Spoilers: writer Peter Harness chats to us about The Zygon Invasion, The Zygon Inversion and Doctor Who…
The weekend just gone sawThe Zygon Inversionscreen on BBC One, penned by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat.
He spared us some time for a spoiler-y chat about writing,Doctor Who, and taking risks…
I remember talking to James Moran around the time he wroteThe Fires Of PompeiiforDoctor Who.
He recalled that when he wrote that episode, Russell T Davies gave him some particular ingredients.
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How does Steven Moffat work?
What kind of brief did you get for your Zygon two-parter?
So Dinosaurs On A Spaceship or Journey to the Centre Of The TARDIS.
And something goes wrong with the peace treaty, a murder happens, and the peace treaty breaks down.
Then I went off and thought up a story around it.
Thats what my experience has been around it so far!
Steven Moffat pulls you aside at aDeep Breathscreening, and asks you to write a Zygon episode?
Tell us about that moment!
I suppose it didnt really sink in for a while!
I didnt go away and get really excited about it.
I went away and thought how the hell am I going to do this then?
I love the Zygons, and I think its clear now that theyre one of the series best monsters.
Its remarkable that they havent been brought back more…
But helpful to you?
I suppose so, yes!
But why were they not back the year after, and every four or five years since?
I think theyve got much more mileage in them.
Not necessarily coming back every year, but Id love to see them back again.
But its what I do with everything how am I going to make this into a good story?
Doing a sequel toTerror Of The ZygonsandDay Of The Doctor.
Was it always mooted as a two parter, this one?
Theyd always thought about this series as a series of two parters.
Across both, theres so much in them that you want to say, too.
Is that how you work?
Obviously I did want to write about these things.
Id be being disingenuous if I said I didnt want to.
Theyre a kind of minority of a minority.
There are only 20 million Zygons in the world, like Clara says, against 7 billion people.
And there is a section amongst that who are interested in making wars.
So they would probably have to fight a war in the ways that we tend to see nowadays.
But then you start thinking, what are the best psychological weapons of shapeshifters?
They can turn into your family, and do things like that.
Ive been following the news, and I was keen to write something about it.
But I didnt approach it from that way.
Because I also dont believe in telling people what to think.
I think certainly in this andKill The Moon, I tried not to read too many things about it.
I dont believe that drama, or art, is there to provide answers.
Was there any film or show that was a touchpoint for you in particular?
PlayingAmazing Grace, the Doctor sitting like Robert Duvall at the beginning.
I really love that movie!
Also,The Diving BellAnd The Butterflywas in my mind when I wrote the Clara sequences in part two.
Youve hit this a few times, withJonathan Strange & Mr Norrellas well.
Do you fight that, though?
I think if theyre dismissive and sneery theyre idiots, really.
Firstly, I dont buy the argument that sci-fi and fantasy shouldnt cover these sort of things.
Primarily, of course, they have to be entertaining and about telling good stories.
The great thing about sci-fi and fantasy working in that way is that you dont have to be specific.
You dont have to be specific about certain conflicts, and certain factions.
And we all took different things from your Zygon stories.
Furthermore, there are things waiting to be discovered on a rewatch, too.
You seem to work very hard to ensure your writing is layered, and not disposable.
Can you talk about how important that is to you, not least within the context ofDoctor Who?
Its very important to me.
And as you know,Doctor Whois watched on various levels, as Tom Baker said.
But thats one of the best things about writingDoctor Who.
That you’ve got the option to push it as far as itll go I think.
I suppose that these episodes that Ive done obviously have pushed too far for some people.
But I think that every episode ofDoctor Whoshould push whereDoctor Whocan go.
I dont have space for people who say but this isntDoctor Who?.
No episode ofDoctor WhoisDoctor Who.
And keep on pushing it.
And you should be able to surprise yourself and surprise the audience.
And something a seven year old can be challenged and excited by.
And something that wont bore the grown ups.
We have to talk about the Doctors monologue towards the end of the episode.
Whos going to make the violins.
Thats the line that made one of my children sit up and question.
That speech was originally going to be a lot longer!
What are you going to eat?
Are you going to eat beetroot?
Whos going to grow the beetroot?!
Will your brave new world consist of massive fields of beetroot?!
That was a long speech!
We had estate agents in it at one point, travel agents.
It went on for pages and pages!
The last third of anything these days seems to be a big punch up more often than not.
Was there a eureka moment to getting it right?
No, I dont think so.
And also, Im still quite nervous about the second episode.
The first episode is very gettable as far as I can see.
You start with a premise and aim it at a cliffhanger.
The second one hinges on a very long almost-monologue.
I believe that they will.
Theyre a genuine collaboration, with both of us working towards the same goal.
Theyre not interested in being afraid, theyre interested in taking risks and pushing things.
You said youre nervous as to howThe Zygon Inversionwill be received.
Does the reaction matter to you?
I suppose it is!
Im not writing things that I hope will alienate people or piss people off.
At first, its going to be too much change, or too different.
I guess that would mean that I was doing my job properly.
But its just I feel Im on less steady ground.
But its good to be nervous about things, to be uncertain whether youre on shaky ground or not.
If you feel secure, then youre probably not experimenting, or doing anything new.
How many risks should they take, how much should they put themselves out there?
How much is right to put on the line when youre trying to put together a piece of writing?
Both in terms of yourself as a person, or your own securities?
I think if youre a writer youve got to be taking risks all the time.
Youve got to do things that feel risky.
Because you oughta access things, and you oughta be able to excavate them.
Sometimes, thats necessarily a public thing.
I wouldnt in any way advocate people not doing that for fear of the reprisals they get.
But I think you have to do that again.
Its the accommodation that you make with yourself and what you do, and the reaction that it gets.
Work out why you do it in the first place.
In which case youre always going to be disappointed.
What about feedback and reviews?
Usually from people in the most unexpected places!
I thought that was lovely, that Id managed to engage the imagination of children.
A belief that things are not necessarily always as they are.
Because of course it is ridiculous, but its also imaginative and beautiful too!
But theres still an inherent fear in writing for a living.
But its part of being a writer.
Whatever you do with your name on it is a lot braver than whatever somebody says anonymously.
Where are you now, then?
Whats next, and what are you looking to tackle?
Ive had a couple of months off recently, which felt very good.
It felt like Ive been long overdue a break.
I suppose Ive been thinking about what Id like to do next.
Ive got a couple of original series in development, and Ive got a couple of adaptations going.
Ive also got two or three ideas for one-offs that Id love to do.
And of course Id love to do moreDoctor Whoif theyd want me back!
Peter Harness, thank you very much!
