Originally Posted by saladfingers81:
“My problem with ATCM is that its too generic and functional. It could have been written by any of ten writers. The God Complex feels like a personal episode...a passion project. Something Whithouse dreamt of writing. ATCM contains very little of anything that has marked him out as a great writer. More like a writer for hire and its a waste of his talents. Alas the 'Blockbuster' structure rather lent itself to that sort of thing.”
“My problem with ATCM is that its too generic and functional. It could have been written by any of ten writers. The God Complex feels like a personal episode...a passion project. Something Whithouse dreamt of writing. ATCM contains very little of anything that has marked him out as a great writer. More like a writer for hire and its a waste of his talents. Alas the 'Blockbuster' structure rather lent itself to that sort of thing.”
For me I saw distinct hints of his writing in there in a way that perhaps elevated the episode above what I'd have thought of it in someone elses hands. I think one of Whithouse' strengths that no other Doctor Who writer has exhibited is his ability to write confrontational dialogue. He manages to take it all a notch or five above panto-esque villainy and actually engages The Doctor in discussion with his foes - not too dissimilar to how Moffat managed with Davros in The Witch's Familiar. The difference is Whithouse is able to make it just as engaging with characters I've known for twenty minutes. Even in his weaker stories (and 'weaker' not meaning 'weak' there) it's these moments or exchanges which I've enjoyed the most... be it Ten discussing the possibilities of a perfect world with Brother Lassar and Sarah-Jane and deliving into some deeper discussion involving faith and the souls of children in School Reunion, or Eleven discussing the morality of Rosanna Calvierri's actions in The Vampires of Venice, or Eleven simply having a heart-to-heart with Rita in The God Complex, or Eleven once again discussing the morality of Kahler Jex's actions in A Town Called Mercy. I think he manages it distinctly every time, without ever coming across as self-referencing or pretentious... it's natural, interesting dialogue that also isn't remarkably heavy. I don't feel that it's come at the expense of some more exciting scenes, and he also remembers to have a lot of fun in his scripts too... something I've personally seen in all of his Doctor Who episodes, and Torchwood. For me they're the hallmarks of a writer who could write a good ongoing series as the head writer, of which he also has experience of doing for other shows. He's not delivered a stand-out as Moffat did during RTD's era, but then since then regardless of how much I enjoy much of Series 5-9 so far, there's a realisation that consistent quality writing doesn't always guarantee quality showrunning.
I never expected too much from A Town Called Mercy and it was a rather run-of-the-mill story in many regards. It didn't make it any less enjoyable for me though.
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