Captain Yates never really travelled with the Doctor, but he was a beloved Doctor Who ‘companion’ who helped battle the forces of evil throughout the 1970s.
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Played by Richard Franklin, Captain Mike Yates was a key member of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, or UNIT, and part of what became known as the UNIT family.
In the 70s, the eponymous Time Lord had been exiled to Earth by his own people and lost all knowledge of how to pilot the TARDIS. His home, therefore, became a military organisation overseen by Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart and his team, which included Sergeant Benton, scientist Liz Shaw and, later, Jo Grant played by Katy Manning. This was a particularly happy (and successful) time for the programme, with viewing figures frequently nearing or exceeding 10 million viewers. And Captain Yates was an important part of that success.
He didn’t join the party until a couple of years into the UNIT era, though. Captain Yates made his debut in Doctor Who Season Eight – the same time that Barry Letts took over as producer. The incoming showrunner made a number of changes, including introducing a regular rival for the Doctor in the shape of the Master. Jo Grant was also brought into the family in order to provide a character who the Doctor could explain things to.
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It was at this time that the production team also decided that Jo Grant needed a love interest to spice things up, and Captain Yates was that love interest; after all, he was dashing, resourceful and charming.
And yet, intriguingly, very little was done with this pairing. In fact, there is little evidence of any romantic attraction at all between the two characters. It is clear that Jo and Mike are good friends, but there is nothing to suggest that their friendship was anything deeper.
The only real allusion to romance between Jo Grant and Captain Yates is in ‘The Curse of Peladon,’ where Jo berates the Doctor for taking her on a “joyride” in the TARDIS when she’s “old dolled up for a night on the town with Mike Yates.” But even then, she looks like she’s off for a night of Regal ballroom dancing as opposed to downing a line of tequila slammers at Stringfellow’s.
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The lack of any romantic development between Jo Grant and Captain Yates might be because of the BBC’s sensitivity towards its younger viewers. Romance was seldom dealt with in the series, and indeed in the 80s the producer John Nathan-Turner worked very hard to extinguish any suggestion of ‘hanky panky’ in the TARDIS.
At the same time, it’s hard to imagine how a love story between Grant and Yates could have played out without getting in the way of the storytelling. Try to imagine, for example, how on earth this would fit into an adventure like ‘The Mind of Evil‘ or ‘The Claws of Axos.’
And whilst Captain Yates may have been denied any character development as far as his love life was concerned, he did end up having the biggest journey of any member of the UNIT family. In a stunning twist, it’s revealed in 1974’s ‘Invasion of the Dinosaurs’ that he is actually a double agent; he has betrayed his UNIT friends in order to help a group of deranged activists who are hell bent on returning the Earth to a “golden age.”
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This “golden age,” as it turns out, is the time period before homo sapiens roamed the Earth – that is, during the Cretaceous period, when the dinosaurs lived. And in trying to turn back the clock on planet Earth, the activists actually end up bringing the dinosaurs forward in time to terrorise the streets, causing the evacuation of the whole of London.
Captain Yates is an integral part of this plan, and even goes so far as to sabotage the Doctor’s ‘anti-dinosaur device,’ nearly killing his friend in the process. He loses his nerve at the last minute, though, and ends up saving the Time Lord’s life.
Of course, Captain Yates’ duplicity is uncovered at the story’s conclusion, and the activists are defeated. Captain Yates, naturally, is dismissed from UNIT, although the Brigadier shows compassion. “Extended sick leave and a chance to resign quietly,” he explains, when speaking of Yates’ fate. “Best I could do.”
However, that is not the end of Captain Yates’ story. He returns in Jon Pertwee’s final adventure ‘Planet of the Spiders‘ in order to redeem himself. In this story, he is working as a freelancer and uncovers some mysterious goings-on at a meditation centre. He needs UNIT’s help, but dare not approach the Doctor or the Brigadier after the events of ‘Invasion of the Dinosaurs.’ And so he ropes Sarah Jane Smith into helping him with his investigations.
In the end, Captain Yates does prove himself to be a hero, although his final scene in the story is somewhat anti-climactic. In fact, this moment in ‘Planet of the Spiders’ marks the character’s final appearance in the whole series, save for a ghostly cameo in 1983’s ‘The Five Doctors.’
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Indeed, few members of the UNIT family were ever afforded a proper goodbye. Liz Shaw left without a farewell scene, as did Sergeant Benton; the latter was simply written out of the show, the explanation being that he had left the army to become a used car salesman. This was due to the fact that, in 1975, the new producer Philip Hinchcliffe was keen ‘phase’ UNIT out of the series and return Doctor Who to a space-based adventure.
In the event, the only character who was ever given a proper send-off was the Brigadier, first in ‘Battlefield’ and then, ultimately, in 2011’s ‘The Wedding of River Song.’
So viewers never learnt what became of Captain Yates, but the character remained popular in the years that followed. Richard Franklin was a regular on the Doctor Who convention circuit, and always delighted in meeting fans. He passed away in 2023, and is much-missed by the Doctor Who community.
Tell us: what is your favourite Captain Yates moment? Let us know in the comments below.
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