Five Rounds Rapid!: Autobiography of Nicholas Courtney - Doctor Who's Brigadier (Hardcover)

His warmth of personality does come through in the writing of the book, but there are one or two areas that weaken the narrative. “Five Rounds Rapid!” is very clearly directed towards Doctor Who fans. There is nothing wrong in playing to your audience like this, as clearly few people with no who allegiance are likely to even pick the book up. However, some of the references to the programme become quite contrived. Many of the people that Courtney met throughout his working life are refereed to with their names spliced by their Doctor Who story appearance within inverted commas. Ronald “Happiness Patrol” Frazer, for example. Given that many of these stories did not feature the Brig, it seems odd that they were mentioned at all, as, apart from breaking up the flow of the sentence in which they appear, they detract from the main theme of the book: Courtney’s life.

In the earlier chapters of the book, Nick regularly compares events in his life with those in the Brigadier’s. Again, this is to be expected, as his audience will mostly associate him strongly with that role. Even these references seem to become overstated at times. We are reminded when the young Courtney is offered an ASM position in Cromer, that the Brigadier would later mistake Omega’s planet for that seaside town in The Three Doctors. A matter of taste, but I would rather be left to make these connections myself, without prompts from the text.

The narrative rattles along at quite a lick. There are times when it might have been nice to be told a little more about some of the events. While we are given tantalising glimpses of a very active love life, natural nosiness demands more. There is a marked contrast between this style and that of Tom Baker's autobiography. While Baker tells all (and probably more!) without much thought for the consequences, Courtney errs on the side of caution and discretion. This gentlemanly approach is to be admired, but it does make the book easier to put down than that of his colleague. This is not to say that Nick cannot find a bad word to say about anyone. Several directors, most notably Michael Winner catch the harsh side of his tongue. However, one tends to feel that someone has to be really obnoxious to merit criticism in this tome.

The treasurable moments come when Courtney reveals some of his opinions or emotions, rather than through the events described. We get a very touching insight into his own particular brand of faith that is non-judgmental, and all the better for it! We are told of his reasons for believing in a united Europe, and of his long-term optimism. These rare moments show Nick as both likeable and inspiring.

Several side panels carry comments from Doctor Who colleagues. The tone of these is very similar to those used in Jon Pertwee's "I am the Doctor". These testimonials seem a little out of place in an autobiography where the author is still very much alive and I felt a little uncomfortable reading them. Again we see the bias towards the doctor who work. It would have been nice to hear comments from other colleagues as well.

I'm not sure that the book is really suited to the large format picture type. Being paperback size would make it less cumbersome to read, but, I assume that the sums had been done and scaling the book down would doubtless have not pulled in enough extra sales to accommodate the drop in price necessary.

"Five Rounds Rapid" is an enjoyable read and gives some background information on a much loved player in the Doctor Who arena. However, it stops short of giving the sort of insight about its author that one would normally expect from an autobiography. This is due, in part, to its concentration on his Doctor Who work, at the expense of other areas of his life. I put the book down, still wanting to know more about Nicholas Courtney, although leaving your audience wanting more is not a bad thing.