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RTD back for Doctor Who

Started by Jack Shaftoe, September 24, 2021, 04:17:47 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Midas

I'm still not really certain what RTD or Moffat actually think about Chibnall's writing. Obviously I think it's shite, but given that they seemed to repeatedly give him high-profile work "because they're mates", it wouldn't surprise me if they've developed a blindspot to some of his flaws. Moffat referred to Chibnall as "master of the longform narrative" in his recent Oxford Union Q&A, which I think may be one of the most ludicrous platitidues I've ever heard.

pigamus

RTD on Chibnall would be just like VC Mitchell on Jimmy Carr. They're a class.

Replies From View

Quote from: pigamus on February 09, 2022, 01:56:49 PMThis is the key to his career I think. You ask for it next Wednesday, he does it, no bother, no reflection, no angst, nothing. He doesn't excite you but you don't have to worry about him.

It sounds like the BBC drama department maybe doesn't understand that the Venn diagram connecting creative industries and blu tack manufacturing isn't supposed to be just one circle.

pigamus

It must be amazing to be like that. He's like the scriptwriting version of Chauncy Gardener from Being There. I almost admire him.

olliebean

Quote from: Midas on February 09, 2022, 02:13:26 PMMoffat referred to Chibnall as "master of the longform narrative" in his recent Oxford Union Q&A, which I think may be one of the most ludicrous platitidues I've ever heard.

I'm guessing that was before he saw Flux.

Mister Six

Quote from: Midas on February 09, 2022, 02:13:26 PMI'm still not really certain what RTD or Moffat actually think about Chibnall's writing. Obviously I think it's shite, but given that they seemed to repeatedly give him high-profile work "because they're mates", it wouldn't surprise me if they've developed a blindspot to some of his flaws. Moffat referred to Chibnall as "master of the longform narrative" in his recent Oxford Union Q&A, which I think may be one of the most ludicrous platitidues I've ever heard.

Given how shite Moffat is at longform narrative himself, he might mean it.

RTD in particular, though, strikes me as someone who is not only a naturally gifted writer with a knack for drama as well as comedy (something Moffat struggles with), but someone who pays a lot of attention to the mechanics of writing (even if he lets himself off applying them from time to time). I find it hard to believe that he's not aware of how fundamentally lacking so much of Chibnall's output, especially on Torchwood and his Who run, has been.

Replies From View

Quote from: olliebean on February 09, 2022, 02:31:35 PMI'm guessing that was before he saw Flux.

He will always big-up Doctor Who, never slag it off, and it was in the lead-up to the "long form" Flux that he made that statement.

Replies From View

Quote from: Mister Six on February 09, 2022, 02:38:56 PMGiven how shite Moffat is at longform narrative himself, he might mean it.

RTD in particular, though, strikes me as someone who is not only a naturally gifted writer with a knack for drama as well as comedy (something Moffat struggles with), but someone who pays a lot of attention to the mechanics of writing (even if he lets himself off applying them from time to time). I find it hard to believe that he's not aware of how fundamentally lacking so much of Chibnall's output, especially on Torchwood and his Who run, has been.

Not having it that Moffat struggles with comedy.

Also it was more within RTD's time than Moffat's time that we tended to get 40 minutes of set up followed by 5 minutes of rushed magic solution. 

McDead

Quote from: Replies From View on February 09, 2022, 02:09:56 PMBut what does "safe pair of hands" mean when he's overseen a shift from Moffat's version of the show to one that needs rescuing from certain cancellation by a showrunner who had promised he'd put Doctor Who behind him?

The problem is that "a safe pair of hands" is not what Doctor Who needs. The abiding feeling I get from current Who is lassitude, a show devoid of energy, of impetus, of a reason to be. This is what you get with a "safe pair of hands". You get Merlin, or Robin Hood, or fucking Primeval. This is what annoys me more than his spurious tinkering with continuity - the show has become boring and disposable.

frajer

Chibnall really does appear to be a man with nothing to say, which is why he badly traced over the Davies and Moffat eras instead.

Can't wait til his reign limps over the finish line and we get Rusty back.

Replies From View

He had a playground argument to win over the Morbius Doctors, and I honestly believe that was his entire impetus.  Getting one over on Johnny P from his third year of juniors.

Mister Six

#881
Quote from: Replies From View on February 09, 2022, 02:46:29 PMNot having it that Moffat struggles with comedy.

Also it was more within RTD's time than Moffat's time that we tended to get 40 minutes of set up followed by 5 minutes of rushed magic solution. 

Oh, no, I meant Moffat isn't great with comedy-drama, especially in long form. Obviously he's amazing at straight-up comedy. But he seems to struggle to permanently hurt any of his major characters or put his actors out (hence the endless resurrections, and the dithering over Clara leaving), and his attempts in Sherlock, Jekyll and Dracula all fell apart in the end.

Davies's focus is always on the emotional story rather than the mechanical one, and so long as the emotion works he's willing to let the external threat be resolved by a big button or lever. But it's clear in The Writer's Tale that this is a conscious decision rather than something that just happens, and he does fret about the mechanical side of things being too throwaway, but if that stuff gets in the way of the emotional hook, he'll toss it. And while his finales became increasingly overblown and self-referential, he was still willing to kill off or otherwise tragically eject most of his Who companions and half the Torchwood team.

More importantly, Davies has shown time and time again that he can do dramatic miniseries really well.

But with Chibnall there's no emotional content whatsoever, and no clever plotting, and I can't believe that RTD can watch his seasons and not be slack-jawed at how poor they are, especially because (unlike with Torchwood) he doesn't see the sausage being made, just the sad, carbonised little chipolata on the cracked plate in front of him.

Replies From View

I think it's quite sad that we will likely never get RTD and Moffat's true opinions revealed about Chibnall's writing / version of the show.

The only way I can see it happening is if, after RTD has pulled it back from the brink, Chibnall is able to stand up and admit his own shortcomings and it opens the door to everyone feeling they can say "you're right..." and extending their own views to a Chibnall who doesn't feel slighted.

This will never happen while Chibnall's show is "current", if ever.

Mister Six

Even then, I think they would want to temper their comments (if they comment publicly at all) because of the absolute battering he'd get online from his detractors if he did admit fault.

mothman

It's a safeguarding issue. Enough people would like to do him harm; bringing it all out into the open might tip them over the edge.

jamiefairlie

Most creative types are hyper focused on their own work and don't much notice what others are doing.

Replies From View

Quote from: jamiefairlie on February 19, 2022, 11:19:09 PMMost creative types are hyper focused on their own work and don't much notice what others are doing.

RTD and Moffat are obsessed with Doctor Who and will both be hyper focused on it until they die.  There's no way they'll have missed Chibnall's efforts.

Alberon

From RTD's Instagram account.



I'm really looking forward to some new Doctor Who after several years without any.

samadriel

Quote from: Alberon on March 03, 2022, 11:16:10 PMFrom RTD's Instagram account.


"... And this is my assistant Beaker!"

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Most of RTD's Instagram selfies are in the Beaker style. It's presumably a tribute to arguably the greatest Muppet.

samadriel

That's Dr Bunsen Honeydew he's aping. Although he's good too.

McDead

This is all very exciting. I've started to dream about Who again for the first time in ages. Last night I dreamt I was brought on to help storyboard the show. I was privy to a top level meeting between RTD and one of the other producers about casting, and the consensus between them was to go weird and eye-catching with it, no safe choices. In the end they chose Rhona Cameron, which makes a sort of sense, but didn't enthuse me much.

Replies From View

Ribena Dorson?  Strange name, never heard of her.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: samadriel on March 04, 2022, 01:31:38 AMThat's Dr Bunsen Honeydew he's aping. Although he's good too.

Oh yeah. Of course. I've made quite the muppet of myself here.

gilbertharding

I don't follow RTD on Insta, so the first time I saw this picture - on twitter - it looked like this:



And it wasn't until I'd logged on here I realised it was a joke.


GoblinAhFuckScary

Quote from: Ecclescake"But the creation of the War Doctor introduced a whole new facet to the canon. I know it made some people anxious, the fundamentalists, but, no. I mean the father of us all is William Hartnell, but the greatest Doctor is Jodie Whitaker."

alright

Replies From View

Maybe he said "latest" and they typed it wrong.

Famous Mortimer

Perhaps it's just an actorly way of saying "maybe concentrate on the person doing the job right now".

GoblinAhFuckScary

Guess Eccles has already done a Second Coming