Have you submitted your idea of making a feature film of Doctor 9 running away from a fireball, as used in the trailer? I'm sure that will get you the gig

"I may have no professional writing or showrunning experience but here's how I plan to regenerate the show....a 10 second clip of Christopher Eccleston running from a fireball...on a loop,"

The jobs yours. Can you start on Monday?

An inevitability at this point I feel, and it's possible there's truth that both Moffat and Capaldi signed up for Series 10 several weeks ago as I heard.

I do think though that Series 10 should really be his last. Admittedly I've said that about Series 9, and to an extent about Series 8 before we all knew how it unfolded. It's getting a bit repetitive to say such things, but the thing is that even those who like the man and his direction of the show are starting to either see his vision as stale, or at least appreciate a need for change. As someone who has gone from impressed to depressed at his directions for the show from episode to episode I feel regardless of any strengths that someone else will be needed by 2017 for Series 11.

I find it genuinely hard to believe the BBC can't find anybody of a fairly well regarded reputation to take the show on-board though.

I think Malcolm Tucker can sum up my views on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYOlBsls-C0#t=0m07s

Well, first you go through the Panama Canal.

Really? There's me thinking you were a dead cert for new showrunner. What with all your fantastic ideas and everything...

Me two but if he's the only one who will do it I'm happy with Moffatt over no doctor who.

Because the song 'Happy Talk' (whose lines you quoted earlier) was written for, and is in, the musical 'South Pacific' (it's my mother's favourite musical - grew up listening to the soundtrack throughout my early years in the 70s!).

Captain Sensible merely took the original song and covered it as a single - he didn't write the song, or have anything to do with its creation.

That's how we got to South Pacific.

Next you'll be telling me you think Gerry and the Pacemakers wrote 'You'll Never Walk Alone' too...

Being a bit of a cockeyed optimist, I hoped Moff would go.

Oh, well, some enchanted evening I'll get the news that he's resigned, and I can wash that man right out of my hair.

Meanwhile, I can dream of a Moff-free DW and think this nearly was mine.

bad news. he has already outstayed his welcome IMO.

You *really* hoped it was So Long, Farewell didn't you.

B*gger. Wrong one.

(Funny post, Granny.)

I must say, Moff is not one of my favourite things. How do you solve a problem like..er..Stephen?

When he does go, I'll think something good has at last happened.

I have confidence it will happen eventually.

(Sorry - I'm probably over egging it, now. ).

In other news, Doctor Who has survived another year of imminent cancellation.

But I thought Moffat had killed the show!?

Great explanation

A lot of artists have recorded a version of "You'll Never Walk Alone"

I'm not saying I dislike Moffat but come on, on a show like Doctor Who which is constantly about change to be run by the same man for six f**king seasons is a disgrace. At least RTD left after a reasonable four seasons.

We're heading into JNT territory here folks.

Screw Moffat. He gave us his vision of the show in 2010 and it was brilliant, but as the seasons wore on it got stale, just as it did for RTD before him, which is why RTD needed to go. Moffat's vision has also gotten completely stale, but the man doesn't seem to have realised this.

I'm hoping to whatever god is up there that if Series 10 is Moffat's last, Capaldi sticks around for Series 11 just so Moffat can't copy RTD and turn their mutual departure into an undignified whingefest.

After five years of defending Moffat, I am done.

I do like Moffat as well but agreeing with most people here, Series 10 should be his last one.

In fairness, everything's changed more slowly under Moffat, who regularly keeps TARDIS teams on for consecutive series - stands to reason that the showrunner would stick it out a bit longer, too. In continued fairness, there really is no obvious heir to the Doctor Who throne as there was in the Russell T Davies era.

Mark Gatiss, Chris Chibnall and Toby Whithouse have the CVs for the job but haven't written a hold-the-phones classic episode of Doctor Who between them (although I do love The Unquiet Dead and Vampires in Venice), Tom MacRae and Jamie Mathieson have the wit and imagination but not quite the experience, Neil Gaiman is busy busy busy. There are fairly credible murmurs that the reason Moffat's staying on so long is because they have no idea who they might pass Doctor Who along to.

Completely disagree. Whithouse wrote the fantastic School Reunion and The God Complex, while A Town Called Mercy was imo the best episode of Series 7, and also one of the overall greatest Matt Smith episodes. Even his worst script, Vampires was hardly a bad episode.

Whithouse is definitely my choice for Moffat's successor.

Just about sums it up I'm still mostly a fan.I didn't like the War Doctor idea but that aside I thought he let Matt down quite a bit towards the end of his run.I often watch an episode on catch up but just found myself not bothering for a lot of Matts last series and it wasn't due to his performance I still think he was one of the best but the whole long arc just got a bit much in the end.
So far I've been happy with Capaldis run though,maybe a new Doctor has freshened up Moffs ideas.

I do question the relevance of episode delivery though. Ultimately a writer's episodes still fall within the vision of the show runner, and Moffat has been the perfect example of that. Whilst he's been hugely successful at the helm, he is ten times as divisive as show runner as he is was just a writer and the praise for him is nowhere near as unanimous. A showrunner job is very different to a writing job, and I do think people put too many expectations on a writer being a decent showrunner on the basis of their previous contributions.

In spite of that, I still have the personal opinion that Toby Whithouse is the best obvious candidate going right now. His episodes are generally well received, and for me they all carry a similar and distinct set of themes that I think would translate well to the show were he in charge.

I actually agree with this. The show is entering dangerous territory again. Fingers crossed it survives this time round.

I'm not aware of any joke casting (Ken Dodd), I don't think there have been that many universally reviled stories on par with the likes of The Twin Dilemma, and there's no indication that Steven Moffat has handed over the scriptwriting to novices and amateurs because no one else would touch it with a barge pole. So I'm failing to see the analogy personally.

Also, given that JN-T was ultimately behind stories like Caves of Androzani and all those Season 25 and 26 stories that everyone seems to rave about but which I personally loathe, it could be argued that heading into JN-T territory isn't so bad. But not by me. He should have taken the Bergerac job when he had the chance.

The comparison is because he's staying too long. Just like JNT. Steven Moffat is a great writer and showrunner but if he stays too long, people are going to get fed up of him just like they did with John Nathan Turner.