7. Dont Write Against The Budget
One of the charms of the 1963 run of Doctor Who was how naff the monsters often looked. But it was also one of the things that got it cancelled. Michael Grade has said that he was dismayed by the laughable quality of cardboard monsters compared to the likes of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Of course, things have moved on now, and the revived show now has a brilliant CGI and practical effects department. However, the show still does not run to an infinite budget. And if an episodes concept is written a little beyond the expectations of the available resources, there is a danger that it will look a bit rubbish. Im particularly thinking of The Lazarus Experiment. The mutated Lazarus displays brilliant horror potential when its partially concealed and only suggested at. But up close it just looks like a Nintendo 64 graphic of Mark Gatisss face on a 2D scorpion. Something a little more muted could have been equally disturbing and more effective. Similarly, the explosion of Miss Hartigan and the Cyberking (a dubious addition itself) in The Next Doctor was also rather disappointing. Its better if the writer can work within budgetary constraints whilst maintaining an emotional or psychological impact.