ACEISM: The Character of Ace and the Subtext of Anti-Prejudice.

by Zepo
07 March 1999

     Few would argue that science fiction television programs
often layer their plots, directly or indirectly, with appropriate
social comment.  After all, science fiction is not a reflector of
the true future but rather a thermometer of our own perspectives
and contemporary social view.  This is one of the more important
contributions of science fiction to society.  It allows the
discussion of rather sensitive social issues to be investigated
through the guise of fiction.  _Doctor Who_ is no exception to
this.  In fact, it might be seen as one of the most successful
television dramas to approach socially sensitive issues.  This
article attempts to investigate the character of the Doctor's
companion Ace and her relation to the discussion of contemporary
prejudice the show presented.  
     Prejudice is "a judgement or opinion formed before the facts
are known; preconceived idea, favorable or more usually,
unfavorable" and in this context it represents "suspicion,
intolerance or hatred of other races, creeds, regions,
occupations, etc."[1]  It is an issue that has existed with human
kind from the beginning of recorded history and likewise is
reflected in the fact that even the very first _Doctor Who_
story, "An Unearthly Child," the tribe of humans are weary of
visitors and exhibit a mild form of the social trait.  Few people
take exception to prejudice, such as racism, presented in science
fiction.  The Daleks' distaste for the Thals in "The Daleks"
allows the viewer to observe the racism of others rather than to
admit that we here in the real world may not be unlike the Daleks
in our acceptance of those different from ourselves.  It is
easier for a drama program to investigate such an issue through a
science-fictional environment than present a drama about the
difficult subject, for example, of black and white race
     The seventh Doctor's companion Ace is an interesting case of
utilizing a character in science-fiction to bridge the gap
between the usual veiled discussion of prejudice and an overt
look at it through a contemporary character.  For the purpose of
this discussion we will assume that adopting an anti-prejudicial
stance is a moral and proper action.  With this in mind, the
subtext of Ace's anti-prejudice attitudes, and similar discussion
within the various shows that she appears, is key not only to the
character's own development but also to the show's presentation
of the Doctor and his companions as moral upstanding heroes. 
Joseph Campbell, the comparative mythologist, wrote about hero
characters, "a hero or heroine...has found or done something
beyond the normal range of achievement and experience.  A hero is
someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than
one's self."[2]  While Ace's anti-prejudice stance alone does not
singularly qualify her as a hero, it is one of the elements of
her character leading to a moral objective.  Campbell continues,
"The moral objective is that of saving people, or saving a
person, or supporting an idea."[3]  Ace's stance against
prejudice, as well as her actions, set forward an important
element of her heroic character.
     When first introduced to Ace in the story "Dragonfire" we
find her in an environment that places her in an opportune
situation to display prejudicial racialism.  She works as a
waitress in a restaurant.  This is not the first time she held
such an occupation as in the story she reveals to Mel that she
had a similar job on Earth.[4]  What makes her experience on the
planet Svartos more poignant is that she worked in a true
interracial environment.  Not a restaurant of simply human beings
with different colors of skin, but a place where many genetically
diverse beings congregated.  Her experience was quite broad with
aliens originating from many worlds stopping in for a milkshake. 
She maintained a short temper with Sabalom Glitz and his sexist
attitudes about women in danger.  This of course can be seen as
an extension of her anti-prejudicial attitudes.  After all only a
single chromosome separates the male from the female of the human
species, and it is such simple genetic differences that are the
heart of most cases of prejudice.[5]  Even from the beginning,
Ace's open-minded attitudes are at the forefront of her
character.  Her character presents us with a view of acceptance
of all cultures and peoples from the moment we are introduced to
     Racism, one form of prejudice, is a plot point in Ace's
second story.  This is a case where Ace becomes a foil for
racism's appearance in both the science-fiction plot of the story
and also her own heroic contemporary attitudes.  "Remembrance of
the Daleks" features an all out race war between the Daleks
themselves as its major subplot.  Ace explains this arching plot
in the course of the narrative as she and the Doctor simplify the
occurrences for the benefit of Allison and Rachel, the other
characters listening:

          ACE: Simple isn't it?  Renegade Daleks are
          THE DOCTOR: blobs?
          ACE: ...Imperial Daleks are bionic blobs
               with bits added.  You can tell the
               Daleks are into racial purity.  So 
               one lot of Daleks reckon the other lot
               of blobs are too different!  They're
               mutants.  Not pure in their blobiness.
          THE DOCTOR: Result?
          ACE: They hate each others' chromosomes.  
               War to the death.[6]

Thus the racism element of the plot concerning the Daleks is not
hidden from even the most daft of viewers and spelled out in
plain English.  There exists, however, more than one other
subtext with which to explore the issue of racial prejudice in
the story.  Ace's interaction with Sergeant Mike Smith leads her
into a close, near romantic, friendship with him.  At one point
she stays at a boarding house run by his mother.  While staying
there she finds a sign on the window that states "No Coloureds."  
Ace seems disturbed by this and starts to ask his mother about
the sign before she lets the subject drop, most likely due to the
fact that she realizes that she is the anachronism.  Ace does not
think much about this until Mike is later revealed to be selling
out the soldiers she and the Doctor are helping because of his
involvement in the fascist group led by Mr. Ratcliffe and known
as "The Association."  Later Mike tries to make amends to Ace and
reveals his overtly racist belief.  The following dialog also
seems to reveal Ace's distaste for racism:

          MIKE: Ace, I didn't know it was the Daleks.
                I was just doing Mr. Ratcliffe a 
          ACE: Do me a favor and drown yourself.
          MIKE: I thought it was the right thing.
                Mr. Ratcliffe had such great plans.
          ACE: Shut up.
          MIKE: Ace, I never really wanted to hurt 
                anybody.  It's just you have to protect 
                your own.  Keep the outsiders out, just
                so that your own people can have a fair 
          ACE: I said shut up!  You betrayed the Doctor.
               You betrayed me!  I trusted you.  I even
               liked you.  And all the time it...[7]

Ace's cuts her last sentence off, but the conversation seems to
be headed in a single direction under the framework of the plot. 
Most likely Ace would have finished the sentence with the words
"...turns out that you're a racist."  One can easily substitute
the words "traitor" or "fascist" rather than "racist" but the end
resulting meaning remains the same.  Ace quite obviously feels
angry by Mike's betrayal, but when the exchange is connected to
her having found his mother's sign earlier and Mike's current
diatribe of anti-outsider feelings, it seems obvious that Ace is
also appalled by his prejudicial attitudes.
     The episode also has another interesting plot connection to
the racist theme though it does not directly involve Ace.  The
Doctor visits the cafe late in the evening and ponders the
relationship between cause and effect.  The shopkeeper replacing
Harry is a black man of Jamaican decent named John.  The Doctor
and he discuss the usefulness of sugar and its effects, and John
points out that had it not been for sugar his forefathers might
never have been enslaved in the first place.  The cafe where the
Doctor gets his tea is used by many of the characters throughout
the story, but when the replacement for Harry is a man with black
skin, it stands empty with the exception of the Doctor (though it
is also later in the evening).  The scene plays indirectly to the
character of Ace.  The Doctor's character has stood against
racism from the earliest ages of the program and thus his
remaining at the cafe with the black character establishes to the
audience that race plays no part in his personal relationship
with others.  The scene plays to Ace's character because the
direction that the production team took towards the Doctor and
Ace's relationship was that of mentor and student.  Sylvester
McCoy explains how this idea developed, "When we chatted between
seasons, I thought it would be a good for Ace to be educated
between adventures.  I would be educating her, pointing things
out."[8]  Thus the Doctor's relationship with Ace involves her
indirectly in this scene.  The Doctor is shown here to be anti-
racist and thus the theme carries over to Ace indirectly because
she is his student.  This layers the story's theme even more and
seems to give a stronger hint towards the meaning of Ace's
reactions to Mike.
     The stories from the 25th season onward intentionally "have
an increased emphasis on social comment, both overt (such as in
"Remembrance of the Daleks", with its fascist characters in
sixties London and a scene in which Ace discovers a NO COLOUREDS
sign in the window of a guest house where she is staying) and
allegorical (such as in "The Happiness Patrol," with its thinly
veiled attack on Thatcherism)."[9]  While Ace's next story, "The
Happiness Patrol," is said to be an attack on Thatcherism, it
also contains elements of prejudice which Ace fights against.
     "The Happiness Patrol" is an unusual science fiction story
in that it twists the direction of the dystopian story.  It deals
with the oppressing government, lead by Helen A and policed by
the happiness patrol, trying to dictate people's emotions.  Much
like the idea of thought control put forward in George Orwell's
_1984_, this story changes Orwell's theme to emotional, rather
than conscious thought, control.  The moral of this adventure is
that one cannot truly control people's emotions, and that we must
learn diversity not only in social issues but also at a personal
     Ace's character steps forward to once again take a stand
against prejudice in this story.  She befriends the Pipe People,
the original inhabitants of the planet Terra Alpha who have been
forced to live in the sewer pipes below the city.  Her friendship
with these indigenous inhabitants, which could have been seen by
her as resembling trolls, marks her open mindedness once again. 
Ace supports these oppressed people and by the end of the story
the rebellious elements on Terra Alpha share the planet's
surface.  The antagonist in the story, Helen A, maintains that
the oppressive practices her regime uses are "for the good of the
majority."[10]  Helen's oppression is present at many levels. 
The class struggle presented in the story has Ace shouting in
support of the Killjoy demonstration that she sees pass by.  This
class struggle presented in the story is not prejudiced by
itself, but depending on the viewers's perspective and their
experiences there is definitely room for such an interpretation. 
Surely a viewer in South Africa at the time of the broadcast
might have seen the social situation present on Terra Alpha as a
political position based on prejudice.  
     Once the Killjoys and Pipe People join the Doctor and Ace in
their struggle, Terra Alpha falls into a social revolution in
which the oppressed soon overcome their joyful oppressors.  The
concept of anti-prejudice reappears once again as the Caucasian
former Happiness Patrol revolutionary Susan Q and black student
and musician Earl Sigma together join forces to help in the
overthrow and in the rebuilding afterwards.  They walk off
together in arms at the end of the story, the Doctor and Ace
smiling as they walk off.  This camaraderie between the two
characters disarms the idea that racism is more important than
freedom, and the Pipe People joining Susan and Earl as they walk
off demonstrates that racial harmony can be the downfall of a
socially oppressive government and the start of a truly happy
     "Silver Nemesis" opens with a character that immediately
bring to mind prejudicial extremes.  The Nazi De Flores and his
desire to bring abut a Fourth Reich immediately conjure visions
of the genocide the Nazis brought forth against many peoples,
such as the Jews and Gypsies, during their Third Reich at the
time of Second World War.[11]  Ace and the Doctor's actions
keeping the comet Nemesis from them displays a disagreement with
these genocidal practices.  Likewise we are once again introduced
to a foe which has demonstrated prejudicial racism through their
many appearances in the show.  The Cybermen are a race which
always have maintained their race's superiority.  At one time in
the series the Cyberleader set forth their racial superiority by
stating "Cybermen can survive more efficiently than animal
organisms.  That is why we will rule the galaxy."[12]  Thus, like
the Daleks, the Cybermen are creatures which by their very nature
exhibit racism.  They are exceptional in the fact that they are
willing to convert anyone into their own race, but this is a
racist concept in and of itself.  The fact that Ace battles the
Cybermen directly using a slingshot and gold coins, and that the
Doctor destroys their fleet using the Gallifreyan Validium
weapon, shows the viewer that the characters stand directly
opposed to this sort of prejudice.  The point is brought home
even further in the story "Silver Nemesis" when Ace is seemingly
appalled to find that the Cybermen saved her so that they could
possibly convert her to be one of their kind.  
     There is another layered subtext which might imply prejudice
to the viewer.  The story features two hooligans who attempt to
rob Richard and Lady Peinforte.  These characters may not be
racially motivated, and could just be common criminals.  The fact
that the characters are listed as "Skinheads" in the credits
seems a bit condemning to their motivations, and seems to imply a
racial and prejudicial hatred associated with such a group.[13] 
Still, when the Doctor and Ace find the pair hanging upside down
from a tree, Ace does not approach them and only the Doctor
investigates.  There seems to be a reason for this at some level
and, even though a connection is purely speculation, it is most
probably linked to the revelation Ace makes to us about her
friend Manisha in "Ghostlight."  Either way, it is the Doctor who
seems to rescue the skinheads.  Though we never actually see
their rescue on screen, the power of the Doctor's anti-prejudice
characterization is present.  Even when faced with people who
might be representatives of a prejudiced group, the hero
character of the Doctor would rescue them as long as it seems
they have the ability to change their ways.  Ace does not act to
even interact with the skinheads and it gives us an underlying
context that the racism label associated with skinheads is a
philosophy that her character does not agree with.  As her
teacher, the Doctor's befriending of the skinheads drives home
the point that not interacting with prejudiced persons is almost
like being prejudiced oneself.  This of course is the power of
television and the hero characters of Ace and the Doctor.  In
contemporary times it is of course ill advised for someone to
interact with members of hate groups directly, but if one can at
least accept the Doctor's philosophy of understanding or
tolerance it might be the first step forward in a more peaceful
environment for all people.
     "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy," does not feature
prejudice as a major element of the plot, however, there is a
scene that seems to drive forward the anti-prejudice theme.  When
the Doctor and Ace first befriend a stallslady, they go out of
their way to make her comfortable and adopt the eating of
Segonax's presumably native fruits to show her an acceptance and
respect of the native culture.  This is of course undertaken so
that the Doctor can ask her directions to the Psychic Circus
without being seen as an intruder.  The stallslady, however, does
exhibit prejudice against the visitors who visit the Psychic
Circus.  Speaking to the Doctor about the motorbiker Nord she
says "All the riff-raff go there [to the Psychic Circus].  All
the infernal extra-terrestrials like him."[14]  Even as the
stallslady exhibits her dislike for the visitors, it is Ace,
drawn by his interesting looking motorbike, who goes and first
befriends Nord.  Ace again exhibits anti-prejudice for the
viewers to digest.
     The first story of the next season, "Battlefield" once again
brings prejudice in as a significant subtext in the story.  The
new Brigadier is a black female and this seems to challenge
Lethbridge-Stewart's expectations that the new Brigadier be a
male.[15]  Again Sexism is prejudice at a genetic level.  This is
less intentional on the original Brigadier's part and he wholly
accepts Bambera as the new leader of UNIT.  In fact the
organization of UNIT itself is perhaps best realized in this
story as the non-racist organization it is supposed to be.  As a
secret scientific and military group that is part of the United
Nations, it simple affiliation to the worldwide organization
implies a state of non-prejudice.  In "Battlefield" we first see
UNIT forces comprised of more than simply UK soldiers, with Major
Husak admitting that he is not English when questioned by Mr.
Rowlinson.[16]  Never before in the series had UNIT personnel
been so obviously diverse in their ethnicity.
     Ace's character is once again used to explore the topic of
racism.  Sophie Aldred comments on the scene where Ace and her
oriental friend Shou Yuing are in a chalk circle seeking
protection from Morgaine:

          [As an actress] I liked the argument 
          between Ace and Shou Yuing -- Ben 
          [Aaronovitch]'s favorite anti-racism 
          theme which he explored more fully in 
          "Remembrance [of the Daleks]."  It was 
          horrible to be calling Ling Tai, who 
          had by now become a great pal, 'yellow'
          and 'slant eyed,' and it was a powerful
          scene for us both.[17]

Ace's use of a racial slur that jars her into the realization
that the girls are having their mind affected by Morgaine.  She
catches herself after the use of such negative words that she
realizes the change from her usual accepting self.  A powerful
scene bringing the strength of prejudice into light, powerful
because it has already been established to us in the series that
Ace crusades against such closed mindedness.  
     Ace's regression into the use of racial words in anger also
reinforces a point of humanism.  While the heroic archetype
strives for perfection, her regression into the use of racist
terms still shows human fallibility.  From the perspective of an
effective narrative it demonstrates to the audience that our
heroes are still in jeopardy.  Ace's seeming moment of weakness
actually reinforces the strength it takes to be a morally
upstanding person.  Ace's character strengthens her own position
of anti-racism by demonstrating to the viewer that such a belief
is not easy and thus in fact reinforces her anti-prejudiced stand
to be a heroic decision.
     There is also another subplot in the story that is not
directly related to Ace, but stands as an anti-racist issue.  The
affection that Ancelyn and Winifred Bambera show each other
develops through the course of the adventure.  Ace's acceptance
of their relationship, as well as the acceptance by other
characters in the story, passes on to the viewer a positive and
tolerant viewpoint towards inter-racial relationships.  As Sophie
Aldred had previously pointed out, writer Ben Aaronovitch has
indeed layered the story with numerous investigations into the
subject of prejudice and race relations.
     The story "Ghostlight" once again has Ace face her past. 
Ace tells the Doctor about her best mate when she lived in
Perivale.  Ace says:

          They burned out Manisha's flat.  White 
          kids fire bombed it.  I didn't care 
          anymore.  I was so mad I had to get away.[18]

It could be this is the incident that causes Ace to not respond
to the plight of the skinheads in "Silver Nemesis."  We cannot
know that an organized skinhead group was responsible, but such a
situation can also not be ruled out.  It again humanizes the
element of anti-prejudice in Ace's character.  We learn that she
had a friend who was not white prior to her experiences with the
Doctor.  It also shows us her human flight or fight response to a
situation of fear and anger.  Ace demonstrates that her anti-
prejudice view is both a human ideal that can be achieved but
that such a position also comes with attached emotional baggage
that is not always easy to deal with.  
     "Ghostlight" features Victorian era prejudice as Police
Inspector Mackenzie quite incorrectly describes the neanderthal
Nimrod as having "Gypsie blood" and being from the Mediterranean
area.[19]  The theme of racial prejudice is once again present
but somewhat hidden in the plot as a discussion of evolution
pervades the storyline.  The character of Light in fact wishes to
destroy all of the creatures on the planet Earth simply because
their genetics changed from the catalog that he had already
created.  Though not racism in the traditional approach we see in
science fiction, "Ghostlight" definitely explores it in an
original fashion.   
     "The Curse of Fenric" features English soldiers squaring off
against a Russian commando team.  Commander Millington's plot to
allow the Russians to steal the Enigma machine, after it has been
set to kill the operators when deciphering a chosen word, shows
his own prejudice against the Russians.[20]  There are moments
when Millington directly displays racism against the Eastern
European humans.  While Millington's hate is politically
motivated it still juxtaposes the character of Ace and the
Doctor.  Again Ace's character befriends humans on both sides,
concentrating, along with the Doctor, more on the dangers posed
by the threat of Fenric and the hemovores leader, the Ancient
One, that has been brought back in time.  At the end of the
story, the opposing human sides find common ground against the
enemy of the hemovores and they form an alliance.  "The Curse of
Fenric" explores prejudice as the racial hatred of other cultures
and governments.
     "Survival" clearly demonstrates Ace's anti-prejudice
attitudes as we are introduced to some of her friends from a time
before she was swept up by a timestorm to the planet Svartos.  We
meet her brown skinned, most likely ethnically Eastern Indian,
friend Shreela in the story "Survival."[21]  This concretely
establishes that Ace was already open-minded in her approach to
race relations prior to her travels with the Doctor.  It also
confirms that she had friends who were not white skinned as
implied in the story "Ghostlight."  Ace again crosses the race
barrier in the story as she befriends the Cheetah person named
Karra.  Her experiences allow the viewers to transcend
prejudicial issues because Ace discovers that her experience on
the Cheetah planet are similar to those of Karra who is quite
different from her.  The two develop a sister-like bond that in
the context of the plot is a result caused by the Cheetah Planet. 
A view from outside of the context of the story allows an
analysis that discovers that both Ace and the Cheetah Person
Karra are similar regardless of their genetic composition.  This
is a classic example of science fiction introducing an impossible
environment to get across the point that genetics do not
determine a person's thoughts or emotions, and instead it is our
personal experience.  The Ace and Karra relationship develops
Ace's anti-prejudice theme directly for the viewers of the show
demonstrating that Ace is in many ways not at all different from
the Cheetah people.
     Outside the individual story plots there is another layer to
the issue of prejudice regarding the Doctor's companions.  By
nature Ace and the other assistants, save Susan and Romana, are
anti-racial prejudiced as they have traveled the universe with an
alien being from Gallifrey.  This is lost because too often
because people usually identify with the Doctor's character and
often forget that he is not a human being himself.[22]  Thus not
only Ace's character but the entire show of _Doctor Who_
represents an anti-prejudiced view and one of understanding and
diversity simply because the Doctor does indeed travel with
companions who are physiologically unlike him.
     With the evidence in this investigation, Ace transcends many
earlier companions in the effectiveness of character's use as a
foil to discuss the issue of prejudice.  Science fiction, and
especially the _Doctor Who_ stories of the late 1980s era that
Ace appears in, allows the viewer to investigate such socially
sensitive topics in the privacy of their own home.  The stories
challenge the viewer by making them accept and think about
situations that they may believe are socially unacceptable to
discuss.  The character of Ace comes into her own when faced with
the horrible results of racism, sexism, and hatred and in the
character's championing an anti-prejudice viewpoint.  Rather than
being a character of entertainment, Ace becomes an effective foil
in teaching younger viewers acceptance and diversity.  The
character of Ace allows _Doctor Who_ viewers various perspectives
with which to approach the subject.  Ace becomes a true heroine
for championing anti- prejudicial attitudes and if we agree that
this is a moral stance, which not everyone will, fulfills Joseph
Campbell's description of the hero archetype that he sets forward
in his book _The Power of Myth_.  

(c) copyright Zepo, 1999.


1) _Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary (Unabridged) _,  
2nd ed. (1980), s.v. "prejudice," 1420.  These are first and
fourth definitions of "prejudice."

2) Joseph Campbell, _The Power of Myth_ (New York: Doubleday,
1988), 123.  The full first line of the quotation reads, "Even in
found or done something beyond the normal range of achievement
and experience."

3) Ibid, 127.

4) "Dragonfire," _Doctor Who_, (1987)[Omnibus Version], NTSC
video cassette.

5) "Human beings have forty-six chromosomes in twenty-three
pairs and one pair are sex chromosomes -- XX for female and XY
for male." _Atlas of the Body and Mind_, 1990 ed., ed. Claire
Rayner, (New York: Crescent, 1976), 26.

6) _Doctor Who: The Daleks (Limited Edition Box Set)_, (Beverly
Hills, CA: FoxVideo, 1993; original content 1965 and 1988), NTSC
video cassette.  Set includes the stories "The Chase" and
"Remembrance of the Daleks."

7) Ibid.

8) Paul Travers, "Return of the Dynamic Duo," _Doctor Who
Magazine_, #154, November 1989, 22.

9) David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, _Doctor Who The
Handbook: The Seventh Doctor_, (London: Doctor Who, 1998), 140.

10) "The Happiness Patrol," _Doctor Who_, (1988)[Omnibus
version], NTSC video cassette.

11) "Silver Nemesis," _Doctor Who_, (1988)[Omnibus version],
NTSC video cassette.  

12) "Revenge of the Cybermen," _Doctor Who_, (1975)[Omnibus
version], NTSC video cassette.

13) "Silver Nemesis," _Doctor Who_.  

14) "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy," _Doctor Who_,
(1989)[Omnibus version], NTSC video cassette.

15) "Battlefield," _Doctor Who_, (1989)[Omnibus version], NTSC
video cassette.

16) Ibid.

17) Sophie Aldred and Mike Tucker, _Ace!: The Inside Story of
the End of an Era_, (London: Doctor Who, 1996), 78.

18) "Ghostlight," _Doctor Who_, (1989)[Omnibus version], NTSC
video cassette.

19) Ibid.

20) "The Curse of Fenric," _Doctor Who_, (1989)[Omnibus
version], NTSC video cassette.

21) "Survival," _Doctor Who_, (1989)[Omnibus Version], NTSC
video cassette.

22) Many stories identify the Doctor as being from the planet
Gallifrey.  For the purpose of providing evidence see _Doctor
Who: Arc of infinity_ (Beverly Hills, CA: FoxVideo, 1995;
original content 1983), NTSC video cassette.  The point that the
Doctor is Gallifreyan and that most of his companions are not
gives the entire program of _Doctor Who_ an undercurrent of
diversity and acceptance of other cultures.  Even without the
device of a storyline or subplot, this relationship alone
establishes that the Doctor and his companions have anti-
prejudicial attitudes.  This is a very important element of the
Doctor's heroic character.  In many ways it is quite a
disappointment that the (non-canonical) 1996 _Doctor Who_ made-
for-television film would introduce the concept that the Doctor
was "half human on [his] mother's side."  At various levels this
can be seen as disarming the Doctor's naturally implied anti-
racism stance such as when choosing his companions and in
choosing Earth as one of his favorite planets.  It betrays an
element of his character as it has been developed through the end
of the TV series.  _Doctor Who_, (Fox Tuesday Night Movie) [Made-
For-Television Film, 1996], NTSC video cassette.  Peter Cushing's
(non-canonical) theatrical films also lost the naturally implied
anti-racism angle when they presented the Doctor as a human
inventor from the planet Earth and all of his companions as
humans as well.  _Dr. Who & the Daleks_, (New York: Goodtimes
Home Video, 1989; original content 1965).  _Dr. Who: Daleks
Invasion of Earth 2150 A.D._, (Los Angeles: Republic Pictures,
1996; original content 1966).

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