Moderator's Note: This is Mike's original Yates summary:

Mike always seemed to be a "fifth wheel" type. I mean, they already had the Brig, who was constantly running off into battle; why have another military type? Maybe they were anticipating the Picard/Riker pairing in ST:TNG?



Maybe it was necessary to have Yates as a liaison for the troops? It might not have been proper protocol for the Brigadier to deal directly when giving orders. The general is away from the main action on the battlefield, while the captain is in the dugouts (Blackadder Goes Forth is a good example).

Ack! All my words of wisdom on Mike Yates - reasons for wanting to destroy the human race/dating Jo/becoming a Buddhist/making cocoa - all gone!!! (OK, so I hadn't quite got round to discussing the last three points). Mike, you really ought to save your summaries on disk or something, against the tragic day this whole board collapses and we have to start again (I've saved all my reviews...reading those things once is bad enough, reading them all again would quite literally kill me off).

Anyway, I read somewhere that Yates was brought in because the production team felt it was unconvincing for a Brigadier to give his orders through a lowly sergeant like Benton. Though personally I feel that fans would be too busy trying to come up with an explanation for a new alien invasion every week to bother with the minutae of army protocol.

I am with Emily on this point. Always make back up copies.

Personally, as I stated before it got wipe out in a computer glitch, Mike Yates is the least convincing military officer in UNIT. Stewart and Benton were career military in their respective ranks, whereas Yates is some hippy kid with connections.

I've heard that Mike Yates is gay in 'Happy Endings', is this true?

I've heard that Mike Yates is gay in 'Happy Endings', is this true?

Not that I noticed, but then when I read it I'd only encountered four or five other NAs, so I was in a constant state of bewilderment, and in no position to pick up on any hints about sexual preference. He certainly wasn't gay in Devil Goblins from Neptune, that's for sure.

I don't even recall him being in Happy Endings but maybe he was - mind you, wasn't he all set to take Jo out for a hot date at the start of The Curse of Peladon?

Considering that he was in the military, he would have to keep it a secret. This was decades before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" of the US and before the EU forced the UK to accept them. Maybe all that fumbling about asking Jo for a date was to convince his CO that he wasn't gay. Then again, he probably did have a Brit public school background.

Personnally, I think he is straight. But a wimp. Sometimes ignorant people confuse wimp with gay, which shows they didn't know there are some pretty tough gays out there. They have to be in this society.

He also called Captain Chin Lee "quite a dolly" in The Mind of Evil - I always thought he might have been keen on her.

I've forgotten about that. He did seem quite taken with the young Chinese officer.

The character was also introduced as a possible love interest for Jo - so the production team of the time didn't think he was gay.

Yes, but what the production team of the time happened to believe is not canon. I _bet_ they didn't know that the Doctor was in fact a reincarnation of the Other after he threw himself into Lungbarrow's Loom...

True, but what was established onscreen was surely canon? As mentioned, Mike was ready for a date with Jo before the Doctor dragged her off and he found Chin Lee attractive.

Oh yes, I'm not trying to claim for a moment
that Mike is gay, I'm just...well...nitpicking ;)

Just because someone clearly *appears* to be quite *taken* with someone of the opposite sex doesn't neccessarily mean they're not gay.

What about his scheduled date with Jo?

it was a cover :)

Apparently Richard Franklin performed extracts from his as-yet-unpublished Mike Yates novel at the Edinburgh Festival and apparently it wasn't much chop. Anyone see it?

Also, according to DWM, he stumbled over his lines, performed it badly, suffered from bad acoustics, and was one the most boring things ever to happen anywhere on the planet. Ever.

He doesn't seem to know his limits. I mean, expecting a diverse audience to know of Doctor Who in the first place is a difficult pre-requisite. Franklin's then asking them to recall the Pertwee era and then specific stories and then his specific part is just asking too much. Then asking them to listen to him witter on must have been the coup de grace. What else has the man done since 1974...? (not including The Five Doctors, Recall UNIT and his Myth Maker - which I'm not sure if he has done, but am assuming that he has)

Apparently he was a trooper in the Blake's 7 episode, Aftermath.

Presumably he has kept busy with stage work.

OK, I've found the suspicious passage in Happy Endings - Yates telling the Brig 'Tom sends his regards. I've got some of our honey for you.' Anyone who uses this to decide that the man who dated females in Speed of Flight, Devil Goblins From Neptune AND Curse of Peladon (one of the very few people on-screen who was permitted to have a date without it leading to immediate marriage) is gay is on very dodgy ground, IMHO. Tom is obviously a flatmate and fellow Buddhist. Or something.

If he can't decide whether to work for or against UNIT - a relatively simple decision by anybody's standards - it's hardly surprising his sexuality's up in the air.

I prepared to mark him down as bisexual.

Yeah, well, if I was in UNIT, _I'd_ have second thoughts about it - having to work with such a bunch of gung-ho male chauvinists (especially that scientific advisor of theirs), not to mention the risk of being murdered in various grusome ways by various alien invaders almost every other week.

Emily - Those contradictions in different novels are what happens when different writers write for the same series. Cornell intended that comment to suggest Yates was gay - whether it was a joke regarding his said 'rampant' heterosexuality which you're using as evidence to counteract claims of homosexuality I can't really say. Then again, I know you don't accept authors' intentions as canon

How about this for evidence then; the Doctor has had 10 male companions on screen (Ian, Steven, Ben, Jamie, Brig, Benton, Yates, Harry, Adric and Turlough), statistically (supposedly) 1 out of every 10 males is a homosexual, that 1 must be Mike Yates

What, and not Steven with his teddy bear, Jamie always hitting on girls but can't be bothered to wear a pair of pants, Adric and Turlough who can't seem to get along with any of the female companions (though to be fair Turlough couldn't get along with anybody - male or female), and Harry being in the Navy. Let's all sing that Village People song In the Navy, now.

Using Luke's homosexual ratio, (what we shall call, for intellectual purposes, an LHR), that would seem to back-up any ideas that Dodo Chaplet and Zoe Herriot were lesbians. Take Zoe. Hanging out with that Isobel, wearing that feather boa and posing a lot. She must've been laughing when they got put in that crate together. Using the LHR scale, then, I'd be wary of The Tenth Doctor. Assuming, of course, that the Doctor is a definite sex. Which he is... (awaits cries of derision)

Who says it will be the tenth doctor? Statistically, any one of those ten doctors will be gay, per LHR. However, each Doc has a ten percent chance, so it's not impossible that each doctor will be straight, just more improbable with each regeneration. Plus LHR is based on humans, not Gallifreyans. The G-LHR could be higher or lower.

LHR doesn't suggest that there is 90 percent chance of being straight, either, since there is no mention of the bisexual ratio.

So Zoe is a lesbian because she is a model wannabe? Well, I think I have an insight on how you think about the fashion industry.

Well let's look at the Doctors...

Hartnell - not gay; despite being quite old he still managed to chat up Cameca.

Troughton - not sure; the words 'you saucy girl' can be taken as camp or a come on.

Pertwee - hmmm? That lisp, those frills...

T. Baker - not gay; he was obviously shagging Romana II

Davison - could this be it? He failed to acknowledge Tegan's affections.

The others - I don't know... any ideas?

I think Doc #5 was having an affair with Tegan behind Adric's and Nyssa's backs, myself. They just couldn't openly acknowledge it in front of the others. Davison may not have been the most macho of the bunch, but at least he likes sports (even if it is cricket) which runs against the stereotypical image of what a homosexual is.

Doc #3 looked genuinely depressed when Jo left him for a younger version of himself. They had spent a lot of time alone together in space and time. He also like to tinker with cars and gadgets, which is also against the stereotype.

Doc #2 may be the most obvious choice, what with him spending a lot time alone in time and space with Jamie.

To tell you the truth, I don't think any of them are, as yet.

Doctor #6 - tried to kill Peri. Was this why he was a bit beserk? He just couldn't get to grips with his new, gay side.

But the Sixth Doctor was one of the few Docs to get kissed! (Thank God.) Albeit on the cheek by some Spanish girl who judging by the fact she was going out with Oscar didn't exactly have much taste or discernment.

By the way, if lusting after Liz Shaw is any indication, Mike is straight in Eye of the Giant.

Isn't the 6th Doc embarrassed when she kisses him? I can't remember, haven't seen 'two doctors' for ages.

Come to think of it, Oscar isn't exactly 'firm wristed', what with collecting butterflys, fainting at the first sight of blood, being a waitor, and an actor wanabee to boot(campy actor at that). Maybe the Spanish girl has a thing for those types of men. Maybe there is a good case for the 6th Doc being gay.

Then again, maybe the kiss can be written off from the fact that Spanish women are stereotypically more passionate than Anglo-Saxon women. She certainly had that caliente look to her.

Jamie being a Highlander wore a kilt.The Black and
Tans Highland Regiment is nicknamed The Ladies From Hell,if I remember correctly.The Highlanders
are some of the most ferocious fighters on Earth,getting plenty of practice on each other during the various Clan Wars in Scottish history.
So be careful what you say to a man wearing a kilt!;)

Yeah,The 5th Doctor and Tegan might have been doing it behind Nyssa and Adric's backs.Ever notice how often they got the Doctor and Tegan
paired off together whenever they split the group up.Kinda like Fred going with Daphne in Scooby Doo.

I think that really the 3rd Doctor thought of
Jo has a replacement in a way for Susan,since he had more of a fatherly or grandfatherly interest in her.

Yeah,The 5th Doctor and Tegan might have been doing it behind Nyssa and Adric's backs

No they mightn't!

Ever notice how often they got the Doctor and Tegan paired off together whenever they split the group up

Nope. In fact, can't think of a single example.

I think that really the 3rd Doctor thought of Jo has a replacement in a way for Susan,since he had more of a fatherly or grandfatherly interest in her.

This didn't stop him from getting all jealous when Jo found herself a boyfriend. (Unlike Susan, where after the initial, you-seem-to-care-more-about-this-young-man's-opinions-than-mine reaction, he actually FORCES poor Susan to marry the David creature.) And, come to think of it, the Doctor's not just jealous of Cliff - he even drags poor Jo off to Peladon rather than let her have a date with Mike (of all people).

It seems that Richard Franklin is ready to do a Companion Chronicle, as Big Finish's website has a listing for a Mike Yates adventure, titled The Magician's Oath...
Reportedly, it's out at the end of April...

TALK about low-key - I simply can't BELIEVE Terror of the Autons is Mike's introductory story. And neither can the production team, as they have the Doctor bizarrely claim that Yates did the clean-up after the LAST Auton invasion. Rather odd that he wasn't in at the kill in Spearhead from Space, given the Brig's desperate shortage of men. OR that he wasn't spotted in Silurians, Ambassadors or Inferno either.

Should Yates' have been hung for treason for his actions in Operation Golden Age?

Certainly not HUNG (I think it was illegal by then) - we've got to take his good record into account (though frankly I can't think of a time the world would have been destroyed without him - the Doc and the Brig would have muddled through) and the fact his MOTIVES were good (though honestly, what's wrong with creating a virus that would sterilise most of the human race? A much easier and more HUMANE way of dealing with the overpopulation catastrophe, surely).

But I've nothing against a nice long spell in prison to teach people NOT to try to wipe out the human race.

We still don't know whether he got an honourable or dishonourable discharge, do we. Either way, surely the Brig LIED in his reports, or SOMEONE further up the chain of command would have insisted on Yates not just going free?

TIM in New Series: Season Seven: The Day of the Doctor:

Call me if you stumble on a picture of Mike meeting Nyssa

JUDI: Which Nyssa?
"fairy skirt" might be campy enough for Yates, "velvet trousers" might be too butch and "camisole knickers" might be too heterosexual for poor Mike.

Mike is a rabid heterosexual! It says so in Devil Goblins From Neptune so it must be true!

And he VERY NEARLY had a date with Jo Grant, didn't he? That makes him one of, what, half-a-dozen people in Old Who who actually seemed REMOTELY interested in the opposite sex! (At least until Ace came along and started driving the men wild with her faster-than-a-second-hand-on-a-watch seduction techniques).

And I'm sure that Mike was only staring at the Master's bottom in case he had a Captain-Jack-style concealed weapon...

At some point in his childhood, Mike just said, in the words of Ralph Wiggum, "I like men now!".

This is Classic Who, the sexuality of the characters is not an issue here.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs:

'If we descend to that sort of thing, we're no better than the society we're trying to replace' - oh so it's not that Yates has any particular feelings for the DOCTOR per se. He's just trying to (temporarily) save his life on a matter of PRINCIPLE.

Anyway, Mike's determination that 'his precious Doctor' must not be harmed is rather suspect, in the circumstances. I prefer Scaroth's honest, logical approach - 'I'm sorry I had to kill you, my dear, but very soon you would have ceased to exist anyway.'

Rather unwise of Mike to flaunt his new conversion to the green cause in front of Sarah. He's not to know she's the worst spotter-of-the-traitor-in-our-midst in human history.

'I'll go and chat up that nice Captain Yates' - but alas, Sarah's potential romance with Mike goes the same way as Jo's potential romance with Mike, viz, NOWHERE AT ALL. Only a lot quicker.

Also, what's the significance of the Doctor's response 'He'll enjoy that'? Mike's NOT gay? Or the Doctor doesn't REALISE Mike's gay? Or the Doctor thinks Sarah's so incredibly charming that even a gay man would be thrilled to have five minutes' conversation with her? (In which case he's right, Mike is in fact SO thrilled by said conversation that he drags her to a Tibertan monastery months later when he spots something weird going on...)

Given that even the Brig is prepared to go along with the Doctor-arresting for five minutes, how come the Doc concludes that Mike's willingness to obey orders and lock him up is proof positive than his OWN COMPANION is a traitor.

'Extended sick-leave and a chance to resign quietly - best I could do.' - Judging by Spiders it works, but if I was General Finch I'd be kicking up such a fuss about Mike being let off during my court-martial that there'd be TROUBLE.

Finch was more responsible for Golden Age than Yates. Makes sense that he'd suffer a worse punishment.

They both tried to wipe out humanity, they should both be up in front of a firing squad, frankly.

Anyway, Finch merely betrayed the human race. Yates betrayed THE DOCTOR and THE BRIGADIER. PERSONALLY!

Or the Doctor doesn't REALISE Mike's gay?

As 'Tooth and Claw' demonstrates, the Doctor's gaydar has always been on the blink.

And THAT was in the days he actually HAD gaydar. As far as I can see, the first few Doctors had NO IDEA that homosexuality (or indeed heterosexuality) even EXISTED.

(Of course, what do I know. SPOILERS FOR DARK WATER/DEATH IN HEAVEN The Master says the Doctor's her boyfriend and the only time THAT could possibly have happened is when they were both boys together, running across the Master's dad's estates, hand in hand...)

Romping with his school chums in the fens and spinneys, when the twilight bathed the hedgerows like a lambent flame...

Theta Sigma & Koschei: We're Gay! We're Glad! Get Used To It!

The Master says the Doctor's her boyfriend

Hello? Bananas!

does Mike Yates have a middle name?

According to the usually-excellent TARDIS Wikia his full name is Captain Michael Alexander Raymond Yates. But it doesn't say WHY it thinks such a ridiculous thing, and the article in question admits that it's got inaccuracies and needs updating.

Space Helmet for a Cow: 'Apart from that "attempting to wipe out the entire human race" incident, he had an unblemished military record.' - Well, I seem to remember that misfortunate incident of him LOSING A NUCLEAR WARHEAD as well. But which of us hasn't accidentally mislaid the occasional object down the back of the sofa?

'According to Richard Franklin, plans to kill his character off were scrapped after the production team realised there'd be "a national outcry". Or a couple of letters to the Radio Times, anyway.' - USUALLY when I belatedly hear of plans to kill off a Companion I'm infinitely grateful that whatever rubbishy send-off they got instead, after the production team chickened out, at least this made them available for voicing audios/nasty things to happen to them in novels/their own smash-hit CBBC TV series.

In the case of Captain Mikes Yates though, I could happily live without his his unmemorable (in Big Finish's case) and godawful (in the BBC's case) audios, nothing remotely interesting happened to him in the books (unless you want to get overexcited about BBC/Virgin vaguely contradicting each other over whether he's gay or straight, and even I have to draw the line somewhere) and the prospect of a The Captain Mike Yates Adventures seems...remote.

Let us remember this is a man who stood for UKIP, and then when UKIP wasn’t right-wing and racist enough for him, founded an even more radically right-wing and racist political party and stood for them, the extremely short-lived Silent Majority Party.

His politics are horrible enough that Doctor Who Magazine actually made a comic making fun of them. It was amazing. (also known as “the one where Ten hugs the Brigadier”.)

Planet of the Spiders:

'Last time we met I pulled a gun on them' - the Doc n'Brig really haven't seen Mike since Dinosaurs? Not to sob 'Why oh why' on his shoulder, go for one last dance round the maypole together, make him sign his resignation papers at gunpoint? ANYTHING?

Mike has NEVER been on any of those escapology courses Jo's always going on? Why the hell NOT!

Hmmm. If Yates hadn't volunteered to join in the Insane Chanting, the Spiders would never have managed to bring their army to Earth, would they.

Even when he's NOT trying to betray Earth, he still manages to...betray Earth.

'His compassion protected him' says K'Anpo, of Yates's remarkable survival. Even MORE remarkable given that 'compassion' is unlikely to feature highly in the make-up of anyone who TRIES TO WIPE OUT THE HUMAN RACE. (Also, quite embarrassing that the ABBOT apparently had none of this 'compassion' stuff to protect HIM.)

According to the usually-excellent TARDIS Wikia his full name is Captain Michael Alexander Raymond Yates. But it doesn't say WHY it thinks such a ridiculous thing

It now says that name come from 'The Devil Goblins from Neptune'. Is that a book you found believable?

I didn't even find the TITLE believable, let alone the rest of it.

At least Mike Yates, in his final appearance on the show, got to redeem himself, after what he did in Operation Golden Age. And the Doctor and Co. were willing to forgive him.

Some have suggested that his being brainwashed by BOSS made him vulnerable to being sucked into Operation Golden Age.

So, he's been in Big Finish too?

At least Mike Yates, in his final appearance on the show, got to redeem himself

He spied on some fellow guests, an action that led directly to GETTING THE DOCTOR KILLED, let's not whip out the medals just yet.

And the Doctor and Co. were willing to forgive him.

I knoooow! Honestly, you'd think UNIT had never even HEARD of that fine old tradition of putting someone up against a wall and shooting 'em.

Some have suggested that his being brainwashed by BOSS made him vulnerable to being sucked into Operation Golden Age.

No doubt it did, but he wasn't directly hypnostised into GENOCIDING THE HUMAN RACE, was he? At SOME point he really should have thought 'Hang on a sec...'

So, he's been in Big Finish too?

*Wince* Yeah, he's narrated a Companion Chronicle or two (Rings of Ikiria), been part of our glorious(ly bad) fiftieth anniversary multi-Doctor story (Destiny of the Doctor: Vengeance of the Stones), made a staggeringly inadequate replacement for the Brig in various Third (Havoc of Empires) and Seventh (The Defectors) Doctor stories, run the country with Jo and Benton in UNIT: Assembled, and also starred in (as far as I can remember) every single one of the BBC Paul Magrs 'Nest Cottage' festering piles of Fourth Doctor •••• CDs.

Oh, and he's in a few novels too, even if they didn't bother with basic consistency over whether he was gay or straight...

I think the novelization said that he got involved in Project Golden Age when he was recovering from some previous storyline. Not sure if BOSS was specifically mentioned or not.

even if they didn't bother with basic consistency over whether he was gay or straight

Another consequence of BOSS's brainwashing? ;-)

Let's hope Mike never stood for UKIP like his actor did...!

an action that led directly to GETTING THE DOCTOR KILLED, let's not whip out the medals just yet

Since that action led to Tom Baker, I would think, Emily, that you'd want to pin the medal on Mike yourself.


I think the novelization said that he got involved in Project Golden Age when he was recovering from some previous storyline. Not sure if BOSS was specifically mentioned or not.

It did. And it was the BOSS incident.

I think the novelization said that he got involved in Project Golden Age when he was recovering from some previous storyline.

Ah yes...

'The Doctor's voice was friendly "How did you get involved in this, Mike?"
"It was after that business with the giant maggots in Wales. You remember I was sent on leave for quite a time."
"You were very disturbed," said the Brigadier. "I think you still are!"
The Doctor frowned at the Brigadier, as though asking him to keep his mouth shut. "Do go on, Mike."
"I had a lot of time on my hands, and I went along to one of the Save Planet Earth meetings and heard Sir Charles Grover speak. It convinced me."'

Another consequence of BOSS's brainwashing?

He was checking out the telephone-installing Master's bottom LONG before BOSS attempted to hypnotise him into going gay so they could get married if Stevens jilted him at the altar...

Let's hope Mike never stood for UKIP like his actor did...!

Well, of course not. In fairness to Mike, he wanted to wipe out EVERYONE, not just the darker-skinned members of the human race.

Though come to think of it, I can't remember, were all the "colonists" white...?

He was checking out the telephone-installing Master's bottom LONG before BOSS attempted to hypnotise him into going gay so they could get married if Stevens jilted him at the altar...

Why assume BOSS hypnotized him to be gay? Maybe BOSS agreed with people who believe in converting gay people to be straight? ;-)

Why assume BOSS hypnotized him to be gay?

Because - going by the novelisation - BOSS was totally gay, wanted to marry Stevens, would have been aware that Stevens wasn't exactly enthusiastic and might just have had 'need a back-up groom' in mind whilst hypnotising Mike...

Maybe BOSS agreed with people who believe in converting gay people to be straight?

Look, just because BOSS is a megalomaniac computer attempting to enslave the world doesn't mean he's a NUTCASE...

Yates's original background outline:

Captain Michael Yates (‘Mike’ to everyone) is a very different kind of soldier from the Brigadier. His ideas are very modern. He likes to get on with his job. which he does with casual efficiency. He has little time for saluting and military proto- col. Because of this he sometimes gets himself into trouble in UNIT,but really the Brigadier knows that he can always trust and depend on him.He loves teasing Jo.

Wow, they REALLY didn't see the whole 'Whip out some dinosaurs and genocide humanity!' thing coming, did they.

Doesn't salute and doesn't like military protocol? How did a soldier like this make it to captain?

RIP - Captain Yates

Yeah, I s'pose CAPTAIN YATES was a good man, give or take that unfortunate attempting-to-wipe-out-humanity incident...

Well, I believe he did know that some humans were supposed to survive and create a new Golden Age rather than a complete wipe-out. Also I think his thinking this was a good idea had to do with poor psychological therapy following whatever trauma he had supposedly suffered previously.

Well, I believe he did know that some humans were supposed to survive and create a new Golden Age rather than a complete wipe-out.

Hey, as long as he was only attempting to genocide 99.9% of the human race, that's alright then...though tbh I don't see his bunch of merry halfwits managing to survive illnesses and accidents and sabre-toothed tigers and the need to GROW CROPS etc for long enough to actually, y'know, REPRODUCE.

I think his thinking this was a good idea had to do with poor psychological therapy following whatever trauma he had supposedly suffered previously.

Several dozen other Companions I could mention have been hypnotised without feeling the need to KILL EVERYONE afterwards...