The character actor Tom Chadbon has passed away at 80 years old. While Chadbon’s career was long and impressive, with appearances in more than one version of Sherlock Holmes, Game of Thrones, Blake’s 7 and more, for many sci-fi fans he is probably best remembered as Duggan, a private investigator from the legendary 1979 Doctor Who serial “City of Death,” written by Douglas Adams (under the pseudonym David Agnew). In “City of Death,” Duggan delivers the “most important punch in history” by knocking out an alien, and ensuring that the human race exists in the first place. Forty-seven years later, “City of Death” is not only a stand-out Doctor Who epic, thanks in large part to the whip-smart writing from Adams, but it’s also got the perfect guest companion.
Chadbon’s passing is a good enough reason to revisit this excellent serial, and what you’ll find when you do is just how essential his role is to the famous story. Without Duggan, this, perhaps the best of Tom Baker’s Who adventures, wouldn’t work at all.
