Steven Moffat - PR Nightmare

[TJ Sinclair]

Getting back to the idea of who could succeed Moffat... what about Toby Whithouse? I'm surprised I haven't seen more support for him from Whovians. He has experience as showrunner and head writer (the excellent Being Human), and has written some great episodes of NuWho. In fact, I much prefer his writing over that of Gatiss.

 

[Mr Light]

Of every episode he's written, the only one I liked was "School Reunion".

 

[TJ Sinclair]

Of every episode he's written, the only one I liked was "School Reunion".

Fair enough, and that is his best, but I appreciate a bit of the creepy vibe now and then. I liked The God Complex, Vampires of Venice has its moments, and by this season's standards Under the Lake and Before the Flood are among the better ones. The only one I truly found disappointing was A Town Called Mercy, and that has more to do with execution than concept.

Compare with Gatiss, whose only episodes of Who I remotely like are The Unquiet Dead and Cold War. Whereas, his Idiot's Lantern, Crimson Horror, Robot of Sherwood and Sleep No More are some of the worst of their respective series.

ETA: I also really don't get the love for Chris Chibnall... the only episodes of his I've really liked are The Power of Three, and the Pond Life minisodes. Heck, I'd rather have Gareth Roberts take over.

 

[The Wormhole]

Getting back to the idea of who could succeed Moffat... what about Toby Whithouse? I'm surprised I haven't seen more support for him from Whovians. He has experience as showrunner and head writer (the excellent Being Human), and has written some great episodes of NuWho. In fact, I much prefer his writing over that of Gatiss.

Toby Whithouse would be a great choice. Most of his episodes are excellent, and if anything the presence of less stellar ones is kind of comforting, knowing he isn't perfect won't set unrealistically high expectations we know he can't meet.

Unfortunately, if you believe the rumour mill, he's already turned down an offer from the BBC to take over from Moffat.

 

[JRoss]

What about David A. McIntee? I'm serious.

 

[TJ Sinclair]

What about David A. McIntee? I'm serious.

While David's a very nice bloke, I think his lack of experience in writing for/working in television would preclude him from helming one of BBC's flagship series. There's far more that goes into the job than just writing stories.

 

[Lonemagpie]

What about David A. McIntee? I'm serious.

While David's a very nice bloke, I think his lack of experience in writing for/working in television would preclude him from helming one of BBC's flagship series. There's far more that goes into the job than just writing stories.

Indeed - it's hard to take such a suggestion seriously! (However flattering)

And, TBH, if the BBC phoned me up and said "Dave, do you want to come and do some Dr Who?" my first dream would be to direct an episode, and my second would be to play a monster in it..."

And, bluntly, since taking any full-time job on the show would mean moving to Cardiff, away from the wife and cats, I'd turn it down- if I was going to be showrunner, I'd rather it be my own show... (and, yes, there is a thing I want to do as a TV series someday)

That said, I'd love to come back and write a Nu Who novel, since there are now, what, four Doctors that I haven't written for...

 

[Blamo]

if I was going to be showrunner, I'd rather it be my own show... (and, yes, there is a thing I want to do as a TV series someday)

I suspect that's probably the same reason a lot of potential showrunners don't take the job and why Moffat is having a hard time finding a replacement.

 

[JRoss]

Is it really that bad in Wales?

 

[Professor Zoom]

Is it really that bad in Wales?

I imagine it is an extremely challenging job--with the high chance, even if you are doing a great job, of people hating everything you do with a beloved character. Including sending death threats.

I can't imagine many people would want to step into that.

 

[The Wormhole]

Is it really that bad in Wales?

Wales isn't really a bad place, making fun of it is just what people in Britain do. Like the Southern States in the US or Newfoundland in Canada. Just harmless regional humour. Hell, most of the jokes about Wales or Cardiff were in RTD's day, and he's a proud native Welshman. Just like since Moffat took over the show has really increased the jokes about Scotland or Scottish people.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

The combined brains of Capaldi, Moffat and Gatiss entered a Doctor Who Quiz held in Australia
.
.
.
They came in third....

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-11-23/the-awkward-moment-when-peter-capaldi-steven-moffat-and-mark-gatiss-came-third-in-a-doctor-who-pub-quiz

They called themselves "The time wasters"

I still want to see a Doctor Who trivia showdown between Capaldi & Tennant!

Of every episode he's written, the only one I liked was "School Reunion".

Fair enough, and that is his best, but I appreciate a bit of the creepy vibe now and then. I liked The God Complex, Vampires of Venice has its moments, and by this season's standards Under the Lake and Before the Flood are among the better ones. The only one I truly found disappointing was A Town Called Mercy, and that has more to do with execution than concept.

Compare with Gatiss, whose only episodes of Who I remotely like are The Unquiet Dead and Cold War. Whereas, his Idiot's Lantern, Crimson Horror, Robot of Sherwood and Sleep No More are some of the worst of their respective series.

Apart from the ending, I really like "Robot of Sherwood."

But I agree that Whithouse has a much better track record. Actually, "School Reunion" is probably my least favorite of his eps. It's great seeing Sarah Jane again but there's too much running down corridors being chased by unconvincing CGI monsters (a frequent problem in the early Tennant years). There's nothing extraordinary about "The Vampires of Venice" but it is a quintessential example of a solid Doctor Who story. I'd say the same about "Under the Lake"/"Before the Flood." "The God Complex" is one of my all-time favorite Matt Smith stories. "A Town Called Mercy" is great except that it does tend to hit its themes a little too hard on the head.

If he said "no," that's a real shame.

I also really don't get the love for Chris Chibnall... the only episodes of his I've really liked are The Power of Three, and the Pond Life minisodes. Heck, I'd rather have Gareth Roberts take over.

When I mention Chibnall, it's not because I'm a huge fan of his writing. It's just because it seems like he's always around. IIRC, he did most of the day-to-day showrunning on Torchwood, so he could probably at least serve as an interim showrunner to take some of the pressure off of Moffat.

What about David A. McIntee? I'm serious.

While David's a very nice bloke, I think his lack of experience in writing for/working in television would preclude him from helming one of BBC's flagship series. There's far more that goes into the job than just writing stories.

I realize that. Still, a guy can hope. I'm rooting for it just on the basis of "Sanctuary" alone!

We should start a 'who have you met from Who' thread!

I've met very few, sadly. Although, the ones that I have were mostly very nice. I've met John Barrowman, James Marsters (Captain John Hart), & Jeremy Bulloch ("The Space Museum," "The Time Warrior"). Although, at the time that I met Bulloch, I wasn't really aware of Doctor Who yet.

In more recent years there have been more coming to Arizona but I keep missing them. Last December, I had a cold and wasn't able to see Colin Baker & Paul McGann at Phoenix FanFest. This summer, there was a local Doctor Who convention that was supposed to have Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, & one of the 1980s companions (Sophie Aldred I think?) but it was canceled at the last minute. Now, Karen Gillan & Gareth David Lloyd are going to be at FanFest this weekend but it's all the way across town in Glendale and I can't find anyone else to go with me.