Make Mine Mondas

Series finales are always simultaneously happy and sad.

I thought the MEN bombing would be the worst news that day in late May, but then Dad broke the news his brother died suddenly in a freak accident on their holiday in Greece. Uncle Simon was never far from danger but enjoyed life to the full. Never a dull moment with him.

Is there some kind of law of nature that good times – my recent trip to the TARDIS set – must always be followed by the bad (the stream of bad news and death in the family)? Over the past couple of years they seemed to hit all at once.

In brighter news, I managed to score entry into the Finale Countdown concert at Wales Millennium Centre. It helps to have connections.

It was always a dream to watch an orchestra play in front of Doctor Who in some form. I was fortunate to have my friend Lizzie comfort me with a cwtch immediately after the credits and Next Time trailer rolled. The Q&A with Pearl Mackie and Steven Moffat and performances made the experience all the more special. Hearing A Good Man, Breaking the Wall and Bill’s Theme live were the highlights and they’re among Murray Gold’s best pieces of music.

National Orchestra of Wales

Sarah Dollard (writer of Face the Raven and Thin Ice)

Rachael Talalay

I then geeked out with Steven Moffat and Rachael Talalay – a writer and a director who hit a home run every time they collaborate – about Heaven Sent and a shot that looked almost exactly like the one in my S10 trailer. Take a look!

The Future Needs Us trailer (2016)

Final frames of World Enough and Time (2017)

Essentially I had pre-emptedly made a trailer for this episode.

I do wish I had chatted more with Steven, about Extremis – the point he was making is that we spend so much time online that we’re not really here – and The Pyramid at the End of the World which has some of the best buildup you’ll ever see.

At some point I embraced in a three-way cwtch with Mo and Pearl, which was kind of like this cuddle…

I cannot bear to let go of such an incredible, remarkably close knit cast/crew. To be working on the show with them would’ve been dynamite, but you could say I did from afar. When the end is near, a few days spent with Whovians, Capaldians and my Nana in Wales is good for the heart and soul.

I hope that post-DW the cast get to star in a mixture of indie and mainstream – animation projects CALL ME! – so that they never fade into obscurity. I want more younger viewers to appreciate the Kung fu master of acting that is Peter Dougan Capaldi, and many of them already do which is goood.

Yet the confidence to continue the Sprout Oddity animation production has dipped a little. There’s strong support, sure, but is it going to work out? The goal is to have it premiere along with the yet-to-be-titled Christmas special; it is first and foremost a fan-made film. I’ve been punching up the script for many weeks. Not good enough! Although everyone who has read it are happy with the direction.

It deeply hurts that at time of writing, next week Peter will be done playing the Doctor for television. I wish for a chance to thank him personally for the positive impact his tenure has left on me, and for helping me deal with my shortcomings.

Onscreen when he’s fighting the army of Cybermen, not only do I see him reliving his childhood, I could see him shutting down those trolls that have laid into me, defeating my demons, taking down my fears and that voice that tells me ‘no you can’t’, and helping me push through all the grief of losing family members.

He’s brought me more friends and happiness.

He is the Doctor. The OG you might say.