Neil Gaiman Talks Swimming Pools, Regeneration, and Time Lords

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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Neil Gaiman Talks Swimming Pools, Regeneration, and Time Lords

A season change, budget problems and a whole lot of script revisions were just some of the things that got in the way of Neil Gaiman's Doctor Who episode.

Author, comic book writer, and Doctor Who scribe Neil Gaiman has given fans a glimpse into what it was like writing the script for "The Doctor's Wife," the fourth episode of season six, in a Q&A session for the Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/may/16/neil-gaiman-doctor-who-doctors-wife] newspaper.

Gaiman explained that the original idea for the script had been a little different, as the episode was supposed to have been part of season five. The original script saw Amy alone inside the possessed TARDIS, as Rory had been erased from existence at that point in the story arc. The TARDIS also warned the Doctor about the cracks and the big bang, rather than her cryptic comment about "the only water in the forest is the river."

As well as the changes necessitated by the season change, some changes had been made for more practical reasons like length or budget. In the original draft, the TARDIS wasn't pulled into Idris' body until much later in the episode, but Gaiman felt that things didn't really get interesting until she did, so he moved it up. Gaiman also wanted to include some other rooms inside the TARDIS, including the oft-mentioned swimming pool, but said that the budget wouldn't stretch to cover them. "Doctor Who can be anything and go anywhere," he said. "And you have to make it up as you go along. And then make it work. And then have people realize your multi-million dollar vision on the equivalent of pocket change."

Besides talking about the episode itself, he talked about some of the repercussions that its various story elements might have in the future. He said that he was pleased that his remark about the Corsair being a woman a few times had stayed remained in the script. "The description of the Corsair and the Doctor's relationship with him got shorter and shorter in script after script, but that aside remained, and I'm glad it did, if only because the next time the BBC needs to cast a Doctor, the press and fans get to argue passionately about twice as many actors.

He also said that while he intended for the Corsair to remain dead, there was an opportunity there for him/her to come back. Similarly, while House had been thoroughly beaten, he didn't think he'd really been destroyed. "In most of those drafts it was very clear that House had absolutely survived, [but] right now, it's a lot more ambiguous," he said. "But I like disembodied baddies. Something you can't see can be just as scary as things you can. (One of my favorite Doctor Who baddies as a child was the Great Intelligence, and House was as much a tip of the hat to that as it was a steal from Arthur Conan Doyle's "When the World Screamed," and a wave at my friend Harlan Ellison."

There are even more answers - and questions for that matter - to be found on the Guardian page itself, and Gaiman said that he might write a blog post about it too, as his time ran out before he could answer all the questions that he wanted. No doubt dedicated Doctor Who fans will be waiting with bated breath.

Source: via Bleeding Cool [http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/05/17/neil-gaiman-talks-doctor-who-or-types-it-you-know-what-i-mean/]


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MarsProbe

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Dec 13, 2008
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It's a perhaps a pity we didn't get to see the famous "swimming pool" (maybe one day), but I still enjoyed seeing a hint at the scale of the Tardis outside the usual control room (or two).

Maybe it was just through playing Portal 2, but I somehow got a slight Portal-y vibe from House's toying with Rory and Amy aboard the Tardis. Though given his more sinister intentions, perhaps System Shock would be a more fitting comparison...
 

Quiet Stranger

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MarsProbe said:
It's a perhaps a pity we didn't get to see the famous "swimming pool" (maybe one day), but I still enjoyed seeing a hint at the scale of the Tardis outside the usual control room (or two).

Maybe it was just through playing Portal 2, but I somehow got a slight Portal-y vibe from House's toying with Rory and Amy aboard the Tardis. Though given his more sinister intentions, perhaps System Shock would be a more fitting comparison...

Oh I absolutely loved that part, where House toyed with Amy and Rory, VERY nice.

Also what was with that cryptic message about the river in the forest? Also who is this woman that keeps popping up in rooms where there aren't any windows??
 
Aug 25, 2009
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I got really bored watching the episode, I have to admit. I'm starting to feel now that my antipathy towards New NuWho is less the writing and more the actors. David Tenant could make you weep with the subtlest change in facial expression, but Matt Smith can't move me with the most beautifully written lines from the hand of a master poet.

Also, really Mr Gaiman, do you have to do the insane writing on walls thing? Again? That trope is so dead it's rotted to bones in a six foot grave scrawled with the letters 'This trope is dead' in its own blood.

Interesting to see someone directly commenting on the budgetry restraints though. I learned a while ago that Doctor Who literally can't survive on the budget they're given by the BBC, they have to make it all up in revenue. Which explains why a quarter of the episode was Rory and Amy running down the exact same hallway eight or nine times. Yeah you could call it an homage to the old season but when the 'homage' is to one of the things that got Doctor Who ridiculed back in the day you really shouldn't be bringing it back again.
 
Apr 17, 2009
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MelasZepheos said:
I got really bored watching the episode, I have to admit. I'm starting to feel now that my antipathy towards New NuWho is less the writing and more the actors. David Tenant could make you weep with the subtlest change in facial expression, but Matt Smith can't move me with the most beautifully written lines from the hand of a master poet.
Of all the descriptions I would apply to Tennant's Doctor 'subtle' wouldn't be up there...He was quite bombastic
 

Jamous

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Well I'll have to have a good scour of the interview in the morning. Fun stuff! :D
 

Fensfield

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That with the Corsair's female form disappointed me.

I always found the idea from the original series that female Timelords have control over their regenerations kind of nifty, but if that note about the Corsair becomes canon, it'll probably be dropped.

Unless, I guess, they make it so a Timelord that happens to become female temporarily gets control over their next form but.. whatever >.>
 

Senmurv

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Mar 5, 2008
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MelasZepheos said:
I got really bored watching the episode, I have to admit. I'm starting to feel now that my antipathy towards New NuWho is less the writing and more the actors. David Tenant could make you weep with the subtlest change in facial expression, but Matt Smith can't move me with the most beautifully written lines from the hand of a master poet.
Gotta disagree with you there, buddy-- David Tennant was a great Doctor, but I'm having a LOT more fun with Matt Smith, who evokes memories of William Hartnell and Sylvester McCoy in his performance. While Tennant can do "sad" and "quasi-suicidal" brilliantly (hence why I think the scripts took such an emo turn during his run) Smith REALLY can deliver on the 900+ year old man in a 26 year old body. He is both wild and subtle and just shines with a sort of hidden wisdom and insecurity. THIS is most definitely the same man who landed with Susan in 1963 in a stolen TARDIS and abducted her schoolteachers when they got too nosy. Maybe he only appeals to me because of this old school flair (it is a distinct possibility) but after wanting to tear my hair out watching David Tennant weep his way through the year of specials, he was a breath of fresh air.

Anyway-- just my two cents. Love the Doctor always-- all 11 of him!

**Spoiler Warning**
As for the episode, this is probably my favorite since "Blink!" I liked how it confirmed my deepest beliefs about the TARDIS'S feelings towards the whole adventure while also providing a chilling villain (Amy's encounters with "Rory" were delightfully horrific!) and some fantastic Doctor moments! Can't WAIT for the next one!
 

Formica Archonis

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Nov 13, 2009
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Logan Westbrook said:
"and a wave at my friend Harlan Ellison."
I bloody well KNEW that thing had a bit of AM in it!

Oh, and I'm going to be an annoying twit and point out: It's waiting with bated breath [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bai1.htm].
 

lovest harding

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Dec 6, 2009
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The TARDIS officially became my favorite character.
I particularly enjoyed the sections where (SPOILER) she told the Doctor about how she wanted to leave so she stole a Timelord. xD
 

Sabrestar

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Apr 13, 2010
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If you want to see the TARDIS swimming pool, go find the story arc The Invasion of Time from the Tom Baker era. It's there, along with a whole other lot of random BBC sets TARDIS rooms never seen again.

Also, Mr. Westbrook, could you please note in your articles when there are spoilers to be expected? I hadn't seen this episode yet.
 

TimeLord75

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Sep 3, 2009
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Sabrestar said:
If you want to see the TARDIS swimming pool, go find the story arc The Invasion of Time from the Tom Baker era. It's there, along with a whole other lot of random BBC sets TARDIS rooms never seen again.
I had thought so!!! I could've SWORN seeing a swimming pool while Doctor #4 was hauling ass through the bowels of the TARDIS. (I also remember wondering why so much of the TARDIS interior was all cement & bricks while the console room was white & roundel-y...but whatever.)

It's been a loooooong effing time since I saw that episode last, but I'm glad to see my memory isn't *completely* worthless. :D
 

TimeLord

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Aug 15, 2008
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Neil Gaiman did a fantastic job in his episode! I hope we get to see the TARDIS Matrix again in the future!
 

blarghblarghhhhh

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Quiet Stranger said:
Also what was with that cryptic message about the river in the forest?
do you really want to know? if so my thoughts are in the spoiler box.
First RIVERS song----amy POND. both names feature something to do with water, this is not a coincidence. Rivers died in the library episode. the library was referred to by the doctor as a "forest of information. Now why this information is important, only time will tell. I however wouldn't be surprised to find the last episode of this season back at the library.
 

EmeraldGreen

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Mar 19, 2009
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Fensfield said:
I always found the idea from the original series that female Timelords have control over their regenerations kind of nifty, but if that note about the Corsair becomes canon, it'll probably be dropped.
Did the series ever actually say that was specific to female Timelords? I always assumed that Romana could control her regeneration because it was triggered intentionally, instead being an emergency regeneration at the point of death.
 

repeating integers

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Fear not, Mr. Gaiman, the episode was amazing.

I'm surprised this angle with the TARDIS hasn't been explored before. Remember that scene in the Curse of the Black Spot, where Amy finds Rory, Avery find his son, and the Doctor finds... the TARDIS? That scene seems a little less silly now, doesn't it?

Also, Captcha is trying to kill me. It keeps on doing this.