CultBox caught up with ‘Kill the Moon’ writer Peter Harness for a spoiler-free chat about this weekend’s Doctor Who episode…

 

Visually the moon landscape looks just incredible; are you able to tell us a bit about how they brought that to life on screen?

“They filmed in Lanzarote, which has these incredible volcanic vistas and craters; it looks a lot like the surface of the Moon – and it’s where, I think, they trained a lot of the original Apollo astronauts.

“Paul Wilmshurst, our excellent director – who I can’t really praise highly enough for the way he’s shaped and realised the story – was keen to have the very stark light that the blazing Lanzarote sun gives. It’s the same kind of unfiltered, harsh glare you get on the surface of the Moon.

“So they shot there, in the blazing heat – those poor actors sweltering away in massive space-suits – and then graded down the colour of the rocks, and put in a dark sky and an Earth in the distance.”

 

Courtney is, once again, brilliant! Why did you decide to bring her back for this story?

“Because I’d always felt that Clara should bring one of her pupils along with her on this particular journey. And when I read the first draft of ‘The Caretaker’ and saw how brilliantly Gareth [Roberts] had written this disruptive influence of a character, I really knew that nobody else would fill the role so well.

“I felt very privileged to borrow her and take her off into new situations and challenges. I think that Courtney was only ever really envisaged as a one-off character, but she’s clearly so funny and full of great stuff that she’s ended up becoming more and more important.”

 

Do you think Courtney has what it takes to become a full-time companion?

“Definitely. I think she’s wonderful. But there isn’t a vacancy just at the moment. I want to see what happens to Clara.”

 

There’s lots of speculation around about who Missy is; who do you think she might be?

“I think she’s probably the illegitimate daughter of Harrison Chase and Meglos.”

 

Do you hope to write an episode for next year’s season?

“I’d love to write for Doctor Who for as long as I possibly can, whenever and if-ever they decide that they’ll have me back. And if that happens to be in Season 9, then terrific.”

 

If you do return, would you like to write an episode set in the past or the present day next?

“I don’t mind. As long as it’s a decent idea with a bit of drama and excitement in it, I’m very happy to write past, present, future, parallel dimension or whatever. A lot of the other stuff I’ve written has been historical, so I’m very comfortable with that; but equally, I’m quite happy to get away from it for a while.”

 

Are there any classic monsters you’d like to bring back?

“I think one’s first instinct as an old-time Who fan is to try and think of dozens of ways to bring back one’s favourite monsters in whichever way possible. But really, Who has always thrived on moving forward, and inventing new creatures and new threats. So I try hard not to get too fanboyish when dreaming up story ideas.

“That said, if I could just be nakedly geeky and without my professional head on, I’d love to bring back the Krynoids and the Mara.”

 

> Order Season 8 on DVD on Amazon.

> Order Season 8 on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Are you looking forward to ‘Kill the Moon’? Let us know below…