Holmes, Robert
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1926-1986) UK scriptwriter, editor and author, best known for his contributions in these capacities to the Doctor Who universe, including "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" (1977 6 parts), which despite its alleged Yellow Peril racism is generally recognized to be one of the best Doctor Who tales; in adapted form it was published as Doctor Who: The Scripts: The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1989); he also published another Tie, Doctor Who – The Two Doctors (1985), adapted from his own 1985 script. Holmes also served as script editor of Doctor Who 1974-1977, during which time – thanks also to the support of then-producer Philip Hinchcliffe – the series went further into the territory of Horror than at any other point in its history. Holmes's other scripts for Doctor Who – including also "Spearhead from Space" (1970 4 parts), "Carnival of Monsters" (1973 4 parts), "Pyramids of Mars" (1975 4 parts), "The Deadly Assassin" (1976 4 parts), and "The Caves of Androzani" (1983 4 parts) represent, in their often gritty realism and cynical humour, some of the highest achievements in any televised science fiction. [JC/GS]
Robert Colin Holmes
born Tring, Hertfordshire: 2 April 1926
died Oxford, Oxfordshire: 24 May 1986
works
series
Doctor Who
- Doctor Who: The Scripts: The Talons of Weng-Chiang (London: Titan Books, 1989) [tie to the television series; Doctor Who: pb/Duncan Fegredo]
- Doctor Who – The Two Doctors (London: W H Allen, 1985) [tie to the television series; Doctor Who: hb/Andrew Skilleter]
links
previous versions of this entry