Doctor Who and the Guest Writers of Speculative Fiction

There’s a lovely thread over on Outpost Gallifrey’s Message board, about who people would like to see write for Season 30 (and beyond) of Doctor Who. And it got me thinking that there can’t be a huge number of shows where the writers are talked about in the same tones as the guest stars (I’m excluding show runners such as Joss Wheddon, JMS, et al). And I’m as much to blame, because seeing ‘written by Chris Chibnal’ on Doctor Who (and both Torchwood and Life on Mars) has me crossing my fingers and hoping. Luckily his most recent episode (42) was more what I expected.

So who would I love to see in the mythical perfect world of fandom writing? Let’s have a little exploration, find some squee moments, and generally have some fun…

Stephen Moffat: He did the one with the gas masks (“Are you my Mummy?“). He did the one with Madame de Pompadour and the Doctor falling in love (be honest – he did… big time). He’s the writer who gets both the depth and complexity of the Doctor, the innate fun, and the fact that it’s an entertaining family program that has to work on every level. I’d give him the season closer and the threading of the ‘season arc’ with no hesitation. After all, when he pens the line “Before this war I was a father and a grandfather. Now I’m neither, but I’m still a doctor” (but to a secondary character) you have to wonder what he could if he replaced Davis as the show runner.

Noel Clarke: Yes, Mickey the Idiot is a writer – young, but very very promising. He’s was one of the few (okay, one of two, him and Catherine Tregenna) who managed to get the characters in Torchwood working well together in a believeable way in his script for ‘Combat.’ Hand him the keys to the Tardis and let him rip.

Stephen Fry: In years to come the Fry commissioned script that was never made (budgetary reasons pushed it from season 28 to 29, and they Fry had no professional time to work it to a final state) is going to take on the mantle of “Shada” as the missing story everyone want to see. Little is publicly known about it, but the rumours are of some Arthurian legend, the Round Table and p’haps the Doctor finally taking up the role of merlin that McCoy intimated he’d already done.

J. K. Rowling: Russell Davis is on record as saying that approaches were made to Rowling for a possible script in the Eccleston season. She was a bit busy on something else as I recall, but after mid July she’s free. Can we see what she can do in someone else’s universe? Maybe (with half an eye on ratings and publicity) the Christmas episode would be the perfect slot?

Lori Summers: You’ve either never heard of her (likely) or you’re waiting for Hero with a Thousand Faces to conclude. A strong Harry Potter fanfic writer, she’s also indulged in Who-fic as well. head over for this Rose / Tenth short story and you’ll start to see why I want to see her handed a full episode.

Warren Ellis: Because it would be frakkin’ cool!

Peter David: An author who works incredibly well with other people’s toolboxes (witness the print novel Imzadi in the Start Trek Next Gen universe, and his Babylon 5 episodes – Soul Mates and There All The Honour Lies), who has a proven ability with using time as a character.

Charlie Higson: He’s already ressurected one great British figure (with his Young Bond series of novels) and displayed such a deft, knowing touch, that any Doctor Who episode from him is going to feel both old school and totally modern at the same time. Modern Doctor Who still needs a pure historical, and I think that should go to Higson.

Cory Doctorow: Partly because I’m sure he’d spend six months arguing that that entire episode would be a Creative Commons work; given it’s my mind at play he’d win this argument, but he would get the Doctor-Lite episode. Although the image of David Tennant on the Pirates of the Carribean ride in Disneyworld would be worth all the arguements.