Doctor Who Series 10: 7 Big Questions We're Asking After 'The Eaters Of Light'
1. WIll Chibnall Call Up Any Other Writers From The Classic Series?
Rona Munro has made Doctor Who history by becoming the first writer to cross the divide between the old and the new series. Her Seventh Doctor story, the ironically titled Survival was a strong ending to the promising series 26, but the damage had already been done. The BBC had fallen out of love with one of its most popular exports, and with the excuse that the corporation lacked a credible successor to producer John Nathan-Turner, Doctor Who was cancelled.
And now all is forgiven, and some. The BBC is planning for at least another five series’ of the flagship show. Whilst the revived series has never been shy of bringing back characters from yesteryear (sometimes even played by the original actor), with the exception of director Graeme Harper until Rona Munro’s surprise return, the creatives behind the original run would at best only receive a namecheck in the credits.
There’s no hidden agenda or deliberate act of avoidance going on, it’s just that the pool of talent is so much wider now and many of the old writers have either retired or passed away. But nonetheless the success of Munro’s latest script should give Chris Chibnall sufficient motivation to at least consider the possibility of a. more Munro scripts and b. employing other classic series writers.
But who might he call upon? Fan favourite, Terrance Dicks, now in his 80s, isn’t going to happen. He’s not written a TV script since The Five Doctors in 1983.
There are a number still working in the business. Some, like Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch have moved on to novel and graphic-novel writing, whilst others continue to write for Doctor Who in the Big Finish audio range, including Mark Platt (Ghost Light) and Andrew Smith (Full Circle). Stephen Gallagher (Warriors Gate, Terminus) continues to write for television and is probably the most likely candidate to follow in Munro’s footsteps.
What did you think of The Eaters of Light? Any questions you were left with? Share your thoughts down in the comments.