B is for... Bennett (2)

Jarvis Bennett was the commander of Space Wheel W3. He was a rigid, unimaginative man, who found it increasingly difficult to cope when his ordered domain came under attack. The crew had noticed small drops in air pressure, soon after an abandoned spaceship - the Silver Carrier - drifted close to the Wheel. Jarvis decided to blow the craft up, as it posed a collision risk. He was stopped when someone on the ship signaled to them. This proved to be Jamie McCrimmon. He and the comatose Doctor were brought on board the station. Some time later, one of the crew discovered a new lifeform - small metal creatures. These destroyed the Bernalium supplies, which were needed to power the station's X-Ray laser - its only defence. Jamie had disabled the weapon to prevent the station personnel from destroying the Silver Carrier, as the TARDIS was still aboard. Jarvis accused him of being a saboteur belonging to a group who were opposed to space exploration. The station was then threatened by a meteor shower.
Jarvis refused to connect the strange sequence of events - even when urged to do so by Dr Gemma Corwyn, whose opinion he normally accepted without fail.
It soon became clear that the Wheel was under attack from the Cybermen. As events escalated, Jarvis' mental state deteriorated. He finally broke on learning of Corwyn's death, and left the command area to challenge the Cybermen single-handed. They killed him.

Played by: Michael Turner. Appearances: The Wheel In Space (1968).

• Jarvis Bennett is just one in a long line of seemingly unsuitable commanders of bases, usually picked on by Cybermen. His society has all manner of safeguards designed to monitor, analyse and protect people's mental wellbeing - and yet they put him in charge...