nd theres also a very interesting entry where Davies discusses the way he writes Doctor Who, which answers a recurring criticism. Discussing rewatching a repeat of The Sound Of Drums, he ponders the fact that you suddenly learn about things like the Archangel network, the Valiant, and the TARDIS becoming a Paradox Machine out of nowhere, with no advance seeding or foreshadowing in the script. Its a fascinating passage, worth quoting at length:
I can see how annoying that looks. I can see how maddening it must be, for some people. Especially if youre imposing really classical script structures and templates on that episode, even unconsciously. I must look like a vandal, a kid or an amateur
The simple fact is, all those things were planned. All of them were my choice. Theyre not lazy, clumsy or desperate. Theyre chosen. I can see more traditional ways of telling those stories, but Im not interested. I think the stuff that you gain from writing in this way the shock, the whirlwind, the freedom, the exhilaration is worth the world. Ive got this sort of tumbling, freewheeling style that somersaults along, with everything happening now - not later, not before, but now, now, now. Ive made a Doctor Who that exists in the present tense. Its happening now, right in front of your eyes! If you dont like it, if you dont join in with it then
blimey, these episodes must be nonsensical. But those classical structures can be seen in Primeval, in Demons, in Merlin, in all of them and yet we stand with millions more viewers. And I think thats partly why.
