Robert Holmes (1926–1986) was a British screenwriter best known for his stint on ''Series/DoctorWho'': he wrote 18[[hottip:*:A couple of these were effective page-one rewrites for other writers and went out under pseudonyms]] stories between 1968 and 1986, and served as script editor from 1975-1977.

These aren't just ''any'' stories though. Included in his work are some of the all-time classics of the show, including:
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace Spearhead from Space"]]
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]"
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]"
* "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani The Caves of Androzani]]"

Yep, this is the guy who gave us the Autons and the Sontarans... and, as if that weren't enough, wrote some of the first appearances of some of the best companions.

Many of his plots have a formula--crippled super-villain tries to regain power--but they vary widely from that initial idea. Holmes was very fond of ThoseTwoGuys: many of his stories are advanced by a double act of supporting characters. His Holmsian Double Act in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", showman Jago and police pathologist Litefoot, were so popular that a spinoff was briefly considered, and eventually realised in 2010 by BigFinish.

He died before he could finish "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe The Ultimate Foe]]"; it would require others to finish that one off. It's also a shame that we never got to see "Yellow Fever and How to Cure It", a story planned for the original Season 23.

----
Tropes in his work include:
* EverybodysDeadDave: In at least three of his stories, he butchered nearly all his guest cast. In one, he even kills the Fifth Doctor!
* ThoseTwoGuys
* DarkerAndEdgier: Along with producer Philip Hinchcliffe, he was responsible for Doctor Who's "gothic horror" period in the mid-Seventies, and really tested the limits of what they could get away with.
----