Happy thoughts...

[mrph]

So, RTD is supposedly leaving Dr Who at some point soon. And the Daily Mail - which may or may not be wrong - says...

"writer Steven Moffat, who is reportedly taking over as Dr Who's executive producer"

Apparently Moffat has since stated that the Nesbitt aspect of that story is rubbish - without commenting about whether or not the bit about him is true...

Fingers crossed, hmm?

Comments

[mimmimmim.livejournal.com]

Can it possibly undo the damage RTD has already done to Who, though?

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Probably. It's not tied into a long-term story arc that would need to be defused, and it's not as if there haven't been some gems in the previous seasons.

Who's been rubbish before - the Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy days had some real duds - so I'm still hopeful...

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

I hope he is leaving. The last season was atrocious - anyone who has the need to insert banal pop tunes at moments of so-called "high drama" should be taken outside and shot.

[(Anonymous)]

Pff. Better the devils you know, perhaps.
I found the last series watchable enough, enjoying most episodes and failing to despise any of them. But I guess that I am still just about young enough to be quite accepting of experimental direction and new-fangled things.
Of course it is very easy to be elitist after having been brought up on the old stuff, knowing that you could easily do far better, and would have succeeded in reviving the franchise based upon your fan-fiction alone, without any need for a heavyweight like RTD to propel it, but sadly others might be inclined to disagree.
For all that this new stuff might be terrible in places, let us not forget that it has been terribly successful, and has captured the hearts and imaginations of a new generation of fans: the children of today, who have to suffer that terrible misfortune of not having been around in the good old days. Besides those youngsters, there are also the long-suffering wives and girlfriends of many older fans to be included in this bunch too!

It should be asked though, if the last season was atrocious, why do you keep watching?
Doctor Who nowadays will always be somewhat Catch-22, because no show so big can possibly manage to please all of the people all of the time.
It must get quite uncomfortable at times for those of you sitting in the wings of the audience population distribution, but please don't forget that there are masses more sitting comfortably around the peak, enjoying themselves immensely. Spare a thought for them too ;)

In summary: It's a family TV show, so lighten up folks - it might be hard to believe, but many millions of people actually enjoy watching it, the crazy fools! ;)

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

I would have loved something "new and experimental" unfortunately, this was far from new and barely ever experimental.

Fan fiction? Good grief, I think the fanwankers spunked up en-masse when the "Daleks vs. Cybermen" story appeared. It's about that level.

Using straw man arguments doesn't impress - I struggle to watch many of the old stories, including the recent DVD of some atrocity called "Timelash". I'd rather watch Empty child from the new series than most, perhaps all, of the last four years of the "classic" series.

[zarbi.livejournal.com]

I have been also trying to watch 'legacy' Doctor Who and I find it almost unwatchable... often terrible dialogue at a tedious pace. I can remember the combination of suspense and boredom that was much (though by no means all) Doctor Who decades ago. I think RTD has done an amazing job. And as for the last series... how can there be complaints with episodes like 'Blink'?

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

Blink wasn't written by RTD.

[malal.livejournal.com]

RTD has done some very nice bits. Unfortunately he's usually ruined them by pulling Deux Ex Machina out of his arse at the last moment in an amazingly lazy way.

Are we wrong to want Dr Who not to disappoint? There are TV series that are both good and popular. See Heroes for an example.

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

And Life on Mars.

Yes, I agree about RTD - his plotting is virtually non existent and consists of linking action scenes with poorly done exposition and then ending it with deux-ex-machina.

Popularity does not mean quality - let's face it, if public executions started tomorrow we'd be filling stadiums with people watching beheadings/hangings/shootings.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

...ah, but Blink (like Girl in the Fireplace and Empty Child / The Doctor Dances, was actually a Stephen Moffat episode.

One more reason why I'd like to see him take control. More like Blink or more like the RTD's Slitheen episodes and the "video diary" horror of his love and Monsters...

Nope, definitely no complaint about Blink. :)

[livingarmchair.livejournal.com]

Aye, ditto, Blink was great, as was Empty Child and Girl in the Fireplace.

Slitheen. Ugh. Awful.

I'd rather watch Ghostlight.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

As noted, Moffat's not exactly an unknown - he's been responsible for some of the best episodes of the last three seasons...

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

That sounds hopeful, particularly the 'not James Nesbitt' bit - he's one of those actors who irritates me so much that I won't watch anything he's in.

[redcountess]

Oh, rar!