtney stopped being a Doctor Who regular in 1974 he has played the Brig no fewer than seven times. His work continues of course on the Doctor Who audio adventures, but this book was written before they had been established.

The large format suits his story well, allowing space for many rare and well-researched photographs. There are a few too many blank spaces for my liking, and some unnecessary tributes from those who have worked with him. He could also have cut down the number of references to Equity, the actors' union. Other than that, this is a first class read, and tells a more interesting story than the well-worn convention anecdotes, or sections in general Doctor Who books.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Rounds Rapid, October 28, 2000

By 

Bill Albert "Author" (Land of Starpoint) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Rounds Rapid!: The Autobiography of Nicholas Courtney (Hardcover)

An excellent book by the only man who has really seen the series from the very beginning. He is the only actor to have worked with all the actors to have played the Doctor. Thanks to the Big Finish audios he has appeared with the 6th Doctor and will be appearing with the 8th when Paul McGann returns to the roll next year. He rarely does conventions any more and, when he does, refuses to tell some of the stories he's famous for.