Will the 'Fans' Turn on Steven Moffat?

[Starkers]

The mistake with the premise is to lob all of fandom into some homogeneous uber-being with a single hive-mind. It, of course, isn't - it's broken up into many factions and shades of grey in between.

Very well put! The thing that annoys me is being lumped into a large black or white mass of fans. You either love RTD or you hate him, either think he's a genius or a hack.

Why? My view of RTD has never varied, at times he's brilliant at other times he's crap! I love some RTD episodes, hate others. In truth the main feeling RTD generates in me is frustration, because I see how good he could be if he were more consistant.

So of course some fans will turn on Moffat, just as others will do the reverse and worship the ground he walks on, never complain about a thing and heap scorn and abuse on any who have the temerity to critisise anything he does

 

[TedShatner10]

So of course some fans will turn on Moffat, just as others will do the reverse and worship the ground he walks on, never complain about a thing and heap scorn and abuse on any who have the temerity to critisise anything he does

I'd say the worst kind of critic is one who worships the ground their favourite writer walks on then later on does a complete 180, and you cannot really reason with them.

And they're likely the sort of person who holds an irrational grudge; like some people still hate Helen Raynor despite the fact her Sontaran story was a vast improvement over "Dalek Spats and the Pigs in the City", despite still being cliche'.

When you have somebody who thinks "Smith & Jones" was worse than "Rose" or even "New Earth", you know they're full of shit.

 

[Starkers]

^Yeah, I can be quite dismissive of certain writers at time, but I like to think I give credit where credit is due. I hated Raynor's Dalek 2 parter, but to her credit the Sontaran 2 parter was fab. Same with Chibnall, hated his Torchwood s1 stuff, but found many of his S2 eps really good.

 

[StCoop]

We already've seen a little bit in response to his "no Doctor over 40" comments.

And I do wonder if that subset of fandom who are expecting him to fix all of RTD's "mistakes" have read the interviews he gave recently in which he made it clear he had no big changes planned, and would be sticking with the established template for the series, down to starting off each run with a more lighthearted episode?

 

[Starkers]

er, hasn't he also said that he isn't going to make any major annoncement about what his tenure would be like because it's at least 18 months away?

He would be a fool to radically alter a winning formula, but hopefully he is going to tweak it a little, hopefully make it a little less predictable.

 

[StCoop]

er, hasn't he also said that he isn't going to make any major annoncement about what his tenure would be like because it's at least 18 months away?

In story specifics yes, but in more general terms he's been pretty straightforward.

Here's a quote:

"There are a bunch of things I've always wanted to see in Doctor Who, yes, but now it's slightly different--it's very different in my new position," Moffat said. "Obviously, I only turned up once a year, and practically my brief was to write, in effect, the Moffat episode--the one that's very different, the one that's a bit timey-wimey or a bit scary. And that's all they were expecting. And they would just tell me, 'Go, and do your thing.' So I would do my Moffat-y thing--whatever the f--k that is--in a very, very pronounced way. But you couldn't have a whole series like that. If you started a series with 'Silence of the Library' or 'Blink,' people would turn off. You can't have that as the first episode. It's just too grim. So it's different contemplating it from this position, very, very different."

The series will also continue to embrace a wide range of tones and genres, Moffat said. Rather than adapting the show to his particular writing style, he looks forward to experimenting with different voices to maintain the show's variety.

"That's not what the show's about," Moffat said. "Kids aren't rushing to their television sets to see how much of the Moffat voice will get through. All you can do is make exciting television episodes and experiment with different voices. I've quite deliberately and purposefully--it's not been an accident--had a very consistent voice in Doctor Who, because that enables Russell to manage me. He knows what he's going to get. He knew it was going to be dark before [he] got it, because that's what he said it was. 'You'll be doing a dark one.' Whereas Russell in Doctor Who will write everything from 'Partners in Crime' to 'Midnight,' and those two have nothing in common as far as voice is concerned. It's two totally different takes on the same show. And that's quite exciting for me, too, because I get to write episodes that I wouldn't normally write, that wouldn't be expected of me."

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=58032

 

[TedShatner10]

Not wanting an Doctor actor who is over 45 is not a bad move in the relatively short term and Moffat has a particular affection for the Peter Davison era, when the Doctor was played by very young actor barely into his thirties. Although when Moffat leaves within ten years we could see a much older fifty something Doctor stepping in.

 

[Blamo]

Well there is that thread on DWF called "Stephen Moffat's Problem with Women", though that's more concerning an article on another site. It is rather interesting, but only in how some people have a very strange and twisted view of things.

So I'd certainly say yes, fans will moan about anything. Certainly some of it is valid, but lot of the time it just goes over the top.

 

[DWF]

Well there is that thread on DWF called "Stephen Moffat's Problem with Women", though that's more concerning an article on another site. It is rather interesting, but only in how some people have a very strange and twisted view of things.

There's a thread on me? But yeah I've seen that thread and it's an odd one to be sure.

 

[Orac Zen]

The mistake with the premise is to lob all of fandom into some homogeneous uber-being with a single hive-mind. It, of course, isn't - it's broken up into many factions and shades of grey in between.

I'm sure that just as with Davies, JNT, Hinchcliffe, Letts and indeed any of the previous producers there will be those who loathe him, those that love him, those who couldn't give a toss and so on. Whether the ratio of fans that despise him will be larger than those who put him on a pedestal (and whether in time that pedestal is deserved or not) I could not say with any certainty at this time, and I think stating predictions one way or the other at this point as solid facts is pretty foolhardy, and in the end meaningless really.

I do know, however, that what I have seen from him in his writing, and heard from him in interviews shows a solid and fundamental understanding of (at least what I think) the show should be about mixed with an ability to be able to tell really cool stories that are among the most interesting and engaging I have ever seen in a Doctor Who story. It's a blessing as well as a curse, since he has set the bar so amazingly high, it's going to be difficult to maintain that standard, but he is off to an awesome start in that direction.

True, some fans are expecting all sorts of stuff he most likely won't deliver, and there will always be that faction who are unsatisfied with what he does no matter what, but on the whole I expect Grand Moff Steven to do pretty well as he knows what makes the show tick.

I couldn't agree more with this post. QFT, and thanks for saving me having to attempt to say all this - and probably not as well.

 

[Technobuilder]

They always turn.

Of course "They" is only a small segment of the fanbase, though generally the most vocal online.

Some will Love it all.

Some will wonder why it's not what they expected it to be.

Some will Watch it because they want to.

Some will Watch it because they feel they have to.

Some will Hate it.

Some will think it okay and never give it a second thought 2 weeks later.

Then of course, some will remember it for years.

Many will Treasure the memories regardless of any of the above.

 

[I am not Spock]

I'd be surprised if I turned on him, personally. I don't think he's written a bad episode so far.

 

[The Borg Queen]

Mark my words, by the time Moffat announces he's leaving the show, there will be people on Outpost Gallifrey and TrekBBS with user icons showing a picture of Moffat with the words "WANTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST BRITISH SCI-FI" on them.

Russelty should have been sued for fraud for using the phrase science fiction to describe the mess he made with Doctor Who.

He may be good at writing stories, but every time he came up with something where he tried to science-jargonify it, he should have been punched in the face until he actually DID SOME FUCKING RESEARCH.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

He may be good at writing stories, but every time he came up with something where he tried to science-jargonify it, he should have been punched in the face until he actually DID SOME FUCKING RESEARCH.

Oh yes. Because credible science fiction is what we love about Doctor Who!

 

[The Borg Queen]

He may be good at writing stories, but every time he came up with something where he tried to science-jargonify it, he should have been punched in the face until he actually DID SOME FUCKING RESEARCH.

Oh yes. Because credible science fiction is what we love about Doctor Who!

Or even incredible science fiction as long as it isn't "not even wrong".

Russelty's science-heavy plotlines are the Doctor Who equivalent of Voyager's "Threshold".

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Or even incredible science fiction as long as it isn't "not even wrong".

Russelty's science-heavy plotlines are the Doctor Who equivalent of Voyager's "Threshold".

Well, I was being sarcastic. We do not watch Doctor Who because it's such an extremely sophisticated look at the true potential of science in the far future. The science fiction side of Doctor Who has always been tongue-in-cheek, nonsensical, simplistic, or just a bit rubbish, really.

What Russel T. Davies does time and time again is to poke fun at the conventions and trappings of TV science-fiction, such as technobabble. Apparently, more often than not, he does it because he likes a good joke, and because he thinks these conventions are intrinsically a bit silly. I agree with him, and I think that Doctor Who is much better when it doesn't take itself or its science too seriously.

 

[Sci]

He may be good at writing stories, but every time he came up with something where he tried to science-jargonify it, he should have been punched in the face until he actually DID SOME FUCKING RESEARCH.

Oh yes. Because credible science fiction is what we love about Doctor Who!

Or even incredible science fiction as long as it isn't "not even wrong".

Russelty's science-heavy plotlines are the Doctor Who equivalent of Voyager's "Threshold".

Except that no one gives a shit because Doctor Who is actually good.

 

[TedShatner10]

Voyager had a good cast, some decent characters, and some good episodes every now and then, but the bad episodes were more mediocre and unentertaining than the worst Russell T. Davies has shat out so far (in fact seeing how awfully bland and uninspired Jeri Taylor could put even Brannon Braga's worst output to shame). Doctor Who at the moment seems to be in better health than it has been for nearly three decades, so it makes the RTD basing even more unusual, and Steven Moffat has not penned that many episodes (they even have lower ratings).

 

[The Borg Queen]

Steven Moffat has not penned that many episodes (they even have lower ratings).

You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

 

[Stevil2001]

"The Doctor Dances" was the least-watched episode of Series One, and "Blink" the least-watched of Series Three. Though in most cases the differences are pretty minimal.