Russell T. Davies Returns to Doctor Who as New Showrunner

[Steve Roby]

Personally it's a plus for me no matter if it's RTD or Moffet as i don't watch the Chibnall era, so i will be going from no Who to some Who, so that is a gain right there.

I found a lot about the Moffat era annoying as hell but I kept watching. I liked him better as the guy who wrote episodes while RTD ran the show than as the guy who ran the show. I've said this before, probably in this thread, but: while Chibnall hasn't done much yet in his reign that compares to the best of what came before, he also hasn't come near the worst of it. It's been, at worst, blandly, earnestly competent instead of smugly convinced of its own self-proclaimed cleverness. And after all of Moffat's goofy arcs that was a relief. As for Flux, I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I think I'll need to see the whole thing and maybe give it a rewatch before I know what I think of it. It is, at least, different from Chibnall's previous seasons.

Anyway, I suspect a fair number of people who are saying things like the quote above are going to be the first to be appalled by what RTD has in mind. It's not likely to be Nine or Ten redux.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

...It's been, at worst, blandly, earnestly competent instead of smugly convinced of its own self-proclaimed cleverness. .

Moffat had some great highs, but many episodes I just don't want to watch because they're actually annoying about how clever they appear to present themselves. It's a tough trade between many episodes being like that, or having entire seasons be, 'well that wasn't so terrible.'

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I do prefer when the show is about the Doctor exploring a mystery rather than exploring the mystery of the Doctor.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I found a lot about the Moffat era annoying as hell but I kept watching. I liked him better as the guy who wrote episodes while RTD ran the show than as the guy who ran the show. I've said this before, probably in this thread, but: while Chibnall hasn't done much yet in his reign that compares to the best of what came before, he also hasn't come near the worst of it. It's been, at worst, blandly, earnestly competent instead of smugly convinced of its own self-proclaimed cleverness. And after all of Moffat's goofy arcs that was a relief. As for Flux, I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I think I'll need to see the whole thing and maybe give it a rewatch before I know what I think of it. It is, at least, different from Chibnall's previous seasons.

Anyway, I suspect a fair number of people who are saying things like the quote above are going to be the first to be appalled by what RTD has in mind. It's not likely to be Nine or Ten redux.

With the experience and knowledge RTD gained from his previous running of the show i have now worries about him taking over again, he is going to give us some great Who.

 

[Jedman67]

Good I won't miss the console room from this era!

Hoping to see something like the reinvented "classic" console room seen throughout the latest run.

I found a lot about the Moffat era annoying as hell but I kept watching. I liked him better as the guy who wrote episodes while RTD ran the show than as the guy who ran the show. I've said this before, probably in this thread, but: while Chibnall hasn't done much yet in his reign that compares to the best of what came before, he also hasn't come near the worst of it. It's been, at worst, blandly, earnestly competent instead of smugly convinced of its own self-proclaimed cleverness. And after all of Moffat's goofy arcs that was a relief. As for Flux, I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I think I'll need to see the whole thing and maybe give it a rewatch before I know what I think of it. It is, at least, different from Chibnall's previous seasons.

Whelp, you took the words right out of my mouth lol.
SM was a great writer within the bounds of RTD's show. In fact, I hope RTD brings him back for a few episodes.
As a showrunner, he seemed to be more into exploring the "clever old man" of the Doctor but I think, and a lot of people agree, that it kinda backfired a bit.
Basically, RUN! stands as one of my favorite Doctor lines, from the 11th Hour.

I do hope they bring back Gallifrey though.

Anyway, I suspect a fair number of people who are saying things like the quote above are going to be the first to be appalled by what RTD has in mind. It's not likely to be Nine or Ten redux.

I kinda hope he goes back to the best of Hartnell and Baker and brings us a new Doctor from that.

 

[Jax]

Moffat and RTD wrote Doctor Who and wrote it bloody well. Meanwhile Chris has spent his entire tenure trying to write some sort of spinoff to Doctor Who.

 

[Mr Awe]

I found a lot about the Moffat era annoying as hell but I kept watching. I liked him better as the guy who wrote episodes while RTD ran the show than as the guy who ran the show. I've said this before, probably in this thread, but: while Chibnall hasn't done much yet in his reign that compares to the best of what came before, he also hasn't come near the worst of it. It's been, at worst, blandly, earnestly competent instead of smugly convinced of its own self-proclaimed cleverness. And after all of Moffat's goofy arcs that was a relief. As for Flux, I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I think I'll need to see the whole thing and maybe give it a rewatch before I know what I think of it. It is, at least, different from Chibnall's previous seasons.

Anyway, I suspect a fair number of people who are saying things like the quote above are going to be the first to be appalled by what RTD has in mind. It's not likely to be Nine or Ten redux.

When I rewatched the entirety of RTD's and Moffat's eras recently for the first time in quite awhile, I was impressed with how solid both were. They both managed to maintain a high overall quality. Sure, there were exceptions, but they were the exceptions!

I slightly prefer Moffat's era but both were top notch!

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Moffat and RTD wrote Doctor Who and wrote it bloody well. Meanwhile Chris has spent his entire tenure trying to write some sort of spinoff to Doctor Who.

Ah, revisionist history at its finest.

Don't get me started with all of the cruddy shit Davies did. And I know lots of people hated how bonkers and self-indulgent Moffat got. Chibnall has his own eccentricities but no worse than the other two.

 

[Starkers]

It's like Next Gen, people cite it as a seminal show but a good third of the episodes were genuinely terrible (luckily a third of the episodes were phenomenal).

Davies' Who routinely annoyed me. The loud brashness of it, the mawkishness and giggling school-girlishness of Ten and Rose, Murray Gold constantly telling me how to feel rather than letting the actors performances and the script do that. No version of Who has made me want to throw things at the telly more than RTD's...but I loved it (mostly). I'll always be more team Moffat but yes he did get a tad self indulgent, a bit too clever for his own good (though conversely everyone moans about River being Amy and Rory's daughter being obvious and the use of the Teselecta being obvious as well so the guy can't win with some people).

People do forget how samey RTD's Who got by the end of his tenure. Every season followed the same pattern and I do think if he'd carried on beyond series 4 this would have become ever more apparent. By contrast with Moff you never quite knew what was coming next (and I realise for some people the generic-ness of RTD Who was part of the appeal, it was comforting, while for others the chaos of Moffat's run was annoying, so tomatoes/tomatoes.)

But. And it's a big but. Both RTD and Moffat had a vision, a style, a concept of what Doctor Who should be. For me that's where Chibnall falls down because I've never got that feeling about his run.

It will be very interesting to see what RTD Who Mk II is like. I think he's grown as a writer and I think he understands the landscape has changed, so anyone expecting a straight replay of 2005-2010 might be disappointed.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

People do forget how samey RTD's Who got by the end of his tenure. Every season followed the same pattern and I do think if he'd carried on beyond series 4 this would have become ever more apparent. By contrast with Moff you never quite knew what was coming next (and I realise for some people the generic-ness of RTD Who was part of the appeal, it was comforting, while for others the chaos of Moffat's run was annoying, so tomatoes/tomatoes.)

I largely agree which is funny considering series 4 is by far my favorite of his tenure. Yeah, the series structure is very predictable but I loved all of the individual episodes far more (with the sole exception of "The Doctor's Daughter"). Also helps that Donna was by far the best companion of that era and not just because she wasn't swooning at or carrying a torch for The Doctor all the time.

 

[Starkers]

Oh God was Donna ever a breath of fresh air!

 

[The Wormhole]

SM was a great writer within the bounds of RTD's show. In fact, I hope RTD brings him back for a few episodes.

Moffat has said he's finished with Doctor Who, but then again, so did RTD, and now look where we are. Still, Moffat is currently working on a new show of his own, which makes it less likely he's returning to Doctor Who anytime soon, even if just to write one episode.

I do hope they bring back Gallifrey though.

As it was RTD's idea to remove Gallifrey and the Time Lords from the show, I don't expect them to come back.

 

[Starkers]

Never say never. I wouldn't be surprised if Moffat wrote an episode for a future series. But I also wouldn't be surprised if he never wrote for Who again. I think even if he did come back it'd be a one off or very irregular appearance.

He's probably earned a rest. He did write at least one episode for every series of Doctor Who 1-10 after all!

 

[Jedman67]

Ah, revisionist history at its finest.

Don't get me started with all of the cruddy shit Davies did. And I know lots of people hated how bonkers and self-indulgent Moffat got. Chibnall has his own eccentricities but no worse than the other two.

As stated above, they both had issues. I think RTD wrote too many episodes himself, as did SM when he was in charge. I think S1 was one of the best because it was so new it was a breath of fresh air. S3 was much like S2, sure there were a few standouts but those tended to be written by others.
I skipped half the remaining episodes of Capaldi after the cybermen showed up. I just didn't have the patience for them. Then Moffat throws Hell Bent/Heaven Sent at us and I could forgive him for the mediocre episodes.
With Jodie; i just got bored after the first few. The writing wasn't captivating. The quality went from "generally good" to "generally mediocre" and the new Master just didn't make sense. I'm certainly not going to watch Flux, because I just am not interested.

Moffat has said he's finished with Doctor Who, but then again, so did RTD, and now look where we are. Still, Moffat is currently working on a new show of his own, which makes it less likely he's returning to Doctor Who anytime soon, even if just to write one episode.

As it was RTD's idea to remove Gallifrey and the Time Lords from the show, I don't expect them to come back.

I don't think we need to see Gallifrey every other week I just want the continuity from the 13th Doctor to be reverted lol.

With Moffat, who knows. If something interests him he"ll be on board.

 

[Jax]

Ah, revisionist history at its finest.

Don't get me started with all of the cruddy shit Davies did. And I know lots of people hated how bonkers and self-indulgent Moffat got. Chibnall has his own eccentricities but no worse than the other two.

"I know lots of people" being like 12 people. The ratings would indicate people preferred them and really no worse...

Chris has literally changed the entire origin of the main character and the show itself with that bastard of a season finale that split the base far more than anything RTD or Moffat did.

 

[Sketcher]

Doctor Who is like a comic book, change as much as you want (The Doctor being half human, The Other, the Timeless Child, or the Master turning good(ish), or Gallifrey being destroyed) it all reverts to the status quo of an eccentric alien traveller having adventures.

Do I hate what Chibnall did? Not really. He pretty much brought back the Who in Doctor Who. The mystery of the title character wasn't there anymore by Season 10. There are only so many times new companions can react in awe to the Doctor announcing they're an alien, or the Tardis being bigger on the inside without the audience starting to be like "Yeah, we know".

I don't think it's a perfect storyline or storytelling at all, but it's been interesting, and like I said it'll more than likely be back to status quo for RTD's second run, followed by whatever changes he decides implement, and rinse and repeat.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Chris has literally changed the entire origin of the main character and the show itself with that bastard of a season finale that split the base far more than anything RTD or Moffat did.

Then you weren't paying attention during their tenures. Fandom was split about the Time War and River Song's parentage just as much as being half human and The Other and now the Timeless Child. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The hate Chibnall gets is no different than what Davies and Moffat and JNT all got. It only feels more intense now because it's, well, now.

 

[The Wormhole]

Yep, and like I've previously said, once RTD is back fandom will hate him once again and will suddenly start pining for the "good old days" when Chibnall was in charge. Nature of the fandom, really.

 

[Mr Awe]

For me it feels different. While I think both RTD and Moffat left at good times because there were aspects that got old after a number of years, I do look back at both their times fondly overall. I don't think I'll ever be pining for the Chibnall era. To me, there's a definite gap between Chibnall and RTD/Moffat. YMMV.

Now, that's not to say I won't become tired of RTD's old ways again if he reverts to those. That is a potential risk. However, I watched The Sarah Jane Adventures for the first time ever in the past several years, and thought it was wonderful. It didn't seem like his DW stuff much at all. Of course, he didn't write many episodes, mostly overseeing it.

I'm hoping that's his model going forward.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Yep, and like I've previously said, once RTD is back fandom will hate him once again and will suddenly start pining for the "good old days" when Chibnall was in charge. Nature of the fandom, really.

Yes, the "good ol' days" of Ryan being emotionless and drier than a brick wall, Graham being annoying but with no point, and Yaz desperately trying to fit into every series' narrative but never quite successfully so", and also the good ol' days of Kerblam-like industry promotion and Rosa-esque fake liberalism.

And the humor! Don't forget about plentiful jokes that we never got! You want a funny DW? Not under Chibnall's watch!

The good ol' days!