Ho ho ho, faithful reader,here we go again! As regular as a clockwork reindeer, it’s my annual Doctor Who-themed 12 Days of Christmas. I swear, this is the only reason I came back to the show. To write this page! The tradition that will not die. Buckle in folks, it’s quite a sleigh ride, off we go…
Twelve months-a-passing! As I look back on last year’s 12 Days, I’m aware that I was promising you lines and scenes and words from Ncuti’s first episodes… which still haven’t arrived on screen! It takes a long time, this new Whoniverse, doesn’t it? Believe me, it feels quite odd to be shooting next year’s Christmas Special before this year’s has been shown. But now I think the tide is breaking. You should be reading this mid-turbulence, as we reel from Specials to Christmas… and then, if we get it right, it won’t stop. You’ll swing from series, to Christmas, to series, to Christmas, maybe with something extra in there, on and on and on. Always boiling, always bubbling. That’s the plan!
Eleven scenes-a-listing! Scene 11 of Episode 1 of Ncuti’s first season is headed: INT. CONTROL ROOM. The stage directions say, ‘THE DOCTOR and RUBY walk in to find a cool, sleek, metal CONTROL ROOM, full of CONSOLES.’ Why are some words capitalised? It’s for convenience, so the production team can see at a glance who’s in the scene, where they are, what props are needed and whether anyone is ANGRY. But you only capitalise them the first time they’re mentioned, then it’s back to normal. Unless, for emphasis, you want to insist, further down the page, the monsters chase after RUBY! (Which does happen. A lot!)