Steven Taylor is a fictional character played by

Peter Purves Peter John Purves (; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. Beginning his career as an actor, he joined ''Doctor Who'' to play Steven Taylor (Doctor Who), Steven Taylor, a companion of the First Doctor, which he play ...

in the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. A space pilot from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

in the future, he was a companion of the

First Doctor The First Doctor is the original incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell in th ...

and a regular in the programme from 1965 to 1966. Steven appeared in 10 stories (45 episodes).

Appearances

Television

Steven first appears in the serial '' The Chase'', when

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

and his companions, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki, find him on the planet Mechanus where he crash-landed two years before. He joins the Doctor and Vicki as a companion in the following serial, '' The Time Meddler'', when they discover that he stowed-away in the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...

after having escaped the burning

Mechanoid An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being, often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids existed only in the domain of science fiction and were frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...

City. Steven is a strong-willed individual, who is more capable when there is something physical to do than when there is thinking to be done. He has a finely developed sense of right and wrong, and places a high value on human life. Steven follows the Doctor through '' The Daleks' Master Plan'', a dark and dangerous adventure that takes the lives of Sara Kingdom and Katarina. He argues with the Doctor when he refuses to prevent the events of '' The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve''. Steven is ready to part company with the Doctor over the deaths that happened, in particular that of a woman named Anne Chaplet. He rejoins the Doctor, however, at the same time that they acquired a new travelling companion, a young woman by the name of Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet, who is apparently a descendant of Anne's. Steven's journey eventually ends during '' The Savages'', when he decides to accept the responsibility of leading the combined society of Savages and Elders that is attempting a lasting peace. His life beyond that is not explored in the series. The exact time period that Steven originally came from is not specified in the television series. However, in '' The Daleks' Master Plan'', set in the year 4000, Steven states that he comes from "hundreds of years" before that period. An older Steven, still played by Purves, returns in an episode of the 60th anniversary spin-off ''Tales of the TARDIS'', alongside Maureen O'Brien as Vicki. Drawn from their respective timelines, Steven and Vicki recall the events of The Time Meddler and their lives after leaving the First Doctor. Steven became a king and has children and grandchildren. Their episode ends with the off-screen voice of William Hartnell, suggesting the First Doctor has joined them.

Other media

Steven appears in three spin-off novels: '' The Empire of Glass'' (1995) of the Virgin Missing Adventures range, and ''

Salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

'' (1999) and '' Bunker Soldiers'' (2001) of the Past Doctor Adventures range. In addition, he appears in many stories of the '' BBC Short Trips'' and the ''

Virgin Decalog The ''Virgin Decalog'' books were collections of short stories published by Virgin Publishing based on the television series ''Doctor Who'': they gained their name from the fact that each volume contained ten stories (although the last collection ...

''. Steven, often voiced by Purves, also appears in many

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

audio dramas including ''

The Five Companions ''The Five Companions'' is a Big Finish Productions List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish, audiobook based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is free to subscribers and released with ''Army of ...

'' alongside the

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...

(

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...

), ''The War to End All Wars'', which looks in depth at his life after he left the Doctor, and ''The Secret History'' in which he and Vicki meet the Fifth Doctor after a complex plot by the

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

sees the Fifth Doctor replace the First during a crucial adventure.

Casting

originally auditioned for the part of a giant insect in '' The Web Planet'', but failed. He then appeared in the third episode of ''The Chase'' as Morton Dill, a "hillbilly". He then appears as Steven in the final episode. Purves had grown "the beginnings of a beard" to disguise the connection between the two characters of the serial. The production team had been looking for a character to replace Barbara Wright ( Jacqueline Hill) and Ian Chesterton ( William Russell), who were leaving in the serial, and Purves was suggested by both

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

and

Maureen O'Brien Maureen O'Brien (born 29 June 1943) is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki (Doctor Who), Vicki Pallister in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', although she has appeared in many other te ...

. Early drafts of the story used the names "Bruck" and "Michael" for the character of the captured astronaut, before settling on "Steven".Howe and Walker (2003), p. 86

References

Bibliography

External links

Steven Taylor on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Steven Doctor Who companions Fictional space pilots Male characters in television Television characters introduced in 1965