I hope he stays on for a few more years yet out of 8 eps this year we have only had one that was average the rest were good and excellent.

The worse 2 eps were Robots of Sherwood which which was good and Forest Of The Night which was average.

So we have had
6 Excellent
1 Good
1 Average

That is good going

I bet you could, if you gave it some thought...


There you go.

But other people did find them interesting...that's the way it works. Whoever the show runner is they can never please everyone.

It was interesting how closely Moffat seemingly worked with Mathieson on his two scripts. I would be interested to know how much input he had on the Boyce script, the Harness script or even the second Gaiman script (following Moffat's rewrites of The Doctor's Wife).

It's a shame they all aren't as open as Mathieson in that regard - and I don't see it as a coincidence that what I consider to be the weakest episode from the first half of the series was the one without a Moffat credit.

Lets say Gatiss, Harness and Boyce had the least extra work on their scripts. Which of the three do you think are capable of replacing SM? I truly don't believe the role should be filled by one person when Moffat stands aside - unless somebody comes along with a track record of solid, untouched scripts.

All these writers need blogs. That's all there is to it.

Do we know how extensive Moffat's rewrites were on the Doctor's Wife? I have to say the Cyber-travesty episode was much more what I was expecting from Gaiman. So it would be interesting to me if the brilliance of the Doctor's Wife was more Moff than Gaiman.

I just wonder how much time Moffat has for all this. Perhaps when he looked at Forest, he just thought that it was impossible to salvage and left Cottrell Boyce (and us) to his (our) fate.

Presume you mean Philip Hinchcliffe.... I'm struggling to remember any bad stories from Ark In Space through Talons of Weng-Chiang. Maybe "the Android Invasion"?

Moffatt's best has been very good and his worst only a little better than Bertie Bassett. In general he has been uneven, rather than bad.

Either way, it's disheartening that there isn't a replacement in line which we can fairly judge at this stage. At least when RTD said he didn't have to touch Moffat scripts, we could see them "pure" as it were.

Sack Moffat, if you can - but enjoy either the blissful hiatus. It is not as simple as removing him between series and hoping for the best.

.... and in a hung parliament, a small number of MPs can hold the balance of power


Getting back to topic. I haven't disliked any of new Who before , until last nights episode.

I'm wary of getting into 'Moffat is responsible for everything great' and 'he had nothing to do with anything bad' type speculation but I have thought some of the same things as other posters here: how could a writer of the ability of Steven Moffat pass some of these scripts? There's been some great setups in the first 25 minutes of episodes, and I thought 'Forests of the Night' was another good example of that. I was really thinking it was going to be an excellent episode. Then it fell apart just like 'Kill the Moon' did with a sudden insertion of a rather bold, contentious ecological premise, a convenient 'everything reverts to normal' type quick fix and just the usual cop outs and weak endings that have been plaguing the series.

On top of that add another fake moral dilemma (Clara supposedly 'saving' the Doctor by getting him to leave. I just outright didn't understand that. Why can't Clara leave with the Doctor and keep coming back to help on Earth, just as she's already been doing? The finality of the decision that they were promoting really seemed totally artificial). I'm getting fed up of scripts whose premise is so weak that the doctor has to do a speech each week explaining how time is constantly in flux, this disaster really could happen blah blah blah. And of course, because the concept is not suitable for the format of the show there has to be a cop-out at the end so that the status quo is maintained. Either be brave enough to follow through or use more workable ideas.

Every week it's the same weaknesses with the scripts. I do wonder how they are being passed. Are these really the best scripts they can get? Are there really no writers around who can handle this format? I have had that same suspicion as others: these are the best Moffat can get out of people and eventually he is having to just send them to production and hope for the best. i wonder what he privately thinks about some of these episodes.

Of all of the episodes from new writers, I can honestly say only one of them impressed me (Mummy). And in total only four of the season's episodes has left me feeling satisfied (Deep Breath, Listen, The Caretaker and Mummy).

'Forests of the Night' could have been a classic. It really could.

The non reactions from entering the TARDIS are getting really annoying.
its like most of them are just entering a static Caravan and not for the first time this series.
the TARDIS started off getting a reaction from the Humans entering and seeing how different it was. Now its become "so what". That's the show runner's failure to keep a core element running. Reaction entering that place has to remain

Not really. It's been the same since the show began. It's not really a recent thing. The fact is they have 45 minutes and can't waste long periods of time showing people's astonished reactions. On top of the time spent it would also get repetitive and boring. I think the issue was dealt with charm in this episode, and I think it's entirely credible that children would have a far less astonished reaction to it than an adult would.

I think being fussy about realism in Doctor Who is really not very useful. If you want realistic reactions then Doctor Who is the wrong show.

I suppose you could also argue these kids have been brought up in a world where a alien invasion happens every 2nd week.

I think last night it was just dolloped onto the other big problem
the actors who cant act
the city almost dead
Danny/Clara worried about the homework book
again Angst from Clara worried about if Danny found out she was still with the doctor.
Yet they still find time to ram a romance down peoples throats only they care about.
It actually wouldn't be so bad if the romance was even believable.

This is Clara who jumped into the doctors own time stream to save him played a central role on the 50th. Was the impossible girl and series 8 we have seen her worrying over a bloke she only just met.

Into the Dalek was good too, as well as the excellent Mummy and Flatline but the rest have been awful. Like you, I watch it for Peter Capaldi (and SO looking forward to seeing him soon!). Without him, and the occasional nuggets of gold like those episodes, I'd have given up too

[quote=oathy;75365642
This is Clara who jumped into the doctors own time stream to save him played a central role on the 50th. Was the impossible girl and series 8 we have seen her worrying over a bloke she only just met.[/QUOTE]

I'm told that's how love works sometimes.
Apart from the kids not reacting how we would expect when going into the TARDIS, the Doctor's noticed as he then tells them, 'it's bigger on the inside' himself to get a reaction. Maybe it's all to do with the 'dimension' theme? Or maybe kids these days aren't impressed by anything,

Hardly not running with it when the Doctor himself has made a fuss over people not reacting the way he would expect.

It may even turn out to be a plot point

Do you remember the good old days when the Doctor was so reluctant to allow anyone into the Tardis in the first place. I know lots of people love the Tardis, as do I, but I think its a little over used these days. Why not just let it land, Dr and Compamion exit, have their adventure and then at the end of the story return and set off on another one. No blooming kiddies running around inside, no "salvage" merchants trying to take it apart and no more shields. The Tardis never used to have shields, it was indestructable and impervious to everything. What was wrong with that ?

THIS

Capaldi is fine but as others have said, and as was a concern even before the series started, without good scripts he is wasted.

I've enjoyed 'Deep Breath', 'Listen', 'MotOE', 'The Caretaker' and 'Flatline'. The rest has been really dull and/or stupid.

If you don't like it, then don't watch it.

Personally, apart from CE's series, I hated the RTD era, I much prefer this one, although being a classic fan, I'll always prefer that over the Moffat era.

Each producer brings something new to the show, and also changes the style. e.g. the difference in programme style between Hinchcliffe, Williams and JN-T. It would be extremely boring for a show that relies on, and embraces change, in order for it to keep running to stay the same, i.e. to stay how you like it.

I'm no fan of the Graham Williams or RTD eras. But then again, I don't obsess over such a trivial matter. I just . . . don't watch episodes from that period, accept that they're not for me, but are for someone else who does like them and leave it at that.

Not every episode, or every era of Doctor Who should be tailored to you, give those who do like it a chance.

They are entitled to continue to watch, in case the show improves for them eventually.

Why do people get so defensive over people expressing they don't like the current series? I have noticed it a lot and it's why i have avoided this place like the plague. It's not as if people are saying "it's crap" and then that's it. People are giving detailed responses to why it hasn't clicked with them. They have as much right to comment how they don't like it, as much as you do to comment that you like it.

Perhaps because this thread is based on this:


When did the acclaimed Moffat episodes of the RTD era become the worst? Why have few episodes in S5-S8 come close to S1-4? Why is he totally useless? How is every episode confusing, dark and boring? How are 11 & 12 shocking, boring and dull? Who is going to take Moffat's place when he's suddenly sacked over this coup d'état and what makes him the "worst tv producer ever?"

So much for details.

[quote=AidanLunn;75369786]If you don't like it, then don't watch it.

Personally, apart from CE's series, I hated the RTD era, I much prefer this one, although being a classic fan, I'll always prefer that over the Moffat era.

Each producer brings something new to the show, and also changes the style. e.g. the difference in programme style between Hinchcliffe, Williams and JN-T. It would be extremely boring for a show that relies on, and embraces change, in order for it to keep running to stay the same, i.e. to stay how you like it.
/QUOTE]

God i hate this childish response. It's on the level of "I know you are, but what am i?"

I rest my case