Nice to know...
Jul. 20th, 2008 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fajrdrakoIt's good to hear that Steven Moffat cares about what he's doing. Shows in his writing, I think.
And it's a good sign for Doctor Who.
fajrdrakoIt's good to hear that Steven Moffat cares about what he's doing. Shows in his writing, I think.
And it's a good sign for Doctor Who.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2008-07-20 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 02:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 06:05 pm (UTC)I'm pleasantly surprised that for some people in the industry, love still trumps money and prestige.
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Date: 2008-07-21 02:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 10:03 pm (UTC)I like Moffat on Doctor Who because:
- he creates and developes interesting secondary characters
- he uses time travel in clever and interesting ways (especially time paradoxes)
- he doesn't hesitate to complicate relationships, especially to push the envelope where the Doctor is concerned
- his Doctor has both past and future, and doesn't quite so much live in an eternal present
And yes, add 'commitment' and 'enthusiasm' to the list of reasons he is a good choice.
Goodness knows I have had various quibbles (and complaints) about Moffat stories, but on the whole, I can forgive his flaws easily enough in exchange for his virtues.
Is there someone you would prefer to see as DW head writer?
Part 1
Date: 2008-07-21 03:49 pm (UTC)Because while his episodes were imaginative, atmospheric and brilliantly written, hardly any of them fitted into continuity, particularly character wise. TGITF is a prime example. I personally felt it was jarring to see the Doctor ready to settle down and give up everything for Madame de Pompadour. This is the Doctor, who's a time-travelling maverick, who loves his TARDIS and, whatever your opinion her or her relationship with the Doctor, Rose. From his episodes, I sort of get the impression that he didn't care for RTD's Who-verse and that's why his episodes tend to be outside continuity. He's been given a clean slate to write the characters the way he wants to write them and tell the story he wants to tell, which I feel is right, but based on this I'm nervous it won't be the Doctor that I've been following for the past 4 years. There should be a natural progression – like nine into ten – but, rightly or wrongly, I'm sensing a bigger leap of faith.
I agree that he creates and develops interesting secondary characters, but normally seems to be at the expense of the companion. Rose was effectively sidelined by Madame Pompadour, Martha by Sally Sparrow, Donna by River Song. The companions were given very little to do and more or less in the background (Martha particularly!). The companions are an important part of the show for me - who they are, their potential, how they deal with the Doctor and his genius, his ego, his flaws, his loneliness, how their relationship with their families/friends/lovers changes or how it doesn't change because of their journey with the Doctor etc. For me, they're primary characters along with the Doctor. I don't want to lose that in favour of secondary ones no matter how interesting, especially if the next companion will be as good as Rose, Martha and Donna who were so different from each other and awesome in their own way. Maybe this is because he didn't care for RTD companions and he used his own, so to speak, I don't know, but it's making me wary.
Re: Part 1
Date: 2008-07-21 05:47 pm (UTC)It was. It was particularly jarring to see him willing to leave Rose and Mickey stranded in space in the 51st century, in a place that was both immediately dangerous and where they had no means of survival. The main problem for me, though, was not anything the Doctor did, but that I didn't find Reinette a strong enough personality for the role she was filling - a problem with the actress, perhaps.
Russell T Davies has done things worse, though. I try to take these things as fic-fodder, and rationalize around them. I was able to sort TGITF to my own satisfaction, in the end, something I haven't been able to do for 'The Last of the Time Lords'. I'm not sure I believe there is a lot of character consistency to deviate from here.
And yes, I understand about his love for Rose (even if I don't understand its mechanics; he was eager enough for her to leave, in the end) and the TARDIS. We needed more and a better explanation than we got.
I sort of get the impression that he didn't care for RTD's Who-verse and that's why his episodes tend to be outside continuity.
Possibly; which will make it interesting to see what he does when it's his own universe to play with.
based on this I'm nervous it won't be the Doctor that I've been following for the past 4 years.
I have reluctantly come to terms with the notion that Ten is not Nine, and so the Doctor we've had for three years now isn't the Doctor I was following, and whom I fell in love with, a few years ago. In fact, I think I've seen the Doctor change somewhat from episode to episode. I am sure Moffat's Doctor won't be quite the same, either.
I didn't see the natural progression that I wanted to see from Nine to Ten, but this really wasn't a problem in the long run. It was sometimes a problem in the short run.
I agree that he creates and develops interesting secondary characters, but normally seems to be at the expense of the companion.
Not to keep comparing Moffat and Davies, but I don't think anyone could do worse by a Companion than the fate of Donna. (The fate of River Song was just as bad: doesn't bode well for Moffat, either.) I certainly don't mind that the companions were sidelined for interesting new characters. I'm not sure I wouldn't like less emphasis on Companions in general and more emphasis on the Doctor himself. and those he encounters on his adventures. Much as I have loved the companions, I've loved some of the one-shot characters, too. I wouldn't particularly want the Companions to disappear, and the Doctor/Rose romance was a large part of the charm for me when I was discovering the show, but... having been disappointed by the respective fates of the companions I've known, especially Martha, I'm not a huge fan of the concept. Or at least... I'm still on the fence there.
I admire Moffat's storytelling strengths, some of which are the same as Davies - ability to build suspense, twist plots, create high emotion - and I think he has extraordinary skills in plot structures, which Davies isn't particularly good at.
I can understand your wariness and I share it, to some extent, but I have a fair amount of optimism about Moffat's knowledge of what makes a good story.
Moreover, when the Companion is under his control, Moffat may value him or her more, and use the character to better effect.
Part 2
Date: 2008-07-21 03:56 pm (UTC)Maybe this is personal preference, but whilst I disagree with people who say the Doctor is asexual (to me, he's very open to all experiences) I like the Doctor being ambiguous about it. I mean, he's an alien with an alien thoughts, feelings and POV. I think it gives his character and the show a bit of edge. (I'll probably be going against most people when I say that Rose's relationship with the Doctor was unspecified and there was always a bit of a question over what the nature of their relationship was. And I really adored Rose/Doctor/Jack triangle/tension in "Empty Child/The Doctor Dances") However when it becomes more explicit and prominent (series 3, I'm looking at you!) with Martha's unrequited crush and the Doctor seemingly mourning Rose at every turn, I thought it took away from the show and harmed both the Doctor and Martha's character development. Actually, Martha more then the Doctor, since I think his grief was necessary to some extent. But I think my love for Martha grew 10 times when she walked away from him and that particular storyline was dropped, and I enjoyed series 4 a lot better with the Doctor regaining his sense of fun and glee.
Anyway, back to the point - I don't think Moffat makes the romance/sex more overt then any other writer, but he has an established trend for romance/sex with Rose/Jack, Jack/Doctor, Reinette/Doctor, River Song/Doctor, Donna/Virtual husband, Sally/Billy Shipton, Sally/Larry, Kathy/Ben (which is a lot given the number of his episodes!) and I feel that this gives it more prominence. I'm worried that Moffat = more obvious UST and romance.
I'll be interested to see whether his inclination towards romance so far is because of the limitations of one-shots or if this is a limitation of his writing in general I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he did write a strong adult/child relationship, but I guess until I get my answer, I have reservations.
I don't have anyone else in mind. To be honest, I think I'd have reservations about anyone. I was concerned about RTD, I was dubious about casting Billie Piper as I knew her form her pop princess days, I was dismayed that they were bring in DT to replace CE, I was even more dismayed that they were bring back Catherine 'am I bovered' Tate. Everything worked out fine in those instances, so I'm hopeful. IN relation to Moffat, I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen so far and I'm preparing for the worse, but hoping that he hasn't shown us everything he's got :)
Re: Part 2
Date: 2008-07-21 05:56 pm (UTC)I'm more on Moffat's side in this, though I'm happy to see a balance. But I don't want an asexual Doctor, or one who is indifferent to others. I suspect we'll get as much variety as we did before. As I've said before - and will probably say again! - I don't want a Doctor who acts alien; I want him to be as human as possible and then some.
I'll probably be going against most people when I say that Rose's relationship with the Doctor was unspecified and there was always a bit of a question over what the nature of their relationship was. And I really adored Rose/Doctor/Jack triangle/tension in "Empty Child/The Doctor Dances"
I agree with all of that. Absolutely. I was much happier, in fact, with the Doctor/Rose relationship in series one, than later, and particularly in series 3 and 4. At the end, I didn't understand why - even though he was so glad to see Rose - he seemed even more eager to send her on her way to the other universe, for no explained reason.
I'm worried that Moffat = more obvious UST and romance.
This is precisely what I am hoping! My fear is that there will be more conventional UST and romance, though, and I don't really want that. I like the ambiguity, and the edge. Most of all, I want emotional intensity - regardless of what the emotion is.
I was dubious about casting Billie Piper
What did you think in the end? I had never heard of her outside the context of Doctor Who, so had no expectations. I thought the character was written and acted remarkably well - wonderful character development - but I'm not a major Rose fan.
I was even more dismayed that they were bring back Catherine 'am I bovered' Tate.
That was distressing - I was prepared to cringe, since I didn't like Donna in "The Runaway Bride". In the end, as you say, it worked out fine, and Donna soon became a favourite.
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Date: 2008-07-20 07:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 09:59 pm (UTC)Love your icon... Tintin and Torchwood links are brilliant.
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Date: 2008-07-20 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 10:15 pm (UTC)He also talks about the stories he has written on the 'Confidentials' for the episodes in question. Just about all of them, I think.
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Date: 2008-07-21 12:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-21 02:06 am (UTC)