How to Run an Evil Industrialist

[mhopcroft]

One of the staples of Classic Who (and, to a lesser extent, the new series) is the Evil Industrialist -- someone who, out of greed, megalomania, narcissism or nihilism, has turned his wealth and power towards conquest or destruction, or someone who in the name of profit has started tampering with things best left alone. Henry van Statten is a fine example of the latter, Harrison Chase of the former.

We keep encountering them time and time again, these living examples of human hubris. And that's part of the problem with running one -- how to use the trope and still keep it fresh.

Any thoughts?

[BadCatMan]

It's a character type that will always be with us, as it's fairly fundamental to human behavior and business practices. So I suppose that the best way to keep it fresh is to keep it up-to-date. That is, to use current problems with big business or that big business has caused - pollution and environmental destruction, third-world exploitation for cheap labour, reckless investments, etc.

How to make these interesting and Who-ish is another matter.

[Craig Oxbrow]

Environmental destruction leads to monsters. Cheap labour leads to enslaved alien races (and possibly to premature baldness). Reckless investments leads to... hmm... another group from Raxacoricofallapatorius coming to foreclose on the planet? Maybe grey ones. Wearing ties.

Anyway, for a bending of the archetype, borrowing from Grant Morrison's Zenith, maybe an Evil Industrialist who is really friendly and outgoing, talks to the press - an evil Richard Branson type.

[Catsmate]

Bump.

Jan 12, 2010 4:48:48 GMT Craig Oxbrow said:

Environmental destruction leads to monsters. Cheap labour leads to enslaved alien races (and possibly to premature baldness). Reckless investments leads to... hmm... another group from Raxacoricofallapatorius coming to foreclose on the planet? Maybe grey ones. Wearing ties.

Or full city suits complete with umbrellas like the Fulgurites. There you have an excellent plot; a modern day slave trade complete with government connivance.
Perhaps an industrialist has done a deal with aliens but instead of slaves or minerals they want recreation opportunities in exchange for whatever technology they've provided; hunting humans for sport (human horn anyone?) or for food.

Jan 12, 2010 4:48:48 GMT Craig Oxbrow said:

Anyway, for a bending of the archetype, borrowing from Grant Morrison's Zenith, maybe an Evil Industrialist who is really friendly and outgoing, talks to the press - an evil Richard Branson type.

I like it! Rather like Mortimus in the Virgin NAs.

Tobias Breckinridge, in the MA novel Evolution was a good example. A charming person, a man of vision who appreciated how technology would change the world and planned to be at the forefront.
Even if his plans required creating hybrid creatures from kidnapped children, it was Progress...