YAY Doctor Who News

[kirarakim]

Sorry for the abundance of posts today but this was too big not to post

http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=exclusive_neil_gaiman_confirms_doctor

OMFG Neil Gaiman Yes this is equivalent to Douglas Adams writing for the Classic Series for me.

Comments

[everlasting_day]

I'm really, really excited about this. I love his TV work - the 1996 Neverwhere miniseries practically was Doctor Who. If the BBC had actually made Doctor Who in the nineties it would've looked just like that. And of course his Babylon 5 episode was bloody brilliant, too (it's a shame it can't really be watched in isolation, though). I can't wait to see what an actual Doctor Who script by him is going to be like. If it's only a fraction as good as The Sandman (the best thing he's ever done, in my opinion) I'll be ecstatic.

[kirarakim]

I love the Neverwhere novel one of these days I will have to watch the series and read Sandman yes (although that one is a little daunting for me).

I love his novels the best. It's amazing how many things he has done and has done well books, comics, TV, etc. And while I guess you can say he mainly works in the speculative fiction field. He has never done the same thing twice.

[everlasting_day]

The TV series is a lot of fun, and not especially time-consuming, just six 30-minute episodes. I do prefer the book, but the series is still hugely enjoyable (Brian Eno does the music!) and like I say, I loved the Who-isnhness of it all. Door and the Marquis are both practically the Doctor, it's great!

The Sandman is absolutely astonishing. Just... just the best Gaiman thing ever. Ever ever ever. You won't regret it if you read it.

I'm actually a wee bit iffy on some of his books. I loved Neverwhere and Coraline, but the longer ones I found to be a bit heavy-going and slightly sub-Clive Barker-ish, which has lead me to the conclusion that I like Gaiman best when his stories aren't really long (The Sandman may be 70 issues long, but it's more of a collection of stories with recurring characters rather than one huge narrative). I think the only thing by him I actually disliked was probably his screenplay for Beowulf, which was such a bollocks film. His other screenplays have all been fine, though

[kirarakim]

I don't necessarily like everything Gaiman has done either but I think he's interesting because his works are so diverse that even if you dislike one thing there is a good chance you will like something else he's done. I know a lot of people love American Gods but that book just never did it for me

But yeah I love Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere and I enjoy Good Omens & Star Dust. Eventually I will probably check out Sandman.

I also just like his personality a lot. He's just very fan friendly & open and I have a lot of respect for him.

[everlasting_day]

Yeah, I absolutely agree. I didn't really care much for American Gods (or Anansi Boys) either, but I certainly didn't hate it. Ultimately it just left me thinking "if I want to read a Clive Barker book, I'll read a Clive Barker book" - so I did. >_>

I need to read The Graveyard Book, it looks quite fab. The version with Dave McKean art, because he's amazing. Have you seen the movie Mirrormask, which he designed and directed and Gaiman wrote?

[kirarakim]

Graveyard Book is excellent. I definitely recommend it.

And no I have not seen that. It sounds interesting though I will have to look into it. :)

[everlasting_day]

Awesome, I'll have to nab it with my birthday money when my birthday comes around in a few weeks.

Ah well, when I was referring to his other screenplays being good, I definitely had Mirrormask in mind. It's rather fab - it looks like no other movie you've ever seen and is very strange and awesome. It's a bit too dark and downright weird (even arty, at times) for kids, it feels a lot like a children's movie aimed squarely at adults, if that makes any sense. I adore the main character, she's wonderful.

[kirarakim]

Yeah I am definitely most familiar with his novels and I have not really delved into much else he's done. I totally should though. :)

I did see the short he directed recently...Statuesque I believe it was called.