Watching Doctor Who (2005) from the middle of the beginning

[Replies From View]

He also managed to do four straight years in a row of 14 episodes, something it seems that no other fucker will ever achieve.

Whether you love or hate his episodes - qualified love for me - at least he could do THAT.

I thought that Chibnall repeating the pattern would be evidence that it's coming from the BBC itself rather than the showrunner not being able to handle the workload.

[Talulah, really!]

Not particularly, it could be the case that Chibnall, who appears to be on good terms with Davies and Moffat, sounded them out on how demanding the job is and decided he'd like the same workload as Moffat eventually settled on, thank you very much, whether the BBC wanted more or not. We don't know.

I suspect that the 13 episodes a series is a thing of the past though, it makes sense from a terrestrial broadcast era, i.e. for the head of BBC1 to have 4 shows that have 13 episodes each and that's a particular slot filled for a year, in the Davies era that seemed to be what they were going for with Doctor Who, Robin Hood, Merlin pretty much all running one after the other. Now in the days of virtual boxsets/on-demand/whole shows dropping on one day all at once, the 13 episodes ideal isn't so sacrosanct.

[Thomas]

After reading The Writer's Tale, I've found it difficult to watch any of his episodes without picturing him anxiously chain-smoking while wandering around Cardiff Bay in the dead of night, as he struggles with deadlines and the sheer pressure of it all. He comes across as a workaholic spinning far too many plates - a genial, talented man teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

In an alternate universe, RTD tragically showran himself to death trying to helm Doctor Who and Sherlock at the same time.

[Replies From View]

We don't know.

That's exactly my point.  As opposed to the time when apparently everyone claimed to know very well that it was all Moffat's fault and no it couldn't have anything to do with the BBC only wanting to fund a series every 18 months or anything like that.

We just don't know.

[Sin Agog]

In an alternate universe, RTD tragically showran himself to death trying to helm Doctor Who and Sherlock at the same time.

Unlikely, as showrunning has been proven to vastly improve your cardio-vascular health.

[Norton Canes]

Because I know you've all been waiting for it - my brief critique of season 2:

I don't have a problem with the nature of the Tennant Doctor/Rose relationship, but then it's been ages since I've seen most of the episodes and I might have forgotten just how schmaltzy it was. Unfortunately the production team must have had some sophomore issues because there are too may misfiring stories. Moffat remains on form with The Fire In The Girly Place, Tooth And Claw is viscerally satisfying, and Love & Monsters is a nice trip into pure comedy. But the first Cybermen story is a massive two-part hole in the middle of the season, and the climactic brace of episodes are really only notable for the cliff-hanger and subsequent Dalek vs. Cyberman action.

Then there's The Impossible Planet, which I think might be my single favourite episode of the entire relaunched series. It does everything perfectly, from the wonderful pre-credits sequence, though the unsettling crew deaths to the ending, literally leaving us on the edge of oblivion. Then, oh, it all falls completely to pieces in The Satan Pit.

[Isnt Anything]

I thought that Chibnall repeating the pattern would be evidence that it's coming from the BBC itself rather than the showrunner not being able to handle the workload.

But then you go on to say

We just don't know.

Which I agree with.

However personally i feel that Moffat was clearly compromised by Sherlock, he said as much himself. Considering RTD ended up on the verge of a breakdown doing just Who, its no surprise Moffat couldnt do both.

Dont forget that Moffat also ended up collapsing in the street, rescued by his script editor(?), so its very unlikely the spacing was at the wish of the BBC unless by happy coincidence.

So yeah i really expected better of Chibnall given only 10/11 episodes and a year off first to prepare.

So it might be the BBC but i suspect not .... but as you say we just dont know for sure.

As opposed to the time when apparently everyone claimed to know very well that it was all Moffat's fault and no it couldn't have anything to do with the BBC only wanting to fund a series every 18 months or anything like that.

Leave it, hes gone off in a sexist flounce !

[mjwilson]

Dont forget that Moffat also ended up collapsing in the street, rescued by his script editor(?)

He did what?

[Replies From View]

He did what?

Yeah I can't say I'm in a position to forget something I have no memory of.

[VelourSpirit]

Considering RTD ended up on the verge of a breakdown doing just Who, its no surprise Moffat couldnt do both.

Remember though that within 1 year of doing Who, RTD was already doing Torchwood, and then not too long after that came The Sarah Jane Adventures. Don't quite understand how he managed it all. There was so much fucking Doctor Who in that 5 year span.

[Mister Six]

He palmed Torchwood off on Chibnall (to disastrous effect) though. Also SJA was co-run with someone else, wasn't it?

[purlieu]

Yeah, if you look at the credits he actually didn't do much work on either of the spin-offs. His real work on Torchwood came in the last two series, after he'd finished with Who.