In an interview apparently from the 1970s, Hulke states that politics 'refers to 'the relationships between groups of people'. It doesn’t necessarily mean Left or Right, Labour or Conservative, it’s the relationships of groups of people so really all ‘Doctor Who’ stories are political. Even though the other people look like reptiles, they’re still people. I’d say it’s a very political show. In my stories, the 'baddies' aren’t really bad because they’re doing what they think is right. I find it hard to imagine anyone as totally bad or totally inimical, and there’s a great amount of… well, although I say it myself, philosophy and politics in my science fiction, and ‘Doctor Who’ in particular is a great opportunity to get across a point of view. And the point of view that I have is that, let’s say a maggot, that’s just about to eat someone alive, is not necessarily a bad maggot – that’s the way he is, just maggoty!' (drwhointerviews.wordpress.com/category/malcolm-hulke).
There's some problems here. The first is that I'm not sure the folk of IMC are presented as simply 'maggoty' but are instead most definitely 'a bad maggot', even as the corporation is set up as the true cancer. Secondly, the Doctor, Jo and the Master don't really fit into either of the 'groups of people', which makes them rather redundant to the point of the story, even if they are necessary to the plot. Thirdly, the natives resist any meaningful relationship with any other group so that, whilst they are necessary both to the plot and as a parallel with the colonists and IMC, they exist outside of politics, which is uncomfortable.
All that said, this is brilliant. It might not work quite as well as Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters but there is a clarity of vision that feels like it outlines the ethical concerns of all Doctor Who, pitching the individual against the corporate and the desire for social change against the forces of conservatism. Click here for more on how Hulke does this.
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