How Star Wars CHANGED Doctor Who | A Video Essay

[@gregsmith7949]

The Baker years can be divided into three distinct eras based on the producer. You have the Gothic horror phase of Hinchcliff, the lite comedy and over the top performances of the Williams era, and a return to a more serious and at times, surreal reinterpretation with Nathan-Turner. Each producer left their own distinct fingerprints on each phase.

[@TaylordVision]

Very well put! It’s amazing looking at the difference between, say, Brain of Morbius, City of Death and Full Circle - such huge changes over less than a decade!

[@ptolemeeselenion1542]

Indeed.

[@locker.535]

As someone who is not British, but makes their living as an academic, I loved this video and learned so much ❤️ your dedication to celebrating Doctor Who and studying its impact is appreciated!

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you so much! What lovely, kind words - I’m glad my love for the show comes across! It was a joy to put this together💙💙

[@bluestruthspodcast3398]

This is absolutely wonderful! What a terrific retrospective on a truly underappreciated era. You sir are a clear talent! Keep up the good work :)

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks so much for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it!

[@jamesoverholt878]

A lot of Doctor Who's success comes down to really good people doing really good work

[@TaylordVision]

Hear hear!

[@brettengland192]

The Graham Williams era of Doctor Who is without a doubt my favorite of the entire series. "Horror of Fang Rock," "Invisible Enemy," "Sun Makers," "Invasion of Time:" masterpieces. And the Key to Time series arc, which the exception of "The Power of Kroll," is a phenomenal achievement.

[@TaylordVision]

Couldn’t agree more! ‘Sun Makers’ is easily in my Top 10 now, and I’ll always stand up for the Key to Time series!

[@mintybadgerproductions]

Each to their own, but The Invasion of Time a masterpiece? It's a fun story, but hardly a masterpiece. It singlehandedly destroys the mystique of the time lords, has them invaded by tin foil revealed to be some plain looking guys and then ends with a two episode chase through a swimming pool and what looks like school corridors. Also Leela's terrible exit, marrying a character she has barely any interaction or chemistry with? And does it really compare to the Hinchcliffe Holmes era? The Ark in Space, Genesis of the Daleks, Terror of the Zygons, Pyramids of Mars, The Brain of Mobius, The Seeds of Doom, The Deadly Assassin, The Robots of Death and The Talons of Weng Chiang. Full of classics and only a couple episodes that can be considered duds, certainly nothing as bad as Underworld. The era speaks for itself really.

[@DoctorWhoAdventures]

Amazing work Miles! This was really well structured and presented (and such a cool concept to explore in detail)! I bet you got a very high mark for this! 👌 For me, this is one of the best video essays out there!

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks so much guys! It was great fun to put together, so I’m glad it’s been received so well - and it was luckily well received by the uni too, as it was awarded a first! Thanks for the kind words as always😊

[@DoctorWhoAdventures]

@@TaylordVision You're welcome :) Ayyyyy!! That's awesome news! You definitely deserved it! :D

[@originaluddite]

I like how it clearly demonstrates proper essay structure.

[@charlesross9260]

Thanks again.

[@diamondaxe4133]

I just binge watched seasons 15,16 and 17 and had a tremendous lot of fun doing so.

[@TaylordVision]

Isn’t it such a great run? I adore the Key to Time - a hugely underrated season!

[@jellybabiesarecool4657]

Brilliant video. Best video essay I've ever watched. Hopefully after this Williams will get talked about more.

[@TaylordVision]

Wow, high praise! Thank you so much! And I totally agree - let’s give his era lots more love.

[@stephennoonan8417]

Excellent. Reminds me of delirious teenage days spent poring over John Tulloch and Manuel Alvarado’s Doctor Who: the Unfolding Text; the first book to treat the programme seriously. I went to our local bookshop to order it, in the educational section; and the assistant (misunderstanding the metaphorical notion of an ‘unfolding text’) sneered, ‘Pop-up books are downstairs!’ The book was a revelation at that time; if occasionally obscure and excessively verbose. Its chapter on the Williams era, Send Up: Authorship and Organisation was by far its best, and the least beset by superfluous media studies jargon. Just one tiny expostulation: as someone who remembers it well, the description of CoD’s massive hike in figures as a ‘slight inflation due to a strike’ is somewhat to understate the fact that ITV being completely blacked out meant that there was little alternative to watching Doctor Who on Saturday 20 October 1979. Well, I say that, but you could certainly have tuned in to BBC2’s ‘Grapevine’ - almost without a doubt the most ‘paralysingly dull, boring and tedious’ documentary series in the history of humanity! ‘Tonight: Is Industry Coming Clean With You?’ About toxic waste in the environment. I think Barry Letts was the only person who turned over!

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you for the kind words Stephen! And what lovely memories about your experience with The Unfolding Text! It was an invaluable resource for this dissertation - Tulloch and Alvarado really knew their stuff. Certainly worth a revisit!

[@stephennoonan8417]

@@TaylordVision It’s a fascinating era of the programme, Miles. Those of us who’d been fortunate enough to be the children of Pertwee and early Baker, and grown used to Doctor Who’s full throttle ‘scaring the little buggers to death’ ethos were (I regret to say) less than enchanted by its sudden disappearance and its replacement by the comedy and K-9. Many of us rather felt we’d been poisoned by the Puritanism of Mother Mary. Tulloch and Alvarado opened my eyes to the sophistication that lay beneath the (then) apparently tatty, flippant surface. Like you, I’m a fan of Love and Monsters, but you wouldn’t want it every week; and that was how it seemed at the time. What kept us glued then (I was about 10 by the way) was Tom Baker’s preternatural charisma. But the influence of the era on the revived series - which at its best manages to effect a hybrid of the best of the Hinchcliffe and Williams manner - is undeniable. Congratulations on your First Class degree for this, Miles. I’m gratified that they appreciated it! 😉

[@TaylordVision]

@@stephennoonan8417 That’s very true - for those watching along at the time, like yourself, Baker must have been utterly magnetic to watch! What charisma! And it was a delight to find the parallels between his era and the current iteration of the show throughout this study. Thanks for your congratulations! I’m certainly gratified they appreciated it too😆

[@stephennoonan8417]

@@TaylordVision The shifting tone of the programme is ons that perennially fascinates me. Graham and Douglas are - not unjustifiably- credited with introducing the meta-SF factor. However, Adams himself acknowledged the debt he owed to Robert Holmes’s earlier work in influencing his adoption of the mode. I think Carnival of Monsters may be the groundbreaking story in that regard. The show within a show concept was irresistible. But what distinguished that story from those of the Williams era is the dramatic/aesthetic approach to the material. When Shirna says, ‘They’ll never make it!’ - snd we cut back to the Doctor and Jo in ‘circuit 3’: ‘Something’s very wrong here, Jo’/‘Doctor, I don’t like it’, Pertwee and Manning are playing it absolutely straight; and it’s ominously unnerving. And when the Drashigs burst out of the mud, accompanied by Brian Hodgson’s terrifying shriek, the actors react to them as though they’re the most horrific threat imaginable, regardless of the shortcomings of the puppetry; making for one of the most memorable cliffhangers of the ‘70s. So, you get the best of both worlds. What was irritating in a comparable story, Nightmare of Eden - which obviously borrows from Carnivsl of Monsters- is the failure to treat the Mandrels as a threat; their risible design is signalled by the actors responding to them; so the programme appears to be taking the piss out of itself, which depth-charges the possibility of taking the interesting and controversial narcotics theme of that particular story very seriously. I always say that what made Doctor Who compelling pre-Williams (and less so during his tenure) is that the characters don’t know they’re in Doctor Who. In other words, the actors are all performing (to the best of their, admittedly, varying ability) as if they might be in any other dramatic series or serial. What started to happen in the Williams era was the tendency to camp it up; to indulge in a ‘knowing excess’. It’s fascinating that Adams himself, in several interviews, deplored this habit, saying , ‘That’s exactly the wrong way to do it.’ Tom Baker’s boredom had a lot to do with it, I think; and the fact that no one by that point had the means of dissuading his own excesses, which of course influenced the style adopted by the rest of the cast. As I say, where the best of the revived series scores is when it magisterially plays the two modes (self-referential playfulness and jeopardy-suffused melodrama) in counterpoint; or turns on a sixpence (or a dime) between the two. This is what I believe Williams (who of course vehemently disagreed with the stictures that Graeme MacDonald - the man who caved in to Mrs Whitehouse - was imposing on him in 1977) and Adams were really aiming for; but had been hampered by Whitehouse; by the recession; and - if must be admitted - by the irrepressible comic exuberance of the great Baker himself! Moffat at the top of his game often pulls off the desired tonal ambivalence brilliantly and dizzyingly; as in the example you cited from World Enough and Time. And if you’ve got a performer of the calibre of a Michelle Gomez, you can probably do anything. Repeatedly in series 10, you have optimal examples of stories that are simultaneously ironically playful and, well, doing what the programme’s intrinsic remit always has been, ‘scaring the little buggers (of all ages) to death’. And that’s Doctor Who! 😁

[@eonetim]

@Stephen Noonan it was also Tom finding out what made the kids laugh and bringing that in. So you get him playing to the gallery, where under Hinchcliffe he was the character. Across Williams he became the star appearing in his show. It can be seen as replacing dark with light, but a Whitehouse complaint always sent the viewing figures up. So I think it's more that the new producer and losing Sladen by his side, meant he went to his preferred extreme. As opposed to what the writers and directors might envisage as the feel. Only in the JNT era does the story and the atmosphere reliably return. It lost that sense of Tom trying to make the kids (and the crew) laugh over and above the story of the week. Unless it's City of Death, where he's got respect for the script enough to engage. He admits he didn't read them and you can see in the majority of Williams era stories, there may be knowing humour, but he clearly doesn't know where he is within the story and what the tone or pace of the scenes surrounding the current one are. As he said, he just did it his way. And we can see where that's happening vs. earlier and much later stories where he's taking direction and allowing for light and shade within the scenes and oxygen for fellow performers. The Tom Baker Show, as many term the Williams era, didn't tend to do that, so you've very often got overpitched delivery and physical business where once there was nuance. As he says watching himself in The Tom Baker Years, in the early stuff there's casual byplay and then over time he becomes coarser. It's undoubtedly funny to many, not least younger viewers, at whom it was squarely pitched.

[@residenttdk007]

Thank you for taking the time to research and create an incredibly insightful essay on Williams’ era of Doctor Who. Hope to see more essays on the series in the near future.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! It was a great joy to explore his era. Hopefully more studies to come should a suitable topic arise!

[@markpettis2896]

Thank you so much I really enjoyed this as an American kid living in England 1966 and 67 I was crazy about Doctor Who and when I saw the show in America starting with Tom Baker I was thrilled! Your comments about this era I thoroughly enjoy these episodes especially

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you so much! And thanks for sharing your lovely memories - what a time to be a fan!

[@markpettis2896]

@@TaylordVision I’m glad you enjoyed my memories I was hoping you would fellow Doctor Who fan!❤️ Plus I love your analysis of how Star Wars influence the British emphasis on charm which Doctor Who has

[@kingforaday8725]

The sometimes campy special effects of Dr Who is one of the things that made it so enduring!!! The stories and acting is what really carried it!

[@TaylordVision]

Couldn’t agree more!

[@LibertyBridgeProductions]

What he meant is they got a big budget movie with great effects and we have the Doctor.

[@JeremyDuncan]

This is fantastic! It's about time there's a deep dive into the Graham Williams era. I see so many people bash this era of the show which makes me fume. Wonderful.

[@TaylordVision]

Couldn’t agree more! Let’s give his era all the love - it certainly deserves it. Thanks for the kind words!

[@Jp-1377]

The biggest problem I have with it is that it killed the hinchcliffe era to exist

[@JeremyDuncan]

@@Jp-1377 Think of it more as the Hinchcliffe era was ended by outside factors, and the Williams era was created to fill the vaccum.

[@timothybarnett1006]

Yeah, Graham Williams's work on the show is sorely under appreciated. Romana's costume in _The Ribos Operation_ is obviously a nod to Princess Leia's look in _A New Hope_

[@TaylordVision]

Can’t believe I didn’t twig this! Such a neat little parallel!

[@mikebasil4832]

Thank you for this splendid video essay. Doctor Who’s magic is certainly at its best when it’s easy enough to set it apart from most other sci-fi legacies.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! And couldn’t agree more😄

[@mikebasil4832]

@@TaylordVision You’re welcome.

[@dusty2366]

Nice work! Hope you got a good grade on the dissertation for this

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! And I did thanks - it got a first! :D

[@jonathandoering6499]

Fantastic work Miles, easily your best video yet! I really hop you make more of these!

[@TaylordVision]

Aww thank you! It’s certainly one I’m very proud of - I hope to do more in future if I can think of the right topic!

[@markthomas1187]

What a well researched, well informed & very watchable video. Well done 👍 RIP GW.

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks for the kind words! And hear hear!

[@josephdevlin7528]

Very refreshing. I will relook at this era of the series differently having watched your video essay. Well done and thank you.

[@MrRjhyt]

A truly delightful insight. This was my era, as a child. Just loving City of Death, as a young fan. Thrilling at the sight of John Cleese in the gallery. Just so brilliantly making the program endure, and express it's unique appeal. I'd be curious to know where the show found it's relentless optimism. That's one of the features that keeps me enthralled, and feels like a parallel given how optimistic outlook is shared in Star Trek. Both shows enduring decades with fans, while establishing new audiences, too.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! I couldn’t agree more that the optimism was crucial in allowing it to endure - it’s one of my favourite things about the show, in any of its eras!

[@minicle426]

Not quite related, but one of George's influences with Star Wars is the works of Gerry Anderson. Particually Thunderbirds. It's chiefly why his films utilize a lived-in worn look to them.

[@user-yf9ku1tl6b]

Yo imagine having doctor who literally appear within the Star Wars universe, that be something I’d watch, see a sophisticated genius learn the discoveries of a new galaxy and universe very VERY different from his own

[@Deckard325]

I can't believe this has less than 6 000 views after five days! This was so well done.

[@TaylordVision]

I’m so happy with how well it’s doing! Thanks so much! :D

[@garybryant1501]

Romana her white frock is obviously based on Princess Leia's original Star Wars look 😁

[@stephennoonan8417]

Very true. But Carrie had nothing on Mary! 😁

[@TaylordVision]

Of course! Can’t believe that never occurred to me!🤩

[@ComMaxil]

Love this video, one of the best documentaries I have seen about Doctor Who on KZbin (and I have seen most of them). Great to see the Williams era getting the love it deserves, and you are 100% right, in many ways this is the model for new Who. Indeed one of the benefits to the new series has been its ability to draw on the different strands/eras of classic Who, UNIT stories, base under siege stories, Hinchcliffe gothic horror and the 90s New Adventures novels’ more adult Sci fi stories, but above all of these, the Williams tone of britishness and humour you describe so well (indeed I remember Moffat doing an interview praising City of Death to the heavens and saying how he would have loved to have Douglas Adams write for the revived show had he lived). One further thought I had watching this, should you ever decide to do a follow up you might want to look at eighties Who and how JNT also looks at Star Wars and in my opinions learns completely the wrong lesson. He removes the humour and tries to make the show look more glossy, then brings in run and gun action stories that tries to replicate the style of American sci fi at the time, firstly reasonably successfully (Earthshock) then with diminishing returns (Warriors of the Deep, Resurrection of the Daleks) as it becomes increasingly clear that the show simply cannot do glossy sci fi on a BBC budget and it starts to look sillier and sillier as the eighties rolls on until a realisation in its final couple of years that the how needs to play to its strengths (atmosphere, and the ability of the BBC to make historical settings look good). Indeed it is this cheap look and the inability to compete with Star Wars that Michael Grade and others cite as amongst the reasons why they hated the show in the eighties. I shall now go and explore the other videos on your channel, you have got one new subscriber!

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you for the kind words! It was a delight to study Williams era and put this piece together. And I totally agree with your observations on JNT’s lessons from Star Wars by comparison! It’s a complete change of tact, and one that ultimately didn’t have the same impact. I’ll certainly consider looking further into that one… (Incidentally, love the Arc of Infinity inspired username!)

[@CourteousKitsch]

Excellent analysis! You really captured what made that period special and why New Who has worked so well. You've made me look forward to many more years to come of this wonderful programme.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! Very glad that you enjoyed

[@FriendlyDemon93]

Really enjoyed this. As an old geezer (52) who watched the show avidly when I was kid, met Tom Baker at the Blackpool Doctor Who exhibition in 1975, and still today believe his performance to be the best, this gave me loads to think about. I remember Star Wars appearing & changing everything, including sparking criticisms of Doctor Who as embarrassing, cheap & creaky. I never viewed it that way, because I loved the characters, the stories & the ideas (the same way I didn't care about those same criticisms aimed at Blake's 7 or Sapphire & Steel). In any case, I think you captured the political issues of the time perfectly & conveyed a real sense of what it was like to live through them. I was swept away by this video & actually found it quite moving. Have a new subscriber, a warmly deserved like & my sincere best wishes.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you Jonathan! And thanks for sharing your memories, absolutely fascinating to hear how people like yourself were reacting to the show at the time. Quite right about Baker too - still enchanting generations of audiences decades after his era!

[@FriendlyDemon93]

@@TaylordVision Y'know, the 1970s could be rough. There were stacks of social problems, endless political/economic clashes & a great deal of absolute poverty. Still, despite that (or maybe because of it) sci-fi & fantasy boomed--especially TV, film & comics made for kids, or releases which included them as part of the audience. And that stuff was often dark, sometimes outrightly scary, with genuine adult-level content that didn't coddle younger viewers--think Close Encounters, Superman or Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In the UK this manifested in the themes, references & subtext incorporated into shows like Doctor Who, just as you mentioned, while also playing more overtly in the classic 2000 AD, or something quite brutally cynical like Time Bandits (which began development in 1979). In my opinion, it was the best decade for imaginative work & I count myself very lucky to have experienced it.

[@I_Don_t_want_a_handle]

@@FriendlyDemon93 Otherwise known as escapism. Doctor Who was fun. Yes the scenery wobbled and the acting was often laughably bad but it did what all great sci-fi did, it made one think. The laughter was a bonus. Star Wars just couldn't do that, being, as it is, just a fairy tale in space.

[@FriendlyDemon93]

@@I_Don_t_want_a_handle Very well said!

[@gilescosgrove3933]

Sat here on a balcony in Spain after a very long hot day and I have to say this was perfect sunset material.

[@TaylordVision]

What could be finer! Glad you enjoyed and thank you for the kind words.

[@wakawakatakeover]

This is a very good video essay. It's very interesting to hear what was going on in British politics and culture at the time. But I must say that as an American who likes Doctor Who a lot, this does very much make me want to fight you behind a Denny's parking lot. Primarily whenever you're talking about British national identity.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@richardcoleman3425]

A great essay, Miles! Up there with those of Brub52 and Jay Exci... Excellent work, young fella! A great take, and very enjoyable... Hope you're proud of this one! Stay safe... :)

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you Richard! What a delight to be considered alongside those creators :D Certainly very proud of how this one’s turned out - the response has been lovely too!

[@stellarmonk]

Tom Baker was my favourite Doctor, brilliant!

[@TaylordVision]

He’s one of the best for a reason!😄

[@williammitchell4417]

As Eric Bischoff once said "Don't compete, be different" I liked Louise as Leela. Lalla as Romana was better, however I believe that the stories were better. Mary's Romana ended up getting stuck into the longer Key to Time serial.

[@TaylordVision]

I’m a fan of Romana I personally - I think she really embodies the whole ice-maiden notion they originally convinced her as - but I love what Lalla does too! Her chemistry with Tom rivals even that of him and Liz Sladen (for obvious reasons!)

[@willadeefriesland5107]

Insightful, very effective in giving context, and allows me to appreciate MY Doctor, as portrayed by the wonderful Tom Baker, even more. Kudos.

[@TaylordVision]

What a lovely comment - thank you so much! Certainly a joy to delve into Baker’s era - he’s an icon for a reason and utterly definitive in the part💙

[@russelledwards001]

The Douglas Adams episode with the black bondage stormtroopers with bellend helmets is a classic lol

[@TaylordVision]

Exquisite. Absolutely exquisite👌

[@russelledwards001]

@@TaylordVisionI’ve been watching them all over the past few months and I have to say anything with Jon pertwee or Tom baker even if bad have some entertainment and comedy value. The same can’t be said for the later doctors from the OG series, unfortunately (apart from that episode with the gratuitous bikini shot, of course)

[@johntomlinson6849]

If Williams tried to avoid Star Wars, how come we had a robot dog for four years as well as space opera like Nightmare of Eden and Horns of Nimon with their cheap space shots, not to mention the borefest of Armageddon Factor? (Note that they all came from the pens of a certain Baker and Martin - someone in the production office should have sent the memo to them).

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks for raising these points! Interesting considerations😄 Worth remembering that K9 came before R2, however, so that was certainly a coincidence! And don’t worry, I didn’t claim that Williams ever *avoided* Star Wars - I certainly don’t deny that Doctor Who attempted to replicate the blockbuster’s successes in places - the FX team even admitted that the opening shot of The Invasion of Time was directly mimicking the start of A New Hope. But it’s undeniable that once we reach Season 17, there’s much less of that. Thanks for watching though, hope you enjoyed the video regardless!😄

[@johntomlinson6849]

@@TaylordVision Thank you!

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

Very well done! A whole lot more than I expected when I clicked on the title, for sure. Excellent!

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks so much for the kind words!

[@Elementa2006]

Smashing, absolutely smashing work! Well researched and informative as well as entertaining and mind blowing.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it, it was delightful to work on!

[@ZachariahJ]

In 1977 I was 22, and getting a bit old for Dr Who - but Leela managed to keep me interested for a few more years! (There are really no such thing as 'kid's' shows now, all ages can enjoy the same shows in different ways - and that's a good thing! - but it wasn't quite the same 45 years ago.)

[@TaylordVision]

What a coincidence! I’m currently 22 as of making this video! Thanks for watching :D

[@ZachariahJ]

@@TaylordVision That's fun to know! But like I said, if I'd started intently discussing Dr Who, or Star Wars, or talking about a Batman comic in the pub in those days, my friends would have thought I'd gone barmy! They were regarded as children's entertainment. Hence the inclusion of Leela - 'for the dads' they used to say. Anyway, let me tell you a personal Dalek story; In the mid/late 1960s, in Birmingham, there used to be an annual Toy Fair, just before Xmas. It was a big affair, all the latest gadgets from Hong Kong and the USA - yo-yos and stuff like that. I went to one with my family, and there was a walled off area which contained a real live BBC Dalek! You bought a ticket, and little mini-train would haul a bunch of kids round inside the area. The Dalek came up to me and touched me with its sucker - and I started screaming so loud they had to get my mother to take me off the ride! You know what? I'm not even ashamed - a full size Dalek is pretty terrifying to a 7-year-old. And they weren't familiar pop-culture icons then. They were alien, and scary. To me, anyway. ;-)

[@ghanimaatreides5889]

and not just John Cleese but Eleanor Bron with him ... she was the lovely from The Beatles' Help and later on the mother of Pats in AbFab ... so comedy royalty in her own right

[@TaylordVision]

Never knew that Eleanor Bron was another comedy star! I was only aware of her being in Revelation of the Daleks other than this!

[@tortysoft]

I watched the Dr from day one. My Father helped make it. I joined the BBC in 1978 and I too worked on the show, so I was ready to say - Star Wars influencing Dr Who ? Rubbish ! But, then I watched the video. I am impressed. Clearly you are right, but not the way I was going to complain about. I have loved the comedic aspect of the writing, the complexity of the plot motifs, the, OK, yes, Britishness of it all. Even though The Dr has been a major part of my life I have never given Graham Williams much of a thought, let alone thanks for his work. I am glad to do so now. I also enjoy Star Wars, but basically for the spectacle and the spiritual 'goodness'. I also love Star Trek, all of them but The Dr is my first and greatest Sci Fi love. II'll watch Sun Makers now :-) Well done indeed !

[@normanby100]

Dr Who was always influences by what was popular at the time - James Bond, the Avengers, Hammer Horror, Quatermass, Star Trek.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you so much for sharing Simon! What wonderful memories - how delightful to have your father making Who. Very glad you enjoyed the video, thanks once again!

[@alonespirit9923]

There at 15:53 while talking comedy after talking about the show moving to emphasize its Britishness. the prop behind Baker and the other character looks for all the world like an Apollo capsule instrument panel.

[@scottfw7169]

Given the Apollo control panel is still being shown while comment is made about Dr. Who distancing itself from other sci-fi properties does that indicate the Apollo program was one of those other sci-fi properties? 😉😆

[@TaylordVision]

Hadn’t noticed that!😄

[@sadako24]

To my mind, the show as it was in the Hinchcliffe era could have stood well against Star Wars. The universe of Genesis of the Daleks and Planet of Evil seemed just as thrilling and dangerous as anything in that film. The slight difference being that the Doctor dealt with the danger and stakes differently to how Han Solo did. So there was an intrigue in how he would survive and save the day whilst disdaining the use of guns. What did he have up his sleeve instead? And indeed, as Genesis of the Daleks showed.... sometimes it wasn't guaranteed that he would save the day or truly vanquish evil. Sometimes we were left on a hanger. Which in a way made it a potential rival to Empire Strikes Back too. The Williams era I think was okay, but no longer the same kind of powerhouse. Horror of Fang Rock was a fantastic start but a false dawn in many ways. The Invisible Enemy was entertaining, but a bit safe. Whilst the best Hinchcliffe stories left you hungering for more, this was one Tom Baker story that left you feeling once you'd seen it you'd seen them all. Underworld is where it really starts going wrong. Watching it, it just drags so much. It's amazing that only a year prior, the show was enjoying its peak golden age, and yet watching that story it begins to feel like an eternity ago. The Invasion of Time sadly epitomized the problem often with the era. It's an invasion story that should have high stakes and danger, and yet the whole thing just feels a non-event. Hardly any of the urgency you would expect from such a scenario is there. In some ways The Key To Time is a strong comeback with a tremendous confidence. The first four stories are very rich in ideas and character moments. And yet still there is the feeling of it lacking enough real sense of threat. By Power of Kroll the season's quest momentum has completely ran out (the scene where the Doctor seems all too chatty and complacent whilst on the rack of stretching weeds sums up the lack of threat problem again), and The Armageddon Factor ends up being even more of a depressing, drawn-out slog than Underworld was. Destiny of the Daleks I actually enjoy in a guilty pleasure way. City of Death is obviously a masterpiece. Creature from the Pit is rather on the trite side though, but production wise is fairly decent (Erato-aside). Nightmare of Eden has some of the shakiest production and there are moments where Tom's Doctor just leaves me completely cold by how flippant he's being. It has some great moments, and some terrible ones that should never have made the final cut (i.e. "my arms.. my legs... my everything...!") Horns of Nimon I strangely find quite fun.... at least once it gets going, but it has a really weak opening episode that really sums up the need for a change. Part of the strength of Star Wars is it opened really strong and so the viewer was hooked and compelled from the beginning. Horns of Nimon does the opposite and almost bores the viewer to distraction from the start. That said... the Williams era to me was far better than what came after under JNT. Or rather Graham Williams exercised a lot of wisdom that sadly JNT completely went against. At first he seemed to restore a needed professionalism to the series but after Romana leaves in E-Space it immediately starts instead to degenerate into its own worst fanfiction, and we quickly get horrid companions who quickly turn this into a ghastly, shrieky soap. At first there is a restoration of stakes and an emphasis on the Doctor being fallible again, but they end up pushing this too far to the point where the Doctor's getting almost no heroic 'punch the air' moments at all anymore, and more often is just written as unfit for purpose in stories that just seem to want to be unwatchably downbeat and nihilistic for the sake of it. At least in the Williams era, viewers would watch expectantly for Tom to always be entertaining, unpredictable and a shrewd hero. The Davison era is almost telling those viewers that if they want to enjoy that kind of hero, they should look elsewhere.

[@TaylordVision]

Very interesting observations, thank you for sharing! I certainly agree that Williams’ run has its fair share of pitfalls alongside its successes - but overall, the era definitely had the right aims and intentions at its heart. Thanks for watching! :)

[@jaschul]

"Horns of Nimon" is much better if you watch it while drunk.

[@suitandtieguy]

This is great. Thank you for a respectful and honest look at this period.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you - it was my pleasure!

[@originaluddite]

The elements Williams emphasized can be found further back in the program. Pertwee was 'cool' if not 'eccentric' and, while he worked with the establishment figure of the Brigadier, he also mocked and criticized him, and many stories were based on current issues. I never considered that Star Wars drove Dr Who in a more self-consciously Whovian direction, but it does make sense. However, I'm also told K9 was a direct response and concession to the hugely popular Droids.

[@TaylordVision]

Very true! You can trace a lot of that back to the Pertwee years, for sure - particularly the allegorical storylines, as you say. Hope you enjoyed the video! :D

[@gussyt1761]

This was an awesome watch

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you!

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I'm a fan of both Doctor Who and Star Wars. In 1977, nobody had ever seen a movie like Star Wars before and Star Wars became one of the most successful and influential movies in cinematic history. It changed the science fiction genre forever and some of Doctor Who was influenced by Star Wars.

[@TaylordVision]

Couldn’t agree more! A seminal moment in the history of sci-fi.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

@@TaylordVision Doctor Who and Star Wars have both influenced me as an aspiring sci-fi fantasy artist.

[@michellestratford9753]

This was absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much!!

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

Before watching this I'm going to say K9. The Doctor's R2D2.

[@TaylordVision]

He was conceived before Star Wars in actual fact! Doubt K9 influenced R2’s inception, but it’s interesting to remember that K9 preceded him

[@blacktronlego]

On difference about Doctor Who is that he uses his brain, not 'ray-guns' to win the day. He has the Sonic Screwdriver and, when working with UNIT, some technological gadgets but most of the time it is the adversaries that use Sci-Fi style elements.

[@stephennoonan8417]

Usually, yes. Except in the Williams era. What else is K-9 but a talking ray gun?

[@jaschul]

@@stephennoonan8417 exactly!!

[@kevinmahernz]

Thank you for this great video essay!

[@jennycampbell8424]

This was so fascinating. I was basically a child at this place in time and had no idea of Britain's economy. I was waiting for Jon Pertwee's Doctor to land in my backyard (USA) and take me on an adventure!!

[@SSJPENGUIN]

Brilliant stuff

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you!

[@pertuk]

The Sun Makers was a dummy run for Blakes7, it's even got Micheal Keating

[@TaylordVision]

Hadn’t thought of that! Very true indeed!

[@paulw6057]

A more pertinent video, IMO, would be how the Hinchcliffe era of Doctor Who influenced, or at least preempted, later cinema SF. Anyway, what characterises the Williams era was, indeed, more a knee-jerk reaction to Mary Whitehouse than anything to do with Star Wars. The Pirate Planet was the only episode which transcends the new approach, the rest suffer under it, to varying degrees.

[@TaylordVision]

Interesting, I’d love to hear more on your thoughts about that :) What aspects of SF media would you say Hinchcliffe predicted in his era? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@valofrassilon]

I absolutely adore The Pirate Planet - one of my favorites. I was glad to see it discussed here. The rest of the video is great, too!

[@PaisleySleeves]

An awesome video, obviously well researched, excellently produced and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. I grew up watching Tom Baker as Dr Who and he is by far the best, but perhaps that is swayed by nostalgia. I bumped into Tom Baker once in Covent Garden, I actually walked into him as we turned a corner from opposite directions, we both did the very British thing of apologising to each other then just continued on our way. Thanks for making this.

[@ptolemeeselenion1542]

Very well put!

[@jgtemperton]

Davies, reminds the viewer that Who belongs to everyone and rightly plays with predecessor themes. Young and old. It really is a melting pot of culture revealing genealogical threads of discourse. You are sympathetic to this. Well done.

[@TaylordVision]

What a beautiful summation of Davies’ outlook! Let’s hope for similar sentiments to be evident when he returns :D Thanks for watching!

[@adriansherlockdamondark.1094]

Blakes 7 was really like Star Wars on a BBC budget. There are shades of B7 in the Davison era. That's worth a discussion.

[@randyping6036]

Best years for companions too. 👍

[@TaylordVision]

Very true!

[@mrboost4186]

This was very enjoyable and informative. Very well made.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you!

[@robinschicha4712]

Good work, Man! 👍👍👍

[@jb888888888]

You neglected to mention that both tool around the galaxy in a beat up old rustbucket of a ship.

[@michaelwebster8666]

An excellent video essay, well done! 👍

[@animationfanatic2133]

That Tom Baker impression tho

[@MrCornrowz]

Great video!!!!

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you!!

[@AshtonArcher]

Interesting video. As a side note though, James Callaghan was Prime Minister in 1977 and wasn't Chancellor at all in the 1970s!

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! I don’t think I mention Callaghan in the video - but I do draw attention to Denis Healey :)

[@AshtonArcher]

​ @Taylor'd Vision Doh! My bad! Covid brain fog! No idea why I mixed those two up!

[@haileyshannon7548]

Watching the classic episodes it's amazing what other Science Fiction media lifted stuff from it.

[@janistransbian]

i think the captain from "the pirate planet" might have inspired dragos from jason of star command.

[@MagnaLynx21]

Great stuff, I always love to see the history of us Brits discussed on KZbin. That said, I reallty don't understand why Star Wars is in the title when the content of this video has nothing to do with it. The focus of this video is on the culture of Britains impact on Who and should be titled as such.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed! I take your point about Star Wars not being the sole reason for Doctor Who’s evolution in Williams’ era, however it can’t be denied that it was a pivotal moment and a trigger for the changes made. I disagree that Star Wars has nothing to do with the piece, however - I made a conscious effort to make it a continuous thread throughout the video, with reference to it in every section.

[@alanrogers7090]

"The average married man paid 25% of his earnings just in taxes." And then their were those, like The Beatles, who were paying a tax rate of 95%, literally keeping 5% of their earning for themselves and giving the rest to the British Government. This was the reason that George Harrison wrote the song, "Taxman" that was on their "Revolver" album. I guess that things were not getting any better in the decade or so in between these two events.

[@TaylordVision]

As a Beatles fan, this is a much appreciated fact - thanks for sharing!😄

[@STho205]

That's not how income taxes work US or UK. Progressive tax. Every bracket pays a specific rate after deductions. So Superstar X pays nothing in taxes for the first below poverty $£ earned Then 5% for the next 10k Then 10% for the next Then 25% for the next .... In the 60s there were very large tax brackets at high % where most of your highest earnings went to the state.... basically economists realized by 1982 that meant after earning $99999£ many people just stopped bothering.....and that lead to the recessions of the 70s....along with FIAT currency based on nothing.

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great video

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you!

[@bongo50_]

Great video!

[@luzhizui]

OK. An interesting video. Thank you. A couple of things. One small. In the Sunmakers, it was the Collector, not Gatherer Hade, who was modelled on the UK Chancellor Denis Healey - hence the eyebrows. Secondly, and more importantly, it's true, and interesting, that Williams's viewing figures where generally a lot higher than those for JNT, they were also quite abit down on the average for the Philip Hinchcliffe era, apart from that time when ITV were on strike.

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! The Gatherer/Healey comparison was actually put forward by Dominic Sandbrook’s ‘Seasons in the Sun’. I agree that either character could be seen as a reference to him though!

[@luzhizui]

@@TaylordVision I see. I like Dominic Sandbrook,but I think he got the wrong end of the stick here. I can't remember who but it was from a pretty definitive source that I heard that the Collector was modelled on Healey. As I said, hence the eyebrows. I'd like to know what Sandbrook made of the Sunmakers though. Does he talk much about it?

[@luzhizui]

@@TaylordVision The gatherer is a pretty good depiction of a pompous politician from the time though...

[@mestormagnificent1550]

@@luzhizui Dominic Sandbrook is one of those interviewed on the making of documentary on The Sun Makers DVD. He has many interesting things to say.

[@bicko_07]

Praise the Lord. Someone acknowledges the late great Graham Williams

[@TaylordVision]

Quite right - an underrated great of Who history!

[@clangerbasher]

Exquisite. Absolutely exquisite.

[@melvyncollins7305]

what a lovely tribute. 👍

[@RCassinello]

But... Nightmare of Eden is the most perfect Doctor Who story ever told..........!

[@TaylordVision]

You’ve got a point there, to be fair. Who doesn’t love a Mandrell, eh?

[@papalaz4444244]

Star Wars changed everything.

[@SndTues79]

When I was younger I really didn't like the Williams era at all (aside Pirate Planet and Fang Rock). I probably fell into that wing of the fandom you mention about two thirds of the way through. However, I've been rewatching the show on iplayer and I've warmed to a lot of it. I'm also more conscious now of the challenges Williams faced; Mary Whitehouse, budget constraints, the contrast of Hollywood and even Tom Baker himself. This video essay has also been very informative. Williams was doing a difficult job well; with Fang Rock, Image of the Fendahl and Stones of Blood he showed that he could do the gothic horror, whilst also assembling episodes that were distinctive to his own tenure. Granted the likes of Underworld, Creature from the Pit and Meglos are pretty rubbish, but every show runner has some duds, plus he's got City of Death under his belt. I recently watched the reconstruction of Shada and really enjoyed it. It's genuinely sad he did not get to sign off with it being broadcast.

[@pertuk]

Saying it's "Fawlty Towers In Space" is kind of like saying a piece of music could have been written by Mozart

[@xKynOx]

Conserding that Confessions of a Window Clearner made more money than Star Wars here in the UK maybe they should have added tits.

[@ricardosp7975]

The content of this essay was good, but there was an inconsistency in tone and purpose which I found distracting. I'm not sure there was enough connection to Star Wars to warrant that title. The focus was clearly on Williams and that should be clear from the start.

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@ghostface_tardis]

Fantastic 💙💙

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you!

[@CulturePhilter]

Great video. 🙂

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you Phil!

[@Terry.W]

Fine well reasoned video ..and shows that Dr.Who always used politics but in a metaphorical way...and a fine example of British idiosyncratic humour and attitude..

[@TaylordVision]

Thank you! And I certainly agree - it’s always been there in some form!

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

By the Sky Demons!

[@mintybadgerproductions]

Good video, although I think you're downplaying how big of an impact ITV being off air had on the viewing figures. When Series 17 aired there were only three tv channels, so one of them being off air is going to have a big effect. The Armageddon Factor the series prior was averaging 7 to 8 million, yet this jumps to 13 million with Destiny of the Daleks in Series 17. Also if you look at the series averages, aside from Series 17, the Hinchliffe Holmes era secured higher ratings.

[@RetroRobotRadio]

Both Doctor Who and Star Wars have official crossovers with Transformers. This means that they are all part of the same expanded universe!

[@TaylordVision]

It’s canon in my books then!😆

[@RetroRobotRadio]

@@TaylordVision as have GoBots, Robotix, Star Trek, Starriors, GI Joe.... Consider this though. Is Star Wars is "in universe" with Star Trek, and Trek has the "Mirror, Mirror" parallel world, there must be a mirror Star Wars universe with good Vader and evil Luke?

[@george49632]

25% doesn't sound bad, especially with everything they got for that 25

[@christinerobinson9372]

Tom Baker was intelligently funny from his first episode. The "villains" became funnier.

[@Nikioko]

Doctor Who was definitely better before Star Wars. And before Mary Whitehouse.

[@TaylordVision]

There’s certainly a difference between pre and post Star Wars Who - each has their successes and pitfalls, for sure!

[@peterlewerin4213]

Interesting. Seeing the Queen in the history stills, I can't help but think that if Elizabeth II provided a landing parachute for Britain after the empire and Doctor Who with its many conversations with and oppositions to political forces in the past and future (=present) was a sounding pole for the descent, maybe that was a reason why the Queen followed the show on TV. And horror and humour (approximately comedy that doesn't have parody as its main point) are possibly the ideal moods to explore how we _really_ feel about things. And again, it is shown how off-target the current toxic Doctor Who fandals (those who popped up when Moffat left the show and the Doctor was regenerating as a woman) are when they decry every attempt to bring Doctor Who back from its series 8/9 excesses as "breaking canon".

[@TaylordVision]

Thanks Peter! A really interesting insight too, thank you for sharing!

[@ksay7649]

excellent

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Considering you can see what Lucas swiped from 1975-era _Doctor Who,_ I'd say it's more that than this.

[@hughgurney8686]

It's a shame to see this only has 29K views for what is a decent piece of analysis. I wonder if you could rework it - dumb it down a little to remove the big academic words - that would make it more accessible to the average KZbin viewer. Maybe find a way to split it into 2-4 shorter videos. You could still leave this version up.

[@DaleKirkley]

Toxic fans? Lucky for us that we don’t get that anymore….

[@cardcaptor_morbius]

I don't think it's fair to blame the ratings drop for Season 18 on the change in tone. For starters episode 1 of season 18 got 5.9 million Vs episode 1 of season 17 getting 13 million. If the ratings drop was due to reduced interest in the change in tone then you would expect it to start high before dropping over the course of the series. The actual main contributor to the ratings drop was because Doctor Who was competing against Buck Rogers which was shown in the same timeslot on ITV. The impact was so significant that season 19 was moved to a weekday slot to avoid a clash with Buck Rogers.

[@ardathbey4150]

It is so sad that the Doctor Show is now dead and has been for some time... I miss the Doctor.

[@TaylordVision]

I do love the Doctor Show.

[@SantaCruzJokerProductions]

Bro what are you talking about? Star Wars literally change the face of cinema and how we do basically everything in science fiction, it didn't just effect Doctor Who, it got Star Trek, and literally every other franchise to follow suit