What if Philip Hinchliffe stayed on as producer?

[The Thinker]

So, what if Philip Hinchliffe stayed on as producer for 3 years longer than he did?

Personally, I think the show might've been a tad better. The stories he produced I think are amongst the best, alright they are the best. In my opinion.

But then again, it might've been worse. What do you think?

[quatermass]

Hmmm...

The show would obviously have been better, but the thing to bear in mind is that Graham Williams was forced onto the show with a brief to counter the increasingly hysterical criticism levelled at the show by the NVALA. Hinchcliffe, had he been allowed to stay on, would have been just as "shackled" by the small-minded moral minority, so the days of gothic horror, freeze frame drowning and death by composting were over, no matter who helmed the series...

Overt horror aside, Hinchcliffe's other hallmarks were (with a few notable exceptions) strong stories, with wit, underlying intelligence, great production and strong enemies - no small thanks to a certain Mr Holmes...

So, if Hinchcliffe had stayed on, with Robert Holmes as script editor, I think the show would still have had to rely more on humour, but the humour would've been a darker, craftier, Holmsian affair. Big Tom would never have been allowed to get away with so much foolishness (or Tom-foolery!) - no bad thing! Production values probably wouldn't have nose-dived to such an extent. And, most importantly, can any one of you lot even begin to imagine Hinchcliffe entertaining the notion of anything as dreadful as K9?

So yes, the series would have been better, if somewhat diluted, had Hinchcliffe stayed... but he didn't, and I must confess to actually really liking the stories produced by Williams - especially the Horns of Nimon! ;D

[The Thinker]

That's a possible outcome.

However, what if Philip Hinchcliffe stayed on, and continued using the horror approach for another 3 years?