Stephen Moffat

andywhoSun 24/01/10 01:08

While tarnsfering the last of my VHS on to DVD today... I was moving series 4 of Stephen Moffats great comedy "Cou[ling". One episode features a guy who runs a sci-fi & comic shop. It features a Dalek. A talking Dalek voice in a box.

In another episode, they guy is wearing a "Bring back Doctor Who" T shirt which forms a central part of the plot. It was made in 2004. Made me go "Hmmm"

zerocrop2000Sun 24/01/10 04:36

Well, he said he's been a DW fan for a long time

And if the next Dw series is anywhere near as clever as Coupling, I think we're in for a treat :-)

ellisoneSun 24/01/10 10:06

Not really any more shocking that Vince in queer as folk being a huge doctor how fan. They had the actual K9 prop in that; and a relatively little know DW novel written by Russel T Davies him self.

they are just big Who fans.

allthisandlessSun 24/01/10 10:40

quoting > "and a relatively little know DW novel written by Russel T Davies him self"

The range may have been heading for obscurity at that point, but the people following the range wouldn't have regarded it as little known. Flawed in structure maybe, but not little known.... That would be the down fall of the New Adventures range....

There are a number of DW fans and faneratti who only wanted to work in broadcasting because of the interest in television production and of DW itself.

As for Coupling... I remember enjoying it at first then finding it fairly repetative as it ran on and I stopped watching, a memory of the series I'm specifically trying NOT to dwell on as we run up to series 5/1/31/whatever...

ellisoneSun 24/01/10 11:04

quoting > "but the people following the range wouldn't have regarded it as little known."

This is true, however compared to the fame DW is currently enjoying the book franchise, of which i still own a fair few, is little known.

And I would imagine if, like me, you were a casual new adventures reader it is entirely possible you missed Davies book. Hence little known.

allthisandlessSun 24/01/10 11:23

quoting > "if, like me, you were a casual new adventures reader it is entirely possible you missed Davies book."

that's true of the whole range there were many who didn't just miss what happened, they refused to acknowledge them (never mind the whole debate of whether they are canon or not), but it was somewhat contraversial for having Chris Cwej being the twenty-fifth century guy with omni-sexual tendancies having oral with a gay character in the book. It also had some noteriety for being the lead in to the 'lost' New Adventures novel that Kate Orman finished with Ben Aaronovitch when he had writers block, hard-drive failures and everything else (but we had to wait until Kate had written the missing sections)... All the more devastating a loss on the series as it saw the death of companion Roz which impacted substantially on the story line of the next (and some other sunsequent) novels... The next novel was written by Matt Jones, he of Impossible Planet authorship, which also had gay over-tones, but not for Chris...

As Human Nature proved, there are some great stories in that range that really do warrent re-visiting...

...there are also some real doozies...

ellisoneSun 24/01/10 13:02

I'm not sure what your point is.

allthisandlessSun 24/01/10 17:13

My point is two fold, -the range is obscure to many fans, even those around at the time (the novel itself isn't that obscure a one from the range, it was one of the more hyped ones, for a number of reasons including that it lead into a story that was for a long time lost) AND -that the range is worthy of revisiting for the great stories in its range... Steven Moffat didn't contribute to the range but a number of (now) established television writer (some of who have written for the series) did and their work could be revisited like Human Nature/Family of Blood was.

That you aren't familiar with the one book isn't a cue to make it little known (as I've indicated, it had noteriety at the time of publication and there are far more obscure NA's... Anyone remember St Anthony's Fire or Dimension Riders?), I didn't read the majority of BBC Eighth/Past Doctors novels and my awareness of the range was mostly limited to what was in DWM each issue. The individual books weren't little known or obscure, the range as a whole was, as promotion of it from BBC Books was inconsistent (but as a whole more visible than what Virgin had achieved with the New and Missing Adventures). But again, from those I know who did read the majority of those, they identify a number of stories that could be revisited on television, and others that should be left forgotten.

...Now, shall I stop reading Interview with a Vampire and re-read a New Adventures...?

ellisoneSun 24/01/10 18:35

quoting > "That you aren't familiar with the one book isn't a cue to make it little known "

I am obviously am familiar with it as i mentioned it and know all the plot points you mention.

quoting > "-the range is obscure to many fans, even those around at the time [the novel itself isn't that obscure a one from the range"

But as the range is obscure by your own admission, then to say the book is relatively unknown is not unfair. I make no assumptions about the books worth, only that more current fans would not know of its existence than do. If they did Human Nature would not have been remade.

quoting > "Now, shall I stop reading Interview with a Vampire and re-read a New Adventures...?"

Why not as you have said they are a good read.

deleted:fracture_childSun 31/01/10 12:00

I loved the New Adventures and I liked the EDA's up until about midway when they became like a really crap version of sliders. Some of the books like Warhead, Time's Crucible and Human Nature stand up as great SF novels. In the 90's I prety much saw them as the continuation of the series.I think though that Big Finish more or less sounded the death knell for the EDA'S long before the arrival of the new series.

cj_westSun 13/02/11 20:08

Does anybody else think that Stephen Moffat is really trying too hard to make Doctor Who his own. He rang in some real changes that no how much I try I cant get my head around.

It may be just me getting older but I have some issues with the NEW younger Doctor. the NEW Pregnant looking Daleks, the NEW theme arrangement, the NEW TARDIS interior, the NEW Companion, do you see where im going with this? :)

I know that a producer likes to make their mark on a programmes, but I have got feeling we have been here before with J.N.T.

I am a loyal, lifelong dedicated Whovian and want to see its continued success. Does anyone else feel the same?

Hoping I have not offended anyone.

Chris J

allthisandlessSun 13/02/11 20:18

quoting > "Hoping I have not offended anyone."

You are bound to have... But there isn't nothing wrong with anything you have said as you have clearly framed them as being from your point of view. Something some DW fan Outers don't always understand; an opinion and a fact are different things....

But you have identified some of the same things I've been saying for nearly a year and been criticised for saying. I look at Sherlock and see everything that series 5 should have been but wasn't for me. I'm currently failing to make my through series 5 on DVD and it's not enjoyable as a whole. I sat and watched The Mutants in two sittings (all six episodes) on Saturday but today couldn't make it all the way through a single episode of series 5 this afternoon. But Sherlock... I can watch that, like I can watch The Idiots Lantern, Satan Pit, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, Family of Blood/Human Nature etc... But not series 5... Even most of the episodes evade me....

Series 6 see me walk away from the series for the first time since season 17...

damfinoSun 13/02/11 20:32

The trouble Steven Moffat has is that he was hailed as the saviour of the show by all those who declared their hatred for RTD and everything he stood for.

He was never going to live up to that expectation in everyone's eyes.

Me, I think Season 5 was bloody wonderful.

cj_westSun 13/02/11 20:37

Exactly, I stayed with the series even through out series 17 (know what you mean), but this is too much. Im even thinking that Doctor Who finished for me with the End of Time.

Threatening the Daleks with a Jammie Dodger (sweetheart) bow ties, over acting, silly walks, "Matt Smith used to be a footballer, I know! Lets have the Doctor playing footie! I could go on...

Its just not working, and im getting very similar feedback form other people, for once in my life I had street cred when Ecclestone and Tennant were at the controls. People wanted to know more about Doctor Who from me as I have always been into it, but now most dont bother. it was great promoting The Doctor to others, but sorry I just cant do that at the mo due to lack of interest and enthusiasm.

I also purchased the 5th season on DVD and watch it regular to see the point and try to understand it, and, maybe its just me Im wrong, and I will get the old Who glow back, but sad to say, there is no spark yet.