As we ramp up toward the festivities for the show’s 50th anniversary, I have often found myself getting (unreasonably?) crabby about the whole affair. Yes, I’m looking forward to a celebration of our favorite show. Yes, I’m sure there will be a ton of lovely specials (e.g., the recently announced An Adventure in Space and Time by Mark Gatiss). Yes, I know Moffat’s got loads of “exciting” things up his sleeve. It’s been said he approached the whole thing as a life-long fan himself: what would I want to see?
But that’s just the problem. Whatever it is we get – and I’m not denying that it will, at least in part, be brilliant (how can it help but?) – it will be what Moffat would want to see. And I’m not Moffat. None of us is.
Just look at the fan reaction to any given story to see why this is a problem. In pre-Hiatus Who, there are certain “sacred cows” that are seen as untouchable classics (witness some of the vitriol spit at the Wife in Space for daring to voice (or her blogger husband to post) her own, extremely valid opinions to the contrary), and I dare say there are some post-Hiatus stories that would garner the same reaction to criticism from their fans.
The thing is, though, every one of those stories has haters. And every story you personally happen to “love to hate” has admirers. That’s the way things work – not everything speaks to everyone, and the selfsame things that make something a classic to one fan make it anathema to another. So is it any wonder I’m a bit apprehensive about Moffat’s plans for the 50th?
I know what I would love, but I’m not holding my breath. I doubt they’ll pull off the multi-Doctor story of my dreams (including Paul McGann’s Eight and Christopher Eccleston’s Nine), for example. So for now, as with the new Companion or the upcoming Series 7, I’m going to try to keep my outlook Cautiously Optimistic. I’m not expecting to get everything I ever wanted (or even the one or two things I want most) out of the 50th, but I’ll just wait and see what they throw my way. It’s like wanting a puppy for Christmas, hoping for anything better than socks, and being happy when you get the cool-toy-of-the-year. Keep the expectations low, and maybe I’ll come out relatively happy with what Santa Moff puts under my tree.
Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Timey Wimey Stuff (again)
I might be going against the general consensus but I am not a fan of the Moff’s show running. I have said this elsewhere and no doubt I will say it somewhere else again, but under the Moff’s tenure to me DW is like The Mind Robber every week. Now there’s nothing wrong with The Mind Robber per se but it stood out as something different against the stories it was produced with. Now we have ersatz psuedo-science every week. Yes I know the programme is about a time travelling alien with two hearts and a blue box time machine that is bigger on the inside so some latitude is required, but I’d prefer to give an inch, not a light year. On top of this each season seems to be trying to outdo all previous seasons in its epic-ness quotient which for me does not sit well on the small screen. (To be fair to the Moff, this was a trend that seemed to start in RTD’s day.) I hope that makes some sense. Rant over
Iffy-Wiffy
Meh. I've liked a lot of what Moffat does, and disliked a lot of other things. I don't think he's an absolute ~edit~ because of some of the things he's said, as some people I know do, but I think he misunderstands some of the fan base pretty thoroughly.
Regardless, this is going to be his show – quite literally – and we're all just along for the ride. I'm going to do my best to enjoy it for what it is, instead of being upset about it not being what it "could have been."
Torn
I am really looking forward to Doctor Who reaching its 50th birthday at a point in its life where it is so very popular. How wonderful for my favourite show!
Unfortunately in the last few years its resembled less and less the show I first fell in love with. I think Matt Smith is great but the writing hasn’t been at its strongest and it’s lost the more intimate feel of the Classic series. As one of your commenters noted, it’s all about being epic, or heart-rending these days. Or about the Doctor naval gazing about his impact on the universe. What happened to the fun?
I’m fully aware that times change, opinions change, styles of television change etc and that the Classic series had its fair share of ups and downs but that’s how I feel at the moment. I’m hoping I’ll get sucked into the general wave of celebration that is bound to sweep over us but right at this moment I’m feeling distinctly meh about the whole thing.
Exactly
That’s why I’m continuing to wear my Cautiously Optimistic Fan hat. ~sigh~ I want to get swept up in it, but the more I come to know the pre-Hiatus stuff, the less the post-Hiatus stuff feels like it matches. It’s not like I’m ever going to stop watching, but I’d like to think the fact that every story in this next series is said to be a one-off means it will be getting back a bit to those basics.
Hoping for a bit too much, probably, but we all have our dreams…
What _I’d_ like to see for the 50th
I’d love to see classic series Doctor actors returning but in different roles. (e.g. as the White or Black Guardian.) But this would probably upset another of those sacred cows that fans get so sensitive about.
I’d buy that for a dollar (as they say)
I think that would be pretty cool. You’re right, though – a large section of the fandom would go absolutely Librarian poo (to borrow a phrase from Terry Pratchett).