wait, who?

[kindkit]

What my reaction to a new Doctor Who episode used to be: "OMG I can't wait I can't wait okay finally it's time yay," and then, depending on the episode, delight or fury.

What my reaction is these days: "Oh, is Doctor Who on again? I guess I should watch it," and then, generally, a big meh afterwards.

It's funny. As much as Russell T. Davies' showrunning decisions sometimes enraged me, I never felt as indifferent as I do now. And as much as I generally adored Moffat's one-off episodes during the Davies era, I don't think he's doing a great job with the show as a whole. Although I really like Matt Smith's performances as the Doctor, and I think I will like Clara (despite wishing Amy and Rory were still around), the show itself is boring me. I'm tired of it being all about earth (next week's episode at least seems to be set somewhere else, thank god), and I'm tired of feel-good inspirational morals tacked onto the stories, and I'm actually getting a bit tired of Moffat's plot-twisting wibbly wobbly timey-wimey stuff. I want the show to be more adventure-y and yet simultaneously less frenetic; I want characterization and relationships of a depth that Moffat and his colleagues' writing doesn't explore (the actors try, but they can only compensate for so much); I want more real creativity in the plots and less tedious allegory about the internet or whatever. I want the show to be genuinely morally serious and dark if it's claiming to be, and more fun if it's trying to be fun.

While I'm wishing, I'd like companions other than conventionally attractive women in their late teens or early twenties from contemporary Britain. I'd like two or three companions in the TARDIS again, to mix up the boring and I think increasingly heteronormative dynamic of the Doctor and a single female companion. I'd like less heterosexuality, or more non-heterosexual characters and dynamics, or both.

I'd like better writing. Surely there are writers out there somewhere of the caliber of a Malcolm Hulke, Robert Holmes, or Terry Nation? (All of whom had their missteps on Who and elsewhere *sideyes The Talons of Weng Chiang*, but all of whom produced a lot of interesting worlds, real-feeling conflicts, and vivid characters. I know that TV has changed and the leisurely, detailed episodes of the 1960s and 1970s aren't possible now, alas, but surely there are writers who can do more than trot out twenty clichés in 45 minutes and call it a story? Or are there? I honestly don't know; nothing on contemporary British television seems as good to me as the best episodes of classic Who or Blake's 7 or Callan or Colditz, but maybe I've just missed the best things.)

All of this makes me imagine the approaching 50th anniversary special, which is bound to incorporate a lot of elements of classic Who and engage, one way or another, with the relationship between new and classic Who, with a good deal of trepidation. I actually would feel better if Russell T. Davies were writing it.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

Yes, I didn't end up watching most of the last season, and I'm not planning to watch this season, except for the special. I usually like timey-wimey complex plotty stuff, but Moffatt's ability to pull it off turns out to be rather more limited than I had thought, just as RTD loved a grand finale but wasn't too good at making them make sense.

[kindkit]

I can't bring myself to stop watching, despite my interest being so low. Doctor Who is entwined somehow with my fannish identity, despite my having come to it very late. Or maybe it's just that Who is the only currently airing TV show I have any interest at all in. Anyway, so far that's been enough to keep me watching even though it feels almost like a chore rather than a pleasure.

I think the sad truth is that I'm a fan of Doctors 2, 3, 5, and 8 (the EDAs anyway) rather than a Doctor Who fan full stop, and although it's unusual for me to feel guilty about not being a True Fan, I do a bit in this case.

[klia]

Every DW fan I know is really happy with the direction of the show, and they're squeeing excitedly tonight. But, for me, Moffat has basically FUBARed the show. I won't go into the many things that alienated me, but underlying all of it is the feeling that the writers are just yanking my chain (like, let's kill off the Doctor! No, wait, he's not really dead, we were just screwing with you!). And I really hate that. And I hate contrived conflict, like that last storyline with Amy and Rory separated for some stupid reason -- but oh, wait, all they had to do was talk to each other for 5 minutes, and everything was fine!

So, I gave up. I'm steering clear. There are lots of other things for me to watch that are more to my taste. Btw, I'd recommend The Hour as a recent show with good writing (sadly, it was just cancelled by ITV). And I'm enjoying Whitechapel, as well, mainly because the main character seems pretty unique for a TV character.

[kindkit]

I don't put all the blame on Moffat by any means--in particular, I think that a lot of what I don't like about the Moffat era was started by Russell T. Davies, e.g. the too-fast pacing, the focus on romantic interest between Doctor and companion, and the moralizing and rah-rahing about the awesomeness of humanity. Moffat has made it worse, but he didn't originate these trends. Still, I do find myself looking back with some nostalgia for the RTD era, which I never thought I would.

[klia]

I liked some of what RTD did, but wasn't on board with all of it, for sure. But Moffat... to me, Moffat and his team are writing wildly OTT crackfic -- which isn't my cup of tea at all.

[pocketmouse]

Yes to all of this. Just because the show has new companions all the time doesn't mean we should go over the same material all the time -- and not even just the companions. The Doctor freaking out because the phone on the TARDIS rang? A. Eleven uses the phone inside the TARDIS all the time, B. Nine used it to talk to the gasmask kid.

And yes, please, let's get away from Earth. At this point, with what they're doing, it's hardly worth it to call the Doctor an alien at all. Hell, the third Doctor didn't leave Earth and he had better stories than a lot of this!

[kindkit]

The Third Doctor proves that it's possible to tell very good stories that are set on earth . . . but it has to be carefully done. First of all, there was a reason for him to be on earth all the time. And the show integrated him into earth in a sense, gave him connections with UNIT etc. that went beyond just hanging around because he's obsessed with one companion. In fact that lack of context, that lack of continuity and history and connection for the Doctor, may be the greatest weakness of new Who, which has not only massively de-emphasized UNIT but of course eliminated Gallifrey and all the Time Lords.

[starlady]

Yes, all of this. I can't understand why so many people are still so enthusiastic.

[kindkit]

I fear it may be a case of gradually lowering expectations, so that now many fans are glad to get anything that's not absolutely terrible.

[kouredios]

And as much as I generally adored Moffat's one-off episodes during the Davies era, I don't think he's doing a great job with the show as a whole.

Co-signed. A little bit of Moffat was fine. Good, even (though Paul Cornells' episodes are my absolute favorite ever, I'll concede that in the RDJ era, the Moffat episodes were among the best.) But the entire season resting on Moffat's tricksy plots isn't working. I wish it worked. I'd still love to see resolution to a whole lot of loose ends he's left lying about everywhere, but I'm starting to suspect we'll never get it.

[kindkit]

in the RDJ era, the Moffat episodes were among the best

I wonder if that wasn't something to do with the dynamic of Moffat and RTD working together? They each have strengths as storytellers, and they each having serious weaknesses; my favorite new Who episodes, "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" feel like the best of both their strengths.

[kouredios]

Maybe? I have no idea how either writing rooms work. :D

It does seem to me that RDJ was better at the deep, mythic arc of a season, and Moffat's better at clever plotlines. The combination of both in the RDJ era was magical, and the absence of the depth in the Moffat era is starting to be really obvious to me...so, in a sense, it might be what you describe. The combination of the two made great Who.