Matthew Graham interview: on writing Doctor Who

Matthew Graham returns to writing Doctor Who this weekend, with The Rebel Flesh kicking off a new two-parter.

Since then, hes rightly won rich acclaim for co-creating and co-writing the immenseLife On MarsandAshes To Ashes.

And he spared us some time to chat about it…

Lets start with the obvious one, then.

How did it come about that youve written a two-parter forDoctor Whoseries 6?

Well, I was hoping to do the last series, the first Matt Smith series.

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So, I just panicked and thought I wouldnt have enough time.

So, I contacted Steven and said Ive got to bow out, regretfully.

So what about series 2?

I couldnt say no, really!

Turns out that he wasnt, hence we changed the story within about an hour of it going live.

A very innocent mistake all round.]

Thats right, of course!

Thats actually how the lunch with Piers and Steven started.

Because Piers read that article and contacted me and said, Oh, youre doingDoctor Who?

He assumed that Id agreed it with Steven!

So, in a sort of way, you match-made that!

Its totally brand new.

Ive just watched them, actually, and I think they are absolutely fab.

I think theyre some of the best writing that Ive ever done.

And its brilliantly directed, and brilliantly made.

And I just hope everyone likes it.

This is my response!

Im actually thrilled with it.

Its not what Id have chosen if Id come toDoctor Who, obviously.

When you come toDoctor Who, you want to tell a story with monsters.

You want the Tardis in mortal peril.

You want big, epic science fiction adventure.

Of course, you do.

Thats why you write it.

I wanted to write for David Tennant, for Billie Piper, and be part of TV history.

So, I said, Absolutely.

I was thrilled with it.

For children, not really for adults, not really for the olderDoctor Whofans.

And Russell wanted a playground adventure.

He said, How old is your son?

At the time he was seven.

So, he said, Write this one for your son.

Thats what I did.

I did something that was in primary colours, that had a scary voice in the cupboard.

But, to be honest with you, I didnt go online particularly and read the responses.

From my side of it, the response was brilliant.

I had loads of kids write to me and say how much they enjoyed it.

And it was only later I realised that the older fans had reacted badly to it.

The Rebel FleshandThe Almost Peopleare different.

As far as Im concerned, this is proper, across the boardWho.

Adults, kids- if they can watch it, because it is scary.

Thats not very pleasant.

And I notice that its going out a bit later.

I wouldnt be surprised if they put a warning out beforehand.

And science fiction, and gadgets, and lots of stuff happening.

And they gave it to me!

Well, all the stories inDoctor Whostart with a basic idea from Steven.

And I said, Oh, Steven, are you sure?

I mean, the film was still playing at the time in cinemas.

And he said, No, no, no, this will be good.

This will be likeThe Thing.

So, its workers that create copies of themselves to do jobs that are too dangerous, too unpleasant.

And I thought, Okay, thats better, and then we started talking.

I love the influences.The ThingandThe Name Of The Roseare two great movies.

[Laughs] Thats what it became!

Lets doThe Thingin the context ofThe Name Of The Rose.

So, originally they were going to be monks, monks at work in the factory.

They converted a monastery into a factory.

Then we decided that look, monks, tonally, it wasnt quite right.

They use these doppelgangers to work with the acid.

Flesh is a kind of programmable liquid matter.

Its almost like Frankenstein.

You see the Flesh turn into a person.

You see how that process works.

Theres a solar flare that strikes, and it shorts out the factory.

I had alotof fun with this!

The early drafts of the script were unintelligible.

There were so many copies of people running around the place.

We were sitting there with magic markers saying, Is this a ganger person?

It got confusing, so we had to do a lot of rationalising of the script.

Julian Simpson, the director, has pulled off something quite remarkable.

Its interesting you mention the directors, because theyre not getting enough credit for their work onWhoat the moment.

I think thats true.

Everyone talks about the writing, dont they, but you have to make that a reality.

Also, the producer.

He makes things possible.

Despite the fact thatDoctor Whogets a good budget, its always trying to reach beyond its budget.

Marcus and Julian together really got the maximum amount out of these episodes.

I remember trying to self-censor, taking things out towards production.

And Marcus would phone me up and say, No, were putting that back in.

Sometimes they went a bit old school.

Itll look like a giant fist punching it through.

It got us a lot of bang for our buck.

It sounds like an ethos that goes back to the way they madeThe Thinga little, too?

Yes, thats right, and we used a lot of make-up effects, too.

I think thats the same here, using the make-up effects and having them there as much as possible.

I think that makes a huge difference.

Makes them scary, too.

I think you have to push things more than you used to withDoctor Who.

Now, videogames are scary, and I think kids are more acclimatised.

I did have to ask: have you fused any ongoing narrative bits into your story?

Yes, yes I have.

But Ive got two cliffhangers, which is not bad for a two-parter.

I can say this because the premise of this final scene was given to me.

I wrote [the cliffhanger scene] and I put my own dialogue in.

[Steven] said, This is whats got to happen, and it was just great.

People are not going to be able to wait until next Saturday!

That was basically what happened, too.

I need you to do something like this.

And he explained what he wanted it to include and I loved it.

And youre also going, Wow, whats going to happen next?

And everyone knows that the next week hes not going to be dead.

They used to do that in the old days as well.

I tried to make my cliffhanger something that is just a ratcheting up of the story.

So, at the end ofThe Rebel Flesh, youre not thinking, Iis the Doctor going to die?

Youre thinking, Oh, my God.

Whats going to happen now?

Do you enjoy cliffhangers?

Yeah, I do.

I think theyre great, and it gives people lots to talk about.

And I know that some people wanted it tied up, to be referred to.

But I guess you just have to say hold on.

You dont want these serial elements to overshadow everything.

Spoilers forLife On MarsUSA and UK from this point on.

So, I suppose that was the frustration.

No, I can understand that.

Theyre not even red herrings.

I think they want to tie them up, they just dont know how to.

Ive been on the inside of that, working withLife On Marson the American remake.

And I said, Well, yeah.

But they said, Weve got something even cooler.

And I said, Guys, its not about throwing something at you that you cannot possibly imagine.

Thats not good drama.

I can do that.

Everyone can do that.

I can get to the end of aDoctor Whoepisode and say, Guess what?

And its a surprise, because you wouldnt have guessed it.

But the reason you wouldnt have guessed it was that it was irrational and stupid.

They thought that they were being cleverer than their own show.

Did they get in touch after the episode aired?

I did e-mail them and say, Sorry your show got cancelled.

What did you make of the ending?

And they came back and said, Yeah, okay.

Maybe that was wrong.

But I dont feel that with Steven.

Because Steven has a shorter run of episodes, he has more time to keep an overview going.

Quite frankly, I think Stevens a lot smarter than those guys who execute the big American shows.

They seem smart, but I dont think they have the clarity of vision that Steven has.

And I think Steven knew full well where he was taking those big story strands.

Hes been plotting them since the days of David Tennant.

Thats how far ahead hes thinking, putting The Silence in.

And then going into production with Julian and Marcus, and the cast.

It was a joy, I loved it.

Have you talked about doing more?

I havent, no.

But I floated it out there, that Id happily come back.

They seem very, very pleased with the episode, so I hope that theyd consider asking me back.

Finally, then, hows your new show,Eternal Law, coming along?

Ah,Eternal Lawis going great!

I cant believe were three weeks into filming already.

Its too early to say what kind of show its going to be.

Its clearly going to be a very emotional show, and quite dramatic and powerful.

Its not overtly fantasy, but it does have a fantasy vein in it.

Its too early to know quite the full tone is, like we were withLife On Mars.

You cant tell until you see it cut together!

So far, were having a great time on it!

Matthew Graham, thank you very much.