Doctor Who - Episode 6.03 - Neil Gaiman Interview

Although Neil Gaiman has mostly kept mum on the subject of his upcoming episode for Doctor Who, at the New Yorker Festival this weekend he did let slip a few small details. The episode (which will appear in series 6) will feature Surrane Jones as a character named Idris, "who may be an old friend of the Doctor's with a new face," Gaiman hinted. (Jones has previously appeared on the Doctor Who spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures, as an evil incarnation of the Mona Lisa.)

On writing for Doctor Who, Gaiman said, "It's part of my internal landscape." This led to an anecdote about being terrified by the program when he was three years old--funny because Gaiman mentioned what a head trip it is to meet fans at Sandman signings who were born after the series began, or whose parents met at a Sandman signing.

He did allude to what didn't make it into the shooting script: An involved opener that would have seen the Doctor plucked out of another adventure in order to participate on this (as of now) super-secret plot. "At one point I steal a plot from an old episode called 'The War Games'," he added.

Gaiman also treated fans to a screening of his short film Statuesque, starring fiancée Amanda Palmer and Bill Nighy, about people who portray living statues. The film had premiered in Britain but never made it to the United States beyond illicit YouTube uploadings that were subsequently yanked. It looks fantastic on the big screen, and is a sweet, irreverent tale--and completely silent, allowing Palmer to really play soulful and quirky.

Now we really can't wait for the Neil Gaiman Doctor Who episode!

Source: ology