Get this BBC caricature of Margaret Thatcher created by the makers of Dr Who just after Mrs Thatcher's third election victory in 1987.Sylvester McCoy who played the Doctor and Andrew Cartmel, the script editor in the eighties have admitted they hired left wing writers to create anti Thatcher propaganda.
And Helen A, the wide-eyed tyrannical ruler of a human colony on the planet Terra Alpha was born.
The good Doctor persuaded the drones who manned her factories to down tools and revolt.
What a hoot.
Of course the funniest thing of all was the show's ratings plummeted under these peoples tender hands.
I read this on Biased BBC last night and what also struck me was the desperation of lefties to pump out their propoganda.
ReplyDeleteAnd as seen, they destroyed a much loved tv programme in the process.
The Dr Who episode concerned was The Happiness Patrol and Helen A was indeed based on Maggie Thatcher.
ReplyDeleteThe show's ratings did not collapse because of this story -- they collapsed because the Beeb moved Dr Who from its Saturday night place to a weeknight up against Coronation St. The Beeb head at the time, Michael Grade, hated the show and was determined to kill it.
Now Dr Who is back on Saturday nights in the UK, it is one of the highest rating shows there, often beating the ratings for Coronation St (which runs on weeknights).
The Happiness Patrol was one of my favourite episodes from the McCoy era because it was so dark and Orwellian -- everyone was ordered to be happy, and executed if they were sad.
You could well be right Poneke.
ReplyDeleteI recall there were many threats to Dr Who and speculation about its future and it was switched around the schedules a bit.
But I think there is a message of the dangers of any tv show being used for propoganda.