Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Should they ever have even been put in charge of this thing?
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Review The "NEW WHO" Showrunners
- Thread starter Doctor Omega
- Start date
Should they ever have even been put in charge of this thing?
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
He wrote some of the most highly acclaimed episodes of the RTD era....
But has he cut it as a showrunner - or has he fallen short?
With his tenure drawing to a close, do you think that Steven Moffat has been a good or a bad showrunner?
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I'll vote in favour of good showrunner. Not perfect by any means but overall he's done a pretty good job. He's clearly passionate about the show and, while he obviously has some different ideas about where the show should go than I do, he's worked hard to keep the show going. In the end I suspect he's probably stayed a bit longer than he should have. Running a show like Doctor Who (especially with his involvement in Sherlock) appears to be pretty exhausting and I think that by the end of about three years it was starting to show.
The Seeker
Member: Rank 6
My beef with him is his poor resolution of season-long arcs. Don't start an intriguing storyline with no real direction and a crummy ending! And the same way I hated Rose's turn as the Doctor's whole world, Clara was worse. More mistakes were making Amy and River overly bitchy, dumping on Rory too much (I didn't like the dumping on Mickey either), and making River Song more Doctorly than the Doctor (though I will say Jenna Coleman and Alex Kingston were fabulous in their roles).
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Q: How many of the New Adventures have you read?
A: I’ve read quite a few, but not so many of them anymore. There’s 24 of them a year. That’s too bloody many. I’ve never wanted 24 new Doctor Who adventures a year. Six was a perfectly good number.
Q: But Doctor Who was on 40 weeks of the year in the Hartnell era.
A: Yes, but did you see the pace of those shows? They were incredibly show. Hideous. I dearly love Doctor Who, but I don’t think my love of it translated into it’s being a tremendously good series. It was a bit crap at times, wasn’t it?
Q: You’ve pointed out in the past that there’s a certain camp value to it sometimes.
A: If you judge it on what they were trying to do, which is create a low budget, light-hearted children’s adventure serial for teatime, it’s bloody amazingly good. If you judge it as a high class drama series, it’s falling a bit short. But that’s not what it was trying to be.
Q: I think Doctor Who in the 60’s was simply of its time.
A: Even for the 60’s, it was slow. If you look at the first episode of Doctor Who, that betrays the lie that it’s just the 60’s, because that first episode’s really good. The rest of it’s shit.
Q: They had months of lead-up time to it. After that, it was weekly.
A: That’s fair enough, but the rest is still bad.
Q: The fans tend to try to compare it to I, Claudius. There’s a certain macho quality to some fans that makes them say it’s up there with Shakespeare.
A: I, Claudius had a brilliant script and a cast of brilliant actors. These are two things we can’t say, in all forgiveness, about some periods of Doctor Who. Much as I love it…
Q: You’re willing to recognise its limitations?
A: Yes. I still think most of the Peter Davison era stands up.
Q: I hated the Davison era.
A: How could you? When I look back at Doctor Who now, I laugh at it fondly. As a television professional, I think ‘How did these guys get a paycheque every week?’. Nothing from the black and white days, with the exception of the pilot episode, should have got out of the building. They should have been clubbing those guys to death. You’ve got an old guy in the lead who can’t remember his lines. You’ve got Patrick Troughton, who was a good actor, but his companions – how did they get their Equity card? They’re unimaginably bad. Once you get to the colour stuff, some of it’s watchable, but it’s laughable. Mostly now, looking back, I’m startled by it. Given that it’s a teatime show, a children’s show, I think most of the Peter Davison stuff is well-constructed, the directors are consistent.
Q: They’re consistently crap.
A: Peter Davison is a better actor than all the other ones. That’s the simple reason why it works better. There’s no complicated reason why Peter Davison carried on working and all the others disappeared into a retirement home. I recently watched a very good Doctor Who story, one I couldn’t really fault. It was Snakedance. Sure, it was cheap, but it was beautifully acted, well-written. There was a scene where Peter Davison has to explain what’s going on. The Doctor always has to. Now, some old actor like Tom Baker would come to a shuddering halt in the middle of the set and stare at the camera, because he can’t bear the idea that someone else is in the show. But Peter Davison is such a good actor, he manages to panic on the screen for a good two minutes, which has you sitting on the edge of your seat because you’re thinking ‘God, this must be really bad’. He’s got the most awful lines to say, but he’s doing it brilliantly. My memory of Doctor Who is based on bad television that I enjoyed at the time.
It could get me really burnt saying this, but Doctor Who is aimed at eleven year olds. Don’t you think it’s fair to say that Doctor Who was a great idea that happened to the wrong people? I think the actual structure, the actual format is as good as anything that’s ever been done. The character of the Doctor, the TARDIS, all that stuff is so good, it can actually stand not being done terribly well. There was some very good stuff spread over the twenty-five years, but that wasn’t enough.
Q: We were having a dinner party when the documentary Resistance is Futile was first shown. Everyone loved it, but as soon as the 60’s episode The Time Meddler came on, people turned away within thirty seconds. Remembrance of the Daleks, when it was first on, we thought it was fast-paced. Now it looks slow and staid.
A: None of this is true. We’ve had an absolute perception of pacing for a very long time. Some of Shakespeare is pretty pacy.
Q: Shakespeare has people standing around on stage spouting for ten minutes at a time.
A: Okay, I agree. Shakespeare is not as good as Doctor Who.
Q: When it comes to Shakespeare, the perception of pace changes with the times.
A: Doctor Who wasn’t limited by the times or the style that were prevalent then. It was limited by the relatively meagre talent of the people who were working on it.
Q: And yet the people who were working on it turned over on a regular basis. Are you saying they were all mediocre?
A: Mostly they were middle of the range hacks who were not going to go on to do much else. Over 26 years, the hitrate is not high enough. There are people who have worked on Doctor Who and gone on to great things, like Douglas Adams. I just think most people thought this was going to be the big moment of their lives, which is a shame. As a television format, Doctor Who equals anything. Unless I chose my episodes very carefully, I couldn’t sit anyone I work with in television down in front of Doctor Who and say ‘Watch this’.
Q: What episode would you show them? I’d go for good old reliable Robert Holmes, a man who knew what drama was. The Talons of Weng Chiang part 1, a very good hack.
A: How could a good hack think that the BBC could make a giant rat? If he’d come to my house, when I was fourteen, and said ‘Can BBC Special Effects do a giant rat?’, I’d have said no. I’d rather see them do something limited than something crap. What I resented was going to school two days later, and my friends knew I watched this show, and they’d say ‘Did you see the giant rat?’, and I’d have to say I thought there was dramatic integrity elsewhere.
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chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
I had read some quotes from this interview, but I'd never read the whole thing. Funny how he wants us all to forget that he once slagged the show off so horribly, but now wants us to believe that he's always been the biggest fan there was. I don't hate on the guy for making the comments he made, but to then sit and pretend that he didn't feel that way is pretty in-genuine.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Here is his explanation for the interview in later years....
“I’m vile.
Full of myself.
Pompous, and dismissing all the writers of the old show as lazy hacks.
Dear God, I blush, I cringe, I creep.
I walked out of the interview high on my own genius, and wrote Chalk, one of the most loathed and derided sitcoms in the history of the form.
The thing about life is, you can always rely on it to administer a good slap when required”…
“I’m vile.
Full of myself.
Pompous, and dismissing all the writers of the old show as lazy hacks.
Dear God, I blush, I cringe, I creep.
I walked out of the interview high on my own genius, and wrote Chalk, one of the most loathed and derided sitcoms in the history of the form.
The thing about life is, you can always rely on it to administer a good slap when required”…
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Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
I notice that he does not actually retract any of the statements in his explanation, just references one of his comments in passing......
I don't agree with all of what he said but he is right in some aspects. Some of the acting was pretty woeful over the years and, given that it was never a big budget show (and a significant percentage of what budget there was went to special effects), there was never much money to pay for top notch talent in any area of the show. That doesn't mean that some of the people involved weren't top notch, but they tended to get better offers and move on fairly quickly. And there's a lot to be said for his comments on pacing. There were times in the show when it was positively glacial, largely due to the fact that many stories had to be stretched so the budget didn't disappear building new sets every other week.
And as a Peter Davison fan, I find myself forced to agree with his comments about the high standard of that era. I took my kids through a highlights run of classic Who a few years ago and when we got to the Davison era there wasn't a story I was prepared to miss so they ended up watching every episode.
I think he's wrong about it not being representative of its era but as the series progressed (especially towards the end) it didn't keep pace with the times and I think that was a large part of the reason it ended up being cancelled.
Format wise and (mostly) story wise, there's nothing to match it. But production wise it was pretty so so most of the time.
And as a Peter Davison fan, I find myself forced to agree with his comments about the high standard of that era. I took my kids through a highlights run of classic Who a few years ago and when we got to the Davison era there wasn't a story I was prepared to miss so they ended up watching every episode.
I think he's wrong about it not being representative of its era but as the series progressed (especially towards the end) it didn't keep pace with the times and I think that was a large part of the reason it ended up being cancelled.
Format wise and (mostly) story wise, there's nothing to match it. But production wise it was pretty so so most of the time.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
The best hope for a bright future?
Or the beginning of the end?
His Torchwood and Who credits.....
Torchwood
- "Day One" (2006)
- "Cyberwoman" (2006)
- "Countrycide" (2006)
- "End of Days" (2007)
- "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" (2008)
- "Adrift" (2008)
- "Fragments" (2008)
- "Exit Wounds" (2008)
Doctor Who
5 episodes, 6 mini-episodes (2007-2012):
- "42" (2007)
- "The Hungry Earth" & "Cold Blood" (2010)
- Pond Life (2012 mini-episode)
- "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" (2012)
- "The Power of Three" (2012)
- P.S. (2012 mini-episode)
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the badwolf
Member: Rank 1
Wel I for one don't like the choice. I never took to a female master and while I hope I take to a female doctor I don't expect to on first impressions I liked was unsure about Chris Eccleston, david Tennant I liked, matt smith I really liked but Jodie Whittaker Meh stunt casting springs to mind. I hope I am wrong but unlike the others, I just can't see her as the doctor.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Chris Chibnall.....
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Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
An article from the Radio Times on the 13th June....
New Doctor Who boss Chris Chibnall has some bold and innovative ideas for the show
The incoming showrunner gives his first hints of what his approach will be
It looks like new Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall is set to shake up the long-running sci-fi drama when he takes over at the end of the year.
In an interview with Television, the in-house magazine of the Royal Television Society, Chiball says that all options are on the table for the programme, including a whole-series storyline of the kind he pursued on three series of Broadchurch.
Asked if this approach were possible, he replied “yes”, adding that "what the BBC was after was risk and boldness” when they approached him for the job.
Admitting that he resisted accepting the role “for a very long time”, Chibnall said the BBC had agreed with his ideas for the show – somewhat to his surprise.
“I had ideas about what I wanted to do with it," he said. "When I went to them and said, ‘This is what I would do’, I actually expected them to say, ‘Ooh, let’s talk about that’, but they said: ‘Great!’”
Interviewer Mark Lawson writes in the same piece: “Chibnall’s general tone suggests that there may be a radical revamp of Doctor Who, which will please those who have suggested the show needs a kick up the Tardis.”
Chibnall’s friend and collaborator, the director James Strong is also quoted in the same piece as saying: “Well, my own completely personal view is that it does. It used to be – and I stress this is my personal opinion – at the heart of the schedule, an unmissable family show and, for some reason, it’s slipped a bit from the national consciousness.
“For me, when it goes towards storylines that are a little bit more for the fans, I think you can lose that general appeal. I think Chris is going to offer a slightly different take on what the show should be.
“I know what a big fan of the show he is and I know how much he feels he has a vision for it," added Strong. “It’s a five-year project. That was a huge decision. He’s in his absolute prime and could have done whatever he wanted, writing-wise. It’s an absolutely wonderful result for Doctor Who. I think Chris, essentially, writes emotional thrillers, and that’s perfect for that show.”
Chibnall is currently involved in the search for a new Doctor, who is likely to appear in an on-screen regeneration when incumbent Time Lord Peter Capaldi leaves the role in the 2017 Christmas special.
Chibnall’s series is slated to begin filming early next year with a likely broadcast in the autumn of 2018, according to sources.
New Doctor Who boss Chris Chibnall has some bold and innovative ideas for the show
The incoming showrunner gives his first hints of what his approach will be
It looks like new Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall is set to shake up the long-running sci-fi drama when he takes over at the end of the year.
In an interview with Television, the in-house magazine of the Royal Television Society, Chiball says that all options are on the table for the programme, including a whole-series storyline of the kind he pursued on three series of Broadchurch.
Asked if this approach were possible, he replied “yes”, adding that "what the BBC was after was risk and boldness” when they approached him for the job.
Admitting that he resisted accepting the role “for a very long time”, Chibnall said the BBC had agreed with his ideas for the show – somewhat to his surprise.
“I had ideas about what I wanted to do with it," he said. "When I went to them and said, ‘This is what I would do’, I actually expected them to say, ‘Ooh, let’s talk about that’, but they said: ‘Great!’”
Interviewer Mark Lawson writes in the same piece: “Chibnall’s general tone suggests that there may be a radical revamp of Doctor Who, which will please those who have suggested the show needs a kick up the Tardis.”
Chibnall’s friend and collaborator, the director James Strong is also quoted in the same piece as saying: “Well, my own completely personal view is that it does. It used to be – and I stress this is my personal opinion – at the heart of the schedule, an unmissable family show and, for some reason, it’s slipped a bit from the national consciousness.
“For me, when it goes towards storylines that are a little bit more for the fans, I think you can lose that general appeal. I think Chris is going to offer a slightly different take on what the show should be.
“I know what a big fan of the show he is and I know how much he feels he has a vision for it," added Strong. “It’s a five-year project. That was a huge decision. He’s in his absolute prime and could have done whatever he wanted, writing-wise. It’s an absolutely wonderful result for Doctor Who. I think Chris, essentially, writes emotional thrillers, and that’s perfect for that show.”
Chibnall is currently involved in the search for a new Doctor, who is likely to appear in an on-screen regeneration when incumbent Time Lord Peter Capaldi leaves the role in the 2017 Christmas special.
Chibnall’s series is slated to begin filming early next year with a likely broadcast in the autumn of 2018, according to sources.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Steven Moffat reveals the one Doctor Who moment he regrets
""There's one mistake that rankles me to this day because it's just wrong."
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has just a Christmas special this year before he hands over the reins to Broadchurch's Chris Chibnall and his new Doctor, Jodie Whittaker.
And as the end draws near, Moffat has taken part in a Q&A about his time on the show – and revealed one moment he really regrets.
Find out what it is here:
When asked what he would change if he could, Moffat said: "I'd change all my mistakes but that would be exhausting."
He then added: "There's one mistake that rankles me to this day because it's just wrong. There's a scene at the end of a season 5 episode called 'Flesh and Stone' where Amy (Karen Gillan) comes on to the Doctor (Matt Smith) and it's a very good idea for a series because she's been through this traumatic experience and she doesn't quite know who or what the Doctor is or what his interest is in her.
"There's a brilliant scene to be written there and I entirely avoided writing it. I played it for laughs and it's so wrong."
And here's that very scene:
Moffat added that he was most proud of "not screwing up 'The Day of The Doctor'", especially given there were "many opportunities for me to screw it up and screwing it up is something I'm really good at
Moffat also addressed what have been the best and worst parts to his role on Doctor Who.
He said: "There are so many great parts to being involved in the show that I don't know where to start. I'll know the answer to that when I finish and look back in my days of regret and humiliation.
"But the best part was absolutely everything... if I had to say anything, I suppose the friends I've met. I've met some really great friends over the years on Doctor Who, many of them, and that is what I get to take away.
"As always the very, very best thing is the people you meet."
When asked if the show could continue forever, Moffat replied: "I absolutely know [it can] – or in whatever form the future holds for us for as long as people want stories.
"Just as King Arthur keeps going, as Robin Hood keeps going, Doctor Who will always be there. If you take it off the air for 16 years and it comes back as the biggest show in television, there isn't anything you could do to this show.
"Doctor Who goes on forever, it is more than a TV programme, more than a story – it is actually a legend."
And the legend is continuing, with Whittaker making history as the first female Doctor.
Peter Capaldi announced his exit from the show in January 2017, with Moffat confirming his own departure a year earlier.
Both will leave the show at Christmas in a special episode also featuring David Bradley as the First Doctor, with Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall heading up the show from next year.
Chibnall is said to have a "five-year plan" for the series, revealing: "What the BBC was after [with the new era] was risk and boldness."
Though the BBC is yet to make an official announcement on the show's long-term future, a press release from BBC Worldwide and Shanghai Media Group (SMG) Pictures hinted that "series 12-15" are in the works, along with series 11.
""There's one mistake that rankles me to this day because it's just wrong."
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has just a Christmas special this year before he hands over the reins to Broadchurch's Chris Chibnall and his new Doctor, Jodie Whittaker.
And as the end draws near, Moffat has taken part in a Q&A about his time on the show – and revealed one moment he really regrets.
Find out what it is here:
When asked what he would change if he could, Moffat said: "I'd change all my mistakes but that would be exhausting."
He then added: "There's one mistake that rankles me to this day because it's just wrong. There's a scene at the end of a season 5 episode called 'Flesh and Stone' where Amy (Karen Gillan) comes on to the Doctor (Matt Smith) and it's a very good idea for a series because she's been through this traumatic experience and she doesn't quite know who or what the Doctor is or what his interest is in her.
"There's a brilliant scene to be written there and I entirely avoided writing it. I played it for laughs and it's so wrong."
And here's that very scene:
Moffat added that he was most proud of "not screwing up 'The Day of The Doctor'", especially given there were "many opportunities for me to screw it up and screwing it up is something I'm really good at
Moffat also addressed what have been the best and worst parts to his role on Doctor Who.
He said: "There are so many great parts to being involved in the show that I don't know where to start. I'll know the answer to that when I finish and look back in my days of regret and humiliation.
"But the best part was absolutely everything... if I had to say anything, I suppose the friends I've met. I've met some really great friends over the years on Doctor Who, many of them, and that is what I get to take away.
"As always the very, very best thing is the people you meet."
When asked if the show could continue forever, Moffat replied: "I absolutely know [it can] – or in whatever form the future holds for us for as long as people want stories.
"Just as King Arthur keeps going, as Robin Hood keeps going, Doctor Who will always be there. If you take it off the air for 16 years and it comes back as the biggest show in television, there isn't anything you could do to this show.
"Doctor Who goes on forever, it is more than a TV programme, more than a story – it is actually a legend."
And the legend is continuing, with Whittaker making history as the first female Doctor.
Peter Capaldi announced his exit from the show in January 2017, with Moffat confirming his own departure a year earlier.
Both will leave the show at Christmas in a special episode also featuring David Bradley as the First Doctor, with Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall heading up the show from next year.
Chibnall is said to have a "five-year plan" for the series, revealing: "What the BBC was after [with the new era] was risk and boldness."
Though the BBC is yet to make an official announcement on the show's long-term future, a press release from BBC Worldwide and Shanghai Media Group (SMG) Pictures hinted that "series 12-15" are in the works, along with series 11.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
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Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
For those that have not seen it, a young Chris Chibnall went onto a tv show in 1986, criticising the recent Colin Baker "Trial of a Time Lord" season....
New Doctor Who chief Chris Chibnall wishes he could turn back time after savaging the show’s “boring” writers on live TV as a teenage fanboy.
He was a member of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society and tore into Pip and Jane Baker on the BBC’s Open Air in 1986.
Chris slammed their story The Trial of a Time Lord as “very clichéd” and featuring “silly monsters” that “could have been a lot better”. A gutted-looking Jane said: “We’ve always enjoyed working on it – until today. I’m not so sure now.”
The Doctor at the time was Colin Baker.
In 2007 Chris admitted he had been racked with guilt over his attack.
He said: “On TV, it came across much more viciously than it felt in the studio. Pip and Jane reacted badly to it – it hit them. But I was struggling for words and things came out that, in retrospect, weren’t the most polite words.
“We did correspond about a year later and I apologised for being so rude to them, and they accepted that. So it ended on good terms.”
Embarrassed Chris, 45, who wrote ITV detective hit Broadchurch, added: “At 16 you shouldn’t be in a television studio talking about Doctor Who, you should be out getting drunk. Thank god for college.”
Chris takes over the sci-fi show for the series out in 2018 – and has hinted he is not expecting the job to be easy.
He said: “Crying at 1am is part of the job, it really is. Staring at the computer screen and thinking it’s impossible to put all those things together is absolutely part of the job.
“Possibly more so on Doctor Who and Torchwood, because they are twice as difficult as other shows.”
Chris starts speaking at 2 minutes in..... and again at 4:40 and 7:30
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I find it pretty hard to disagree with what he was saying. He probably could have phrased it a bit nicer but that tends to not be how 16yo's think. But he's right to a fair degree. The stories of the time were very derivative and cliched. At the same time it's hard to blame Pip & Jane Baker too much as they tended to be the ones called in to write stories on very short notice. Especially the last episode of Trial of a Timelord which I think they only had a couple of days to write with no idea what the intended ending had been.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Chris Chibnall says fourth series of Broadchurch is very unlikely
AUGUST 17, 2017
Following the broadcast of the series three finale on BBC America last night, Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall has revealed to Entertainment Weekly that it’s highly unlikely we’ll see David Tennant and Olivia Colman reuniting for a fourth series.
“I don’t have any other series for this world,” said Chibnall. “There were these three stories. I wouldn’t want to do repeated versions of these crimes. I don’t think that would ring true to me. So, at the moment, I don’t think I have another story for this world and I’m not sure that will change, really. So, I think it’s probably goodbye for good.”
Chibnall went on to joke that they may be persuaded should the BBC decide to send them off to some exotic location: “I think wherever David Tennant and Olivia Colman might wish to spend a few months of their year… Yeah, Hawaii could be good. France. New Zealand. I’m sure you’d have eager ears from some of the cast!”
Chibnall is currently gearing up to replace Steven Moffat on the BBC’s Doctor Who, which will reunite him with Broadchurch actress Jodie Whittaker, who is taking on the role of the Thirteenth Doctor.
AUGUST 17, 2017
Following the broadcast of the series three finale on BBC America last night, Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall has revealed to Entertainment Weekly that it’s highly unlikely we’ll see David Tennant and Olivia Colman reuniting for a fourth series.
“I don’t have any other series for this world,” said Chibnall. “There were these three stories. I wouldn’t want to do repeated versions of these crimes. I don’t think that would ring true to me. So, at the moment, I don’t think I have another story for this world and I’m not sure that will change, really. So, I think it’s probably goodbye for good.”
Chibnall went on to joke that they may be persuaded should the BBC decide to send them off to some exotic location: “I think wherever David Tennant and Olivia Colman might wish to spend a few months of their year… Yeah, Hawaii could be good. France. New Zealand. I’m sure you’d have eager ears from some of the cast!”
Chibnall is currently gearing up to replace Steven Moffat on the BBC’s Doctor Who, which will reunite him with Broadchurch actress Jodie Whittaker, who is taking on the role of the Thirteenth Doctor.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
As well as his WHO episodes, Chibnall also wrote POND LIFE......
He also wrote a minisode called P.S. that was never actually shot.....
He also wrote a minisode called P.S. that was never actually shot.....
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