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Elizabeth Sandifer

Elizabeth Sandifer created Eruditorum Press. She’s not really sure why she did that, and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She currently writes Last War in Albion, a history of the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. She used to write TARDIS Eruditorum, a history of Britain told through the lens of a ropey sci-fi series. She also wrote Neoreaction a Basilisk, writes comics these days, and has ADHD so will probably just randomly write some other shit sooner or later. Support Elizabeth on Patreon.

78 Comments

  1. Jesse
    December 13, 2014 @ 9:06 am

    Harry Dean Stanton is the Doctor, and Chloe Sevigny is also the Doctor.

    David Lynch is making it.

    It's trying to fuck with our minds.

    Reply

  2. djselby
    December 13, 2014 @ 9:49 am

    I'm not sure who's making it. Someone I trust. My mind is saying Whithouse because I love his stories (though no hoping for my illustrious recurring trans character there) and his vision of Doctor Who. My heart is, for some bizarre reason, saying Gatiss. I'm not even particularly enamoured by his work. I enjoyed The Unquiet Dead, The Idiot's Lantern and The Crimson Horror (and, of course, An Adventure in Space and Time was possibly the highlight of 2013 television). The others weren't great.
    Somehow, Gatiss' vision of Doctor Who fascinates me. I don't see him trying to be the best every week, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm not saying settle for mediocrity, but I like the idea of writers who settle together with their episodes, as opposed to competing. The show often feels a bit too competitive these days.

    Capaldi's still in it, because New Who Doctors don't stay for anywhere near long enough. Companion-wise, why not bring back another old face – Keeley Hawes? I love that woman. She'd be my only choice for the first female Doctor. But I instantly recognise her as a companion. Even the character of Alex Drake (Ashes to Ashes) was a companion, I think. She epitomises those traits beautifully. I'm actually quite baffled that she was chosen as a villain.

    And it just keeps doing what it does so well: speaking out about our world. That's something I did like about Series Eight – the messages. Not necessarily what we wanted to hear, but it didn't stop them. If a writer wants to write something that's inherently pro-life, then let them. Let people present other views.

    And world-building, inevitably. I think world-building is one of the best things about Doctor Who. Keep that mythos chugging away.

    Reply

  3. Carey
    December 13, 2014 @ 9:50 am

    I want it to be fun, remember that it is a family show with an appeal to children, and piss off people who want it to be gritty and adult.

    Within that context, I want it to rain as a sophisticated story telling machine it has been for much of its 50 year life span.

    As to who is making it? I don't know if the BBC will be able to hit it lucky for a third time and find someone with the experience, willing to take risks and, above all else a fan of Doctor Who s it found in Davies and Moffat. At best, they'll find someone who likes it (such as Whithouse or Cross). At worst, they'll offer it to the same production team responsible for things like Merlin or Atlantis, in which Doctor Who is doomed! The longing from some segments of fandom for a show runner with no abiding love for Doctor Who mystifies me: why take on that work load if you don't love something?

    As to the Doctor? I think the next incumbent of the role will most likely be male, so because of that I think it's definitely time for a Doctor from an ethnic minority within the UK: most probably an up and coming actor who is currently in the same position in their career as Tennant and Smith were a year or two before being cast themselves. Having said that, I'm all in favour of Romola Garai in the role.

    It just has to remember to be fun (the absence of which is my biggest criticism of series 8) .

    Reply

  4. Daibhid C
    December 13, 2014 @ 10:12 am

    Who's in it? Patterson Joseph is the Doctor. He plays the part completely unlike the Marquis of Carabas, especially in the Gaiman episode.

    Who's making it? I think I have to go with Gatiss or Whithouse in the showrunner seat. There are other people whose vision of Doctor Who I'd probably rather see, but would they have the chops to actually get it made? I dunno. Returning writers include Gaiman, Cornell and Aaronovitch. New writers include oh, a whole bunch of people I've never heard of before who are brilliant, some of whom are female.

    What's it trying to do? Be entertaining. No, be the most entertaining thing available, the thing that makes Moffat say "Why does the rest of television even bother turning up?" I personally would like it to have a vague idea what science looks like, but I can probably cope if it doesn't, as long as it doesn't act as though it does.

    Reply

  5. peeeeeeet
    December 13, 2014 @ 10:42 am

    Natalie Dormer is the Doctor. She leaves bits of lego on the TARDIS floor which her companions complain about. One companion is the half-human, half-Silurian descendent of Vastra and Jenny. Everything else is up for grabs.

    Reply

  6. BerserkRL
    December 13, 2014 @ 10:50 am

    Michael Bay is the showrunner. Justin Bieber is the Doctor. Paris Hilton is the companion. The TARDIS is now a monster truck.

    And obviously, I am the Master.

    Reply

  7. Alex Antonijevic
    December 13, 2014 @ 11:04 am

    I really couldn't tell you. It really depends on 2016 Doctor Who.

    Reply

  8. Nick Smale
    December 13, 2014 @ 11:17 am

    Sadly Doctor Who no longer exists, as Prime Minister Farage closed down the BBC shortly after his victory in the 2015 general election.

    Reply

  9. iWill
    December 13, 2014 @ 11:53 am

    I want Sue Perkins to be playing the Doctor. Shappi Khorsandi is the companion. Jamie Mathieson is the show runner. And the production? The production is in utter chaos. Scenes and frequently up to an episode's worth of material has to be dropped during filming. The show is frequently in danger of falling off the air. The showrunner frequently has to do panicked two-day rewrites.
    In terms of content, the show is bellowing "Fuck UKIP and everything they stand for". At the top of its lungs. The show is angry, strange and has a sense, hypnotic quality. And it is glorious.
    Returning writers include Robert Shearman, Paul Magrs and Andrew Cartmel. The government doesn't stand a chance.

    Reply

  10. Kit
    December 13, 2014 @ 11:53 am

    The longing from some segments of fandom for a show runner with no abiding love for Doctor Who mystifies me: why take on that work load if you don't love something?

    This appoach did get us Cartmel.

    Reply

  11. iWill
    December 13, 2014 @ 11:54 am

    That should say "strange", not "sense". Sorry.

    Reply

  12. Froborr
    December 13, 2014 @ 12:08 pm

    This, but the half-Silurian is played by Emma Watson.

    Reply

  13. Froborr
    December 13, 2014 @ 12:10 pm

    Capaldi is the Doctor. At the end of the season he regenerates into Catherine Tate.

    Reply

  14. elvwood
    December 13, 2014 @ 12:16 pm

    I want it to be a mish-mash of styles: social realism, fairytale, comedy, tragedy, horror, surrealism, whatever. I want each week to surprise me. I want even less of an arc than series 8. I want world-building. I want character-building. I want a 'pure' historical. I want an episode where everyone just has fun.

    In terms of production folks, I reckon the showrunner's got to be Gatiss, but he writes what he does best and gets Gaiman/Cross/Roberts/Hammond/Tregenna/whoever to write what they do best. Dave McKean is involved on the design side.

    Capaldi's still the Doctor; the companion is someone I've never heard of before but who has already proved amazing in 2015. The pair of them anchor the show and provide what little consistency I need. There's another companion who pops in occasionally.

    Reply

  15. Carey
    December 13, 2014 @ 12:31 pm

    Your talking about a tv environment from thirty years ago: TV doesn't work that way anymore. Why work on Doctor Who (a show you won't own) when you can create something of your own that you could reap the financial and IP benefits from. And would you really want anyone not capable of creating a success or name for themselves to take over Doctor Who (something that Davies, Moffat, Gattis, Whithouse, Cross and Chibnall have been able to do).

    Reply

  16. Prandeamus
    December 13, 2014 @ 12:37 pm

    Ginger at last!

    Reply

  17. Prandeamus
    December 13, 2014 @ 12:47 pm

    The twenty seventeen season will have the Exiled to Skaro arc. Rusty the Dalek will be the companion. The big bad will be the fictional shade of Lawrence Miles. Capaldi will sport a beard of evil…

    Reply

  18. BatmanAoD
    December 13, 2014 @ 1:02 pm

    Benedict Cumberbatch will be the Master. Michelle Gomez will return as the Master. John Simm will also return as the Master, and maybe even Derek Jacobi as the Master.

    The Master(s) will have a difficult time deciding whether they're more in love with themselves or with the Doctor(s).

    Reply

  19. Stuart Ian Burns
    December 13, 2014 @ 1:14 pm

    Romola Garai is the Doctor. Abi Morgan is the showrunner. Freema Ageyman returns as Martha Jones.

    Reply

  20. djselby
    December 13, 2014 @ 1:16 pm

    Can we please have that brilliant Master/Mistress fan-fic Moffat penned briefly in his DWM column?

    Reply

  21. reservoirdogs
    December 13, 2014 @ 1:19 pm

    A series of one in done adventures set in the Doctor Who universe with little to no appearances of the Doctor… except for the final two episodes. The first of which has the companion (who may or may not be Clara) go on a psychic journey into the Doctor's mind with Peter plays every earlier incarnation, the fate of Iris Wildthyme (she was hiding in the Doctor's subconscious until that dull war ended), and the surprise reveal of who Susan's other grandparent was: The Corsair (who was stuck in the Celestial Omnibus after getting better from being knocked out and cut up into pieces by patchwork people). The second part is the Doctor and the Corsair catching up over drinks and accepting their status as ex's as they toast the end of the 30th anniversary of the Doctor's 2nd new regeneration cycle.

    Reply

  22. encyclops
    December 13, 2014 @ 2:40 pm

    I'm terrible at the casting part — I just don't watch enough television while it's actually happening. For example, having finally just seen the first episode of Orphan Black, I wouldn't mind seeing Tatiana Maslany as the Doctor and Jordan Gavaris as her companion. But that's more about wanting to see the two of them having adventures together than any real idea that they're right for the parts.

    I do want a gay male companion. I do want a female Doctor, ideally a nonwhite one. I have no real idea who's qualified to run the show, but from a purely creative point of view I'd love to see Gareth Roberts do it. Neil Cross would be really interesting, but probably not as much fun.

    The only thing I'm 100% confident I want is to jettison all but the loosest of season arcs and to forget the idea that the Doctor is a morally questionable character who's dangerous to those around him/her and yadda yadda yadda. Even if that were a fruitful direction, it's played out, we're done with it. This series cannot endure without turning the camera back on the places they're going rather than crawling up its own figurative anus about the roles of the Doctor and the companions.

    So what IS it trying to do? If the answer is the same every episode, we're in trouble. So maybe the historicals are about looking at history from another point of view; the future episodes are about extrapolating trends and taking what's happening now to its logical conclusion; the present-day episodes are about human nature or the strange spaces hiding within the ordinary. Or, if that's too much what those genres are for, mix and match as you like.

    I'll most likely be ready for someone new in 2017. I like Capaldi more than I expected to, but I can't wait forever for there to be a Doctor who's REALLY different.

    Reply

  23. ScarvesandCelery
    December 13, 2014 @ 2:44 pm

    Amara Karan is the Doctor. Gareth Roberts is the showrunner, and the series is the Williams Era but with a budget and more consistent episode quality (I love the Williams Era, but it's not consistent). Guest writers include Catherine Treganna, Debbie Moon, Neil Gaiman, and Moffat and RTD coming back to remind us just how good they were. The season ends with the Murdoch-esque arc villain meeting a grisly fate. Actually, don't make the villain be like Murdoch. Make them be Murdoch. Then have them meet a grisly fate.

    Reply

  24. encyclops
    December 13, 2014 @ 2:46 pm

    Returning monsters: the Mara, the Eternals, the Zygons, perhaps the Fendahl. Perhaps even the Axons.

    Non-returning monsters: the Daleks. The Cybermen. Comedy Sontarans. Silurians. The Weeping Angels.

    Reply

  25. encyclops
    December 13, 2014 @ 2:47 pm

    Your answer's way better than mine. I'd be happy with pretty much all of this except that, as I said, I'll definitely be ready for Capaldi to regenerate in 2015.

    Reply

  26. Tallifer
    December 13, 2014 @ 3:38 pm

    Capaldi is in his third (out of seven) year as Dr. Who. Moffat still brings his magic. Frobisher the Whifferdill is the Companion, and Iris Wildthyme makes frequent appearances with Panda and the #22 to Putney Common. Clyde, Rani and K9 have an episode with that mysterious parrot Captain and his companion. Captain Jack and Captain John have an episode too. Colin Baker has a Time Crash style episode featuring the kinder gentler 6th and Peri.

    Reply

  27. BerserkRL
    December 13, 2014 @ 4:43 pm

    Rani from SJA should meet The Rani. They can call the episode "The Two Ranis."

    Yes, they've used the "Two Ranis" joke before. But it wasn't an episode title, and it didn't include The Rani.

    Reply

  28. ferret
    December 13, 2014 @ 4:56 pm

    In a shock move, Peter Davison returns to the role – but he's not at all the Doctor you'd expect him to be. Toby Whitehouse is showrunning but leaving the writing mostly to his staff – he's more script-editing and keeping everything on track. The show is fun, fast. lacking in angst and full of genuine warmth – but it's not afraid to scare the pants off you.

    Strange new worlds are explored as much as Earth, with the Doctors two companions: an androgynous passes-as-human off-worlder with no experience of Earth, and a Jamaican soldier plucked out of WWI from the British West Indies Regiment after saving the newly-regenerated Doctor's skin in the stories action-packed no-aliens historical.

    Present-day Earth will not be visited until the season finale, just to make it jarring.

    Reply

  29. ferret
    December 13, 2014 @ 4:59 pm

    K-9 returns as a beat-boxing iPad

    Reply

  30. Anton B
    December 13, 2014 @ 11:36 pm

    Oh alright then…
    Phil Sandifer is the show runner. Alan Moore is the Doctor and Grant Morrison plays the Master. In drag. The companions are Frobisher (Peter Capaldi) and a CGI Kamelion (allowing for guest casting each week as the two shape-shifters try out different forms). The stories alternate between celebrity historicals (Blake, Marx, Suffragettes and Emily Pankhurst) and nineties style cyberspace set corridor runarounds shot in the style of Melies. The season arc is a psychogeographic derive through time and space in an attempt to solve the 'Problem of Susan' who turns out to be the horse from A Town Called Mercy (played by Dan Starkey in a Myrka costume and voiced by Nick Briggs).

    Seriously I'll just be happy if it's still being made.

    Reply

  31. Daibhid C
    December 14, 2014 @ 3:54 am

    Having now read Phil's article on The Game, I'm seriously reconsidering Whithouse as "at least he's reliable" showrunner.

    Since it's my fantasy list, I can just have Paul Cornell, can't I?

    Reply

  32. Pôl Jackson
    December 14, 2014 @ 4:25 am

    I would die a little inside every time I watched an episode of that. I'd still watch it, though.

    Reply

  33. BerserkRL
    December 14, 2014 @ 5:20 am

    Ka-ching, bwa ha ha.

    Reply

  34. reservoirdogs
    December 14, 2014 @ 5:25 am

    And the Christmas special is about dealing with that part of Journey's End.

    Reply

  35. Matt Largo
    December 14, 2014 @ 7:14 am

    Beyond obvious cosmetic changes (Lady Doctor), I'd like to see the show recapture some of that Hartnell-era genre submersion. Who continually tries out new genres, but never really commits to them. The most glaring example of this for me was the Agatha Christie episode, where it's a straight Christie pastiche for about twenty minutes before NOPE! Space Wasps! On any other show something like that would come completely out of left field, but on Dr Who I've come to expect the Space Wasps.

    Reply

  36. elvwood
    December 14, 2014 @ 9:07 am

    So, basically, Paul Magrs for showrunner then?

    Reply

  37. TheSmilingStallionInn
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:15 am

    Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Exactly what I want, too!

    Reply

  38. TheSmilingStallionInn
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:17 am

    Even though 2015 is only his second year?

    Reply

  39. TheSmilingStallionInn
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:19 am

    "And then they looked at each other. "The triplets are getting lonely." The Master said to the Mistress.'

    Chaos shall ensue. (Although I don't expect Benedict Cumberbatch will have time to be the Master, unless Dr. Strange derails or he slows down. Hopefully he'll still have time to do Sherlock on occasion. Maybe by 2017, or 2016, John and Sherlock really will be together.)

    Reply

  40. Ombund
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:33 am

    Capaldi's still the Doctor, going into his 3rd triumphant year in the role. With the Moffat-Capaldi relationship bearing such obviously wonderful fruit, showrunner and star have decided to stay on together until the other decides to leave. After a bittersweet end to Clara's tenure in the TARDIS halfway through series 9 and half a series of bedding in for Journey Blue, series 10 sees a new addition to the show in the form of occasional companion Orlando. Orlando doesn't travel in the TARDIS but meets the Doctor and Journey every couple of adventures, a different age and gender each time (and their meetings don't necessarily occur in chronological order). Actors playing Orlando include Romola Garai, Raza Jaffrey and – of course – Tilda Swinton. Much will be made of the similarities between the Doctor and Orlando, and no doubt the origin of Orlando's immortality will be related in some way to Time Lord technology.

    Reply

  41. Steven
    December 14, 2014 @ 12:04 pm

    Capaldi's in it – if he's sick of it and wants a break he gets to regenerate into Sally Hawkins, who said yes for some reason, come the close of a season (as a side note, with all the ground work that's been lain recently Doctor 13 being male will feel like an enormous, enormous cop-out, to the point of poison chalice — and as a further note I think Capaldi is in a lot of ways the ultimate, most emblematic default white male Doctor – and a far firmer foundation for a bolder next step than, IMO, smith or tennants' takes would have proven).

    Nicking the idea above about a west indian soldier companion.

    Moff's handing over to Clio Barnard. Format shifts a bit, slower, smaller stories (and when there are bigger ones, the Doctor's very much on the sidelines), seasons are 8 1hour episodes.

    Reply

  42. encyclops
    December 14, 2014 @ 12:21 pm

    D'oh! I meant 2017.

    Reply

  43. John Callaghan
    December 14, 2014 @ 1:01 pm

    Katherine Parkinson as Doctor; Gareth Roberts as showrunner (if he can be tempted away from a relaunched Blake's 7); Charlie Brooker to write an episode.

    And an historical episode which looks like it's aliens all the way through, but actually turns out, Scooby-Doo style, to be a 'stealth' genuine pure historical.

    Reply

  44. reservoirdogs
    December 14, 2014 @ 1:39 pm

    No, I'm not sure if he has written any tv/showrunned anything. Lance Parkin on the other hand…

    Reply

  45. Iain Coleman
    December 14, 2014 @ 2:22 pm

    Katherine Parkinson as Doctor

    I thought I was the only one.

    Reply

  46. TheSmilingStallionInn
    December 14, 2014 @ 5:15 pm

    Do you think there really is a chance they might cut down the episode order? That may or may not be a good idea, though it is interesting to me. I could be open to just 8 episodes. Perhaps 12 or 13 is really cutting it at times. Might stretch the budget a bit more or just reduce the budget slightly.

    Reply

  47. John Callaghan
    December 14, 2014 @ 10:44 pm

    And the first line as the Doctor recovers from the regeneration, to the astonished gazes of the companions: "Hooray! I'm finally ginger!"

    Reply

  48. Daru
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:09 pm

    I'm with you elvwood, you got me with Dave McKean.

    Reply

  49. Daru
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:11 pm

    Yes to Ben too!

    Reply

  50. Daru
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:14 pm

    Yeah Moffat's Production Notes Master fan-fic was pretty fab!

    Reply

  51. Daru
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:15 pm

    Paul Magrs for writing episodes then.

    Reply

  52. Daru
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:20 pm

    Good call on Charlie Brooker to write.

    Reply

  53. Daru
    December 14, 2014 @ 11:31 pm

    Who's in it? – A female Doctor, very open to who it is. Will be surprised as usual.

    Who's making it? – A female producer.

    What is it trying to do? – Government toppling, experimental, genre-bending explorations that are both fun for kids and adults.

    Reply

  54. Kit Power
    December 15, 2014 @ 12:03 am

    (posted without reading prior comments to avoid undue influences): Neil Gaiman as show runner, Helen Mirren as The Doctor. Idris Elba as the companion. Martin Freeman as the season Big Bad.

    Also announced – a 'Time War' spin-off show with a separate production crew staring Paul Mcgann. 🙂

    Reply

  55. Daru
    December 15, 2014 @ 1:14 am

    I mean female showrunner.

    Reply

  56. Steven
    December 15, 2014 @ 1:55 am

    I do think there is a chance – you could say they already did it, if by accident, after the split season push.

    Characterising it as split season didn't really work so I'd hope a subsequent arrangement would be a bit more formalised, and would see longer episodes as a trade off (because IMO a great deal of 7 and 8 would have worked better if more were longer).

    Though I liked all of season 8, maintaining consistency appears to have been hard – I think cutting down the episode order would help refocus and would further allow the showrunner to comfortably retire the reliable old hands, who keep coming back despite being rubbish.

    I think my suggestion of Clio Barnard as showrunner is even less likely than Sally Hawkins as the Doctor, but both would be so good. Barnard particularly – in the Arbor and especially The Selfish Giant – really, really, really gets children, understands social opposition,exclusion, poverty, and is able to craft stories that have universal appeal without holding back on difficult issues. I don't think she's an obvious choice but all the material is there for someone who could really do something different but appropriate with DW.

    Reply

  57. Steven
    December 15, 2014 @ 1:58 am

    I'd like: Sally Hawkins, Alice Lowe (a prospect probably increasingly likely the more Wheatley is involved going forward), Parkinson would do (and tbh I would be surprised if she wasn't on a list next time around), Gillian Anderson might join in now that The Fall has gone shit.

    Remember someone suggesting Maxine Peake on here too. She'd be great.

    Next five Doctors, right there.

    Reply

  58. Daru
    December 15, 2014 @ 2:22 am

    Interesting and good choices, Parkinson I really like.

    Reply

  59. Steven
    December 15, 2014 @ 3:24 am

    Zawe Ashton gets mentioned a lot, and would be great.

    As a performer she's actually not at all unlike Capaldi, maybe the only non-white female you could discount for being potentially too similar to her predecessor…

    The thought entered my head of her doing Capaldi's post-regeneration stare, as he walks towards Clara, and I could really see it.

    Reply

  60. David Anderson
    December 15, 2014 @ 3:35 am

    I wonder whether, on the back of the James Trilogy, they could persuade the BBC to give Rona Munro an episode.

    Reply

  61. Pierce Inverarity
    December 15, 2014 @ 3:49 am

    The production takes a year off for 2017, and, rather than keep one of its biggest shows out of the spotlight, the BBC commissions a year of not-necessarily-canon Doctor Who. Twelve months, twelve episodes, twelve different teams of producers/writers/directors/actors, doing things that wouldn't be possible, practical, or advisable outside of that context. Many high-profile figures take the opportunity to do Doctor Who without an ongoing production commitment.

    Peter Davison's comedy episode and Paul McGann's return as the Eighth Doctor are hits with the audience, as is the live, black-and-white broadcast. But the unanimous highlight is the showdown between the Doctor (Tilda Swinton) and the Master (David Bowie) in the court of Harun al-Rashid…

    Reply

  62. Daibhid C
    December 15, 2014 @ 4:21 am

    Oh, yes please! (Haven't seen the James Trilogy – we skipped the Festival this year – but a huge fan of her radio work, and, of course, Survival.)

    Reply

  63. Verblet
    December 15, 2014 @ 4:57 am

    Having wanted a female actor to play the Doctor for some time, I've always been frustrated with myself for never finding the perfect candidate. Thank you whoever mentioned Sally Hawkins as she'd be wonderful.

    My dream 2017 is:

    * Sally Hawkins or Zawe Ashton as the Doctor.

    * Almost no mention of the gender change of the actor in-universe. For me a key reason for opening up auditions to women is to show that the characteristics of the Doctor are not gender bound and shouldn't need changed (although a 'lots of planets have a North' style comment in opening episode would be fun). Constant switching between him/her/man/woman/doctor is fine by me.

    * A showrunner team. There is nobody I want to run this show alone right now, so lets try an old-school Exec Producer/Script Editor pairing with both co-writing episodes (which worked very well this season I think).

    Options include:
    Mark Gatiss Exec, Neil Gaiman Script Editor
    Neil Gaiman Exec, Jamie Mathieson Script Editor
    Toby Whithouse Exec, Jamie/Neil/Peter Harness Script Editor

    * A child companion (risky acting choice, and might pidgeonhole new Doctor as a mothering stereotype), an alien companion, a foreign companion, a future companion, in fact anything other than another 20-something 21st-century Brit companion.

    * More fun, less angst, and let's get off the Earth for a whole season. I've really enjoyed S8 but it's time to switch things up and leave Earth behind for a while.

    * One straight-up comedy co-written by an actual comedian. Get Armando Ianucci, or Louie CK, or Larry David, or anyone.

    * Death To The Celebrity Historical. If we have to go into Earth's past let us see ordinary people and more obscure events. With monsters, obviously. I have no interest in the show becoming The Borgias sans nudity or a GCSE History exam.

    Reply

  64. Daru
    December 15, 2014 @ 6:00 am

    I Like this.

    Reply

  65. John Seavey
    December 15, 2014 @ 8:34 am

    After thinking it over…honestly, if 'Doctor Who' ever became the sort of show that I could predict three years in advance, I wouldn't love it anymore.

    Reply

  66. quislibet
    December 15, 2014 @ 8:40 am

    This would be excellent. We could even see more of the War Doctor.

    Potentially stupid twist: season finale sees a return of Capaldi and a complicated plot that makes everything we've seen previously into canon.

    Reply

  67. Steven
    December 15, 2014 @ 8:51 am

    This is all aaaace.

    Re: Sally Hawkins, am thinking that if I repeat it enough and it picks up some traction it may just happen. (anyone reading who is unfamiliar, she is an actress and a good one, and just well-suited to the role. Would recommend Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky to anyone and everyone)

    Realistically no one will ever think to ask her, and if they did she'd say no on account of how if she makes a few more movies she'll end up with an Oscar, but for all I know she might love the show and would say yes anyway.

    They got Capaldi for that reason, more or less, so anything possible.

    Reply

  68. elvwood
    December 15, 2014 @ 9:49 am

    Dave McKean makes everything better.

    Reply

  69. Froborr
    December 15, 2014 @ 12:27 pm

    reservoirdogs: YES

    Reply

  70. TheSmilingStallionInn
    December 15, 2014 @ 7:52 pm

    What? Now that really widened my eyes a bit. Fascinating stuff, quite possibly beyond the realm of possibility…

    Reply

  71. TheSmilingStallionInn
    December 15, 2014 @ 7:53 pm

    Oh, lovely, lovely, lovely, experimentation time! What wonders might abound there…

    Reply

  72. Daru
    December 15, 2014 @ 10:32 pm

    I was really gutted to miss out on the James Trilogy when it showed here in Scotland. Be great to have more work from her.

    Reply

  73. Daru
    December 15, 2014 @ 10:33 pm

    Indeed he does elvwood.

    Reply

  74. Daibhid C
    December 16, 2014 @ 11:57 am

    It occurs to me that between the James Trilogy and Stanley Baxter's Playhouse, Rona Munro would write an excellent celebrity historical. (Baxter as the celebrity optional.)

    Reply

  75. Ombund
    December 17, 2014 @ 1:39 am

    I've just realised that I told you all about the 2016 series like an idiot. 2017 then: the brilliant Maxine Peake's the Doctor but in the absence of a clear frontrunner from within the regular writers' pool the BBC appoint someone disappointingly safe to showrun, probably giving in to Philip Morris' demands and giving it to Anthony Horowitz. The show lasts to 2018, when it gets rested apart from an annual Christmas special.

    Sorry, feeling particularly pessimistic today.

    Reply

  76. 5tephe
    December 18, 2014 @ 11:03 am

    Ooooh. I like your version quite a lot.

    Reply

  77. 5tephe
    December 18, 2014 @ 11:12 am

    Please let it be THIS.

    Reply

  78. Katherine Sas
    December 23, 2014 @ 10:03 am

    Make it happen, Neil Cross.

    Reply

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