Few topics in Doctor Who fandom are as hotly debated as the one of “Who Should Or Shouldn’t Be Writing For Doctor Who.” There have always been divided opinions, arguments, flame wars directed towards showrunners and their choices, possibly even bar-room brawls and Mexican stand-offs. It’s certainly something many feel quite strongly about.

Here are five writers that really should be writing Doctor Who already.

Philip Pullman

The author of the acclaimed His Dark Materials series of books, Pullman’s imagination and skill at building a unique-yet-familiar world is something to behold. These novels are pitched at teenagers and young adults, but are much darker, more complex, and more grown-up than the Harry Potter books.

Also, as his Sally Lockhart series shows, he can write a cracking period thriller too. The screen adaptation of The Golden Compass unfortunately doesn’t really do Pullman’s vision justice, but the BBC’s version of The Ruby in the Smoke starring Billie Piper and a young Matt Smith is excellent, so maybe, one day, schedules permitting, Pullman could be persuaded to write for Doctor Who and give us something special.

Charlie Brooker

Columnist, broadcaster, scriptwriter, and self-confessed long time Doctor Who fan Charlie Brooker produces adult sci-fi/horror with strong themes, chock-full of heart-in-mouth moments, as seen in Dead Set and Black Mirror.

The former puts a darker spin on the Big Brother House shenanigans that Russell T. Davies gave us in Bad Wolf, the latter is the spiritual heir to Out of the Unknown and the stand-alone Nigel Kneale plays of the 60s and 70s. His shows are shot full of insight, heart, black humour, and scares, Charlie Brooker is a natural for Doctor Who. If you asked him to do it, he might go for it.

Let’s get the ball rolling. I’m tweeting this to him. Or we could start a petition. Let’s make this happen, people.

Howard Overman

Why Howard Overman isn’t writing Doctor Who is perhaps the biggest mystery. He created Misfits, which during its run transcended the ‘Skins with Superpowers’ tag it was labeled with early on to become something truly unique. True, the sex, drugs, swearing, bleak setting, nihilism, and a lot of the gore wouldn’t translate, but Overman tells a damn good story, with superpowers and cliffhangers, and time travel….

In addition to this he’s currently overseeing BBC1’s Atlantis, a family fantasy adventure series which occupies the Beeb’s Saturday ‘Doctor Who slot’ when Doctor Who isn’t on, and has previously scripted several episodes of the show’s predecessor Merlin, as well as the BBC’s short-lived adaptation of Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently.

In all of these, particularly his sublimely creepy Merlin script The Death Song of Uther Pendragon, Howard Overman tells a great story, sometimes funny, sometimes scary in 45 minutes. Steven, please give this man a job.

P.J. Hammond

Best known for creating Sapphire and Steel in the 1970s, veteran writer Peter J. (or P.J. depending on the mood) Hammond also wrote two standout episodes for Torchwood a few years ago. Hammond has form with Doctor Who, having submitted Paradise Five as an outline in the 1980s, only for John Nathan-Turner to reject it.

His Torchwood episodes deal respectively with sinister, insidious fairies at the bottom of a little girl’s garden, and those creepy passing shows that used to pitch up from town to town.

Both draw brilliantly on English folk memory, and combine emotion with scares. The concept of the Ghostmaker disappearing from a reel of film is so Doctor Who it hurts.

Jane Espenson

Doctor Who, let’s be frank, needs more female writers and directors. Preferably both at the same time if you can, look at how good 1983’s Enlightenment (writer: Barbara Clegg, director: Fiona Cumming) is. There are many, many very talented female British writers out there, but the women who write Who are more frequently found in literature, such as Kate Orman, Lloyd Rose, and Jacqueline Rayner. High profile authors like Cecilia Ahern and Jenny Colgan have also both recently written for the current BBC book range.

But if you want a TV scriptwriter who probably knows more about Sci-Fi than you do, here she is.

It’s quicker to make a list of the cult TV that American writer Jane Espenson hasn’t written for. Prolific isn’t the word. She’s written or co-written some of the finest episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not to mention Angel, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Warehouse 13, Torchwood: Miracle Day (with Russell T. Davies), and Game of Thrones.

Perhaps her greatest skill is that of the deadly pro, a good writer who starts work on a series, absorbs its tone, and seamlessly fits in with whatever show she’s working on, especially in her work with Joss Whedon. She can write something as funny as Buffy‘s Band Candy, or a particularly gory death scene for Game of Thrones, and make either look effortless.

For a show like Doctor Who, which can veer all over the piste in tone, here is someone who would give Who the good ideas, good construction, pace, and consistency that arguably go missing sometimes when the writer changes every week.