T.B.F this is also something else I've been thinking they should do for ages. Davies can be a good writer but needs someone to reign him in or needs to hand the ideas over to someone else because he lets himself go too far. Same with Moffat.
Who Should Replace Chris Chibnall?
- Thread starter Tom
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Yeah, I'm all for separating those duties. It clearly has not worked 100% for any of the three big eras of modern Doctor Who.
I just think either of them would have been better wearing one hat rather than the two. I will happily rant about either of them but there were moments that they showed they could do either job pretty well.
Are you kidding? It would be easy to find a worse replacement. There are a lot of people out there with show running experience who wouldn’t be able to do it.
Like, though he’s dead, the guy who did the 3rd season of Star Trek? Or the guy who did the second season of Buck Rogers?
Finding worse is easy.
Right? Shows changing showrunners and maintaining the same level of quality (The Simpsons, Angel, Stargate SG-1, Ash vs Evil Dead, Superman: The Animated Series/Jusitce League/Justice League Unlimited, The West Wing, Doctor Who) are exceedingly rare, and these examples are very much the exceptions to the rule. Generally speaking the original showrunner leaves and the series turns to shit. Then there's that rare unicorn of a show like Star Trek: TNG that's shit but has promise, and the original showrunner is replaced by someone that actually fulfills that promise.
Generally speaking, though, the answer to the question "Why did ER/M*A*S*H/I Love Lucy/Dexter/Buffy/Xena/Twin Peaks/The Office (US)/Prison Break/Gilmore Girls/etc. suddenly turn to shit?" is inevitably "The original showrunner left."
...except M*A*S*H didn't turn to shit. 
...except M*A*S*H didn't turn to shit.
True, but Larry Gelbart leaving is the answer to the question "How come M*A*S*H went from a comedy series that showed us how war is hell to a dramedy series where Alan Alda frequently gave 10 minutes speeches about how hellish war is?".
Overall, I think most fans who “hate” the show they are watching believe showrunning is easy. It’s not. You are a CEO of a company that has a weekly budget of millions of dollars, with a board who expects ALOT for their money. It’s a tough job and not many people can do it successfully.
Regardless of what one personally feels about the show, Chibnall has brought something Moffat failed to deliver in his last few seasons: eyeballs.
Eyeballs, for the most part, are more important than whether or not disgruntled fans like a show they are going to watch regardless.
By that measure, and really, does any other matter, he’s successful. So, yeah, it would be easy to find someone worse.
Their more fundamental mistake is thinking they know anything at all about it.
I'm surprised that they haven't done more headhunting at Big Finish. Get one of them to run the writing staff while another producer handles the nuts and bolts of TV production.
Barring that, drive a dump truck load of money up to Toby Whithouse's house. ("Which house is it?" "It's the one with whit on it, apparently.")
Barring that, drive a dump truck load of money up to Toby Whithouse's house. ("Which house is it?" "It's the one with whit on it, apparently.")
Yeah, I am surprised Matt Fitton and Jon Dorney haven't been asked to do an episode - especially under Moffat.
And James Goss. All three of them are excellent writers.
James Goss and Scott Handcock are gods, and we are but mere mortals. Gallifrey: Intervention Earth, Gallifrey: Enemy Lines, Gallifrey: Time War, The David Warner Doctor era of The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, The War Master starring Derek Jacobi, the Bernice Summerfield spin-off The Confessions of Dorian Gray, pretty much the entire Torchwood line.
Damn near everything they produce is gold. The Monthly Range's Gary Russell, Nicholas Briggs and David Richardson are great showrunners, but those two are just next freaking level talented.
I have no idea who these people are, but my 2 cents: Moffat was at his best writing stand alone episodes. Shadows In the Library, The Girl In The Fireplace are two standouts, but he has a bunch all over the first few seasons. Even Series 5 wasn't bad, although Moffats portrayal of the Doctor as a 900-year old teenager and the whole Cracks In The Universe subplot brought it down a few notches for me. I gave up after Capaldi's second series because I just lost interest. A combination of cranky old doctor who knew it all and too much Clara, mixed in with a terrible two parter that brought the Cybermen back again, not to mention Missy was way too dramatic instead of relatable.
I am already surprised he didn’t get the nod this time out the gate.
Maybe he didn't want it, and he would have been too much like Moffat I think, plus his Who episodes have been variable (but then again so have Chibnall's!)
He is a man who has his finger in many pies though by virtue of writing and acting. I doubt he'd be able to commit to it.
I do wish they'd gone with Whithouse.
He is a man who has his finger in many pies though by virtue of writing and acting. I doubt he'd be able to commit to it.
I do wish they'd gone with Whithouse.
