Doctor Who - We Are the Dreamers of Dreams

"Bill, we are are the music-makers and we are the dreamers of dreams."  

--the NEW Doctor from Episode Three, Londontowne   


When I first began to really think about the details of my Mayfly Doctor story, I had to address the subject of what kind of person this new Doctor would be. By default, just to give me something to hang my hat on, I thought of Gene Wilder's take on Willy Wonka. Wilder's version of the eccentric candy maker is very Doctor like, sweet but sinister, lighthearted but serious, playful but thoughtful. 

While I didn't want to totally emulate or copy Willy Wonka as my new Doctor, I knew early on I wanted the new Doctor to quote this line to Bill: "Bill, we are are the music-makers and we are the dreamers of dreams."  

I linked this line to the end of the story to suggest that maybe, just maybe, this version of the Doctor wasn't quite as forgotten as he expected he would be. What I debated was who would say that line at the end. Early on, it was just going to be Bill Potts. Then I toyed with the idea of a flash forward to the line being quoted by a newly regenerated 13th Doctor as to be played by Jodie Whittaker.  

Ultimately, the line was referenced by Bill and the Doctor in tandem in a moment that just sort fell out from fingertips as I was typing. I like the idea of both the Doctor and Bill having this sort of echo back to the Doctor who never was.   

While inspired by the persona of Willy Wonka, I wanted to call to mind the physical presence of a modern actor. After his appearance in Fantastic Beasts, I thought actor Eddie Redmayne fit the bill quite nicely.   

There was no political or social comment intended by casting my temporary Doctor as yet another white English male. I ultimately decided to go with a "white English male" type just to avoid the potential criticism of only trusting the Doctor as a woman or a person of color to a temporary Doctor that will never be remembered.  

I for one am not only enthused about the Doctor becoming a woman, I am particularly excited to see Jodie Whittaker specifically in the part.  In fact, I plotting out a sequel to Londontowne that I plan to feature the 13th Doctor

OK, enough prattling on about my own fan fiction script. Talk about self indulgent. I hope the Londontowne serial was entertaining. I do apologize for all the typos. They seem to be more prevalent since I had my stroke.  

Two days to go until the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas Special. I'm really excited to see what happens next.