8. Adjust The Pace For The Amount Of Time You Have
Pacing has been both very important and very contentious in recent years of Doctor Who. Reputed news sites, fan commentators, and even the likes of Terry Pratchett have complained about the shows tendency to rely on Deux ex machinas: where all problems are instantly resolved by one sudden change of conditions. Ultimately these incidences stem from issues with pacing. Take an episode such as The Power of Three. For the majority of its running time, it plays like a slow-burning serial similar to The Army of Ghosts; it feels as if its building up to a cliff-hanger. However, in literally the last five minutes it has to be rapidly resolved by way of a bit of fast sonic-screwdrivering. If ever an episode was crying out to be a two-parter, it was The Power of Three. On the other hand, you get episodes like Daleks In Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks. This two-parter took a concept that only needed to last one episode, and extended it across two through an extended subplot involving pig slaves. The recent Asylum of the Daleks, shows how a similar story can achieve much more as a short, fast-paced adventure. So when writing two-parters, it works better to slow down the pace and develop concepts more. When writing a regular 45 minute episode, it pays to maintain a fast-paced narrative to avoid having to rush the conclusion.