Line #8 Creator/PhilipHinchcliffe


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hinchcliffe.jpg]]
2	Philip Michael Hinchcliffe (born 1 October 1944) is a British television producer, screenwriter and script editor, best known for producing ''Series/DoctorWho'' for three seasons from 1975 to 1977; as of 2018, he is the only surviving producer from the original 1963-1989 run of the show. Creator/TomBaker was incumbent as the [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor Fourth Doctor]] for the entirety of his tenure as producer, having been cast by Hinchcliffe's predecessor Creator/BarryLetts.
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4	Hinchcliffe's tenure is often held up by fandom as one of, if not ''the'' greatest period in the show's history; alongside script editor Creator/RobertHolmes, he sought to take the show in a DarkerAndEdgier "GothicHorror" direction, taking inspiration from classic horror movies. This proved a huge hit with audiences at the time, but also courted controversy from some who felt that the programme had become too scary for children, most infamously MoralGuardian Mary Whitehouse, whose complaints eventually led to Hinchcliffe being moved away from Doctor Who by the BBC. His replacement, Creator/GrahamWilliams, was ordered to take the show in a LighterAndSofter direction. He would later contribute to the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio dramas, writing "The Ghosts of Gralstead", "The Devil's Armada", "The Genesis Chamber", "The Helm of Awe", and "The God of Phantoms" (which were then further adapted by Creator/MarcPlatt) in the anthology set ''Philip Hinchcliffe Presents''.
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6	Hinchcliffe's subsequent producing credits include the police drama ''Target'', the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII era comedy drama ''Series/PrivateSchulz'' and the period drama ''TheCharmer''.
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8	!!Tropes associated with his work:
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10	* BloodierAndGorier / DarkerAndEdgier: Along with script editor Creator/RobertHolmes, he was responsible for Doctor Who's "Main/GothicHorror" period in the mid-Seventies, and really tested the limits of what they could get away with. In the end, they ran afoul of the limit, and Hinchcliffe was replaced.
11	* ConsummateProfessional: A big part of his success with his Doctor Who era is that he wasn't a big fan like many newer producers and so wasn't as ''close'' to the material. He just treated Dr Who as another production job. His daughter is also noticeably proud of his work on interviews.
12	* ChromosomeCasting: His tenure as Doctor Who producer is notorious for its lack of female representation; many of the stories featured no female characters other than companion Sarah-Jane Smith. This was taken even further in the serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]", which came after Sarah-Jane's departure and featured the Doctor without a companion - and no female characters whatsoever!
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14	* GothicHorror: Many of the Doctor Who stories he produced took inspiration from Gothic Horror stories:
15	** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E2PlanetOfEvil Planet Of Evil]]" was inspired by ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde''.
16	** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]" drew inspiration from {{Mummy}} horror films like Film/TheMummy1932 and Film/TheMummy1959.
17	** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]" pulled from Literature/{{Frankenstein}}.
18	** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons Of Weng Chiang]]" drew upon ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' and the ''Literature/FuManchu'' novels, as well as the story of UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper.

Context Creator / PhilipHinchcliffe