DO you feel you could write an episode of Doctor Who that’s mediocre enough for the new series? Read our guide and find out.
Is Jodie Whittaker breathless enough?
The Doctor should always sound like she’s just run up six flights of stairs. That’s why old stories like Genesis of the Daleks were so rubbish – Tom Baker didn’t always appear to be having a panic attack.
Has the diversity gone a bit bonkers?
Most vaguely decent people support diversity, but your script should be so PC it just feels weird and jarring. If the Doctor meets a British army unit entirely composed of overweight black women, you’re on the right track.
Is any menace undermined by lame humour?
This works brilliantly – just look at The Last Jedi. Here is an example of excellent dialogue:
Cyberman: Now you will die, Doctor. And it will not be a quick death.
The Doctor: Eeh – hark at you, yer big metal jessie! You won’t be laughing when your batteries go flat! Anyway – have I got time for a cuppa?
Is your villain pathetically unfrightening?
In a show known for its iconic alien monsters, it’s important they are unthreatening and painfully contemporary. Here are some suggestions:
● Aliens who make a profit by polluting planets with non-recyclable plastics;
● A businessman trying to take over the world with a thinly-veiled version of Snapchat;
● A less-good ‘homage’ to something else, eg. a Predator-type creature who collects his victims’ mobile phones as trophies and tells jokes.
What now?
If you answered ‘yes’ to most of the questions, you have an excellent potential Doctor Who episode. Just add in the word ‘fam’ every few minutes and send it to the BBC.
