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The First Inspector
The First Inspector
Vital statistics
Planet of Origin: Kayaclasch
Species Infinity Knight
Gender: Male
First Appearance: A Timeless Man
Last Appearance: The Lost Asteroid
Portrayed By: Leslie French
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The First Inspector was the earliest incarnation of the Infinity Knight later called the Inspector. He was played by English actor Leslie French.

History[]

"I will never return. No, I will not return. For now, you may regret, you may cry, you may be afraid. Just look back on our convictions, and prove to yourself that my faith in you is not misplaced."—The First Inspector

Before the Programme[]

He was born on Kayaclasch from Infinity Knights parents. He lived a happy childhood, listening to the stories of the Pirate and dreaming of a life as an Inspector. When he was 42, he was taken before the Time Cyclone, and unlike the other children who would run away, he stared at the cyclone for two full hours without blinking, a sign of maturity. He attended the Infinity Knight Police-Time Academy, where he met the Sergeant. They soon became good friends and accomplished their first mission together. They remained partners until an untold event in which the Sergeant allowed a criminal to escape. The Inspector disagreed with him and reported his action to the Infinity Knight High Command. The Sergeant was sacked, but he escaped stealing an old Dimensioniser. The Inspector was reassigned to work with Susannah Overseer on the primitive planet Earth.

On the Programme[]

Over the course of his adventures, the First Inspector would attempt to bring to justice a wide variety of historical villains and sci-fi miscreants. In addition to his classic foes the Blorgons and the Circuit-Chaps, he would go up against the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, the American outlaw Alexander Franklin "Frank" James and his gang, the Spanish Inquisition's Grand Inquisitor, the Fiddling Friar from the future, the cute robot Chavvies, and, most memorably, the Transcendental Tinker.

Associates[]

Habits[]

  • Unlike his successors, he was quite scrupulous not to change the future if he got involved in past times and was dedicated to preventing ontological paradoxes by other time-travellers, such as the "Fiddling Friar".
  • His catchphrase was "Oi, wot's all this, then?"
  • He is the only Inspector who carried an umbrella: His "bionic bumbershoot" actually functioned as a catch-all electronic device.  Owing to its delicate circuitry, it had to be kept dry—it would short out if opened in the rain—so the Inspector never unfurled it.  After it got soaked in "The Gloom of Aquanus", he switched to the more practical Optic Pocketknife, which became the character's iconic all-in-one tool.

Quotes[]

  • "We don't live alone in the universe. We are members of one intergalactic body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if humans will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. Good night."—The First Inspector, at the end of "A Timeless Man"
    • This paraphrased Inspector Goole—widely considered an influence on French's performance—from J. B Priestley's play An Inspector Calls.
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