Doctor Who "has always been political", says Sylvester McCoy
The actor who played the Seventh Doctor insists it was the show's politics that got him "hooked" in the 1960s.
Sylvester McCoy, who played the lead in Doctor Who in the late 1980s, has insisted the BBC sci-fi series has "always been political", right back to its very beginnings.
McCoy was speaking at a BFI screening of 1988 serial The Happiness Patrol to mark the release of Doctor Who: The Collection Season 25 on Blu-ray.
The story, written by Graeme Curry, is set on a world where it's illegal to be unhappy, and was designed as a political satire, with villainess Helen A (Sheila Hancock) intended to be a caricature of then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Addressing how the show's storytelling can incorporate a political slant, McCoy – the Seventh Doctor from 1987-89, and again in 1996 – said: "In the '60s, I got hooked on Doctor Who, and the reason why was because of the politics in it, subtly put there.
"The '60s, they started to swing, they started to change... it was a kind of a revolution, a peaceful and wonderful revolution going on, and Doctor Who was the only decent thing on [the BBC] at the time that had anything that talked to young people like me in a political way.
"So it's always been political, as far as I'm concerned."
The Happiness Patrol was directed by Chris Clough, who has gone on to great success as a television producer – his most recent effort was ITV's acclaimed drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, with Clough arguing that all good drama should have some sort of political edge.
"If you do drama without any purpose then it disappears into the ether and it's just bubblegum," he said.
"So every drama has to have power, which is the message, and that means it has to have some political debate going on within it. Otherwise, what else is it about, really?
"It's about people's struggles against something, or they're trying to make [something] of their lives and something comes against you."
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Echoing his comments, fellow panel attendee Sheila Hancock added: "That's what arts and the Post Office thing and all that does... it tells the nation what's happening. It's our duty to do that."
Doctor Who: The Collection Season 25 will feature all 14 original episodes – including such celebrated stories as Remembrance of the Daleks and The Happiness Patrol – as well as extended special editions featuring new sequences and effects work.
Special features will also include The Making of Doctor Who (a vintage documentary from 1988), an extended interview with Ace star Sophie Aldred, and a documentary looking back at the life and career of the late Remembrance of the Daleks actor Dursley McLinden.
Read more:
- Matt Smith: "People that attack Doctor Who blow my mind"
- Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies explains delay confirming series' future
Doctor Who: The Collection Season 25 will be released on 28th October and is available to pre-order now.
Doctor Who will return at Christmas on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
