Is it possible to be nostalgic for a time when you weren’t even paying attention? If so, then that’s my situation. I never watched any of the pre-relaunch stories when they were current (not having grown up watching Who), and yet I’ve got a little it-was-better-in-the-old-days-itis.

From the very beginning, when the Doctor reluctantly kidnapped his first Companions to keep them from exposing him, it’s been about a story unfolding gradually over a matter of weeks, with occasional one- or two-episode arcs (though, admittedly, An Unearthly Child had very little to do with the three other episodes that immediately followed). I miss that continuity of episodes, the way one led directly into the next (even the last one of a story often set up the next story, at least very early on) – and the little cliffhangers every half hour. Among other things, the serial format allowed for more extended storytelling.

I think that’s actually a large part of why Torchwood: Children of Earth was so much better than first two Torchwood series, for example. An in-depth plot that doesn’t have to be wrapped up in 45 minutes makes it possible to give the same kind of rise and fall (maybe I’ve been watching too many dance shows lately…) that we find in the best literature. Writers (and cast) can explore the nuances of character relationships and motivations. It can also reduce the necessity for the kind of deus ex machina that has so irritated some fans (go ahead: add your favorite love-to-hate deus ex machina moment to the comments!). There’s time to give a slow buildup to a big reveal, and then yet more time to build tension while the Doctor devises a solution. Time can really be your enemy in a modern episode.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the serial format always works well, or that every cliffhanger is necessary or even desirable. I recall one in particular that I saw recently (in Snakedance; the “making of” documentary even discussed this very issue) in which the “cliffhanger” involved a couple of not-good-guys approaching the Doctor and his Companion (Nyssa, in this case) in a semi-threatening manner. Nyssa screamed (a talent I hadn’t known she possessed) and ~bwooooooooooooooow~ came the sting. When the following episode opened, the antagonists essentially just arrested our heroes, and on went the story. They can’t all be full of win.

I’ve read that Moffat has said he’ll be bringing cliffhangers back into the mix more often. On general principle, I like that idea. However, I’m a bit concerned that they will revert to that almost painful cliffhanger-for-cliffhangers’-sake type mentioned above. Sure, it’s great to grab the audience’s attention and keep them coming back, but not at the expense of a coherent story line.

On the other hand, if restricting your plot to a 45-minute (or even 90-minute) schedule is going to force you to leave out character development, clear resolutions to various plot threads, or some other General Awesomeness, then I’m all for it – extend the stories! I’m not talking about the requisite series-long plot arcs, either. We certainly don’t need a 13-episode (or 14-episode, if you count Christmas) single story, at least no more so than we already have that. But making 13 or 14 episodes into 3 or 4 stories might open up some new narrative possibilities (a bit like Turn Left was sort of the first of three parts that concluded with The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End or like The Almost People – though the second half of a two-parter itself – was really a lead-in to A Good Man Goes to War and, presumably, Let’s Kill Hitler).

Will it ever be the same as The Gool Ol’ Days? Of course not. The BBC has changed – the world has changed. But I’m hopeful that Moffat – who’s about as big a fanboy as they come (and isn’t being Head Writer on Who (with the requisite skill, while we’re fantasizing) just about every fangeek’s dream job?) – will steer the franchise in a direction that includes as much as is possible about what I’ve come to love about the old serial format. Bring on The Good New Days!