Philip Hinchcliffe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Philip Michael Hinchcliffe (1944-10-01)1 October 1944 (age 80) |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Television producer,screenwriter,script editor |
| Years active | 1968–2001, 2021 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Celina Hinchcliffe (born 1976) |
Philip Michael Hinchcliffe[1] (born 1 October 1944) is a retired English television producer, screenwriter and script editor. After graduating fromCambridge University, he began his career as a writer and script editor atAssociated Television before joining theBBC to produceDoctor Who in one of its most popular eras from 1974 to 1977. In 2010, Hinchcliffe was chosen byDen of Geek as the best ever producer of the series.[2]
FollowingDoctor Who, Hinchcliffe remained with the BBC as a producer for several years, working on series such asPrivate Schulz (1981), before launching a freelance career in the mid-1980s, which included makingThe Charmer (1987) forLondon Weekend Television. He finished his career as an executive producer forScottish Television, with his final credit onTake Me (2001).
Hinchcliffe was born inDewsbury, Yorkshire.[3] He was educated atSlough Grammar School andPembroke College, Cambridge, where he studiedEnglish literature.[4][5] After a brief period working for a travel company and then as a teacher, he joinedAssociated Television in 1968, writing episodes for series including thesoap operaCrossroads (1970).[6] He then served as script editor of the sitcomAlexander the Greatest (1971–72), the children's adventure seriesThe Jensen Code (1973) and the children's drama seriesThe Kids from 47A (1973). He also became an associate producer onGeneral Hospital.[5]
Hinchcliffe's agent and contacts from his time as a script editor won him the position as the new producer of the BBC'sDoctor Who.[5] In Spring 1974, at the age of 29, he was approached by the corporation's head of serials to take his first full production job, initially trailing and then succeeding long-serving producerBarry Letts. Although he trailed Letts onTom Baker's first story,Robot, he was first credited onThe Ark in Space. Throughout his first year he was mostly producing scripts that had been commissioned by the previous production team prior to their departure.
Hinchcliffe, together with script editorRobert Holmes, ushered in a change in tone for the series, which became darker and more adult than previously, with a gothic atmosphere influenced by thehorror films produced byHammer Film Productions.[7] This horror influence is especially evident in serials likePlanet of Evil,Pyramids of Mars,The Brain of Morbius,The Hand of Fear andThe Talons of Weng-Chiang, all of which have content which directly recalls well known horror novels and movies. Hinchcliffe also aspired to give the programme a more literary feel with a stronger science fiction basis.[8] Working closely with Holmes, Hinchcliffe tried to "tighten the whole storytelling up a bit and pay more attention to the design", but he conceded that it was improved "in some stories more than others".[9] As part of the effort to "tighten" the storytelling they were permitted to reduce the number of six-parters to just one a season (the previous team of Barry Letts andTerrance Dicks made three six-parters per season in their last three seasons).
Hinchcliffe was reluctant to use characters and monsters from the series' past: theDaleks, theCybermen and theSontarans only appeared once during his tenure, and these stories were commissioned by Barry Letts.The Master and theTime Lords returned for one adventure,The Deadly Assassin, at the suggestion of script editor Robert Holmes, but were portrayed very differently from their previous appearances. The character ofBrigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and theUnited Nations Intelligence Taskforce made their final regular appearances in Hinchcliffe's second season.
The early Tom Baker era of the series is cited byScreenonline as the peak ofDoctor Who in its first run.[10] However, theBBC received several complaints fromMary Whitehouse of theNational Viewers' and Listeners' Association that the series was unduly frightening for children and could traumatise them. The NVALA had been critical of the series before but the complaints reached their height in the Hinchcliffe period. Her strongest criticism was forThe Deadly Assassin, where an attempt is made to drown the Doctor at the end of an episode. While the BBC publicly defended the programme, after three seasons Hinchcliffe was moved onto the adult police thriller seriesTarget in 1977,[11] and his replacementGraham Williams, who had createdTarget, was specifically instructed to lighten the tone of the storylines and reduce violence. Screenonline states that this resulted in "the start of an erratic decline in both popularity and quality" forDoctor Who which led to its eventual cancellation.[10]
Hinchcliffe also wrote three novelisations ofDoctor Who serials forTarget Books, adapting theWilliam Hartnell era storyThe Keys of Marinus, as well as two stories from his own era,The Seeds of Doom andThe Masque of Mandragora.[12]
After leavingDoctor Who, Hinchcliffe worked on numerous series, single dramas and films, includingTarget,Private Schulz,Nancy Astor,Bust,The Charmer,[13]Take Me Home,Friday on My Mind and many others. He stepped down from the producer role in 1995, after working on the feature filmsAn Awfully Big Adventure starringHugh Grant andTotal Eclipse starringLeonardo DiCaprio,[14] but was engaged as an executive producer byScottish Television from 1998 to 2001, overseeing series includingTaggart[14] and theJohn Hannah episodes ofRebus, and one-off dramas includingThe Last Musketeer withRobson Green.
Hinchcliffe has made numerous appearances on DVD releases ofDoctor Who serials made during his time as producer. The documentarySerial Thrillers, included on thePyramids of Mars DVD release, focuses on his three-year reign as producer in depth, examining what made the show so successful during that period. In 2012,Life After Who: Philip Hinchcliffe was included onThe Android Invasion DVD release, in which his daughter Celina Hinchcliffe interviewed him about his career in British television and film after his work onDoctor Who.[13]
In 2021, Hinchliffe came out of retirement, returning toDoctor Who to helpBig Finish Productions produce audio dramas based on "lost" story ideas from his era onDoctor Who.[15]
Hinchcliffe married Deirdre Hanefey in 1970 and has two children. His daughter,Celina Hinchcliffe (born 1976), is a television presenter, primarily on sports programmes, and has worked extensively for the BBC, ITV &Sky News.[citation needed]
| Preceded by | Doctor Who Producer 1975–77 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
