Who would you like to see write for Doctor Who? [slight spoilers]
- Thread starter Bones2
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He is, but he'd never turn in a script. He'd talk about it, he'd get fans to cheer for him at conventions, he'd say that he was just days away from turning it in for years on end. It would be the most famous piece of Whovian vaporware.
Realistically, we'd probably have to stick with British writers. I don't know the union situation intimately, but odds are it would be very difficult to get an American or Canadian to do a script for the series.
So based on that, Alan Moore would be top of my list. Aside from the fact he's a huge name and would garner the show even more respect than Gaiman has, he also used to write comic strips for Doctor Who Magazine.
Next would be Terry Pratchett. I've always felt his Discworld books owed a fair amount to Doctor Who (at least the Douglas Adams era of DW) and I think he'd do well.
RTD reportedly tried to get JK Rowling to write one. I'd love to see that. (Might help her break out of the perception she's a one-trick pony, too, and can actually write something that isn't Harry Potter.)
Iain Banks would be interesting. Someone suggested him.
I'd also love to see an old-school DW writer be given a chance: Terrance Dicks, Ben Aaronovich, Eric Saward would be my choices.
Also, there was some excellent stuff written for the unofficial spin-off videos back in the "dark days" of the 1990s. Nigel Fairs, Nicholas Briggs (who as we know has an ongoing connection with the show now) - some of those guys.
I have to disagree with the OP's statement that the Gatiss episode was poor. I thought it was fine, and certainly better than Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks.
Alex
So based on that, Alan Moore would be top of my list. Aside from the fact he's a huge name and would garner the show even more respect than Gaiman has, he also used to write comic strips for Doctor Who Magazine.
Next would be Terry Pratchett. I've always felt his Discworld books owed a fair amount to Doctor Who (at least the Douglas Adams era of DW) and I think he'd do well.
RTD reportedly tried to get JK Rowling to write one. I'd love to see that. (Might help her break out of the perception she's a one-trick pony, too, and can actually write something that isn't Harry Potter.)
Iain Banks would be interesting. Someone suggested him.
I'd also love to see an old-school DW writer be given a chance: Terrance Dicks, Ben Aaronovich, Eric Saward would be my choices.
Also, there was some excellent stuff written for the unofficial spin-off videos back in the "dark days" of the 1990s. Nigel Fairs, Nicholas Briggs (who as we know has an ongoing connection with the show now) - some of those guys.
I have to disagree with the OP's statement that the Gatiss episode was poor. I thought it was fine, and certainly better than Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks.
Alex
Michael Chabon, of course.
Junot Diaz, who loads up The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao with DW refs, as well as other famous SF television shows, movies, and books.
Alan Moore
John Scalzi
Cory Doctorow
Junot Diaz, who loads up The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao with DW refs, as well as other famous SF television shows, movies, and books.
Alan Moore
John Scalzi
Cory Doctorow
that Macintee bloke.
Never happen, and neither would most of the other people in this thread, as, let's face it, most of them aren't TV writers and experience in that form is pretty important.
(Besides, as I've often said, I'd actually rather direct one or play a monster - Ice Warrior, perhaps - in it than actually write one...)
I'd want:
Darin Morgan
Rob Shearman
Matt Graham given free reign to write a story he wants (he was kind of stuck with Fear Her's brief)
Steve Franks (Psych)
Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright
Richard Carpenter
David Renwick (if he was actually interested)
Ronald D Moore
Robert Wolfe
PJ Hammond (well, he's done Crotchwood...)
Alex, why do you persist in thinking that Moore and Gaiman are "huge names"? In the small pond of science-fiction fandom, in the even smaller pond of comics fandom, they are big names, yes, but compared to Richard Curtis and (dare I say it?) Chris Chibnall, they're not names. The Not-We aren't going to know who Alan Moore is, except that he has something to do with a Sean Connery movie that they may not have liked.
Stephen Fry? That's huge. Alan Moore? Not huge.
I have no idea who Stephen Fry or Richard Curtis are, but I am quite familiar with Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.
Of course I'm over here on the American side of the pond, so that colors my perceptions. But so far as American Geekdom would go I would bet 100$ to your 10$ that I could find some random man on the street who could identify who Gaiman or Moore are much faster than Fry or Curtis.
Of course I'm over here on the American side of the pond, so that colors my perceptions. But so far as American Geekdom would go I would bet 100$ to your 10$ that I could find some random man on the street who could identify who Gaiman or Moore are much faster than Fry or Curtis.
Big name in UK...
Best friends with Hugh Laurie (House) and they did there own comedy sketch show together. Also Fry was in Blackadder a famous UK comedy and hes been in a lot of tv shows since. Currently though he hosts a coemdy quiz show called Q.I.
Hes very clever and from what I gather a very good writer and from what I heard wrote a Doc Who episode that RTD loved but BBC didn't have the budget for.
Was Dead Set really that good as to warrant Brooker writing for Who?Stephen Fry
Charlie Brooker
Lucky.
As for Fry's story, as I understand it he didn't finish his commissioned script in time. So we got Boom Town instead. I highly doubt it had anything to do with the BBC not being able to afford it; I'm not sure where you heard that.
Richard Curtis, a writer:
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Love Actually
Notting Hill
The Boat That Rocked
On TV:
Mr Bean
Blackadder
Vicar of Dibley
Stephen Fry turns up in Bones on a semi-regular basis as Dr Gordon Wyatt (now there's a crossover ep with House waiting to happen!), had a great doco series called Stephen Fry in America, wherte he travelled to all 50 states in a London cab, was in the satire on adveritsing Absolute Power, which was dark and funny, was Melchett in Blackadder, and narrated the 2005 HHGG.
They have some credentials.
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Love Actually
Notting Hill
The Boat That Rocked
On TV:
Mr Bean
Blackadder
Vicar of Dibley
Stephen Fry turns up in Bones on a semi-regular basis as Dr Gordon Wyatt (now there's a crossover ep with House waiting to happen!), had a great doco series called Stephen Fry in America, wherte he travelled to all 50 states in a London cab, was in the satire on adveritsing Absolute Power, which was dark and funny, was Melchett in Blackadder, and narrated the 2005 HHGG.
They have some credentials.
^
Never seen Dead Set and if you hate it it must be good
I heard about Fry thing from people on here few years back. I heard 1st pitch was too much £££ and 2nd pitch was never finished.
You also don't like Fry am guessing from your lucky comment. As for Curtis I don't see him being able to write something for Who, doesn't seem his cup of tea.
I love his character on Bones and his American show last year was a good watch. Just finished watching both years of Absolute Power and I must say probably my favourite TV show hes done as a main lead.
Never seen Dead Set and if you hate it it must be good
I heard about Fry thing from people on here few years back. I heard 1st pitch was too much £££ and 2nd pitch was never finished.You also don't like Fry am guessing from your lucky comment. As for Curtis I don't see him being able to write something for Who, doesn't seem his cup of tea.
I love his character on Bones and his American show last year was a good watch. Just finished watching both years of Absolute Power and I must say probably my favourite TV show hes done as a main lead.
I didn't see enough of Dead Set to form much of an opinion either way. Didn't interest me much. But if you've not seen that, what's your recommendation for Brooker as a TV writer based on?^
Never seen Dead Set and if you hate it it must be good
You also don't like Fry am guessing from your lucky comment. As for Curtis I don't see him being able to write something for Who, doesn't seem his cup of tea.
As for Fry, I don't really harbour anything dislike for him aside from the fact he's on everything and cited as a genius for not much reason. That's more what other people make of him I suppose. But it would seem to me that his being hired as a writer is for the same reason as Curtis; he's not got any experience in sci-fi, but he is a big name.
Yes but hiring a writer with no experience of sci-fi can work, after all when RTD hired Moffat he was hiring a sitcom writer.
I like Fry, if only because he once pointed out that he wasn't a genius, he just has a really good memory for stuff so people assume he's cleverer than he is.
I think that Moffat's tack seems to be to hire good writers rather than good science fiction writers.
For me I'd like to see Joe Aherne write and direct an episode. (I fear I might have already said this earlier in the thread!)
I like Fry, if only because he once pointed out that he wasn't a genius, he just has a really good memory for stuff so people assume he's cleverer than he is.
I think that Moffat's tack seems to be to hire good writers rather than good science fiction writers.
For me I'd like to see Joe Aherne write and direct an episode. (I fear I might have already said this earlier in the thread!)
Mmm, but Moffat had some form. He wrote Continuity Errors, was a noted DW fan, and was known as a capable writer in general. Of course, now I've said that, RTD wrote Damaged Goods, was a noted DW fan, and was known as a capable writer in general. And he was a complete buffooning disaster. So maybe it could go either way.Yes but hiring a writer with no experience of sci-fi can work, after all when RTD hired Moffat he was hiring a sitcom writer.
But then, what was the last Stephen Fry-penned drama you saw on TV? Considering his biggest acting role in recent years has been in that tedious snorefest Kingdom (which seems to exist to make your nan fall asleep in front of the TV and to remind us that we were well off with Heartbeat), you could argue he wouldn't know a good script from a dull one. Let alone write one.
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