Doctor Who

[arenee1999]

 Last year in September, I mentioned my reservations about the direction the show would be taking. I was taking a wait and see approach to Jodie as the Doctor, but wasn't keen on Chris Chibnall. And I've been proven right. *sigh*


First, let me say, I am thoroughly enjoying Jodie as the Doctor. I have zero problems with a female Doctor and Jodie is doing brilliantly.

The problem I'm having, is my biggest worry is proving true. The writing is boring. There's no real excitement. Some thing is missing. I knew this was going to happen as soon as I heard Chris Chibnall was taking over. I've seen Broadchurch, I've seen his previous episodes of Doctor Who, I've seen his episodes of Torchwood and aside from one exception in Torchwood it's all boring. His one shining moment was the creation of John Hart. He also had an inspired moment when he introduced Kate Stewart, but aside from her that whole episode was tedious too. His writing is so extremely dry and dusty. I don't mind not having Daleks and Cybermen and other past monsters. But there's a certain je ne sais quoi that is missing, just that *some thing* that makes Doctor Who extraordinary.

Did I want Moffet to stay? No, not really. Not as show runner. Moffet never should have been made show runner in the first place. His strong suit is in individual stories. He is brilliant at them. But he has no subtlety. All those "little" clues stuck into the episodes teasing what was coming at the end of the seasons? They had all the subtlety of a brick to the head. But stand alone or two part episodes, that's where his brilliance lies.

I'm more and more convinced every season that what Doctor Who needs is a show runner and head writer that aren't necessarily the same person.

Both RTD and Moffet had their strong suits and both had some brilliant moments with the show, but both were trying to wear too many hats. They took on too much responsibility with the show and the show suffered because they couldn't see past their egos to admit they need other people to help balance their weaknesses. They were too busy trying to prove they didn't have any weaknesses.

Moffet's imagination is maybe too fertile and he went off in too many directions. Chris Chibnall has the opposite problem. His imagination is drier than the Atacama desert and he needs someone that can sprinkle some fairy dust on his ideas.

Bleh. I could wax philosophical on this topic forever, so I'll just quit there.
*Please forgive any typos. I'm  stuck posting from my phone.

Comments

[strangelyjonathan]

There's a lot I don't like about the new series, and it's not the cast. I agree with you on the writing. I'm noticing a lot of inconsistencies with the core character of the doctor, which has nothing to do with the doctor being a woman. Then there's the TARDIS interior. What the hell? It doesn't look inhabitable for any humanoid species. I could go on. Yet, I keep watching. lol The tenth and eleventh doctors had the best episodes, for me, at least, and that would be both rtd and moffat. I feel like Peter Capaldi got a bit ripped off with weaker writing, and I sometimes wonder if that's because team moffat was already on their way out. We'll never know.

[arenee1999]

IMO, I think the writing started going bad in series 6 and has steadily been going down hill since. I know that's an unpopular opinion as most fans love series 6. To me series 1-5 were brilliant with occasional bad episodes and series 6-10 were awful with occasional good episodes. Series 11 is just boring, not good or bad, just a snooze fest. But I keep watching anyway.


I really wish series 9 & 10 had had better writing because Capaldi quickly became my favorite Doctor, not just of "New Who" either but over all the classic Doctors as well.

[vilakins]

To me there's something missing from the stories and the Doctor. I love Jodie Whittaker's portrayal - and the companions are great - but the Doctor doesn't seem to have found herself; she always seems slightly behind the play and on the back foot. She doesn't really seem dangerous. As for the stories, they've been fairly predictable or a bit flat and lacking in tension, though there are flashes of good stuff. Yeah, it hasn't grabbed me that much despite liking all the characters.

I grew to outright dislike Ten (not Tennant's fault, the writing) and was very glad to see RTD go. I've enjoyed it since then, but somehow this season is food without any seasoning.

[arenee1999]

Overall, I liked the RTD years, but at then end it was too much. The Time Lord Victorious was a step too far and at that point I was glad both RTD and Tennant were leaving.