History SoYouWantTo / WriteTheNextDoctorWho

* Each regeneration maintains true to the above rules, but personality traits vary wildly, particularly from the immediately previous regeneration. Elegant Three becomes bohemian Four; gentle Five becomes abrasive Six; boyish, quirky Eleven becomes GrumpyOldMan Twelve; cynical Twelve becomes earnest, openhearted Thirteen, etc.

When it comes to guest stars and actors, think "character actor" rather than "stunt casting". Britain has a huge wealth of acting talent -- use it! Avoid the temptation to stunt cast extremely well known actors without a ''very'' good reason as they can jar the audience out of their willing suspension of disbelief. An example of this is where comedy partners Creator/DavidMitchell and Creator/RobertWebb played a pair of robots -- many viewers found it impossible to take the robots seriously.

With regard to the Doctor's costume a wide spectrum of outfits have been used through his current eleven lives, from Nine's simple leather jacket to Six's eye-searing Technicolor dreamcoat. Striking a balance between ordinary and odd is key, but since no one really seems to notice what the Doctor wears wherever/whenever he is, this balance can shift. [[AwesomeAnachronisticApparel Period clothes]] seem to be a favorite among the costume designers, but this has been kept within recent parts of history (19th to early 20th Centuries). The Doctor's outfit also gives chances to lampshade how strange it is sometimes (e.g. Four's scarf, Five's celery stick, etc.) ''No'' incarnation of the Doctor has been particularly self-conscious about the eccentricity of his sartorial choices -- if someone asks why he's dressed so strangely, he usually replies along the lines of "What's ''wrong'' with my outfit? I ''like'' my outfit." (That said, in stories that have more than one incarnation of the Doctor encountering each other, they might poke fun at ''each other's'' choices.)

* The companion is ''generally'' female. The Doctor has rarely travelled with ''only'' a male companion (and not for long at that); the few occasions there has been a male companion on board, there's usually been a female companion as well. Even Jamie, the male companion who has, to date, travelled longest with the Doctor, also travelled alongside women, namely Polly, Victoria, and Zoe. This has the effect of establishing a clear male-female dynamic to the Doctor-companion relationship which, while not exclusive, provides a handy template from which to work.

** Curious. They have an interest in the universe around them and the wonders the Doctor shows them. Particularly in the new series, in their early they're often directly compared with more jaded, less intellectually curious or more timid people around them to demonstrate how they stand out, and consequently why they appeal to the Doctor.

Some of the things seen by casual viewers as Necessary Tropes are actually not. The companion doesn't ''need'' to be a young, attractive human female from contemporary Britain: it's true that that's often the case, but the Doctor's had several male companions and companions from all across time and space (including, but not limited to, an Australian, a FakeAmerican, a robot dog from the distant future, and several aliens) -- one of the longest-running companions ever was a man from 1746. Similarly, the UnresolvedSexualTension between Doctor and companion is largely an invention of the 2005 ReTool.

* Each regeneration maintains true to the above rules, but personality traits vary wildly, particularly from the immediately previous regeneration. Elegant Three becomes the bohemian Four, gentle Five becomes abrasive Six, boyish, quirky Eleven becomes GrumpyOldMan Twelve, etc.

* The Doctor also usually travels with one or two people at a time; certainly no more than three. Having more than one companion around tends to be tricky for writers to handle, in terms of giving everyone enough to do. Two companions and the Doctor seems manageable, but having three seems to be a bit of a struggle. Something to keep in mind.

One thing ''has'' emerged after twelve Doctors and fifty-plus years: Designing the Doctor's outfit ''without'' the active participation of the actor doesn't end well.

Despite the differences, certain fashion motifs tend to appear; a jacket with distinct (usually [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacket_lapel#Notched_lapel notched]]) lapels, something worn over the shirt (a waistcoat or sweater of some kind), a distinctive form of cravat or tie, and the occasional NiceHat. Although the costuming of the new series made a distinct effort to get away from the more ostentatious and period styles of the classic series Doctors by clothing the Doctor in something more modern, some of these motifs still bled through, and the Eleventh Doctor's tweed jacket and bow-tie look -- rather like an UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} don on holiday -- perhaps indicate something of a return to the classic series template of AwesomeAnachronisticApparel. The basic costume might evolve over a Doctor's tenure to reflect his CharacterDevelopment -- going from bright to darker colors (Four, Seven), elegant to battle-worn (Eight), severe to soft (Twelve).

** While the actors who played the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors are all still alive, all of them, especially Creator/TomBaker have seriously aged out of the roles and/or are physically much different -- the demands of appearing in the role might be too much. Also Tom Baker (albeit as "The Curator") and Creator/PeterDavison have both previously appeared in the revival so having them show up might be redundant. Recasting the roles while the actors are still alive is probably a complete non-starter as this would be seen as insulting to the original actors.

** Tenth Doctor Creator/DavidTennant has already appeared in the fiftieth anniversary special and is unlikely to be persuaded to return unless it's for something equally important.
** The Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors probably haven't spent enough time away from the role yet to make having them return not look like a cheap stunt -- the BBC will probably hold them back for the sixtieth anniversary in 2023, probably hoping to rope in Tennant and maybe even persuading Ecclestone to join.

** Creator/SophieAldred as "Ace", her appearance in a promotion for a box set of the adventures she appeared in was well received and led to calls for her reappearance in the revival. She is probably your best choice if you want a former companion to return.
* "Revival" Companions: All are probably out of the question for various reasons

** Donna Noble canonically cannot remember her time in the TARDIS, so it's hard to envisage how she could plausibly return without another potentially audience alienating retcon.

Since 1963, entire generations have grown up with ''Series/DoctorWho'', and have been thrilled - and terrified - by the Doctor's adventures against some of the greatest evils in the galaxy, including the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Doctor's arch-nemesis, the Master. The show has been brought back to TV twice since its cancellation in 1989 (the first time, in 1996, being something of a non-starter; the second time in 2005 proving more durable) and has seen [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse a complex and intertwining expanded universe]] of [[Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures nov]][[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures els]], [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audio plays]], [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine comics]] and even a set of AlternateContinuity movies. So ''someone'' obviously did ''something'' right.

You can also take heart in the fact that ''Doctor Who'' is in fact, a narrative device for whatever story the writer wants to tell - there's no ''Franchise/StarTrek'' style [[UniverseBible continuity bible]], no fixed limits to TheVerse and an almost infinite variety of narrative styles, settings and devices.

Some of the things seen by casual viewers as Necessary Tropes are actually not. The companion doesn't ''need'' to be a young, attractive human female from contemporary Britain: it's true that that's often the case, but the Doctor's had several male companions, and one of the longest-running companions ever was a man. Similarly, the UnresolvedSexualTension between Doctor and companion is largely an invention of the 2005 ReTool.

Plot Hook-wise, having the TARDIS answer a DistressCall is a fine old cliché that probably has plenty of milage left. You could do worse, anyway. But here's [[http://www.sfx.co.uk/2009/12/07/russell_t_davies_and_the_line_that_must_never_be_uttered/ some advice]] from former ShowRunner [[Creator/RussellTDavies Uncle Rusty]]:

* He usually obeys a sort of temporal [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Prime Directive]], in that he doesn't trust a society — or even an individual person — to have and use technology too far ahead of its time (or, more generally, that they didn't develop themselves). (This is the primary reason why he doesn't like the Torchwood Institute, whose whole purpose is to get hold of alien technologies and develop them for human users.) However, unlike most, this Directive does allow for him to intervene in history in order to combat a particular injustice or wrong. It does mean that he finds himself faced with the problem of certain events he can change and others he cannot; the new series usually phrases this as the Doctor being 'part of events', meaning he cannot go back and change something which he is already involved in. Alternatively, he may find that he has become involved in what he calls a 'fixed point in time' — i.e. some event of significance that cannot be altered without (it is implied) risking some kind of immense damage to or even destruction of the universe.

Two main choices to make:setting and genre. ''Doctor Who'' is a very versatile format and continuity has never been strictly observed. The setting can be pure space fantasy with CrystalSpiresAndTogas, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, ancient Rome, Victorian Cardiff, SpaceOpera - or, of course, contemporary London. (His sojourns in places outside of Europe are quite rare by comparison.)

As a writer you have to walk a fairly narrow path in terms of the amount of sex and violence you can show. The show generally hovers around the PG rating with occasional forays (more frequent in later series) up to the 12 rating - it's not for very young children but older children, teenagers and adults should all be able to be entertained by the show. It's not ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' but it's not ''Series/GameOfThrones'' either. Think action, not violence and romance, not sex. Remember The Doctor is a TechnicalPacifist and rarely uses direct force against his opponents and his companions tend to follow his lead. Death is still a part of the show but gore isn't appropriate. Also resist the urge to dumb things down. The Doctor is a science hero and his intelligence is an integral part of the show. Your script should have smarts, humour and action with every character having a chance to shine.

It's tempting to write stories where the current Doctor and his companion(s) meet up with previous Doctor incarnations and former companions, but it's probably best not to. These type of stories are generally reserved for major milestones - the last was for the fiftieth anniversary of of show's debut - and as such are generally handled "in house". There's also the issue of actor availability - in a normal episode, you can recast a role should the original actor become unavailable but you obviously can't do that with former Doctors and companions, all of whom are busy with other roles and projects. Having said all that, if you are determined to write a script with these elements, you should bear the following in mind.

** While the actors who played the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors are all still alive, all of them, especially Creator/TomBaker have seriously aged out of the roles and/or are physically much different - the demands of appearing in the role might be too much. Also Tom Baker (albeit as "The Curator") and Creator/PeterDavison have both previously appeared in the revival so having them show up might be redundant. Recasting the roles while the actors are still alive is probably a complete non-starter as this would be seen as insulting to the original actors.

** The Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors probably haven't spent enough time away from the role yet to make having them return not look like a cheap stunt - the BBC will probably hold them back for the sixtieth anniversary in 2023, probably hoping to rope in Tennant and maybe even persuading Ecclestone to join.

** If ANY of these companions are persuaded to return, again it's likely to be for the sixtieth anniversary which will be written in house most likely.

All in all, it's probably better to write a story containing your own original characters. If you have to include another Doctor or companion, make it an unknown future incarnation of the Doctor, or a companion for a single adventure - you never know, maybe the BBC will take your idea and have your Doctor be a future regeneration or bring your companion back as a regular.

Despite the differences, certain fashion motifs tend to appear; a jacket with distinct (usually [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacket_lapel#Notched_lapel notched]]) lapels, something worn over the shirt (a waistcoat or sweater of some kind), a distinctive form of cravat or tie, and the occasional NiceHat. Although the costuming of the new series made a distinct effort to get away from the more period styles of the classic series Doctors by clothing the Doctor in something more modern, some of these motifs still bled through, and the Eleventh Doctor's tweed jacket and bow-tie look -- rather like an UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} don on holiday -- perhaps indicate something of a return to the classic series template of AwesomeAnachronisticApparel. The basic costume might evolve over a Doctor's tenure to reflect his CharacterDevelopment -- going from bright to darker colors (Four, Seven), elegant to battle-worn (Eight), severe to soft (Twelve).

If (one of) the current companions is an attractive young lady, resist the urge to go too far into FanService territory - Amy Pond's policewoman outfit (which had an in-universe justification anyway) should be the limit. Blatant pandering by putting the companion in very revealing clothing doesn't really fit the show's zeitgeist and may lead to fan backlash. Having said that don't go too far the other way, especially if the companion is supposed to be from the present day - deliberately putting them in dowdy clothing when in reality they'd wear much more attractive and stylish outfits won't win you any fans either. Moderation is the key.

One thing to consider when designing the wardrobe for both Doctors and companions is to have sufficient variations on the theme to keep the look fresh, and also to allow the actors to be as comfortable as possible in a wide range of weather conditions and temperatures - ''Doctor Who'' can shoot on both freezing cold nights and hot sunny days. Directors will also appreciate having different colour motifs to work with depending on how they are shooting the story.

When considering footwear, bear in mind that the actors will often have to run and perform other physical manoeuvres in the shoes or boots they are wearing, so avoid anything too impractical. Also something to consider is the relative height of the actors - for example Amy Pond never wore high heels in the show as this would have made the five foot eleven inch actress Karen Gillan tower over her co-stars.

Alien clothes should fit with the kind of alien they are and/or what kind of world they live on; sometimes having no clothes is appropriate. Sometimes the simplest of outfits work the best (see the Tritovores and their boiler suits). Make it interesting, but not too outrageous; it needs to be strange to humans (namely the audience), but seen as ordinary by everyone else. Look at how humans dress for various activities and use that to extrapolate from - if the Doctor meets a group of alien heavy machinery operators, they should not be wearing clothes with lots of frills and trailing bits of cloth that could get caught up in the machines they control.

When it comes to guest stars and actors, think "character actor" rather than "stunt casting". Britain has a huge wealth of acting talent - use it! Avoid the temptation to stunt cast extremely well known actors without a ''very'' good reason as they can jar the audience out of their willing suspension of disbelief. An example of this is where comedy partners Creator/DavidMitchell and Creator/RobertWebb played a pair of robots - many viewers found it impossible to take the robots seriously.

Former script editor Andrew Cartmel said the same thing writers starting their outlines with the TARDIS getting "a flat tire."

** Creator/FreemaAgyeman is busy with roles in America, her current show, ''Series/NewAmsterdam'' has been renewed for at least three more seasons ruling her out for the time being.

Age, Aliens, Ambassadors, Androids, Apocalypse, Ark, Attack, Asylum, Battle, Bells, Blood, Brain, Carnival, Caves, City, Claws, Code, Curse, Dalek Invasion, Day, Death, Demons, Destiny, Edge, End, Evil, Evolution, Face, Family, Fires, Forest, Genesis, Hand, Horns, Horror, Invasion, Image, Keeper, Keys, Last, Mark, Masque, Menace, Mind, Monster, Name, Nightmare, Parting, Planet, Power, Prison, Pyramids, Remembrance, Resurrection, Revelation, Revenge, Rings, Rise, Robots, Seeds, Sound, State, Stones, Talons, Terror, Time, Tomb, Vampires, Victory, Voyage, War, Warriors, Waters, Web, Wedding

Akhaten, Androids, Androzani, Angels, Autons, Assassins, Axos, Black Spot, Blood, Chaos, Cybermen, Daleks, Damned, Dead, Decay, Death, Demons, Destruction, Dinosaurs, Doctor, Doom, Doomed, Drums, Earth, Eden, Evil, Fang Rock, Fear, Fenric, Fire, Fendahl, Forsaken, Ghosts, Impossible, Infinite, Infinity, Kroll, London, Lost, Mandragora, Monsters, Moon, Morbius, Nimon, Ood, Peladon, Punjab, Ranskoor av Kolos, Rani, River Song, Robots, Saint John, Sherwood, Sontarans, Space, Spiders, Steel, Terror, Tara, Time, Time Lords, Traken, Venice, Vervoids, Vortex, Ways, World, Weng-Chiang, Zygons

*** '''Important note''': "Less intelligent" does not equal stupid. Companions who have clung on too tightly to the IdiotBall in the past have generally not gone down well.

** Due to Creator/NoelClarke's issues with #MeToo, bringing him back as Mickey Smith is not going to happen until they are resolved, if then (depending on the outcome).

As a writer you have to walk a fairly narrow path in terms of the amount of sex and violence you can show. The show generally hovers around the PG rating - it's not for very young children but older children, teenagers and adults should all be able to be entertained by the show. It's not ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' but it's not ''Series/GameOfThrones'' either. Think action, not violence and romance, not sex. Remember The Doctor is a TechnicalPacifist and rarely uses direct force against his opponents and his companions tend to follow his lead. Death is still a part of the show but gore isn't appropriate. Also resist the urge to dumb things down. The Doctor is a science hero and his intelligence is an integral part of the show. Your script should have smarts, humour and action with every character having a chance to shine.

Casting the Doctor is one of the hardest jobs. Whoever comes next will have many previous incumbents of the role to follow, all of them generally well thought-of. Your actor will need to be commanding when required, but always remain likeable; have the acting chops to pull off high drama and the timing for high comedy; and something to set him apart from the previous incarnations. Casting rumours surrounding the Eleventh Doctor in 2008 suggested he would be played by a black actor (either Paterson Joseph or Chiwetel Ejiofor), and although the casting was eventually that of white actor Creator/MattSmith, it is notable that the prospect of a black Doctor was met with little to no resistance. Furthermore, in Eleven's guest appearance in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', after regenerating since he last met the gang, he states that regeneration isn't always the same skin tone, and it can be anything. In the episode "The Doctor's Wife", the Eleventh Doctor mentions the Corsair, a Time Lord who had some incarnations in the form of a woman as well as a man, and another example of this is [[spoiler: longtime arch-enemy The Master, who became The Mistress -- "Missy" for short -- in Series 8]].

Alien clothes should fit with the kind of alien they are and/or what kind of world they live on; sometimes having no clothes is appropriate. Sometimes the simplest of outfits work the best (see the Tritovores and their boiler suits). Make it interesting, but not too outrageous; it needs to be strange to humans (namely the audience), but seen as ordinary by everyone else.

** Possibly the Third Doctor, if you can persuade Creator/SeanPertwee to reprise his father's role, which he's shown reluctance to so far.

** While Creator/ChristopherEcclestone has mended enough fences to appear in Creator/BigFinish audios as the Ninth Doctor, actually persuading him to return to the role on screen is likely to be a bridge too far.

** Creator/BillieTyler already reprised a version of her role as Rose Tyler in the fiftieth anniversary special and having her return again would be difficult to justify, especially as she is living happily ever after in an alternate universe.

** However, while the Doctor strongly values individuality he is not a purist or fundamentalist on the subject, and does acknowledge that broader social and collective needs exist which outweigh the wants and desires of a single individual, including himself. Just as he opposes any force which attempts to enforce total collectivism and homogeneity, he is also quite willing to oppose any individual who selfishly places his or her own wants and needs beyond those of the wider social good; be this a dictator trying to force everyone to conform to their ideal society, a scientist obsessed with proving a hypothesis or completing an experiment regardless of the potential wider harm it could do, or a businessperson seeking to profit at the expense of others. Furthermore, a common strategy of his is to bring together disparate individuals (or "hats") who may be [[WeAreStrugglingTogether in some form of lesser conflict]] and encourage them to find commonalities and work together, both to defeat a larger threat and to resolve their conflicts. Another common example from the classic series is the Doctor being manipulated into solving a problem for the Time Lords; while he will make no secret of how much he resents them for putting him in such a position, he will ultimately acquiesce if the alternative is allowing innocent people to die and a greater evil to succeed.

** The Seventh Doctor broke with the latter principle in a big way. This accounts in large part for his reputation as the "Dark Doctor". However, outside of a few examples, it is important to remember that even the Seventh Doctor did not violate the trust of others lightly or flippantly, or for purely selfish reasons; he typically did so to defeat a larger evil, and one which had already proven itself untrustworthy. While he would manipulate his friends and allies, he would only do so if he felt it was for a broader good, would typically feel and demonstrate guilt about doing so and would try to make amends where possible.