I'm still thinking about this ...

Doctor Doug Jackson:

Dr. Jackson has more depth than any other character in the show, even Ed. I think that had to do with Vladek Sheybal’s brilliant portrayal of the character. Anytime Jackson was in a scene he ran away with it.

In the series Jackson is first portrayed as a military liaison between SHADO and the IAC. He always seemed to have a hidden agenda. He is not shown as a SHADO doctor until the last third of the series. The speculative history in the SHADO library indicates that he transferred to SHADO at some point.

On the surface he is cold, calculating and slimy (according to Alec) and he is not trusted by either Ed or Alec. But underneath that lies a man with a mission. I think he had much more compassion and understanding than he was given credit for. That was seen in both Timelash and The Long Sleep.

Both Deb and Denise have shown him to have a deep rooted spiritual background, and I can easily see that trait in him. I portray him as a very complex individual and in my story arc, Ginny’s mother see’s right through him (she calls him loveable). In my planned story Genetics, Alec will find himself indebted to Jackson and will be forced to see the human side of this man.

Dr. Jackson is a character who has limitless potential.

Vladek Sheybal was born in Poland and during World War Two was captured by the Nazi’s. He escaped and was captured again. (Source SHADO Library)

I have toyed with the idea of including him in Edge of Armageddon but I feel that there's a real danger of 'over-egging the pudding'
The barest outline I came up with is that in 1970 he's working as a counter-intelligence officer for an unnamed security Agency in the Eastern bloc who becomes disenchanted with the system after witnessing the sadistic and brutal murder of an innocent man, the perpetrator getting away with it because of Party Connections. On fleeing to the west, he witnesses a UFO and realises that there are greater issues at stake than the Cold War

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced his story is a novel in it's own right

Colin,

I have to agree with Denise, that would be a great read! And a great backstory for the good doctor!

At the moment, I'm attempting to find another job, having lost my Civil Service Job in June. so it's had to take something of a back seat. Obviously, if the Publishers show an interest, I'll sit down and finish it in a couple of weeks (it's been on the go for 10 years now) but I haven't forgotten it - I'm still thinking of ways to improve it.
Like video editing, I tend to work in a non-linear way, often going back to polish up some of the incidental scenes.

I haven't said much because it's interesting to see how others see him. I was curious about Henderson apparently setting Straker and Jackson at odds when his character was introduced as sort of an oversight/security type. Then I got the feeling that the writers just didn't know what to do with the characters since he goes from baiting Foster during the "testing" part of Foster's eventual induction into SHADO to medical/psychiatric ...

The accent grabbed me immediately, as did the somewhat ascetic look of the actor. I watched his hands as much as his face when he was on screen. So, Dr. Jackson evolved his own mystique for me. Never quite certain exactly where he stood, although it began to seem that he was more on Straker's side than Henderson's.

Thus a very intelligent, educated man; probable degree in psychiatry, thus he is also an MD; dedicated, but never quite certain whether it is to a person, a planet or an ideal.

I have made him a surviving sacrifice in my lovecraftian writings, both the one where it's Ford's nightmare and in the skulls because it just sounds right. And he's the werewolf in the mix with the vampires. Thus always on edge and never quite at ease.

That's my take.