Who Could Replace Moffat as Showrunner?
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I was looking around the forums and saw the "Time for Moffat to go?" thread, and it started to make me wonder.
I really like what Moffat has done with the show, Series 5 being pure gold for me, and have genuinely enjoyed everything since then. If he stayed for a few more years, I wouldn't complain at all.
However, I don't want him to stay too long since by a certain point it would be nice to see the show be done with a fresh perspective.
The problem is though that while Moffat's stories under RTD were the best of that era, none of the writers under Moffat have seemed to keep consistent quality of that level. There have been some very good stories written by some very good writers, but no one has managed to wow me to the level I think they should.
Out of all the writers that have written under Moffat, who do you think is the best for succeeding him? What would they have to do in order to up their game to be contenders for the job of running Doctor Who?
Like I said, I like what Moffat has done for the show, but I'd like to see someone take over in a few years, but I'd rather Moffat stay on longer than he should, than the show go to someone I don't have confidence in.
(Personally, I think Neil Cross has potential. Both his stories were very good, so I'd like to see what else he could come up with.)
I really like what Moffat has done with the show, Series 5 being pure gold for me, and have genuinely enjoyed everything since then. If he stayed for a few more years, I wouldn't complain at all.
However, I don't want him to stay too long since by a certain point it would be nice to see the show be done with a fresh perspective.
The problem is though that while Moffat's stories under RTD were the best of that era, none of the writers under Moffat have seemed to keep consistent quality of that level. There have been some very good stories written by some very good writers, but no one has managed to wow me to the level I think they should.
Out of all the writers that have written under Moffat, who do you think is the best for succeeding him? What would they have to do in order to up their game to be contenders for the job of running Doctor Who?
Like I said, I like what Moffat has done for the show, but I'd like to see someone take over in a few years, but I'd rather Moffat stay on longer than he should, than the show go to someone I don't have confidence in.
(Personally, I think Neil Cross has potential. Both his stories were very good, so I'd like to see what else he could come up with.)
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I'd love to see what Whithouse could do with The Mara
Also I think giving the Xmas Specials to guest writers like Neil Gaiman etc could work really well
I'm sure this thread will be full of people naming their favourite Who writers but the fact is none of them have had the consistency Moffat has had. Nowhere near. And to be honest, very few of them would even scrape into the Moffat / RTD dominated popular top 20 episodes even once. Not good. RTD relaunched the show extremely sucessfully with his own variation on the classic style. Moffat was the man who wrote all the best stories by a large common consensus and then successfully continued the show more or less in the same vein as RTD, with a few of his own tropes and quirks additionaly thrown in. That's the kind of pedigree needed.
Gattiss, Whithouse, Chibnall etc etc... sorry, but only the most myopic Moffat hater could objectively claim their input to the show is anywhere near to the kind of input Moffat had prior to being 'showrunner'.
There's no point saying Neil Gaiman - he would not give up his successful career as a novelist and his globe-trotting lifestlye to live in Wales and exec a TV programme. Besides which, he's not really an experienced TV writer(he himself has given Moffat a lot of credit for 'The Doctor's Wife')and in fact, only one of his Doctor Who episodes to date was really well received.
As I also said in that other thread, a few years ago Robert Shearman would have appeared to fit the bill. Unfortunately he's barely been involved with the TV show and is nowhere near the scene right now. From what I gather he didn't enjoy his experience of writing for the show.
If he left, I think the best showrunners would be Paul Cornell or Neil Cross (although I am not sure how it would be accepted by some fans who, for some strange reason, hate Rings of Akhaten).
But, as I said, Moffat is still the best choiceand he should stay. Season 8 will probably be similar to 5 because of the new Doctor.
He'd get my vote.
Just depends on whether or not he'd want the job.
It is rather all encompassing sort of one.
This, could not have said it better
http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/11/toby-whithouse-admits-hes-tempted-by-doctor-who-3536822/
Just please not Chibnall. NOT CHIBNALL. I've disliked all his scripts for the show. Especially the Silurian two-parter. Power of Three was almost on the money, but he screwed up the ending totally. He's more suited to drama like Broadchurch than Sci-Fi, IMO.
Whithouse seems like the most natural fit, but I do fear the show would lose something. He's solid, but I'm not convinced he's exceptional. I wouldn't be against it, but I wouldn't get excited about it, either.
It's tough, isn't it! I think the closest to an obvious fit will be MacRae, but not yet, in a few years time. He's run his own show, his Doctor Who episodes have ranged from good to marvellous, quite inventive, might be something there? We'll see how Cross gets on, too. I'll give him a pass for Rings of Akhaten, as it was a bit of a rush - hastily written on the heels of Hide, which was brilliant, and creative, and rather brave. I think a new showrunner needs to be a bit of a pioneer.
Crikey. Where are all the women?
agree completely, he's so hit and miss on individual episodes it would be a disaster. was going to say this earlier just didn't want to be mean by being the first
He has proved that he can write superb stories - notably Broadchurch - so it would be a good choice to have him. Yes I know that some will criticise this and cite the Silurian two-parter. But all writers have off days. Particularly Moffat with Lets Kill Hitler and The Wedding of River Song - two of the worst episodes ever written. Russell had an off day himself with Love and Monsters.
But give him a chance and I bet he will surprise a lot of his critics.
I fear Chibnall would be something of a step backwards and as I've enjoyed the tone of Moffat's series more than Davies, that's not something that would be to my personal taste.
So like I say, for me it would be a toss-up between Whithouse and Overman ...
...It would be close were it not for Overman's asociation with Merlin and Atlantis but I find both of those shows ridiculous and wouldn't want Doctor Who to go that kind of silly.
Toby Whithouse for the win...
He writes good characters, knows how to construct a strong series arc and I really think he's the man to take the show where it needs to go next.
Personally. I think the BBC is already talking to whoever is coming next and I bet it's Chibnell.
Forgive me for not making the assumption that previous episodes will have any bearing on their capabilities as EP. Apologies, Mr. Moffat.
I think it's almost safe to assume one of those three will take over after Moffat leaves.
It will be interesting to see if the Beeb specifically looks for someone who is not a fan of the show, in the way both RTD and Moffat are, just to go for something completely different.
I thought the BBC America figures were still in the region of about a million and a half, which the earlier seasons were also getting.
Time of the Doctor scored 2.47 million - the highest ever audience in the history of the channel!