Doctor Who News

[andraste]

Just to put my two cents in, I'm in two minds.



So, for anyone who's not caught up with the news, Doctor Who is going to have a 'gap year' in 2009 with three specials instead of a full season, and then return for thirteen episodes in 2010.

On the one hand, more Ten! Hooray! I was pretty sure that David Tennant's casting in Hamlet meant a regeneration was in the offing, and wouldn't have minded too much since three seasons is a standard run. I'm delighted, however, that he'll be staying on through 2009. Who knows, maybe David Tennant will break Tom Baker's record yet. I can certainly see why they'd want to cut back the production run to keep him, not to mention RTD. Maybe Catherine Tate's schedule is a factor in this too, assuming Donna will stay more than one year.

On the other hand, a year of withdrawl symptoms! Woe! I will have to spend 2008 stocking up on books/audios to tide me over.

The thing I'm most torn about is the possibility of RTD writing an entire year of Doctor Who. I enjoy his writing over all, and if I could be confidant he'd produce three episodes of the calibre of Gridlock or Army of Ghosts I'd be over the moon. He's proved highly variable in the past, though. But he tends to do better when he has less on his plate, so maybe 2009 will be the year of brilliant RTD stuff after all?

Ideally, of course, I'd prefer to have three different writers - Rusty, Steven Moffat and ... well, I'm not that fussed about the third. Paul Cornell? Mark Gattis? Helen Raynor? Gareth Roberts? Matt Jones? Catherine Tregenna? PJ Hammond? Robert Sherman, making his long-awaited return to TV writing? Joe Ahearne as writer rather than director? Noel Clarke, even? Variety is the spice of life!

Personally, I throw my vote behind 'anyone who is not Chris Chibnall.'

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/]

I'm trying to remember that this means at least three more David Tennant episodes than I thought we were going to get, but 2009's going to be a long year. Overall, I *think* I'm pleased. And there are 14 new episodes between now and then, so yay for that!

[saltedpin.livejournal.com]

I was really glad they'd decided to go for a gap year rather than a regeneration -- I was a bit iffy about the Tennant!Doctor but he's really grown on me :D He's like... what it would be like if Five and Seven had a love child, but he then got brought up by Two. THAT MAKES NO SENSE.

I have very mixed feelings about RTD. On the one hand, I think he more than capable of writing excellent episodes, but on the other, sometimes it causes me actual physical pain to watch ones he's written. Then there's the various obnoxious articles he's written about directions he's taken the series in. Which I really wish didn't affect my enjoyment of the show, but they do :(

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I miss Nine. I liked Nine. Nine would not have destroyed Harriet Jones's career and Britain's golden age because he was a bit annoyed. I enjoy Tennant's acting, but I don't actually like Ten very much.

RTD annoys the hell out of me. He's not a good writer, he has no concept of real SF or what a big and interesting universe is out there, he's an arrogant shit, and he writes Mary Sues (or Mary Roses: think about their initials), and Torchwood sucked. Apart from 'Love and Monsters' and 'Gridlock' which I love greatly, all of my favourites are by others.

[looks a bit embarrassed] I don't usually do rants like that but it's how I feel. I'll still watch because there are enough brilliant eps to raise the average quailty to very watchable indeed.

[gwynevere1.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of hoping that the structure of the 'gap year' means that Rusty has a game plan in mind for Ten's exit and wants to guarantee that he'll have time to film all the elements he needs.