Doctor Who: Amy & Rory Return in New Scene From Neil Gaiman
Doctor Who companions Rory and Amy have returned in a new short scene written by the legendary Neil Gaiman. Coronavirus may have brought the world to a standstill, but nothing can stop the TARDIS. Doctor Who Magazine's Emily Cook has been organizing mass-rewatch events worldwide, helping fans deal with the stresses of social isolation.
Each global rewatch has been accompanied by a wealth of original content published on social media or the BBC website. So far, highlights have included a short story by Russell T. Davies outlining his original plans for the Time War, an animated retelling of companion Amy Pond's origin story, a Coronavirus message from Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor, and a short story by Steven Moffat tying Whittaker to elements of his era as showrunner. The latest mass-rewatch was the most ambitious to date, with viewers across the world tuning in to enjoy the season 6 episode, "The Doctor's Wife." Writer Neil Gaiman is currently in New Zealand, but he got up at 6.00am his time to join in and tweet along.
In addition, Gaiman penned a short story that serves as an introduction to "The Doctor's Wife." It features the return of Arthur Darvill's Rory Williams, who was last seen left in the 1940s with his beloved wife Amy. Rory is taking advantage of the one smartphone currently in existence, and he's using it to recount his adventures for his son. It also features a brief cameo of sorts from Karen Gillan's Amy Pond as well, proving Rory is still the hen-pecked husband.
The approach is similar to one previously used by Steven Moffat for a Sontaran-themed short story, although frankly it's far more effective. Darvill, of course, is actually recording the message on his own smartphone while at home under lockdown, and no doubt Gillan is just on speaker on another device. The script delivers a lot of laughs, a positive message about how much people can get through, and a delightful reminder of just how complicated life can get when you travel with the Doctor.
All over the world, different fandoms are coming together to help one another get through the Coronavirus pandemic. No fandom has proved quite so resilient as Doctor Who's, and in large part that's due to the organizational ability of Emily Cook. Darvill is the most prominent Doctor Who actor to get involved with the mass rewatches to date, and it will be exciting to see what comes next.