Doctor Who: 8 Shockingly Predictable Habits Of Specific Writers

8. Neil Gaiman's Focuses On A Central Relationship (And Resolves Stories With One Of Them Channeling Power From Within)

Neil Gaiman's perhaps the most beloved Doctor Who writer of the revived series. Why? Well, it's obvious that he really is one of us, a megafan casually name-dropping subtle little references to Who's long history, whilst giving wonderfully colourful insights into how the Doctor's mind works. Gaiman uses his repeated tropes just like anyone else though. 'The Doctor's Wife' and 'Nightmare In Silver' might have had strikingly different reactions, but they both revolved around a strong relationship; the former being the Doctor and the TARDIS, the latter being two forces within the Doctor's very head. In the end of both, it was the inner strength of Idris and the Doctor respectively that saved the day; no timey-wimey, techno-babble-induced plot twist. Just the strength that the characters had all along. It's a similar story with Gaiman's fantasy epic, Stardust, which focuses on a fallen star (Claire Danes) who runs away from a group of villains trying to kill her. At a final showdown, all it takes is for the star to shine, channeling the love that she's developed for protagonist Tristan, instantly killing the witch after her heart: it's a parallel to the matrix spilling from Idris, glittering through the TARDIS to defeat House.