Jon wrote:

QUOTE:
Didn't see Saturday's episode but I can tell you, it's the first episode in the new series that has got all my class of 7 years olds really buzzing.

And that's what it's all about really, isn't it?

No. It's what it's partly about. When it's done properly Doctor Who gets everyone buzzing.

That or give them all a can of Coke each, I guess

So class of excited, flatulent, burping kids must be a wonder to behold then.

Incidentally, I started watching State of Play and I frankly can't understand why John Simm was asked to ham it up as the other Time Lord. Horrible directing decisions.

I thought Simm was fine, actually, so tastes differ, I suppose. At one point, he actually felt as if he was channeling Simon Pegg, which made the experience a whole lot easier to enjoy in a strange way.

Moffatt in the producer's chair? (Waves flag, goes 'raaaaay!)

What PG said about Coupling. Your man was always on at me to give it a chance, and I found the surface glitz so offputting that I refused to, and then one day I was on a long-haul flight with nothing else to do. After a few minutes, people were staring at the nutter laughing his arse off in seat 27F.

This is ridiculous. I'm insanely, unceasingly excited, like a five year old who can't get to sleep on Christmas Eve - and I'm going to be like this every day for the next two YEARS, until episode one of Moffat's first season hits the screen. What do I do?

I assume this means Moffatt will take up the job of writing the Christmas episodes which can only be a good thing.

He's down as 'Executive Producer and lead writer', but how much of the writing tasks he'll delegate is anyone's guess.

Part of me thinks he'll write two or three meticulously honed stories for the next series and farm the rest out, but the another part thinks he'll write all 13 episodes himself.

I was trying to think of a footballing metaphor for Moffat taking over the reigns, but I couldn't come up with a manager in history that you would unreservedly want to take over at your club. I suppose Brian Clough leaving Forest in about 1980 would be close, which probably works for every club at the time with the exception of Ipswich Town.

In terms of who he gets in to write something I'd have said that Cornell and Gatiss are very likely (Cornell in particular - Moffatt was his Best Man). I would expect RTD to write something, too.

Cornell? No chance - he's too busy reinventing Captain Britain.

Hope not. I remember reading that comic when it first came out. There seemed a desperation in it in its emulating (or hoping to emulate) it's American counterpart. After so many decades of the sheild-bearing icon, a wimpy Union-Jack version seemed inadequate.

Well, it's probable then that you read the Chris Claremont era - later on there was a classic Alan Moore/Alan Davis run.

But I was only joking about Paul Cornell. Although he's doing a lot of comics work at the moment, I'm sure he'd bite off your hand to script some more Dr Who.

I've been reading this thread with one eye blurred and the other closed, but here's to Mr. Moffat.

The show will be just fine. It's like bookers in pro wrestling (the guys holding the book deciding the storylines, the angles, who wins, etc.) A bad booker can leave a stench that's tough to get off. However, get a new booker who elevates the right character, adds a new person, has an angle that's red hot, and the asses come right back into the seats.

What the fuck was that? I know that the Doctor-free episodes are always a little bit wacky, but that was just demented. And it was too long.

Worst episode ever.

Clearly, Moffat taking over from RTD is a good thing. I doubt if RTD will still write for Who, as he'll have other projects to move onto, and if Moffat's like any other exec producer, he'll want to make a clean break.

But, this isn't just writing, this is being in charge of the whole series, so I'll just be cautiously optimistic. As long as gets rid of Gareth Roberts, and gets Helen Raynor to stick to script editing (or at least try her with a one episode story), it'll be a good start.

And since Lawrence Miles made the comment that he could piss a better script thank Blink in his sleep, he set himself a test of writing a Who script. It's about a cosmic library - just like the Moffat two parter, and it's on his blog for one week only.

Talking of next week's Moffat, if the trail is anything to go by, it's giving a message to kids that are afraid of the dark, that they're right to be afraid. Can't wait.

Well, it may not have been vintage Dr Who (I've just caught up on the old Sky plus) but even a poor episode of Dr Who pisses on most other shows on TV.

(I liked it, but I'm a sucker for old stuff)

Purves Grundy wrote:

QUOTE:
What the fuck was that? I know that the Doctor-free episodes are always a little bit wacky, but that was just demented. And it was too long.

Worst episode ever.

Ah come on, that's worth an <applause>.