Time Lords and Star Cops: British Science Fiction Television in the 1970s-80s

British science fiction television of the 1970s and 1980s is full of Machiavellian protagonists and fatalistic endings. It presents a complex world of moral and ethical dilemmas, appropriate to the emerging political landscape of Thatcherite Britain. This book analyses the science fiction series of the period - including Blake’s 7, Doctor Who and Sapphire & Steel - alongside Britain’s transition from social-democracy to neoliberal economics and the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. It examines the abrupt shifts in themes and tone that these series often exhibit compared to their predecessors, highlighting comparisons to the similarly abrupt change in Britain’s political landscape.

Philip Braithwaite is a lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire