CCC5 - The Ambassadors of Death 5

There's an innocent little scene in this episode that has always made me feel all fuzzy inside. It's the scene where The Doctor is about to leave Space Control for the Recovery capsule and blast off into space, but is met in the waiting room by the Brigadier. The Brigadier is simply there to see him off, and the exchange between the two is brief before The Doctor is summoned to enter the Recovery capsule. The scene really serves no purpose except to provide a transition from The Doctor being in Space Control to him being strapped up in the Recovery capsule.

What it shows, though, is how thawed the relationship between The Doctor and the Brigadier has become since the incident at the end of Doctor Who and the Silurians. (The incident is still recent, too, as The Doctor addresses it in Episode One of this story). The fact that Brigadier takes time out of his busy schedule to offer The Doctor a friendly face to look at for his last few moments on Earth before his mission gets underway is one thing. However, in an earlier scene, Dr. Lennox (Cyril Shaps) manages to summon up the courage and seek the help of UNIT, who place him in a protective cell. Lennox says he will only speak to the Brigadier, and wishes to speak to him immediately, a fact relayed to the Brigadier by Benton. The Brigadier acknowledges Lennox's request, but says that he has a few "security checks" to do first before he returns to UNIT HQ. The Brigadier may have, indeed, had some security checks to perform, but The Doctor's well-being is also first and foremost in his mind.

Sure, the Brigadier's delayed return to HQ gives Reegan's men the extra time they need to kill Lennox and cause the Brigadier great embarrassment, but it's heartwarming to see the Brigadier make the first move towards a greater friendship with The Doctor after having been the one who damaged it in the first place.