Neil Gaiman has iterated his desire to write a Doctor Who episode for current TARDIS incumbent Jodie Whittaker. The writer previously penned two episodes for the show during Matt Smith’s tenure, 2011’s critically acclaimed “The Doctor’s Wife” and 2013’s slightly less critically acclaimed “Nightmare in Silver.” Seven years since his last contribution, Gaiman has now explained to Digital Spy why he’s been unable to return since then, saying:
“Everything to do with anything about Doctor Who is always about time. I love The Doctor. I think Jodie Whittaker is a fabulous Doctor. On the one hand, I’d love to write for her, but on the one hand, I really, really, really wanted to write something for Peter Capaldi, and never got there because I was writing and making Good Omens through the Peter Capaldi years. So, you never know. With luck, I’ll write something for Jodie, and if it isn’t for Jodie, maybe it’ll be the next Doctor down the line.”
Gaiman’s professional commitments may have prevented an official Doctor Who gig in recent years, but they could never keep down the Whovian in him, as evidenced by his comments on lockdown.
“I got [to] indulge my inner-Doctor Who fanboy during lockdown twice now. First time, we did a tweet-along of ‘The Doctor’s Wife,’ and I wrote a three-minute bit for Arthur Darvill to do, and that was wonderful, called ‘Rory’s Story.’
Then, I was asked to do a short story for a lockdown anthology for Children in Need, and I was asked if I would do something with my character The Corsair, who had shown up dead in ‘The Doctor’s Wife.’ I got to write a Corsair story, and it’s a sort of glorious, mad piece of fan fiction. It was marvellous getting to write it, and getting to have a Doctor Who in it, and everything.”
Once a Whovian, always a Whovian. “Rory’s Story” was a sweet little piece, and a wholesome reminder of the timeless (get out Chibbers) 2010-2011 TARDIS team. It’s a shame Gaiman wasn’t able to write an episode for Peter Capaldi, as I think their styles would’ve married splendidly. Certainly it would’ve livened up P. Cap’s deeply disappointing sequel seasons.
As for the Jodie-Chibnall led balloon, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. I’m playing idiom bingo and it still reads better than one of Chibnall’s scripts. Unfortunately, it looks like Neil and I have some differences of opinion on the quality of this era of the show. Stick with your novels, that’s my advice. Unsolicited, but it’ll save you a lot of grief.
Would you like to see Gaiman write a Doctor Who episode for Jodie Whittaker, though? I know you’re going to say no, but I have to ask out of courtesy. Drop your noes to the left in the comments section. If Gaiman is going to return, let it be for the inevitable hundred million dollar HBO Max reboot that’s scheduled to air sometime after 2025. I can’t wait.