CultBox recently ran a poll asking you tell to us which cult writers you would like to take a crack at penning a Doctor Who script. Here’s how over 4,500 of you voted…
1. Joss Whedon
With his ear for dialogue and love of character, Buffy creator Joss Whedon’s take on the Doctor would be amazing to see and over 40% of you voted for him, topping our poll.
We should expect a charismatic band of characters to work with the Time Lord who overcome their differences and save the day. Also expect a shock death or two. Oh hell, let’s just have the TARDIS materialise on the deck of the Serenity!
2. J. K Rowling
The Harry Potter writer has long been linked to the show, after it was revealed that Russell T. Davies wanted her involved. While this never went ahead, the world famous children’s author would doubtless bring some magic into the Doctor’s adventures, and hopefully a dragon or two.
Might she be the writer to finally show us the Doctor as Merlin, as suggested in 1989’s ‘Battlefield’?
3. Stephen King
Horror writer King has often worked in the area of sci-fi and we are sure he could create something terrifying for the Doctor to face, or perhaps we might see something with a more fantastical edge like The Green Mile or the killer machines from Maximum Overdrive.
4. George R. R. Martin
Game of Thrones creator Martin would doubtless bring an epic dimension to the Time Lord’s struggles and has a CV full of television credits that suggest he would be a good choice too, having written for both The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast. He’d have to keep the death toll (and the incest) down though.
5. Anthony Horowitz
Novelist and screenwriter Horowitz is no stranger to time travel, as the creator of BBC One’s Crime Traveller in the late ‘90s. He is also the creator of Boy’s Own hero Alex Rider, so we could expect plenty of action and perhaps a wartime period piece given that he is man behind ITV’s Foyle’s War too. Why hasn’t this man written for Doctor Who yet?!
6. Chris Carter
The X-Files and Millennium creator Carter certainly knew how to keep a mystery going, regularly providing one answer only to provoke three more at the same time. Conspiracies, the paranormal and alien abduction? It all sounds like fertile Doctor Who territory to us!
7. Damon Lindelof
Best known as co-creator and showrunner of Lost, Lindelof is well versed in the art of the long story and knows a thing or two about keeping a fan-base guessing. With script credits for Cowboys & Aliens, Star Trek Into Darkness and Prometheus he has a solid grounding in space adventure too, so could he take the Doctor to the high frontier?
8. Frank Darabont
The director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile is also the creator of hit zombie TV series The Walking Dead, so would be ideally placed to explore a post-apocalyptic Doctor Who story, in the vein of ‘Turn Left’. He also wrote five episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles so we might expect some historical adventure too.
9. Jane Goldman
Jane Goldman has made a career adapting comic books and novels for the big screen, particularly with director Matthew Vaughn. Having written the scripts for The Woman in Black, X-Men: First Class and Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, plus a healthy obsession with all things spooky (she hosted her own paranormal TV series in the early 2000s), she would be sure to bring a creepy, fantastical edge to the show.
10. David S. Goyer
The screenwriter responsible for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movies and this summer’s Man of Steel, as well as the reworking of Leonardo into a tormented, sexy polymath in Da Vinci’s Demons, could surely pen a dynamic tale for the Time Lord. His take could be quite dark, with the Doctor doing some soul searching before a leap of genius-like inspiration.
11. Howard Overman
Last but not least on our list is Misfits creator Howard Overman. With a sting of credits on Merlin and Hustle, plus being the brains behind BBC Four’s short-lived Dirk Gently series, he certainly has a strong background in both comic and adventurous tales. Of course, if the first series of BBC One’s Atlantis goes well, he might be a bit too busy for the TARDIS for a little while though.
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Which cult writer would you most like to do a Doctor Who episode?Let us know below…