I have been rather frustrated and perplexed of late seeing all of the criticism of RTD and his time as head writer for DW coming from so many Who fans, not just on this site, but others as well. Yet these same fans talk about Moffatt as though he is the best thing to ever happen to DW, and are convinced that the direction he is taking the show is vastly superior to the RTD era. I just don't get it!
Personally I think we who are fans of DW owe RTD a debt of gratitude for bring the show back in such a big way, and making it so successful. Granted some of his stories could get a little over-the-top and fanboyish at times, but then again I rather liked that about him. I see him as being to DW what Peter Jackson was to the Lord of the Rings films. Peter Jackson was very much a true fan of Tolkien's work and as such was committed to staying as true to the books as possible and to making movies that would love up to, and exceed, fans' expectations and honor Tolkien's original vision. So too RTD was all about making Doctor Who for its fans. He was always looking for the kinds of stories that he knew DW fans enjoy seeing...such as Daleks fighting Cybermen. He brought heart and soul to DW. He gave us characters that were fun, likeable and dimensional, with families and friends and jobs...in other words, more to their lives then just what was happening on the TARDIS. RTD's stories might not have been overly complex, and at times were a little predictable, but so what, they were fun, exciting (with often just the right amount of suspense/creepiness), and emotionally satisfying.
By contrast, I haven't been nearly as impressed since Moffatt took over the show last year. I have nothing against Moffatt, per say. In fact, he wrote some of my all-time favorite episodes during the RTD years. But now that he is in charge of the overall direction of DW, something very important seems to be sadly lacking. Part of it has to do with the new cast. They rely way too much on zippy one-liners and slapstick antics to get laughs for my taste. To me, they seem excessively silly most of the time, one-dimensional and generally uninteresting. Even the best story fails when you can't relate to the characters and don't really care what happens to them. But even the characters aside, I didn't find most of the stories (with a one or two notable exceptions) last season or so far this season to be all that compelling or well written. The story arcs thus far may seem fairly complex on the surface, but in truth they are actually fairly small stories trying to be far more than they really are by using a lot of hype and cheap gimmicks (i.e. all of the Doctor's adversaries showing up in the last 5 minutes of "The Pandorica Opens" for absolutely no reason, or filming parts of "The Impossible Astronaut" in the middle-of-nowhere Utah.), and with a lot of not-so-subtle clues that have very little payoff once the mystery is finally revealed. As for the stand-alone episodes most of them have either been somewhat boring or haven been filled with lots errors and glaring plot holes.
So anyway, can someone please explain to me what exactly it is that RTD did so wrong to earn him so much criticism, and what it is that Moffatt is doing that is so much better that makes everyone think that he is such a superior head writer?
Personally I think we who are fans of DW owe RTD a debt of gratitude for bring the show back in such a big way, and making it so successful. Granted some of his stories could get a little over-the-top and fanboyish at times, but then again I rather liked that about him. I see him as being to DW what Peter Jackson was to the Lord of the Rings films. Peter Jackson was very much a true fan of Tolkien's work and as such was committed to staying as true to the books as possible and to making movies that would love up to, and exceed, fans' expectations and honor Tolkien's original vision. So too RTD was all about making Doctor Who for its fans. He was always looking for the kinds of stories that he knew DW fans enjoy seeing...such as Daleks fighting Cybermen. He brought heart and soul to DW. He gave us characters that were fun, likeable and dimensional, with families and friends and jobs...in other words, more to their lives then just what was happening on the TARDIS. RTD's stories might not have been overly complex, and at times were a little predictable, but so what, they were fun, exciting (with often just the right amount of suspense/creepiness), and emotionally satisfying.
By contrast, I haven't been nearly as impressed since Moffatt took over the show last year. I have nothing against Moffatt, per say. In fact, he wrote some of my all-time favorite episodes during the RTD years. But now that he is in charge of the overall direction of DW, something very important seems to be sadly lacking. Part of it has to do with the new cast. They rely way too much on zippy one-liners and slapstick antics to get laughs for my taste. To me, they seem excessively silly most of the time, one-dimensional and generally uninteresting. Even the best story fails when you can't relate to the characters and don't really care what happens to them. But even the characters aside, I didn't find most of the stories (with a one or two notable exceptions) last season or so far this season to be all that compelling or well written. The story arcs thus far may seem fairly complex on the surface, but in truth they are actually fairly small stories trying to be far more than they really are by using a lot of hype and cheap gimmicks (i.e. all of the Doctor's adversaries showing up in the last 5 minutes of "The Pandorica Opens" for absolutely no reason, or filming parts of "The Impossible Astronaut" in the middle-of-nowhere Utah.), and with a lot of not-so-subtle clues that have very little payoff once the mystery is finally revealed. As for the stand-alone episodes most of them have either been somewhat boring or haven been filled with lots errors and glaring plot holes.
So anyway, can someone please explain to me what exactly it is that RTD did so wrong to earn him so much criticism, and what it is that Moffatt is doing that is so much better that makes everyone think that he is such a superior head writer?
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