Could an American write Doctor Who? - Babylon 5 creator throws hat in the ring

[Tonguez]

Babylon 5 creator throws hat in the ring to take over Doctor Who – again
J Michael Straczynski has said running Doctor Who would be "the thrill of a lifetime".
by James Hibbs
J Michael Straczynski, the American filmmaker and comic book writer behind series such as Babylon 5, Jeremiah and Sense8, has once again expressed interest in writing for - and potentially taking the reins of - Doctor Who.
Straczynski is currently moving to the UK, on a visa which will mean he is an official UK resident, allowing him to work for any studio, production company or network on this side of the pond.
He has been clear, while posting on Twitter (which has been rebranded as X), that he has not currently got any deals, understandings or guarantees regarding work, and that the move is "all about risk-taking".
Some fans had speculated that he could be moving to work on Doctor Who, a show he has expressed interest in writing for in the past.
However, Straczynski has now clarified in a post that that is not the case, even though "I would love nothing more in life than to take on that job" as showrunner.
"It'd be the thrill of a lifetime," he added, "but we'll see."
Straczynski also questioned in a reply to one user whether "Doctor Who fans be willing to accept an American, even a hardcore anglophile with a UK visa, for such an inherently British series, given Babylon 5 and Sense8 and the like".
"Would I be worthy?" he asked.
In 2021, after then-showrunner Chris Chibnall announced his departure from Doctor Who, Straczynski said he "would be there in a heartbeat" to take on the role, and later revealed he had made contact with the BBC regarding it.

 

[John R Davis]

Sure. Go for it

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

JMS needs to appear in an article about geek media at least once a year or he will fade from existence.

I don't think Babylon 5 is going to buy him much new screenwriting work in 2025, 28 years after the show ended.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

JMS needs to appear in an article about geek media at least once a year or he will fade from existence.

...no notes.

I don't think Babylon 5 is going to buy him much new screenwriting work in 2025, 28 years after the show ended.

You know, I was going to disagree with this ... but then I remembered that while I really did love Sense8, it wasn't great writing. Jeremiah had some good parts, especially in the first season, but it was also (checks google) ... over in 2004????

Woah. I mean, dang. Now that I think about it, I do hear about JMS all the time, but the last time I can definitively point to great science fiction writing for the screen was probably season 4 of B5*, and that ended in ... 1997 ... and was written in .... oh no, 1996.

I think I'm going to find a corner, cry, and reflect on my mortality.


*I actually like season 5! But it wasn't ... great. And yes, I get the excuses for B5: Crusades, but even with those it wasn't great; at best, it had potential.

 

[Morrus]

I mean, right now somebody has that job.

He has just moved here though.

 

[jian]

Yeah, basically depends what Russell T Davies thinks. But otherwise sure, why not.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Well I suppose I should post this here.

Warning- do not read if you haven't seen the most recent season of Doctor Who!

Spoiler: DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE MOST RECENT SEASON OF DOCTOR WHO!

I am a big fan of nuWho, and have seen all the Doctors and episodes. I was SO EXCITED for Ncuti Gatwa's turn as the Doctor!!!! I love the actor, and I really loved the way he portrayed the Doctor.

...but, well, I was having some Jodie Whitaker deja vu. In other words ... loving the Doctor, but not quite as in love with... you know ... all of the episodes. The first season of Gatwa was really enjoyable, albeit uneven.

And then I saw the second season aired, and I binged it. And I felt ... even moreish on my opinion. The Doctor was SO GOOD, but the writing was very uneven... and, IMO, worse than the first go-around. And the season (series) finale with the Rani was deeply unsatisfying from a pure ... well, plot and comprehensibility standpoint.

But the real kick in posterior was that I hadn't been following any news, and for the first time in my memory, I was genuinely shocked by .... THIS IS WHY THIS IS IN SPOILERS ... the Doctor's regeneration. HOLY ECCLESTON, BATMAN, THEY ONLY HAD GATWA FOR TWO SEASONS???????

And don't get me started on Rose. I genuinely like Billie Piper, but she had her run.

Basically, all of it (waves around) encapsulated everything I grew to hate about RTD. Okay, hate is a strong word. I am forever grateful for the amazing work he did bringing nuWho back. But by the end of his run, it was ... dire (IMO). The bombast, the callbacks, the cutesie reveals ... it was all to much. And it feels like S2 was derailed by the same things that plagued the later RTD years. The loss of Gatwa and the Rose reveal was just the cherry on the (again, IMO) turd sundae.

I dunno. Maybe it's time for another hiatus and, at some point, we'll get nunuWho. But I'm not sure I want another RTD season.

To bring this around to the subject of the post- I think Doctor Who would lose something if an American was to be the main writer. But I would rather JMS write for it and helm it than RTD continue on.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I agree that Doctor Who needs that quintessential Britishness. As an American, I want at least one thing a season -- other than nonsense like Planet Time -- to make me go "well, I don't know what the heck they're talking about there, but they're all nodding in recognition."

 

[trappedslider]

Right now we don't even know if it's going to be renewed

 

[Ryujin]

...no notes.



You know, I was going to disagree with this ... but then I remembered that while I really did love Sense8, it wasn't great writing. Jeremiah had some good parts, especially in the first season, but it was also (checks google) ... over in 2004????

Woah. I mean, dang. Now that I think about it, I do hear about JMS all the time, but the last time I can definitively point to great science fiction writing for the screen was probably season 4 of B5*, and that ended in ... 1997 ... and was written in .... oh no, 1996.

I think I'm going to find a corner, cry, and reflect on my mortality.


*I actually like season 5! But it wasn't ... great. And yes, I get the excuses for B5: Crusades, but even with those it wasn't great; at best, it had potential.

I'd prefer if he kept shopping around the B5 reboot, like he's been doing the last few years. And for me, with my dislike of reboots, that's saying something. The tech is around and he has the previous experience of completing several excellent story arcs, with the continuity assistance of Harlan Ellison, so there's potential for something special there.