The Impossible Girl: Who IS Clara Oswin Oswald?!?

[Allyn Gibson]

Psion wrote:

---

I just heard a rumor that Peter Jackson will be directing the 50th anniversary special.

He's not. Nick Hurran (director of "The Girl Who Waited") is directing the episode. Jackson will be busy in New Zealand prepping the third filming block of The Hobbit in mid-April (when the Anniversary Special lenses) since filming resumes at the end of May (which is creating a two-month break in Sherlock filming).

[Christopher]

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

---

They're not really hands-on, are they?

I take it you didn't follow my link. I didn't quote the next line, which explained that they don't know what will happen because it hasn't been written yet. So presumably nobody knows that yet. Somehow the audience always seems to assume that the creators of a work of serial fiction have every move plotted out years in advance, but really they might only have the next few months plotted out at any given time -- heck, the producers of a show would be foolish not to keep their options open and be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Matt Smith himself may not have even decided what career path he's going to follow 9 months or a year from now, because he's busy working on more immediate stuff.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Christopher wrote:

---

I take it you didn't follow my link. I didn't quote the next line, which explained that they don't know what will happen because it hasn't been written yet.

That's what I call "not being hands-on". The BBC could have a completely different attitude about it, this being a very expensive and popular show, and ask the showrunner to give them a detailed preview of what to expect in the next couple of months. They choose not to, but they could.

[Professor Zoom]

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

---

That's what I call "not being hands-on". The BBC could have a completely different attitude about it, this being a very expensive and popular show, and ask the showrunner to give them a detailed preview of what to expect in the next couple of months. They choose not to, but they could.

Consider though, what they admit to knowing, or not knowing, in public might not have any reflection to what's going on inside the BBC.

The BBC could be negotiating with Smith right now to continue. Or they already know he's not coming back and they are discussing plans.

A press release isn't some sort of gospel truth.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Professor Zoom wrote:

---

A press release isn't some sort of gospel truth.

Maybe not, but there's a very good reason why press releases are mostly true most of the time: because if they stop being reliable, and are instead filled with lies and fabrications, then journalists will instantly stop using them, quoting from them and acknowledging them, and that's quite a lot of free publicity that's gonna vanish. There is, in my experience, a mutually beneficial gentleman agreement that press releases are trustworthy.

[Professor Zoom]

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

---

Maybe not, but there's a very good reason why press releases are mostly true most of the time: because if they stop being reliable, and are instead filled with lies and fabrications, then journalists will instantly stop using them, quoting from them and acknowledging them, and that's quite a lot of free publicity that's gonna vanish. There is, in my experience, a mutually beneficial gentleman agreement that press releases are trustworthy.

True. That said, there is probably truth in it, they don't know what's going to happen for the Christmas Episode, but it doesn't mean they aren't talking about it behind closed doors.

Why should those sort of discussions be transparent at all times? It could ruin stories, ruin negotiations.

My point is, as there might be some truth in what they say, we, as readers of press releases shouldn't read more into them than is there.

[Psion]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

---

He's not. Nick Hurran (director of "The Girl Who Waited") is directing the episode. Jackson will be busy in New Zealand prepping the third filming block of The Hobbit in mid-April (when the Anniversary Special lenses) since filming resumes at the end of May (which is creating a two-month break in Sherlock filming).

Not according to my sources.

[Christopher]

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

---

That's what I call "not being hands-on". The BBC could have a completely different attitude about it, this being a very expensive and popular show, and ask the showrunner to give them a detailed preview of what to expect in the next couple of months. They choose not to, but they could.

Again, you missed the key part of what I said. The showrunner himself might not know yet either. The decision might not have been made yet at all, by anyone. Like I said, creators don't have everything planned out years in advance. A lot of the time, if they don't have an answer about what's happening in the future, it's not because they're being cagey or deceptive but just because they haven't figured it out yet, because they're too busy dealing with their current workload to have figured out what's happening nine months from now.

Honestly, I don't understand why you hear "We don't know yet" and instantly assume it's untrue. Why is it so hard to believe that the parties involved just haven't reached a firm decision yet? Have you always known exactly what career or relationship choices you were going to make nine months or a year in the future? Haven't you ever been in a position where there were various possibilities you had to consider and were weighing your options before choosing which path to take, or were so busy dealing with more immediate concerns that you had to leave that future decision up in the air?

[The Mirrorball Man]

Christopher wrote:

---

Again, you missed the key part of what I said.

Ironically, so did you, Chris.

Honestly, I don't understand why you hear "We don't know yet" and instantly assume it's untrue.

I don't. I just think - and that's the only thing I've said - that a manager who doesn't expect those who work under his supervision to give him any heads-up on what they have planned in the next couple of months is not particularly "hands-on". In fact, in most businesses, that kind of attitude would be considered spectacularly negligent.

[DWF]

Recently I've come to suspect that Clara's mystery has to do with the anniversary date, since the last two seasons have revolved around a date I think that the case this time as well.

As for what Moffat should know, the Christmas special has been planned so he has to have some kowledge of events up to that point.

[Christopher]

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

---

I just think - and that's the only thing I've said - that a manager who doesn't expect those who work under his supervision to give him any heads-up on what they have planned in the next couple of months is not particularly "hands-on".

But again, you're making the unexamined assumption that they do, in fact, already have something planned, and my point is that they may not. As I said, it isn't that the management hasn't asked -- it's that the producers themselves haven't decided yet, that the script hasn't been written yet, that perhaps Smith hasn't chosen yet one way or the other. It's not about management failing to ask the question, it's about the answer not existing yet.

[The Mirrorball Man]

Christopher wrote:

---

But again, you're making the unexamined assumption that they do, in fact, already have something planned, and my point is that they may not. As I said, it isn't that the management hasn't asked -- it's that the producers themselves haven't decided yet, that the script hasn't been written yet, that perhaps Smith hasn't chosen yet one way or the other. It's not about management failing to ask the question, it's about the answer not existing yet.

I don't know where you've worked and in what capacity, but it's been my observation that in the working world, when the boss says "give me an outline of what you intend to do", the correct answer is "yes, I'll do it right now", and certainly not "oh I haven't thought about it yet, I really have no idea".

[Christopher]

^No, no, you're not getting it. It's not that they haven't thought about it, but maybe they haven't made a final decision yet. There are lots of reasons why they wouldn't be certain yet what's going to happen at the end of the year. They may still be weighing their options. They may just be too busy with finishing the current season. There's a huge, huge difference between not having a decision and not even having thought about it yet. Go back to what I asked before. Have you honestly never in your entire life had a decision coming up in the midrange future that you needed time to figure out? Like, say, which college to attend after high school, or whether you could afford to move to a new apartment when your current lease expired? Really, this isn't that hard to understand.

[Atticus]

Well I'm glad that's all sorted out then. Good job everybody

[DalekJim]

Is Clara absolutely 100% confirmed for Series 8? I've been busy re-reading the Dune series and fighting the snow so am kinda behind.