http://movieplayer.it/articoli/doctor-who-steven-moffat-a-lucca-comics-2015_15104/ Key bit translated. "As for River Song ... well, I was very, very tired, it was the end of the series and I didn’t know if I’d be back for another year, so I wondered what I would do if this was my final episode. I love River, I enjoy writing her, and even Russell has told me for some time that I should bring back River with Capaldi. That's why I brought her in the series, because it could have been the end, because I love to write her, because she has to meet the new Doctor and to play Alex Kingston against Capaldi’s eyebrows." Has he finally completed his transformation into the new JNT; wanting to leave but having to stay because there's no one to replace him?
Even as a fan of Moffat I fail to see how there's no one to replace him if the BBC were so inclined. I can imagine it's a hard and stressful job but there must be any number of writers/producers who'd give their eye teeth for a shot at it.
The difference with Moffat and JNT is that JNT stayed on when NO ONE wanted to handle the show, and the BBC was actively trying to kill it. Don't know what the rationale is with Moffat.
I have wondered for the past two years if the BBC is unsure how to replace Moffat. Even as far back as "Asylum of the Daleks," I said to a friend of mine that I had the suspicion that Moffat may not be replaceable without potentially sinking the series. Far more than RTD ever did, Moffat turned Doctor Who into a heavily arc-based series in the American genre mode (which may be a factor in why Doctor Who's popularity exploded in the United States under Moffat's tenure), and they may worry about the ability of a successor to maintain that. (I don't see any of fandom's favorite successor names being able to accomplish that, to be frank.)
It's possible they just hadn't worked out a way of coordinating production of Who with that of Sherlock, so he figured he might have to step down. Then they came up with a solution. The "tired" bit does sound a tad more like he wasn't sure about staying, though. But at the end of writing the series he was bound to be, and maybe other stuff like this was going on in the background?
I've enjoyed his run immensely, but I do think it's time for someone else to take over. Time to shake things up and introduce some new blood. I think more than likely it'll be Toby Whithouse.
A thought occurs, if Moffat really were seriously contemplating stepping down after the Christmas special, is this why there hasn't been any talk of what is in store for the show next year? Because there was a real possibility Moffat wouldn't have been involved? And now that he is staying around, will this have any kind of bearing on how much longer we have to wait?
There's only one man who can replace Moffat: Lawrence Miles. It's what the people are crying out for. Maybe just me.
I'd argue that the popularity explosion has far more to do with BBC America's efforts (hey, let's air it the same day as the UK, not months later! and let's air ads for it!) than anything Moffat did. Hell, Moffat arguably sabotaged the show's popularity abroad by not being able to keep to a consistent schedule year after year (see the split series 7, and now the likely delay for series 10).
I thought that "Name of the Doctor" served as a perfect goodbye episode for her. It gave her closure, and she was finally able to rest. Bringing her back now, I think, would ruin that.
My feelings, too. The Name of the Doctor was a fine wrap up for that character. Bringing her back smacks of amateur level fanfiction attachment.
Series 10 will be at the absolute most half-over next Christmas. More likely it won't even have started.
Okay, then next year's eastern will do also. No, I admit I don't really follow the news on doctor who. With this franchise I sometimes think they only do something to produce some news.... specials or season 10 or whatever, I'll see.
I have serious misgivings about Moff's judgement, especially considering that he allows Stephen Thompson and Peter Harness to keep writing. Although Toby Whithouse finally wrote a decent pair of episodes this year, so who knows.
You know, the episodes that Moffat writes himself are usually my favorite ones. It's when he hands the scripts over to other people that I often have mixed feelings.
Right. And he's developing poor talent. Right now the only people I'd be happy with as showrunners are Richard Curtis, Neil Gaiman or Mark Gatiss, and none of them will get the job.