News J Michael Straczynski is interested in Doctor Who showrunner

[Saul]

Rumors suggest that the BBC has given JMS a polite "no."

Awww, at least let him write an episode or two. It's a shame when bigger names in the industry show interest in working on the show but things don't work out. Like Peter Jackson wanting to do an episode.

But some are thinking that DW will be rested for a bit after the 60th anniversary while they get an entirely new production team together, including finding a new showrunner.

Makes sense and doesn't surprise me. We all knew a day would come when the show would take a break again. Not as long a break as before but I think the appeal of the show has gone down over the years, not to mention BBC's budget, episode numbers, merchandise sales. I still think the show has so much more potential if we could get away from the idea that it has to be a BBC made show.

 

[Mr Awe]

I haven't noticed much discussion of this part of Chibnall's DWM article, as quoted in Radio Times.

“The appointment of a new showrunner is a commercially sensitive decision (way above the pay grade of an incumbent showrunner) so it’ll be a joint decision between BBC Studios and the top decision-makers at the BBC.”

I noticed that quote. Not sure when he said it, but it sounds like he doesn't think his replacement has been chosen because he's speaking about the decision in the future tense ("it'll be"). At least to his knowledge, of course.

 

[Steve Roby]

What interests me about the quote is the idea that things are being handled by a different organization, which may have different criteria and different objectives. We've had three showrunners who were known as Doctor Who fans before they got their shot. Davies hadn't had the chance to write Doctor Who, but he certainly wrote about it enough in the original Queer As Folk. Maybe next time we get someone with no past links to or obvious interest in the show who meets some other criteria set by BBC Studios that might not have made sense in-house at the BBC.

 

[matthunter]

As a Time Traveller... The Doctor has always been aware of the Pandemic, and yet she dumped Graeme and Ryan there on the wrong edge of it.

Does she actually like them?

It's you, so pinch of salt, pepper and possibly parsley since I've never really understood WHY it exists or why people use it. Doesn't really add flavour at all...

BUT

We know from Torchwood that anyone who travels in the TARDIS gets a boosted immune system. The Doctor knows Graham and Ryan will be fine, and they are also the sorts to help keep other folks' spirits up during lockdown. The Doctor herself recorded a message to tell people to be brave, so she's obviously gonna make use of the fam too.

 

[matthunter]

Davies hadn't had the chance to write Doctor Who, but he certainly wrote about it enough in the original Queer As Folk.

Nitpick, Davies wrote the New Adventures novel (a series explicitly endorsed by the BBC) Damaged Goods. Which, incidentally, set some of the tone for his initial NuWho concept (Tyler family, London housing estate).

 

[The Wormhole]

Nitpick, Davies wrote the New Adventures novel (a series explicitly endorsed by the BBC) Damaged Goods. Which, incidentally, set some of the tone for his initial NuWho concept (Tyler family, London housing estate).

A family or character with the surname Tyler is a common trope in a lot of RTD's work, as are London housing estates.

 

[Steve Roby]

Nitpick, Davies wrote the New Adventures novel (a series explicitly endorsed by the BBC) Damaged Goods. Which, incidentally, set some of the tone for his initial NuWho concept (Tyler family, London housing estate).

Oh, yeah. I've read that but forgot about it while posting.

 

[Mr Awe]

What interests me about the quote is the idea that things are being handled by a different organization, which may have different criteria and different objectives. We've had three showrunners who were known as Doctor Who fans before they got their shot. Davies hadn't had the chance to write Doctor Who, but he certainly wrote about it enough in the original Queer As Folk. Maybe next time we get someone with no past links to or obvious interest in the show who meets some other criteria set by BBC Studios that might not have made sense in-house at the BBC.

I can see what you're saying. I just don't know enough about the change to know how substantial that'll be. The potential is there for a large change. Or perhaps it's just an administrative thing. Not sure.

Regardless of that aspect, I'd imagine that there will be a bigger change just for the need to do something different because modern Who has been on for so long now. And apparently it's becoming harder to find a showrunner for DW in general, and wanting one with a DW connection is just an additional constraint. A bigger priority going forward might to find someone with an interesting new vision for the show combined with a talent for making quality TV--just not necessarily DW.

Chibnall has the DW connection, but I'd be hard pressed to describe his vision for the show even after watching several seasons of it!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Chibnall has the DW connection, but I'd be hard pressed to describe his vision for the show even after watching several seasons of it!

Doctor Who for the Berlantiverse audience? Chibnall's Who feels so much like a CW show that I wonder.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Awww, at least let him write an episode or two. It's a shame when bigger names in the industry show interest in working on the show but things don't work out. Like Peter Jackson wanting to do an episode.


Makes sense and doesn't surprise me. We all knew a day would come when the show would take a break again. Not as long a break as before but I think the appeal of the show has gone down over the years, not to mention BBC's budget, episode numbers, merchandise sales. I still think the show has so much more potential if we could get away from the idea that it has to be a BBC made show.

The way the BBC are heading with the show budget wise i almost expect to see a episode filled around a evil bakery tent, one around haunted auction rooms, one inside a robot controlled news center and one filmed around the sets of a long running soap..........oh wait! Lol

 

[Starkers]

Given he riffed on 15 to 1 and Big Brother, if RTD had stuck around I can't imagine we wouldn't have had similar going forward:

Strictly Come Daleks

Great British Borusa

Black Guardian Hunt

Or maybe the Repair Shop could work to renovate what looks like an old toy but is actually a cybermat?

 

[Steve Roby]

The way the BBC are heading with the show budget wise i almost expect to see a episode filled around a evil bakery tent, one around haunted auction rooms, one inside a robot controlled news center and one filmed around the sets of a long running soap..........oh wait! Lol

So... filming several episodes on location in places like South Africa and Bulgaria is cheaper than filming in a studio in Cardiff? Interesting if true.

 

[StCoop]

Oh well, at least he's got a good consolation prize.

https://deadline.com/2021/09/babylo...ichael-straczynski-development-cw-1234845022/

 

[Qonundrum]

Nitpick, Davies wrote the New Adventures novel (a series explicitly endorsed by the BBC) Damaged Goods. Which, incidentally, set some of the tone for his initial NuWho concept (Tyler family, London housing estate).

Wasn't "The Long Game" adapted from a script submitted for season 19 that was turned down?

A shame JMS didn't get selected... Oh well. How things transpire in 2023 will be far more interesting, just not necessarily for the same reason.

 

[Starkers]

JMS must have known this was in the works when he threw his hat into the ring for Who, was that just a cynical final nudge for CW to finalise the deal, his way of saying 'there are other jobs out there'?

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I was thinking that. Maybe he thought the deal wasn't gonna happen?

 

[Starkers]

could be

 

[The Nth Doctor]

JMS must have known this was in the works when he threw his hat into the ring for Who, was that just a cynical final nudge for CW to finalise the deal, his way of saying 'there are other jobs out there'?

Copying over what I said in the Babylon 5 thread:

Yeah, I've been thinking about the same thing. Maybe he knew he didn't stand a chance of getting Doctor Who, or at least not any time soon since he probably figured someone was already hired, and just wanted to get his name out there to the BBC in case they become interested in using him in the future, even for just an episode or two.

 

[Starkers]

Of course there is another option...

Dr Who/B5 crossover!

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Zathras as the new companion!