"Under Davies's watch, 'Doctor Who' became a mad rush of wackiness with incoherent stories and implausible deus ex machina endings.". I laughed when I read this. Did he/she watch Season 5? Obviously not because it had a season finale that was not only implausible and incoherent, and riddled with so-called wackiness ( the Doctor's wearing of a fez and doing a funny little dance at Amy and Rory's wedding ), but had the mother of all deus ex machina endings. The Pandorica seems to strangely symbolise Season 5 - shiny outside, but empty. This year, ratings have declined - and its not just down to the good weather either. Viewers have blown Steven Moffat a loud raspberry.
Matt Smith had the unenviable task of replacing the incredibly popular David Tennant, the best Doctor since Tom Baker. He has copied Patrick Troughton's Doctor, instead of trying to be original. He has also been let down by some less than spectacular stories. 'The Eleventh Hour' was more like 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' than 'Dr.Who', 'The Beast Below' was based on the ridiculous idea that a giant whale could fly through space with a city on its back, and 'Victory Of The Daleks' was essentially a victory for toy shops. The 'Path Of Angels/Flesh & Stone' had its strengths, but was no more than an uninspired rehash of 'Blink'. The less said about the Silurian two-parter the better ( no third eye? No point! ). The 'Van Gogh' story was okay, but I cannot imagine many children liking it. 'The Lodger' should have stayed as a comic strip. Karen Gillan has nice legs but all the acting ability of a tree. Arthur Darvill's 'Rory', on the other hand, is super. More of him please.
When R.T.D. resigned two years ago, his detractors wept for joy. But he has had a greater understanding of what viewers actually want to watch. His episodes possessed in spades an energy which Moffat's have conspicuously lacked. It is still 'Dr.Who' but...something's missing ( and not just a decent budget ).
One of the oldest 'Who' rules is that the Doctor cannot cross his own time stream. Yet here he is hopping about into the past, leaving notes on the Pandorica and stealing soft drinks. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The reversing of time conceit was last done in 'Last Of The Time Lords', a much criticised episode. So why was it wrong for Davies to have done this but not Moffat? Season 5 must now be written off, like that season of 'Dallas' in which 'Bobby Ewing' ( Patrick Duffy ) was famously resurrected in a shower. It is worth remembering that the long-running soap was cancelled not long afterwards.
'Big Bang' reeks with creative fatigue, and has something approaching contempt for its audience. Having introduced a 'Coalition Of Monsters' the week before, the writer then excluded them from the climax. Where did they get to - the House Of Commons? I agree with Theo Robertson when he said that Moffat could have submitted his shopping list as a script and fans would have applauded him for doing so.
The hatred towards R.T.D. has not abated with his departure. If anything it has intensified. I think we ought to give the guy a break. He did after all propel the series into the stratosphere with astonishingly high ratings, uniformly good reviews, and numerous awards. Best of all - he made 'Dr.Who' loved. Moffat, on the other hand, put the show back where it was in 1989. Watched by very few, cared by no-one, unloved. Is this the way 'Dr.Who' will end - not with a 'Big Bang' but a whimper!
Matt Smith had the unenviable task of replacing the incredibly popular David Tennant, the best Doctor since Tom Baker. He has copied Patrick Troughton's Doctor, instead of trying to be original. He has also been let down by some less than spectacular stories. 'The Eleventh Hour' was more like 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' than 'Dr.Who', 'The Beast Below' was based on the ridiculous idea that a giant whale could fly through space with a city on its back, and 'Victory Of The Daleks' was essentially a victory for toy shops. The 'Path Of Angels/Flesh & Stone' had its strengths, but was no more than an uninspired rehash of 'Blink'. The less said about the Silurian two-parter the better ( no third eye? No point! ). The 'Van Gogh' story was okay, but I cannot imagine many children liking it. 'The Lodger' should have stayed as a comic strip. Karen Gillan has nice legs but all the acting ability of a tree. Arthur Darvill's 'Rory', on the other hand, is super. More of him please.
When R.T.D. resigned two years ago, his detractors wept for joy. But he has had a greater understanding of what viewers actually want to watch. His episodes possessed in spades an energy which Moffat's have conspicuously lacked. It is still 'Dr.Who' but...something's missing ( and not just a decent budget ).
One of the oldest 'Who' rules is that the Doctor cannot cross his own time stream. Yet here he is hopping about into the past, leaving notes on the Pandorica and stealing soft drinks. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The reversing of time conceit was last done in 'Last Of The Time Lords', a much criticised episode. So why was it wrong for Davies to have done this but not Moffat? Season 5 must now be written off, like that season of 'Dallas' in which 'Bobby Ewing' ( Patrick Duffy ) was famously resurrected in a shower. It is worth remembering that the long-running soap was cancelled not long afterwards.
'Big Bang' reeks with creative fatigue, and has something approaching contempt for its audience. Having introduced a 'Coalition Of Monsters' the week before, the writer then excluded them from the climax. Where did they get to - the House Of Commons? I agree with Theo Robertson when he said that Moffat could have submitted his shopping list as a script and fans would have applauded him for doing so.
The hatred towards R.T.D. has not abated with his departure. If anything it has intensified. I think we ought to give the guy a break. He did after all propel the series into the stratosphere with astonishingly high ratings, uniformly good reviews, and numerous awards. Best of all - he made 'Dr.Who' loved. Moffat, on the other hand, put the show back where it was in 1989. Watched by very few, cared by no-one, unloved. Is this the way 'Dr.Who' will end - not with a 'Big Bang' but a whimper!