Sunday 1 October 2017

C is for... Chief Caretaker


In command of the janitorial staff in the Paradise Towers residential complex. The Chief was an officious jobsworth, who insisted that everything had to be done by the rule book. He harboured a dark secret, as he was protecting the disembodied mind of the Towers' architect, Kroagnon - keeping him alive in the basement. Kroagnon had control over the automated cleaning machines which patrolled the Towers, and used these to kill people - bringing their corpses downstairs so that he could fashion a new body for himself. The Chief Caretaker was happy for the machines to claim residents as victims, but grew uneasy when his own staff began to disappear. When he challenged Kroagnon, he was killed as the Great Architect transferred his mind into the Chief's body. His grubby uniform now looked pristine, and his flesh had taken on a metallic sheen. The architect used his body when he began the systematic destruction of everyone in the complex, as he hated his masterpiece being spoiled by human beings. He was lured into a trap, blown up by the young resident Pex.

Played by: Richard Briers. Appearances: Paradise Towers (1987).

  • Based on the stereotypical jobsworth park keeper - no ball games etc., with a costume and make-up designed to mimic Hitler, Briers claimed that he ignored direction to tone down what is one of the most OTT performances in the history of the programme.
  • Best known for sitcoms, he turned out to be a great Shakespearean actor in later life, and compare this role with the performance he gave in Torchwood's A Day in the Death.
  • Brier's wife, Ann Davies, played Jenny in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

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