Manchester University Press - Time Lords and Star Cops

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.

Introduction
1 British science fiction television in the consensus era: authority and paternalism
2 'Wealth is the only reality': Blake's 7 and Thatcherism
3 Sapphire & Steel: the illusion of independence
4 Rewriting the Doctor: Doctor Who in the late-Thatcher era
5 'A precarious existence': science fiction television adaptations of the 1980s
6 'It won't be easy': original science fiction series of the 1980s
Conclusion
Index