Thread:Turtle365/@comment-15395126-20150811210632

I don't know if you saw the message I left you before I went on my two-week trip, but I'm home now and would like to share the new ideas I've had while I was away, as well as address some of the concerns that have come up on my end:

Ideas
 * As you may have seen, I cast Charles Dance as the Valeyard in Series 12; as an older individual, I thought Dance totally looked the part of "the Doctor's final incarnation." I also find him to be quite similar to Jason Isaacs in subtle ways; I thought this was a perfect way to suggest two different actors were playing the same individual: the Doctor.
 * I envision Charles Dance's Valeyard to be a villain we must pity; he has endured centuries of pain and heartbreak and has loved and lost a million times. He no longer wishes to live, so he goes back in time to destroy his past self.
 * I had the idea that since the Answer was to be incorporated into Series 12, perhaps it holds the power to destroy the Doctor if it is revealed? The Valeyard plans to speak it at a certain place to eliminate the Thirteenth Doctor, but the Doctor is the one who ultimately has to reveal his true name in order to stop the Valeyard...
 * I'd like to again discuss the ideas I've had for the Thirteenth Doctor's (potential) companion. What I picture is a sort of River Song-like individual, but rather than a fully-grown woman, she is a girl in her early teens. She has a deep connection to the Doctor (if not the universe or time itself), and she crosses paths with him many times, sometimes appearing as a friend, and other times as an adversary.
 * Personality-wise, this girl (I say "girl," but I'm thinking she is a stronger, non-human entity that just chooses to take a 12-year-old's form for whatever reason) is bright, optimistic, and able to take care of herself. She is sometimes a few steps ahead of the Doctor and enjoys toying with him. Despite her maturity, this girl is scared to be alone.
 * Perhaps the girl's fear of being alone is what prompts the Doctor to make her his companion?
 * I have considered casting Raffey Cassidy as this companion. She's a relatively unknown British actress whose most recent on-screen appearance was in Disney's Tomorrowland. I liked the way she portrayed her character in that film, and I used it as the basis for the companion ideas I presented above.
 * I started writing out a potential opening for "The Queen's Mirror." In it, actress Tilda Swinton's character, Queen Saphira, sits on her throne in the land of Perfection; she is tended to by her handmaidens. A couple of the maidens bring two girls before her. Queen Saphira examines the two girls; she selects one to become a "Lady of Perfection," while the less beautiful one is told to "see the mirror." We do not see it, but the Weeping Angel within does something terrible to this girl, and as she screams, the opening titles begin.

Concerns
 * Series 11, as we've known for a while now, is to focus on the Doctor's search for Gallifrey. However, the Doctor has technically already been searching for his home planet since "The Day of the Doctor" concluded…Are we to say the Doctor has just been distracted since then, but now he's made finding his home his primary objective?
 * I have been keeping a close eye on news related to Series 9, and as I read interviews and articles on the subject, I continue to worry that Series 9's events will ruin or cancel out what we plan to do for Series 11, as far as Gallifrey goes…
 * I feel that Series 11 is missing a big mystery or threat beyond "Gallifrey has been inside you all along, Doctor!" That big revelation in the series finale cannot drive a two-part story, let alone a whole series. I want any Doctor Who series I write to have the "epicness" of the big and best Matt Smith-era episodes, and right now, Series 11 doesn't seem to have that.
 * As I watch Doctor Who on Netflix, I realize a big piece of what makes the show work is the Doctor's interactions with others, especially companions. For the longest time, I've wanted the Thirteenth Doctor to be darker, meaner, and more unreliable than his previous incarnations; he was envisioned to be a scary, menacing, and unpredictable individual. The more I think about this, though, this personality doesn't make any sense.
 * Why is a person like this searching for his home planet, especially if he does not have evil intentions?
 * What could the Thirteenth Doctor's new personality possibly be? We need to keep in mind the kind of man Jason Isaacs is and the kinds of roles he's played when deciding this.
 * I think it is important that we not make all of the places the Doctor visits random. He has to have a reason for being where he is going, especially when his goal is to find his missing home planet; the clues he discovers have to lead him somewhere specific. Sometimes, the TARDIS can malfunction, but I want as much story relevance as possible; I don't want to do what Series 8 did and hardly connect to the overarching plot... 