New Zealand native, Neil Cross, will once again be contributing to Doctor Who. Is it possible the Doctor might make a trip down under?
Neil Cross made his Doctor Who debut last year writing two episodes in season 7: The Rings of Akhaten and Hide. The two episodes couldn’t have been more different in tone from each other if they tried. The first one featured aliens galore on a space station where the Doctor had to face down “the god” who was threatening to consume the entire universe. The cast was comprised of relative unknowns. The second one was a period piece set in the U.K. in the 1950’s that was more of a romance/mystery with a twist ending. It featured well established actors Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine.
Cross is a long-time fan of the show. Nonetheless, he’s not giving any hint as to what he has in store telling Stuff New Zealand, “I have got story ideas tucked away, but if I told you about them I would have to kill you. There’s a whole bunch of stuff I want to do. Steven is clearly very busy with the 50th anniversary special and Christmas special, but I have to find out from Steven what his intentions for the Doctor are and what sort of stories he wants me to write.”
Cross is quite familiar with new Doctor, Peter Capaldi’s, career, and is looking forward to writing material for him. When asked what he though of Capaldi, and the challenge of writing for someone who will no doubt put a different spin on the role than Matt Smith, Cross stated, “There’s something about his physicality, his image, his wit, that evokes the Doctor. There’s something about him that evokes classic Doctor Who.”
No directors have been announced yet, but one of the big hopes of many fans is that season 8 might include an episode shot in New Zealand directed by Peter Jackson. Jackson is a huge fan of the show, and has spoken to Steven Moffat several times, most recently at the BAFTA’s.
Perhaps in a lull between the second and third Hobbit films, Jackson might find the time to direct Neil Cross’ episode, or perhaps another.