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Post by Digi on Jul 27, 2021 12:42:13 GMT
Not sure who all here might know who Dan Slott is -- he's a fairly prolific comics writer, mostly Marvel, having done She Hulk, Silver Surfer, Iron Man, Avengers, Fantastic Four, as well as nearly ten years writing or overseeing Spider-Man storylines. But more pertinent to us: he's very open about being a huge fan of Doctor Who (TV mostly, but I've seen him tweeting with or about Big Finish once in a while, enjoying audio stories too).
So, I thought it was interesting just a few minutes ago that he shared on Twitter that he made an episode pitch to the show about six years back. It didn't end up getting picked up, and if I read his tweet correctly he ended up adapting into a Silver Surfer story, but I thought this was a cool little 'what if' or 'lost story' concept. I really like the pitch, and think it would've made a really neat episode:
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Post by grinch on Jul 27, 2021 13:24:15 GMT
That’s a really solid pitch. I know it was pitched for the television series but it does make you wonder which Doctor would suit such a tale.
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Post by theillusiveman on Jul 27, 2021 13:25:14 GMT
Maybe big finish should get Dan’s pitch for the lost stories range
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Post by shallacatop on Jul 27, 2021 16:05:00 GMT
I can see why it wasn’t chosen. On the face of it, there’s elements of Sleep No More and Oxygen in there, coupled with the fact Slott isn’t a television writer too.
It’s a very solid pitch, though, and I think there’s potential in realising it with Big Finish. Given it didn’t go into the commissioning or scripting stage, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with BF commissioning if they feel there’s potential. That feels more realistic and likely than treating it as a Lost Story and waiting for Peter Capaldi to not only come on board, but have a regular BF output.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 27, 2021 16:07:17 GMT
Assuming Slott wants a go at audio writing, seems some free real estate for Big Finish.
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Post by Digi on Jul 27, 2021 16:26:03 GMT
I can see why it wasn’t chosen. On the face of it, there’s elements of Sleep No More and Oxygen in there, coupled with the fact Slott isn’t a television writer too. It’s a very solid pitch, though, and I think there’s potential in realising it with Big Finish. Given it didn’t go into the commissioning or scripting stage, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with BF commissioning if they feel there’s potential. That feels more realistic and likely than treating it as a Lost Story and waiting for Peter Capaldi to not only come on board, but have a regular BF output. This pitch is from 2015 (Series 9 aired late that year) so I don't know about this being an issue. Depending on what time of year he pitched it, Sleep No More elements perhaps (even though it wasn't filmed till that summer). But Oxygen wasn't till Series 10, two years later. Still though, you're quite right that the fact that he's not a TV writer would have been an issue if he had any aspirations of writing the script himself. There also may well have been union obstacles to overcome as well, being an American writer and the show being a British production. |
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Post by shallacatop on Jul 27, 2021 17:07:02 GMT
I can see why it wasn’t chosen. On the face of it, there’s elements of Sleep No More and Oxygen in there, coupled with the fact Slott isn’t a television writer too. It’s a very solid pitch, though, and I think there’s potential in realising it with Big Finish. Given it didn’t go into the commissioning or scripting stage, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with BF commissioning if they feel there’s potential. That feels more realistic and likely than treating it as a Lost Story and waiting for Peter Capaldi to not only come on board, but have a regular BF output. This pitch is from 2015 (Series 9 aired late that year) so I don't know about this being an issue. Depending on what time of year he pitched it, Sleep No More elements perhaps (even though it wasn't filmed till that summer). But Oxygen wasn't till Series 10, two years later. Still though, you're quite right that the fact that he's not a TV writer would have been an issue if he had any aspirations of writing the script himself. There also may well have been union obstacles to overcome as well, being an American writer and the show being a British production. It’s not an issue as such, but if you’ve just aired or filmed something with similar elements, or have plans for another story that uses other similar elements, then it’s unlikely you’re going to do something with that pitch. Oxygen might have aired in 2017, but was filmed in autumn 2016 and would’ve been written even earlier than that. Plus the intention was to be a prequel to Mummy on the Orient Express, the idea of which was floating around for a while. It’s speculation without knowing the specific dates of Slott’s pitch, Mathieson’s ideas, etc. but I wouldn’t write the similarities off with “two years later”, when that’s purely the broadcast date. Of course, it’s likely a moot point as I expect the lack of television experience will have been an obstacle well before anything else. |
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Post by Digi on Jul 27, 2021 17:52:34 GMT
Of course, it’s likely a moot point as I expect the lack of television experience will have been an obstacle well before anything else. Agreed |
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jul 27, 2021 17:57:31 GMT
Not surprised it wasn't used. Some very familiar elements & he's not a TV writer.
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jul 28, 2021 12:23:15 GMT
Had a read of it and it's not bad - has some very Jonny Morris vibes about it in its satire. Probably more Oxygen than Sleep though I didn't really think Sleep much while reading it. However, without a specific Doc-companion team to anchor it, it just reads like a lot of plot without a strong emotional core. I think Slott makes a classic mistake among a lot of people who want to write for Who (even makes me think of some of the stuff brought up in the Writing for Big Finish thread): cool world or concept but where's the emotional hook, or who are the characters actually being impacted by the choices in this world?
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