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Is Moffat more involved in all the episodes than RTD was?
Grand Dizzy
Posts: 7,369 Forum Member
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I was wondering if Moffat has been getting more involved with other writers’ stories than RTD did?
With RTD, I got the impression that he just gave a very basic concept to the writer (like “ghosts and Dickens”) and more or less left the writer to do the rest.
But with this series, the whole thing really feels like it has Moffat working his magic into every episode. The scripts over the last two episodes have been extremely witty, funny and Moffat-ey, and watching Amy’s Choice I was struck at how Moffat-ey the plot was (i.e., clever, imaginitive, twisty and logically sound).
If I hadn’t known otherwise, I would have bet anything this episode was written by Steven Moffat himself. I still find it hard to believe it wasn’t.
Bonus question: will RTD ever come back to do an occasional episode? I’m overjoyed that Moffat is in charge now, but it’s a shame RTD isn’t making any more contributions at all.
With RTD, I got the impression that he just gave a very basic concept to the writer (like “ghosts and Dickens”) and more or less left the writer to do the rest.
But with this series, the whole thing really feels like it has Moffat working his magic into every episode. The scripts over the last two episodes have been extremely witty, funny and Moffat-ey, and watching Amy’s Choice I was struck at how Moffat-ey the plot was (i.e., clever, imaginitive, twisty and logically sound).
If I hadn’t known otherwise, I would have bet anything this episode was written by Steven Moffat himself. I still find it hard to believe it wasn’t.
Bonus question: will RTD ever come back to do an occasional episode? I’m overjoyed that Moffat is in charge now, but it’s a shame RTD isn’t making any more contributions at all.
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And, from what I hear, Moffat is giving the writers in the series a free rein.
No idea where you got that idea from, RTD did rewrites of everyones scripts bar SM and in some cases the re-writes were pretty drastic. He talks a lot about it in The Writers Tale.
Writers usually follow a remit and work with script editors to refine their ideas.
My understanding is that this has been the case for all episode apart from the Doctor Light eps.
I've a feeling we aren't having a Doc light episode this time around thou
Or "Churchill and Daleks" as Moffat said..................
And 'Spitfires in Space'.
It would be a shame not to have a Dr light episode this year thought, an accidental but quite good tradition.
No, the Dr light episodes were born out of production pressures - it's called double-banking and allows 2 episodes to be filmed simultaneously, saving time and money.
As others have said, RTD was heavily involved in editing / rewriting almost all the scripts that came in. I think there was a group of four writers he said he wouldn't (under normal circumstances) re-write of which Steven Moffat was one. In fact there's a note in the Writers Tale when he's outlining Season 4 for budget purposes that goes something like "And of course this is a Steven Moffat episode (god help us!)".
I suspect the reason this series maybe feels like it's got a wee bit more Moffat in all the stories is out of the necessity of building a complicated series arc. There's going to be some bits that HAVE to go in each episode and while some are easy (the crack on Starship UK for instance) others are very much not so (the full-on scene in Vampires of Venice springs to mind). Only a theory mind.
In a weird way we're going to get to see this as RTD is writing a two part Sarah Jane Adventures with Doctor 11. I guess whether or not he gets a full script in Doctor Who will depend on his other commitments and whether or not he feels he could do something new and interesting with the characters. I'm fairly sure if he said he wanted to do it they'd not have a problem with that but on the other hand I wouldn't blame him in the slightest from being utterly burnt out on Doctor Who, at least for a while.
There were several episodes in series 1-4 that RTD had the option of putting his name on he wrote so much of, like the specials, on The Satan Pit, for example he had the option of it going out as being by Matt Jones and Russell T Davies. As Muttley76 said, there was a lot of rewriting going on, The Writer's Tale explains a lot of it. Indeed it says James Moran (The Fires of Pompeii) was hired mainly because he could write fast and wouldn't object when RTD told him he was going to do a total rewrite.
I heard Matthew Graham also got exemption from RTD's
re-writing (possibly because Graham, as a BBC showrunner,
has enough clout to request it).
It does strike me as somewhat control-freakish for the
producer to be re-writing all the scripts for his show so
heavily-why not delegate that task to the script editors?
I'm fairly sure that SM has much the same gig now, so I don't think it's fair to say it's control-freakish, I kind of think it goes with the job of being lead writer.
And I think it also helps keep the tone and vision of the show consistent. There would be a risk with many different writers of it becoming a mish mashed mess- with the guidance of RTD and Moffat it helps it remain varied but consistent at the same time (if that makes sense)
well yes, thats exactly it, isn't it?
I agree with both of you, there is too much at stake (regardless of whether it is RTD or SM) to not rewrite the script. Let's face it, if it works everyone says "Simon Nye" has written a brilliant script, if it doesn't everyone says "SM hasn't done his job as script editor or head writer right".
Also from a practical point of view, if you are doing a season long story arc you need consistency and for no one to ruin it
And as the Writer's Tale shows that even though RTD did keep a close eye on all the scripts...the ones he didn't sometimes would throw a spanner in the works....like the fact both Moff and RTD had given Donna a parallel world and children in the their stories (library Two parter, Turn Left)...and if it hadn't been for Phil, it seems they would have really noticed. So it is a good thing that the head writer does keep a close eye on scripts.
BBC Wales combined the old-style script editor and producer roles because they wanted to have an American-style showrunner. It eliminates the possibility of having the producer and script editor at each others throats (as was the case during parts of the 80s) and ensures one concise vision reaches the screen.
It will be interesting to see that. Matt Smith's Doctor is very removed from what RTD's vision of the character was. RTD will have to honour the direction MS has taken the Doctor in, whilst maintaining the RTD stamp.
Given Doc11 will be involved with two ex-companions, I hope there isn't too much focus on the two 'old' gals squabbling over him with suggestions of them having been sexually involved.
What-Jo and Sarah? :eek: Damn that RTD and his lesbian agenda!:mad::D
If RTD didn't re-write MG's script, does that explain why Fear Her was so bad? :eek: (IMHO, obviously
The script editors on DW now bear no resemblance to the likes of Robert Holmes or Terrance Dicks, both of whom had worked extensively as writers in their own right.
RTD re-wrote extensively on some episodes - the Cybermen two-parter from Series 2 is a notorious example. And, as showrunner, that's his job. That's what his counterparts in the US do, and what he was hired to do.
I suspect SM's intention was to spend less time re-writing scripts in the way RTD was forced to on occasion - hence the roster of experienced names hired for the show.
Whether that plan actually worked is something I'd expect to see acknowledged in the choice of writers for Series 6 ...
All we can say is thank god that RTD did do rewrites on many of the episodes he did because some of them turned out brilliant (The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit stands out). As for how much of this Moffat does I'm guessing it will be around the same. Though we shouldn't just expect he did much to, say, Toby Whithouse's Venice script. It felt very Toby to me and he's a class writer, as Being Human shows.
I don't think he will have a problem....he has after all written for two very distinct Doctors. And has written for the Eigth Doctor...so writing 11, will be no different to those who are also writing Eleven in the current series other than Moff himself.
When I first read the Writer's Tale, I was quite mesmerised on how brilliantly he changes some things. For example the opening scene in Fires of Pompeii was quite drab, and just too long to get to the point.....a few changes here and there and it was sharp, witty and just brilliant.
Have we got a list of episodes we *know* RTD had to do an extensive re-write for?
I know of:
Cybermen 2-parter
The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit
Human Nature / Family Of Blood
The Fires Of Pompeii
And we know we never touched any of the following:
All Moffat episodes
Fear Her
The Lazarus Experiment
The Doctor's Daughter
...oh, and 'Daleks In Manhatten / Evolution Of The Daleks' as he was off ill...
Any more?
Regards,
Cypher
I think there were bits and bobs of the doctor's duaghter...for example the ending changed due to an off-hand comment by Moff...and it was RTD who decided that this should be the case. He also pratically wrote the whole of Unicorn and the Wasp,