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Doctor Who due a major shake-up as bosses aim for 'brand new show' in 2018

Allyn Gibson said:
But if JNT had left in 1986, effectively so would Baker. Had JNT left, the show would have been over, and he was well aware of that.

I don't believe that Christopher is quite correct when he wrote, "the show left when he did," as JNT remained involved with Doctor Who internally at the BBC beyond 1989 and there were tentative plans for season 27. I think it's more accurate to say that the BBC quietly stopped production on the series while they tried to figure out what to do with the property so as to not have a repeat of the "Cancellation Crisis."
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If I understand correctly, the intention wasn't that when JNT left, the show was done for good. But, rather that there would be a hiatus (a year or so) until new producer could be found. The problem is that there were no other producers chomping at the bit to take over DW. This lead to DW just fading away.

Mr Awe
 
Allyn Gibson said:
I don't believe that Christopher is quite correct when he wrote, "the show left when he did," as JNT remained involved with Doctor Who internally at the BBC beyond 1989 and there were tentative plans for season 27. I think it's more accurate to say that the BBC quietly stopped production on the series while they tried to figure out what to do with the property so as to not have a repeat of the "Cancellation Crisis."
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Ironically, my first impulse was to say "the show left before he did," but then I figured that didn't make sense. I guess it did after all.


Emperor-Tiberius said:
There was a distinct difference in the Davies era however, which I insinuated at with last post. The fact that the narrative was about the Doctor in a post-Time War world, having to adjust and remember how to be the Doctor again in it (even before the Warrior retcon).
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Of course there are differences between any two things that are similar. To say that similarities exist is not to deny that differences also exist. And by the same token, differences do not preclude similarities.

Both the Doctor and the companions have more complex, nuanced personalities and inner conflicts than they had in the original series, by the nature of how TV writing has advanced over the decades. But Davies approached the revival of the show by starting from the companion's point of view and letting the audience learn about the Doctor's turmoil gradually through the companion's eyes as she learned about it too. It's not about whether the Doctor was important or had complexity, it's about whose viewpoint the story was being told from. At the start of the original series, it made sense to tell the story from the perspective of normal humans who gradually learned about this mysterious alien. Since the 2005 revival was going to be new to the majority of its viewers, it was the only logical choice to start over in the same way, to make Rose the central character and only gradually introduce the Doctor and his world through her. (The biggest mistake of the 1996 movie was failing to do the same -- starting with the Doctor and a huge infodump just confused novice viewers.) So both series started with the companions as the main viewpoint characters. But the original series gradually shifted to make the Doctor the viewpoint character, whereas the modern series has largely maintained the companions' centrality, or made it equally about the Doctor and the companion.

That turmoil, which you seemingly disliked but I loved, drove the show for those first five years, until RTD himself run it to the ground with End of Time, allowing Moffat to do with Who whatever he wanted.
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Huh? Where did I say anything suggesting I disliked the turmoil? I'm not talking about my likes or dislikes at all. My point is simply that presenting the show from the companions' POV is not some innovation of Moffat's -- there's precedent both in the Hartnell era and in RTD's tenure.


With Moff, the narrative for the first two and a half years was, really, about Amy Pond and how much she loved to travel with the Doctor.
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Yes, just as the narrative for RTD's first two years was about Rose Tyler and how much she loved to travel with the Doctor. The fact that the Doctor had a character arc too doesn't change that.
 
But it was in addition to the companion arc. My problem is that the Doctor barely has any arc since The Eleventh Hour, sans occassions and the of the Doctor trilogy of specials.
 
Emperor-Tiberius said:
But it was in addition to the companion arc. My problem is that the Doctor barely has any arc since The Eleventh Hour, sans occassions and the of the Doctor trilogy of specials.
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He's had arcs, though they've tended to be more plot-driven than character-driven. His relationship with River is the longest arc he's had. There have been a couple of arcs involving him worrying about his looming/prophesied death, and the one about him trying to erase himself from history, though that one kind of fizzled out. Twelve's first-season arc was about trying to figure out who he was, whether he was a good man or not.
 
A very clumsy, hastily-concluded arc. Nice idea, but just like Twelfth's line about the steering in Time, a frickin' tease.
 
Solid Snack said:
I feel when Moffat leaves, all the poisons that lurk in the mud will hatch out. Like what really happened with Matt Smith, Arthur Darvill and Karen Gillian so long ago in New York. http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016...rvill-goofing-around-on-the-set-of-doctor-who

That is an unacceptable way to treat someone.
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Seems like a typical college-esque prank to me. From your chracterization, I was expecting something far worse than waking up a sleeping (drunken?) person who's passed out in public.
 
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Solid Snack said:
I feel when Moffat leaves, all the poisons that lurk in the mud will hatch out. Like what really happened with Matt Smith, Arthur Evans and Karen Gillian so long ago in New York. http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016...rvill-goofing-around-on-the-set-of-doctor-who

That is an unacceptable way to treat someone.
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Umm, what? There is nothing in that link inappropriate, unacceptable, or worth mentioning. All I see there, are some friends hanging out.

And it's Arthur Darvill, not Evans. Arthur Evans has had nothing to do with Doctor Who. How could he? He died some twenty-two years before the show even started.
 
Saw the trailer for the upcoming special...I hate to be negative BUT...

I'm not feeling it. Been a Whovian for years, Capaldi is my favourite Doctor but Moffat's departure could not come soon enough. I'm also worried that if the rumours of 2017 being Capaldi's final year are true that Moffat may use another Christmas Special (2017) as another regeneration story and deprive us of the drama and gravity involved in saying farewell to a Doctor.
 
Well, it wouldn't be the first time a Doctor's farewell would mirror a showrunner's. What I'd hate is it to become a staple. I don't need a new Doctor with every showrunner change, which is why I oppose the Capaldi recast at this point. He's easily the best element of the Moffat era still standing - everything else just couldn't be dispensed with soon enough, as said by Joel above.
 
And the first thing the new Doctor should do is put Clara back into the alley he plucked her from so she can finish dying. Then take care of Me.
 
Emperor-Tiberius said:
Well, it wouldn't be the first time a Doctor's farewell would mirror a showrunner's. What I'd hate is it to become a staple. I don't need a new Doctor with every showrunner change...
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Yeah, i'd like to see them break with tradition on this (that is, a tradition established as of the Eccleston era) where we see an alternate show runner's take on a Doctor. I still think there's plenty of room for growth with Capaldi's Doctor as Moffat has really only started to scrape the surface of this Doctor's potential. We've seen terrific tonal shifts in 12's personality in his first two years, i'd really like to see him do a full five years.

The only reason I felt that Tennant and Smith left at the right time was because we really only saw one show runner's of those Doctors. But, if there had been a shift in show leadership, there's no telling what could have been. Moffat even asked Tenant if he wanted to stay on an additional year but he declined. Apparently, the intention was for Tennant's regeneration story to see his Doctor crash land in Amy Pond's backyard. Apparently, Ten would die there with Amy caring for a dying Doctor. Interesting idea.
 
Joel said:
I'm not feeling it. Been a Whovian for years, Capaldi is my favourite Doctor but Moffat's departure could not come soon enough. I'm also worried that if the rumours of 2017 being Capaldi's final year are true that Moffat may use another Christmas Special (2017) as another regeneration story and deprive us of the drama and gravity involved in saying farewell to a Doctor.
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In all honesty, I'm going to be very surprised if the 2017 Christmas special isn't Capaldi's finale. Christmas specials are already the highest profile Doctor Who episodes of the year, they get the highest ratings and attract the big name guest stars, and with the 2017 Christmas special already confirmed as being Moffat's finale, there's already going to be some hype attached to it. Couple that with Capaldi's departure, and BBC will have ratings gold. Plus it gives Chibnall a blank slate to work with for the next season.

Despite Capaldi's talk of being undecided about returning for season 11, the facts are, his contract expires next year and he has found the role more physical demanding than he anticipated. This too strongly suggests he'll be leaving sooner rather than later.
Photoman15 said:
And the first thing the new Doctor should do is put Clara back into the alley he plucked her from so she can finish dying. Then take care of Me.
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I'm okay with that storyline being forgotten.
 
The Wormhole said:
I'm okay with that storyline being forgotten.
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Yeah. I really don't like Clara, but I'd rather she was just never heard from again. if they had to use her again, then finally killing her off would be just about the only context I'd like to see her return, but besides that I'm fine with her fate being left a mystery (at least until about a decade from now when Big Finish inevitably gets the rights and hires the actress to do post-Doctor traveling stories :lol: ).
 
The Wormhole said:
Despite Capaldi's talk of being undecided about returning for season 11, the facts are, his contract expires next year and he has found the role more physical demanding than he anticipated.
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According to an interview with him in a preview of the Christmas Special, the knee injury he suffered making the Zygon episodes was part of the reason why there wasn't a series this year.
 
Is it wrong of me to think that's just a convenient excuse? I mean if that's the only reason we didn't get a season this year, you'd think work would have gotten started on the season same as usual. At the very least, writers selected and scripts begun. Yet, IIRC that didn't happen until earlier this year.
 
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