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[StalkerUKCG]

He's going to be crushed when he finds out the Doctor isn't real...

Then again, I hate the whole Santa thing too. So that's just my own jaded opinion I suppose.

Me to, Don't plan to ever tell that to my child. I knew from a very early age he wasn't real. I think maybe 3-4. I found my mother wrapping my present. She quickly told me it was to send to santa for my cousin but when xmas came around and my cousin never got it I put 2 and 2 together and straight up told her I knew. It stopped then.

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

He's going to be crushed when he finds out the Doctor isn't real...

Then again, I hate the whole Santa thing too. So that's just my own jaded opinion I suppose.

Just say that he got trapped on a parallel universe that we can see on tv. Problem solved.

Spoiler

At least until he's 10.

 

[Avixph]

Me to, Don't plan to ever tell that to my child. I knew from a very early age he wasn't real. I think maybe 3-4. I found my mother wrapping my present. She quickly told me it was to send to santa for my cousin but when xmas came around and my cousin never got it I put 2 and 2 together and straight up told her I knew. It stopped then.

You may not plan to tell them about Santa Claus, however other family members will.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

You may not plan to tell them about Santa Claus, however other family members will.

I'm making it a point not to. I worry about my GF's side of the family because they seem more into Xmas than mine. I'm absolutely fine with it being a day for good food and gifts to show love.

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

Goddamn, you guys are a bunch of regular Scrooges. I understand not wanting a child to not believe in something that isn't real, but Santa greatly enhanced the mystery and magic of Christmas when I was a kid.


Santa IS real. In my heart. :3

 

[APZonerunner]

I had the pleasure of witnessing Liz Sladen at a public sort of event once, and she would speak to every single kid she could as a priority - over adults - and she spoke to children as Sarah Jane, not as herself. She'd act as if it were all real and talk to them about the Doctor as a person, and tell them little stories never on-screen and things, and promise to pass on messages to him if she saw him again. More beautifully than that, she'd always reiterate one of the lines she used to say a lot in SJA, that the most important adventures of all is to live an exciting life on Earth.

It was unbelievably sweet to witness. Freema Agyeman does the same, too - pretends it's all real to kids of a certain age. Not sure any of the others do. There's nothing wrong with that stuff, not for children. He'll reach a certain age and he'll begin to work it out himself, then he'll ask. Same with the Santa stuff. The only way he's fucked for life is that he'll be a Doctor Who fan for life, and, well...

 

[Fiktion]

I think that Peter Capaldi coming in the middle of the night to deliver presents is a much better fantasy than Santa Claus.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

I had the pleasure of witnessing Liz Sladen at a public sort of event once, and she would speak to every single kid she could as a priority - over adults - and she spoke to children as Sarah Jane, not as herself. She'd act as if it were all real and talk to them about the Doctor as a person, and tell them little stories never on-screen and things, and promise to pass on messages to him if she saw him again.

That is amazing, It makes me think even more of Liz. What a great woman. Such a shame. I watched an episode of Sarah Jane the other day to check out The Corsair and it was pretty heartbreaking that she will never be in anything like that or DW again.

I think that Peter Capaldi coming in the middle of the night to deliver presents is a much better fantasy than Santa Claus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGjZigDMZdg

 

[RobotNinjaHornets]

I think that Peter Capaldi coming in the middle of the night to deliver presents is a much better fantasy than Santa Claus.

"Ho ho fuckin' ho, Merry Cuntmas"

I genuinely can't separate Capaldi from Tucker. It may be a problem fairly soon.

 

[Jest Chillin]

It's one thing for a kid to believe in something that's bigger but never have real solid evidence of it. It's another to be fully blown, absolutely convinced of their existence. Because children are cruel and undoubtedly someone will confront them and tease them for believing.

But at least that kid's will have one hell of a ride through his imagination up until that point.

 

[Quick]

"Ho ho fuckin' ho, Merry Cuntmas"

 

[APZonerunner]

That is amazing, It makes me think even more of Liz. What a great woman. Such a shame. I watched an episode of Sarah Jane the other day to check out The Corsair and it was pretty heartbreaking that she will never be in anything like that or DW again.

Liz is just perfect in the sense that she had an incredible, series-defining character matched in significance only by Rose since, but also unlike Piper for whom it was a career-shaping role but only that, Liz truly understood the cultural significance of what she did, and the significance of her part to children.

The latter is something I think not many understand, not even many of the actors who've played the Doctor. (Though, weirdly, Hartnell 'got' it and always did - those scenes about him obsessing over what each of the TARDIS controls did because he said the kids would notice even though adults wouldn't and addressing kids in the park 'in character' are based on real events).

Of the modern companions, I don't think any of them really have that understanding. Freema is closest - she totally does the 'in character' thing with kids as well. Karen seems to be as strong an ambassador for the show, too (at least she keeps showing up to Who interviews after she's left, but we'll see if that stops in another year or two) but I think her vision of the fandom is defined more by her experience with the older fans abroad.

 

[Rabid-Coot]

Yeah, now we actually know what the Silence's motivation was. It was pretty bold of Moffat to tell the story out of order like that.

After River, the fake death in Utah, Clara and possibly a few others I'm forgetting right now it's fairly normal for Moffat to tell the story out of order like that.

 

[Fiktion]

After River, the fake death in Utah, Clara and possibly a few others I'm forgetting right now it's fairly normal for Moffat to tell the story out of order like that.

In this case it's a little different, I think, because we have now gone two years with most of us assuming that the main plot of Series 6 was part of a linear story. With River we knew it was out of order, and the other stories were contained within a single season.

"Ho ho fuckin' ho, Merry Cuntmas"

I genuinely can't separate Capaldi from Tucker. It may be a problem fairly soon.

Picture Malcolm Tucker at his sentencing hearing. The judge is about to hand down the sentence. A tearful Samantha sits by his side. Then she notices a watch he's carrying and asks him what it means. He looks at it as though noticing it for the first time. Then he pops it open and a stream of golden jizz flies up his nose.

The TARDIS materializes in the courtroom. Pandemonium ensues as the Doctor remembers his real identity, and he pops into the blue box and flies away.

Problem solved!

 

[APZonerunner]

I think one of the best things about Capaldi being cast, other than that he'll be brilliant, is that it almost certainly fucks chances of them deciding to go back and show more of Malcolm in The Thick of It, as the ending is perfect and as it should be. It bummed me out a bit when they said they might revisit it in 18 or 24 months with a special.

He'll now probably be too busy, and even if not who knows if the BBC would want him playing Tucker as the same time as the Doctor - Tennant & Smith both had strict rules about what roles they could take while in the role, which is why Tennant seemed to go on a binge of playing right nasty bastards after he left Who, I think, he'd missed it. By the time Capaldi leaves Who after 2 or 3 years it'll be 4 or 5 since The Thick of It was last on, meaning that ship will probably have sailed.

 

[Fiktion]

I think one of the best things about Capaldi being cast, other than that he'll be brilliant, is that it almost certainly fucks chances of them deciding to go back and show more of Malcolm in The Thick of It, as the ending is perfect and as it should be. It bummed me out a bit when they said they might revisit it in 18 or 24 months with a special.

He'll now probably be too busy, and even if not who knows if the BBC would want him playing Tucker as the same time as the Doctor, and by the time he leaves Who after 2 or 3 years it'll be 4 or 5 since The Thick of It was last on, meaning that ship will probably have sailed.

The best solution would be to have Armando Iannuci replace Moffat.

 

[APZonerunner]

The best solution would be to have Armando Iannuci replace Moffat.

We've had this conversation before, but I don't reckon he's qualified at all in one sense and is so utterly overqualified in another he'd probably never take the job if the BBC asked him, as he has US and UK production houses thrusting money at him to make comedy. He'd write a good single episode, though.

 

[Exterminieren]

The best solution would be to have Armando Iannuci replace Moffat.

Yes, replace the experienced showrunner who has plenty of experience in the area and still struggles to get a regular series out with a guy who has absolutely no applicable experience of the necessary type. That'll go grand.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

I think Gaiman would be perfect for showrunner but its never happening. I like Gattis too.

My main gripe with Moffat has been the shift from Sci-Fi to Dark Fairytale.

When I read this it suddenly made sense to me the direction moffat was going

"We wanted to give the look of the series a slightly more storybook, fairy-tale feel - within reason."

He added: "It wasn't about suddenly becoming Tim Burton, but it was finding a pinch of that, a pinch of Twilight, a pinch of Harry Potter"

 

[Fiktion]

We've had this conversation before, but I don't reckon he's qualified at all in one sense and is so utterly overqualified in another he'd probably never take the job if the BBC asked him, as he has US and UK production houses thrusting money at him to make comedy. He'd write a good single episode, though.

The thrust of your argument about him being under qualified was that he's never done anything in the genre, but the same could be said for RTD. Remember, The Thick of It had a shoestring budget at the beginning and he made it work. Clearly he's an effective manager, probably more so than Moffat.

Yes, replace the experienced showrunner who has plenty of experience in the area and still struggles to get a regular series out with a guy who has absolutely no applicable experience of the necessary type. That'll go grand.

Wait. So you're saying that because the current guy never makes the trains run on time, the other guy who always did make the trains run on time will clearly be worse. Wat.

I must have forgotten that time when Moffat was productive like RTD. Wait, he never was. Never will be. He ain't that guy.

 

[acheron_xl]

I think Gaiman would be perfect for showrunner but its never happening. I like Gattis too.

My main gripe with Moffat has been the shift from Sci-Fi to Dark Fairytale.

When I read this it suddenly made sense to me the direction moffat was going

Gaiman would be a shit showrunner. He has no experience producing a television show. Script editor would be the highest honor he could hope for.

 

[Exterminieren]

Remember, The Thick of It had a shoestring budget at the beginning and he made it work. Clearly he's an effective manager, probably more so than Moffat.

This is the same The Thick of It that managed 4 truncated series over a span of 7 years, right? All without CGI, or stunts, or pyrotechnics or anything that Who has on a week-to-week basis?

RTD and Moffat both had experience of running regular drama. Iannucci hasn't. It's a total mismatch.

Also, RTD first made his name with kid's sci-fi, with Dark Season and Century Falls. At the end of the day, though, he got the Who job because he asked for it- the acclaimed dramas and the genre stuff helped, but he chose Who, not the other way round.

 

[Fiktion]

If you ignore the parts of my posts that are addressed to you I have to conclude that you're not actually interested in a conversation.

 

[Quick]

I think Gaiman would be perfect for showrunner but its never happening. I like Gattis too.

Gaiman has experience in the film and TV industry, but it's mostly writing and consultation work. It would be a bold move by the BBC to appoint him showrunner when there are other, more qualified people available. I do hope he becomes at least a semi-regular writer for the show.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Gaiman would be a shit showrunner. He has no experience producing a television show. Script editor would be the highest honor he could hope for.

Didnt he work as a producer on the movie Beowulf?

I know it's not TV but the leap can't be too hard.

Either way Script Editor is probably a better role for him if he ever had a serious involvement with DW

 

[APZonerunner]

The thrust of your argument about him being under qualified was that he's never done anything in the genre, but the same could be said for RTD. Remember, The Thick of It had a shoestring budget at the beginning and he made it work. Clearly he's an effective manager, probably more so than Moffat.

Wait. So you're saying that because the current guy never makes the trains run on time, the other guy who always did make the trains run on time will clearly be worse. Wat.

I must have forgotten that time when Moffat was productive like RTD. Wait, he never was. Never will be. He ain't that guy.

Eh. I don't think it's about genre, but the tone of what you've done before. In the case of RTD, I feel like everything in the man's career was leading towards Doctor Who - the kid's focus on Why Don't You in 1985, the 6-part Buffyesque teen sci-fi drama of Dark Fiction in 1990, the three episodes of Chucklevision he did, the supernatural/horror mix of Century Falls, designed for young adults, his character work on Revelations, Coronation Street & The Grand in the mid 90s, and then the string of award-getting adult drama after that in the form of Queer as Folk, Bob & Rose, Mine All Mine, The Second Coming and Casanova, all of which added up to give him top-notch budget wrangling, production and adult TV chops.

His career is like a bloody blueprint for creating somebody to be in charge of Doctor Who; a behemoth of kids TV, soap experience for character development, and a keen interest in sci-fi and the supernatural. He was also one of that elite group of 10-or-so writers whose pub-based antics in the 90s essentially kept Doctor Who alive - of which Gatiss and Moffat were also a key part, alongside people like Rob Sherman, Lawrence Miles, etc.

Moffat didn't - doesn't - have half of the experience RTD has, which is probably why the show has in a production sense been a more creaky ship under him. However, he was chosen for the role because of his work on Who post-2005 more than anything else, which is fine.

Iannuchi is a vastly experienced TV writer and producer, but really only in the comedy and documentary formats. In that sense he'd have as much a chance of falling down on production as Moffat has or as RTD did in series 1, because Who is a different beast entirely. So I'm not sure I buy the he could produce the show better claim, really. I know he likes sci-fi from interviews, but he's never written anything in the genre, so to hand him control of the longest running sci-fi show on TV might seem just a touch mental.

Last, he's famous enough that he can do whatever he wants, and while he's spoken in interviews of admiration for Doctor Who and liking it as a child, he evidently isn't the type of mega-fan who'd turn down a massive blank cheque like RTD or Hollywood opportunities like Moffat in order to do the show. If he was, I'm sure he'd have been in that pub with the rest of them (mostly comedy writers, let's not forget!) in the 90s.

 

[maharg]

Gaiman would be a shit showrunner. He has no experience producing a television show. Script editor would be the highest honor he could hope for.

Showrunners with different talents lean on different other positions to get things done. Not all showrunners are great technical managers, they are sometimes just extremely talented creatively. Gaiman would be fine with the right people around him, and he'd bring a magic to the show few others could from that seat (and moreso than he could under another showrunner as script editor).

Just because Moffat's era has had problems doesn't mean RTD is the only valid template of a showrunner.

 

[Exterminieren]

Wait. So you're saying that because the current guy never makes the trains run on time, the other guy who always did make the trains run on time will clearly be worse. Wat.

No, what you're saying is that the guy who makes the trains run on time must be replaced by a guy who runs a successful local taxi firm. Yes, he's successful in his own right, but the scale, scope and complexity of his job is of an entirely different type to that needed to run the trains.

I must have forgotten that time when Moffat was productive like RTD. Wait, he never was. Never will be. He ain't that guy.

Never claimed he was. That doesn't mean that he isn't immensely more qualified for the job than Iannucci is. Because he is.

If you ignore the parts of my posts that are addressed to you I have to conclude that you're not actually interested in a conversation.

I'm extremely sorry, It took me a while to process your simile.

Showrunners with different talents lean on different other positions to get things done. Not all showrunners are great technical managers, they are sometimes just extremely talented creatively. Gaiman would be fine with the right people around him, and he'd bring a magic to the show few others could from that seat (and moreso than he could under another showrunner as script editor).

"Could" is an extremely big word there. Yes, Gaiman could turn out some inspired work if he was running the show, I don't doubt. But is that enough to put him in a role that he has no serious applicable experience with? I mean, no amount of other people are going to change the fact that Gaiman's never had to coordinate an entire series of television before, and the BBC aren't going to hand it to just anyone.

 

[Fiktion]

Eh. I don't think it's about genre, but the tone of what you've done before. In the case of RTD, I feel like everything in the man's career was leading towards Doctor Who - the kid's focus on Why Don't You in 1985, the 6-part Buffyesque teen sci-fi drama of Dark Fiction in 1990, the three episodes of Chucklevision he did, the supernatural/horror mix of Century Falls, designed for young adults, his character work on Revelations, Coronation Street & The Grand in the mid 90s, and then the string of award-getting adult drama after that in the form of Queer as Folk, Bob & Rose, Mine All Mine, The Second Coming and Casanova, all of which added up to give him top-notch budget wrangling, production and adult TV chops.

His career is like blueprint for creating somebody to be in charge of Doctor Who; a behemoth of kids TV, soap experience for character development, and a keen interest in sci-fi and the supernatural. He was also one of that elite group of 10-or-so writers whose pub-based antics in the 90s essentially kept Doctor Who alive - of which Gatiss and Moffat were also a key part, alongside people like Rob Sherman, Lawrence Miles, etc.

Moffat didn't - doesn't - have half of the experience RTD has, which is probably why the show has in a production sense been a more creaky ship under him. However, he was chosen for the role because of his work on Who post-2005 more than anything else, which is fine.

Iannuchi is a vastly experienced TV writer and producer, but really only in the comedy and documentary formats. In that sense he'd have as much a chance of falling down on production as Moffat has or as RTD did in series 1, because Who is a different beast entirely. So I'm not sure I buy the he could produce the show better claim, really. I know he likes sci-fi from interviews, but he's never written anything in the genre, so to hand him control of the longest running sci-fi show on TV might seem just a touch mental.

Last, he's famous enough that he can do whatever he wants, and while he's spoken in interviews of admiration for Doctor Who and liking it as a child, he evidently isn't the type of mega-fan who'd turn down a massive blank cheque like RTD or Hollywood opportunities like Moffat in order to do the show. If he was, I'm sure he'd have been in that pub with the rest of them (mostly comedy writers, let's not forget!) in the 90s.

Obviously I don't think it's likely that he'll end up with the job since they're probably going to select from the existing circle of writers and regulars, as they did with Moffat, but I honestly don't see how he could do worse from a production standpoint than the debacle of the past two years. As you said, he's probably also more interested in doing bigger and better things.

I do feel that his sense of humor and his satirical predilections are a perfect fit for Who. The novel he's writing right now is practically science fiction, or close enough as to make no real difference. I wouldn't be worried at all about the tone of his work.

No, what you're saying is that the guy who makes the trains run on time must be replaced by a guy who runs a successful local taxi firm. Yes, he's successful in his own right, but the scale, scope and complexity of his job is of an entirely different type to that needed to run the trains.

One word: Veep.

Given a decent budget and regular renewals, he has delivered two full seasons on time and a third will follow next year on the same schedule, like clockwork. I absolutely have more faith in him than Moffat when it comes to being on time.

 

[APZonerunner]

Showrunners with different talents lean on different other positions to get things done. Not all showrunners are great technical managers, they are sometimes just extremely talented creatively. Gaiman would be fine with the right people around him, and he'd bring a magic to the show few others could from that seat (and moreso than he could under another showrunner as script editor).

Just because Moffat's era has had problems doesn't mean RTD is the only valid template of a showrunner.

This is absolutely true, yeah. Not everybody has to be RTD, they just need to be surrounded by the right people.

It's pretty well obvious now that Moffat's era began to struggle seemingly because Wenger and Willis, his replacements for Gardner & Collinson under RTD, had fights with several RTD-era alumni on the mid-level production side throughout Series 5 and then jettisoned them for Series 6 - and couldn't replace them successfully. If the Private Eye and other publications are to be believed that led to the Series 6 split because they went over time and over budget, which then led to Wenger and Willis both walking the plank voluntarily before they were pushed, and they've been playing catch-up ever since.

It hasn't really been Moffat's fault, in a sense. RTD was marvellously supported. The BBC did what the BBC does and gave him two people it perceived as bright rising stars in Wenger and Willis, but the issue seemed to be that they were both monstrously career-driven. Gardner got on board with Doctor Who because she wanted to revive a British icon and Collinson because he was a big old fanboy, whereas it always seemed like Moffat's pair were there because it was the biggest job in TV drama and a great career move. Collinson may have had issues with Eccleston, but he and Gardner were basically bloody saints.

Thing about Gaiman is this: He's too busy. He's too famous. He has too many piles of cash for all-original novels and things and too many projects based out of the USA to sign on to produce Who at a BBC wage in what is a full-time position for a good 9 months of the year minimum. He was asked to do an episode for Series 8 and couldn't even find time for that! They're lucky to have got him twice at all, really.

 

[maharg]

"Could" is an extremely big word there. Yes, Gaiman could turn out some inspired work if he was running the show, I don't doubt. But is that enough to put him in a role that he has no serious applicable experience with? I mean, no amount of other people are going to change the fact that Gaiman's never had to coordinate an entire series of television before, and the BBC aren't going to hand it to just anyone.

I think the last point has more to do with the conservativism of the BBC in these kinds of things than anything else. Taking a risk on people with limited or even no experience in producer positions has actually worked out quite well on American TV, particularly with people who have many years of experience in creative endeavours.

I think you do a severe injustice to Gaiman as a creative producer considering how many years he's worked on and sold his own work in various fields. He's no dumbass when it comes to business, even if his exposure to the business of television in particular is limited.

I agree it's unlikely (though I think Gaiman's desire to not commit to something so time consuming is more likely to be the barrier), but I completely disagree that it'd be a huge risk or that he couldn't handle it.

 

[Fiktion]

I would take Gaiman in a heartbeat if it was possible, but I view that as a far longer shot than Armando "The God" Iannucci (who is already a long shot).

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

Thing about Gaiman is this: He's too busy. He's too famous. He has too many piles of cash for all-original novels and things and too many projects based out of the USA to sign on to produce Who at a BBC wage in what is a full-time position for a good 9 months of the year minimum. He was asked to do an episode for Series 8 and couldn't even find time for that! They're lucky to have got him twice at all, really.

As much as I love the Gaiman episodes (The Doctor's Wife is probably my favorite episode of Doctor Who), I wouldn't want him as showrunner. I feel like his scripts would verge on being on the side of too magical and fairy-taley, even more so than Moffat's.

 

[Exterminieren]

so, what you're saying is that you like iannucci, then.

 

[Fiktion]

I do like Iannucci. He would be so much better than the guys we are likely to get.

I am actually terrified of the possibility of a Toby Whithouse run.

 

[TrueBlue]

I would like to see Iannucci write an episode, I'd be interested to see his take on the genre.

 

[maharg]

As much as I love the Gaiman episodes (The Doctor's Wife is probably my favorite episode of Doctor Who), I wouldn't want him as showrunner. I feel like his scripts would verge on being on the side of too magical and fairy-taley, even more so than Moffat's.

I feel like Moffat's only really scratched the surface of that aspect of Who and I really enjoy it, so I'd be behind it 100%. I don't think it should become what the show is about forever or anything, but Gaiman's take on it would be amazing. And less timey-wimey than Moffat's, which I also enjoy but am admittedly getting a bit tired of. Also less "The Girl Who _________", which I am also getting tired of, and probably darker.

 

[Fiktion]

Can we all agree that Toby Whithouse should never have this job. I'm really scared that it's going to be him.

 

[aHebrewMenagerie]

I feel like Moffat's only really scratched the surface of that aspect of Who and I really enjoy it, so I'd be behind it 100%. I don't think it should become what the show is about forever or anything, but Gaiman's take on it would be amazing. And less timey-wimey than Moffat's, which I also enjoy but am admittedly getting a bit tired of.

I personally want a gritty take on the show, which I don't think we've really got. I want a Doctor Who that feels like in tone, a Bourne movie. I love urban thrillers, and I think the sci-fi-ness of Doctor Who would lend to itself nicely. Which a grittier Doctor Who sounds like what we're getting next season.

 

[Exterminieren]

Can we all agree that Toby Whithouse should never have this job. I'm really scared that it's going to be him.

He's the best candidate! Being Human was fantastic, and The God Complex is a stone-cold classic.

 

[infiniteloop]

Can we all agree that Toby Whithouse should never have this job. I'm really scared that it's going to be him.

Why? I'd like him. I'd prefer him to Gatiss, my worst choice is Chibnall, hopefully he's too busy with Broadchurch to be available.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

As much as I love the Gaiman episodes (The Doctor's Wife is probably my favorite episode of Doctor Who), I wouldn't want him as showrunner. I feel like his scripts would verge on being on the side of too magical and fairy-taley, even more so than Moffat's.

I really dont see how this would be the case with Gaiman. Despite his background he is very much a Whovian and his respect for the show would keep it grounded in the sci fi more than the fairy tale.

I mean if we only take his two episodes to go on its still pretty clear he respects who as sci fi.

The Doctors Wife has a living planet, a bubble universe, a space ship graveyard and technology in a living person.

Nightmare in Silver has blowing up a star as a weapon, a galactic war and 2 minds in one body.

These are all pretty prevelant sci fi tropes.

Not only that but Gaiman's attention to detail is outstanding. The references back to old who and old who characters are great. The Corsair, 699 wonders of the universe, Eye or orion etc.

 

[Future Foundation]

I dunno if you've seen this yet, but Moffat and Capaldi are doing some press together. Here's a clip from the Press Association.

It's a bit short, but there's some good stuff, including Peter joking that he's "1,995 years too young" to play the Doctor.

EDIT: Here's an article about it from Digital Spy.

 

[Fiktion]

He's the best candidate! Being Human was fantastic, and The God Complex is a stone-cold classic.

Aside from Liz, School Reunion was awful. Vampires of Venice was awful. A Town Called Mercy was average. The God Complex was good, but I think it's overrated. It's not a track record that inspires confidence.

He is probably better than Chibnall but that's not saying a whole lot.

 

[Amir0x]

I feel like Moffat's only really scratched the surface of that aspect of Who and I really enjoy it, so I'd be behind it 100%. I don't think it should become what the show is about forever or anything, but Gaiman's take on it would be amazing. And less timey-wimey than Moffat's, which I also enjoy but am admittedly getting a bit tired of. Also less "The Girl Who _________", which I am also getting tired of, and probably darker.

It would be fascinating to watch, but yeah I doubt it'd ever be possible. His second episode wasn't as impressive as the first, but I feel if he could do multi-episode arcs, it'd probably turn into something very special indeed.

I am ready to see Moffat go myself. Clara has to be the most poorly handled companion ever (ok not really but she's still pretty bad). She could have not even shown up in the 50th Anniversary episode as far as I am concerned, eye candy aside.

 

[Exterminieren]

Aside from Liz, School Reunion was awful. Vampires of Venice was awful. A Town Called Mercy was average. The God Complex was good, but I think it's overrated. It's not a track record that inspires confidence.

He is probably better than Chibnall but that's not saying a whole lot.

As I say, the main selling point in Whithouse's favour is Being Human, the show he previously was the showrunner of. That was an incredible bit of work, given some of the obstacles that show had in its way.

I mean, if Moffat has taught us anything, it's that you can't judge a potential showrunner on their individual episodes in the past.

 

[infiniteloop]

I dunno if you've seen this yet, but Moffat and Capaldi are doing some press together. Here's a clip from the Press Association.

*Moffat cackle*

 

[Fiktion]

As I say, the main selling point in Whithouse's favour is Being Human, the show he previously was the showrunner of. That was an incredible bit of work, given some of the obstacles that show had in its way.

I mean, if Moffat has taught us anything, it's that you can't judge a potential showrunner on their individual episodes in the past.

I admit I haven't seen Being Human. If it really is that good then maybe I won't slit my wrists when Whithouse gets the job.

 

[APZonerunner]

Hmm - a friend pointed something out - ever so briefly, in Day of the Doctor, Clara is flying the TARDIS. With help - it's when 11 is on the phone when they're trying to land in the Black Archive. The War Doctor is off to the side, but the Tenth Doctor and Clara are both controlling the TARDIS, messing about with the controls. She's only on one lever when she's in shot, also checking the monitor read-outs or whatever - but, still, she's piloting it. Or helping, at least.

I find this particularly interesting - there's her closing the doors with a click of her fingers, too, but then there's the spoiler for Christmas that suggests that

Spoiler

the Doctor doesn't have the TARDIS with him for most of his time on Trenzalore - he sends it, and Clara, home, because the time the battle takes means Clara would die of old age. So she comes back 900 years later.

What I'm wondering is.. does she fly it home herself? Does she fly back herself? Hmm...

I dunno if you've seen this yet, but Moffat and Capaldi are doing some press together. Here's a clip from the Press Association.

It's a bit short, but there's some good stuff, including Peter joking that he's "1,995 years too young" to play the Doctor.

EDIT: Here's an article about it from Digital Spy.

Particularly amazing about this is Moffat's tiny wince and grimace when Capaldi says 1,995 years, because in doing so he's confirming all the Christmas spoilers! Haha. Deary me.

 

[Fiktion]

Hey I have a question. Does anyone remember a blog for an artist guy who did classy black and white drawings for every episode after watching them, starting from like Series 6 or so? I was curious about what he drew for the 50th. Anyone know what I'm talking about?