STEVEN MOFFAT: DOCTOR WHO ‘QUIET’ MOMENTS ARE THE ‘BEST’
The first edition of Doctor Who: The Fan Show – The Aftershow goes behind-the-scenes on the opening episode of Series 10, The Pilot.
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat and new companion actress, Pearl Mackie both join host Christel Dee as they talk all things Who. When asked why The Pilot was ‘quieter’ than previous series openers, Steven Moffat said:
“Because we hadn’t before and the traditional way to start a Doctor Who — and one I entirely approve of — is to blow some stuff up and have people running away and I love all that!
But I just thought, what is the only surprising thing you could do; to have that static shot of two doors and a desk for ages and then in she [new companion Bill] walks, it’s very theatrical. And there’s a two-hander scene where you get to know her.
I was, in part, also thinking, let’s really establish her, let’s really know her hugely well from the start and the best way to do that is to just have two actors talking. The other thing I’ve often noticed is that,
for all the money we spend and all the explosions we have, what are the bits that end up on YouTube? It’ll be some wee scene between two people — maybe those are the good bits.”
With a smile and a laugh, the outing Doctor Who boss added: “Some day I’ll learn how to do this job, sadly I’m leaving.”
As always with a new companion, The Pilot gives fans a wonderful new introduction to the TARDIS for Bill. Steven said:
“It’s lovely to find new ways to do it. I don’t think anyone ever gets tired of people walking into the TARDIS and noticing it’s bigger on the inside. Nobody minds. It’s like ‘Bond, James Bond’ — you want it every time. Even though you already know it’s coming.”
Also discussed on The Aftershow were Matt Smith’s opening scenes as the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who, where Pearl Mackie’s intro video Friend From The Future fits into Who continuity, the new series arc, fans’ response to Pearl, and big, BIG hair!