Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

According to a report in New Zealand paper The Waikato Times, the likelihood of an episode of Doctor Who helmed by Peter Jackson, as discussed here, may be higher than first thought – if he’s willing to work for a lower fee than usual!

Luther writer Neil Cross, based in Wellington, who is penning a Doctor Who episode for the 2013 season, has said he would love to write a story based in New Zealand, and Who producer Caroline Skinner told the Waikato Times, “It is beyond wonderful that Peter is a fan of the show and it’s beyond flattering that he’d even think about it. I’m absolutely sure that we couldn’t afford him but, you know, we can always negotiate. His enthusiasm is just fantastic of course.”

She pointed out that it couldn’t happen until at least a year after the 50th anniversary next year, but added, “The brilliant thing about Doctor Who is that it’s a show that can take you absolutely anywhere in space and time and at some point I would really love for Doctor Who to take us to New Zealand.”

Cross and Who showrunner Steven Moffat were both in Los Angeles for the Emmys. “Let’s see what those two very brilliant writers come up with whilst they are in LA,” Skinner said. “It won’t be for a while but rest assured that we are thinking about it. The landscapes and just the world of New Zealand is of course phenomenal and many movies are set in your beautiful country. It is also an extremely long way from Cardiff Bay so the logistics and the sheer scale of moving Doctor Who to New Zealand is something that would take an awful lot of planning and time. It’s an enormous thing to move an entire production down there for an episode or two.”

Jackson would not comment further on the story, which can be read here.