Philip Hinchcliffe oversaw one of the most popular periods in Doctor Who history. But why did it resonate so powerfully with viewers?
In 1974, Doctor Who was far from unpopular. Yes, the viewing figures were slightly lower than they were at the peak of Jon Pertwee’s popularity, but a solid 8-9 million people were still watching the programme on a regular basis.
So when Philip Hinchcliffe took over the reins from outgoing producer Barry Letts, the ship was far from sinking. At the same time, there was no guarantee of success; as a relatively young and inexperienced producer, Philip Hinchcliffe had to get to grips with the programme quickly whilst simultaneously finding a way to drive it forward. Jon Pertwee, after all, was leaving, and Philip Hinchcliffe had the unenviable task of casting a new Time Lord.
As we all know, the Time Lord that Hinchcliffe ultimately chose was none other than Tom Baker – one of the most popular and iconic Doctor Who incarnations of all time (in fact, we have his scarf in our logo!) Philip Hinchcliffe didn’t go it alone, though; Barry Letts acted as his mentor throughout his first season in 1975, and played a key part in the casting of Baker, who was working on a building site at the time.
(C) BBC Studios
And then there was Robert Holmes. After Barry Letts, Holmes was one of the most experienced members of the Doctor Who production team, having written for the programme since the Second Doctor era with early serials such as ‘The Krotons’ and ‘The Space Pirates.’ Moreover, Holmes had created the iconic monsters the Autons, and had also penned the script for the Master’s first story. His understanding of the world of Doctor Who (and his obvious ability at writing for it) proved to be a real asset to Philip Hinchcliffe; he may have been new, but he was surrounded by a lot of talent.
That is not to say that he wasn’t bringing any talent of his own. Indeed, Philip Hinchcliffe undertook a number of bold creative decisions that changed the programme considerably, and saw the ratings rocket. Perhaps one of the most important of these was the tone of the show; Doctor Who was far from a sitcom, and indeed was considered horror by many people (and had been criticised a number of times for being too scary when Barry Letts had been at the helm.)
In short, Philip Hinchcliffe was keen to push the envelope when it came to horror. He wanted to reach a slightly older audience, without losing the younger viewers, and Holmes was in agreement. To achieve this, they drew considerable inspiration from the gothic horror genre with stories like ‘The Brain of Morbius,’ an adventure about a mad scientist who was trying to build a new body to contain the mind of a dead Time Lord. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest inspirations for this particular tale was the classic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, considered by some to be the first ever science fiction story.
And then there were tales like ‘Pyramids of Mars’ which featured killer mummies stalking an early 20th century mansion, and ‘Planet of Evil’ which subtly drew from the gothic novella The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The source material may have been recognisable, but it was immensely popular. Moreover, the ideas weren’t copied wholesale; as script editor, Holmes had a way of pulling elements from classic texts and mixing them into the unique format of Who (although he did once confess that “original ideas are fine – they just don’t have to be your original ideas!”)
It wasn’t long, therefore, before Philip Hinchcliffe’s Doctor Who audience was scurrying behind the sofa in their droves. The show was regularly pulling in viewers in excess of 10 million, and by the time Philip Hinchcliffe’s third and final season was broadcast, the viewing figures frequently hovered around the 11-13 million range.
And whilst it was popular with the viewing public, it did also stir controversy. One of Doctor Who‘s biggest enemies at this time was the activist Mary Whitehouse, who frequently criticised the programme for the level of horror it displayed, and claimed that it was having a detrimental effect on children. After all, it was being shown in a Saturday tea-time slot when many younger people were tuning in.
Perhaps the most famous example from the Philip Hinchcliffe era is the ending of ‘The Deadly Assassin’ part three where the Doctor, under attack from an evil Time Lord, is submerged underwater and held there. The episode finished with a freeze frame of the stricken Doctor as he disappeared beneath the waters, and Whitehouse insisted that this was too disturbing an image to leave in the minds of children for a whole week (until the cliffhanger was resolved.)
As such, Philip Hinchcliffe often had to come to the programme’s defence, similar to the way in which Letts had been forced to during his tenure. (Letts had previously been criticised for the ‘killer troll doll’ sequence in ‘Terror of the Autons‘ – also written by Robert Holmes!)
(C) BBC Studios
At the same time, children weren’t being driven away. The viewing figures were stronger than ever, and growing; people may have been scared, and yet there was something about Philip Hinchcliffe’s stories that kept bringing them back. Perhaps they tapped into that more universal human fascination with being afraid – the same fascination that still draws people to horror stories today.
On the flip side, Tom Baker’s portrayal of the Doctor was also proving successful. His eccentric, heroic, yet whimsical nature proved to be the perfect antidote for the programme’s scarier moments, and he became something of an overnight celebrity. Indeed, it wasn’t long before his Doctor Who outfit – complete with an 18 ft. scarf – was almost as iconic as the TARDIS itself.
But of course, he wasn’t travelling alone. Every Doctor needs a companion, and throughout the Philip Hinchcliffe era the TARDIS team was completed by journalist Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen. She had joined the series in Jon Pertwee’s last season, and so was already in situ by the time Philip Hinchcliffe joined the Doctor Who production team, but there was still a strong sense of newness to her character – perhaps because of the renewed relationship between herself and the Doctor, which was considerably different from the one she’d had with his third incarnation.
(C) BBC Studios
And like the Doctor, Sarah Jane proved popular with viewers. Certainly, she gave the younger fans a person with whom they could easily identify; Sarah Jane could be the one who asked questions, kept the Doctor in check, and who could become something of a hero herself. Sarah Jane may have done her fair share of screaming, but she had no compunction with squaring up to the bad guys. Equally, she was unafraid to challenge the Doctor, and the banter she enjoyed with his fourth incarnation brought some much needed humour to the grittier, more horrific adventures.
And Philip Hinchcliffe recognised just how important this companion role was to Doctor Who‘s success. When Elisabeth Sladen left the programme in 1976, Tom Baker tried to persuade him that the Doctor didn’t really need a companion, and that he could simply talk to himself. And whilst this wasn’t an idea that Philip Hinchcliffe took too seriously, he did allow it for one adventure – the aforementioned ‘The Deadly Assassin.’ However, by the time the subsequent story ‘The Face of Evil’ began, a new companion in the shape of Leela was introduced, but not before the Doctor had broken the fourth wall and started talking to the audience themselves!
(C) BBC Studios
And this audience was hooked. Clearly, there was some ‘secret sauce’ that made the Philip Hinchcliffe era resonate so powerfully, and it can be hard to pin down a single reason for its success. Yes, the stories were of a different tone and much scarier. There was Robert Holmes’ script editing. There were the high production values, exemplified by the re-designed TARDIS interior which was now more evocative of a Jules Verne story. Then there was Tom Baker’s wacky and heroic portrayal of the famous Time Lord, and his entertaining relationship with the ever-popular Sarah Jane Smith.
The success of the Philip Hinchcliffe era, therefore, was probably a combination of all these strong elements. And fascinatingly, these elements continue to resonate into the modern era of Who. For example, the title sequence for Doctor Who‘s 2005 relaunch was inspired by the title sequence of the Hinchcliffe era. And Sarah Jane Smith ended up getting her own spin-off series in 2006. Moreover, the gothic horror elements have returned in full force, with Russell T Davies even casting Gabriel Woolf (the voice of Sutekh in ‘Pyramids of Mars’) as the voice of Satan in ‘The Impossible Planet.’
Why do you think the Philip Hinchcliffe era was so successful? And which is your favourite story from his time as producer? Let me know in the comments below.
Tom Baker scarf – order now from the Lovarzi shop!
This is my favourite era of all. One of the most important things of all – in my opinion – are the scripts and the script editing. In this era there was consistency throughout. A choice to plan the stories each season to be written and played by the actors ‘For Real’. No matter how bizarre the subject matter and characters / creatures may be the writing and the performance was no different than – for instance – a historical drama like Poldark. The stories and characters were totally believable. Humour was there but only when appropriate. It was never an outright comedy. The show took itself seriously and I believed in the Doctor Sarah & Leela 100%. They were my heroes and it felt real. Never bettered and – in my opinion – these stories should be seen as a blueprint for excellence by all future show runners. To this days modern era I still prefer my Doctor WHO when it’s occasionally hinchcliffe like. The Waters Of Mars. Blink. Village Of The Angels. The Family Of Blood. The Doctor Dances. DALEK.
I agree with most of the points in this article. It was a magic time when all the elements seemed to pull together into a thing greater than the sum of its parts.The Hinchcliffe era was also when the show’s earliest fans had grown to an age where they could get organised and so DWAS (the Doctor Who Appreciation Society) was properly formed. Holmes said he was writing the show for the intelligent 14-year old, which I hope just happened to refer to me! II was then just a little younger than most of those Westfield College students who made up the founding committee, but I was eager to learn from them about the history of the show. It was a rare old time, culminating with the world’s first Doctor Who convention in August 1977, attended by Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and the new producer Graham Williams. I was sad that we didn’t have Lis Sladen there too. Hinchcliffe and Letts were clearly the best producers the show ever had and the mid-1970s ‘Who’ still reigns as the peak of the classic era, for me.
It worth clarifying something here – Hinchcliffe had no part in casting Tom Baker, that was a decision that had already been made by Barry Letts. Hinchcliffe mentions it in this interview
“In a way, thank God I didn’t have to cast the Doctor,” Hinchcliffe said. “It was so difficult to cast a new Doctor Who… I’m sure i would’ve made a mistake! So I was grateful they’d much such a great choice.”
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/cult/a860236/doctor-who-lost-stories-tom-baker-season-15/