Russell T Davies bows out of Doctor Who

Billie Piper

They've been repeating the Christopher Ecclestone, Billie Piper episodes here in NZ... My, she makes a great sidekick and he did make a bloody good doc.

at last...

Praise be to RTD for bringing back the good Doctor with Chris Ecclestone.

But RTD needs to go - his increasingly cloying, overly sentimental, generic, American style sci-fi is becoming increasingly threadbare. Also his ability to extract ham from talented actors and over reliance on the sonic screwdriver is painful.

All it needs is for Tenant, Tate and Piper to go and I might start watching it again.

glad it's not just me then

loved the idea of a new doctor who.

Loved the high(er) production values, and there have been some really good moments, but overall it's a just a bit... oh, I dunno.. piss poor..

lets not forget the little pilsbury doughboys from the start of season 3

nor the arrival of Catherine Bloody Tate.

Nor the piss poor storylines that have marred every single episode this season (so far)

I never really understand why Britain can't do good Sci-Fi... it doesn't have to the "mickey mouse" genre that we seem to make it.

I for one welcome our new Time Travelling overload, he can't be worse than the current one surely!

Thank f*** for that

I'm sure he's a lovely guy and all but he really has churned out some tripe. Funny how the only episodes worth watching are the ones he wasn't involved in.

It's a shame they didn't push him before he eventually got round to jumping...

Can they replace the casting director next pleeease?

was.....

Dr Who used to be good when i was a child, actually I think the whole being a child thing helps as it really does stink now.

Does that mean no more Torchwood ? please god it really is god awful.

How about some Dr Who bashing it would make a change from the ass-kissing drivel usually printed on the BBC site about it.

Most over hyped crap since boy-band reunions

There are some very silly people around

And it appears the Reg employs a few of them.

RTD did a spectacular job in bringing back Doctor Who. Unlike that tiny minority of very loud fans who like to whine[1], he knew that for the series to succeed, it had to be *popular television*, not just designed to appeal to hardcore fans.

The problem with those loud fans[2] is that they make a level of noise completely out of proportion to their numbers, which leads to journalists thinking that they represent a significant proportion of the population, which they don't.

A lot of these people (for an arbitrarily "12" value of "a lot") spent the time between the 1989 cancellation and the 2005 return reading a pile of Doctor Who books which took more adult and mature routes than the TV show ever did (or could, given its intended audience). So when the show came back and dared to be, well, *fun*, some of them got upset and whiny. And unlike the 80s, when whiners were confined to fanzines that nobody read, now they have the internet, and they get to expose many more people to their nonsense.

Steven Moffat is the best possible choice for a successor to RTD, but without RTD's work to date there wouldn't be a job for Steven to take.

And I give it half a series before the whiners start complaining about Steven Moffat.

[1] In the 1980s, John Nathan-Turner was the target of the same kind of tedious whining

[2] I had a computer with one of those once, it was very annoying

No seats?

What are those things near the console that David T sits on every other week then?

Mine's the one with a stick of celery in the lapel.

Er ...

... actually, the Abzorbaloff was created by 9 year old (at the time) Blue Peter competition winner William Grantham.

@Tim Brown

Human Nature/The Family of Blood was written by Paul Cornell, not Steven Moffat.

Good night. Get out. Don't let the door hit you in the bum on the way out.

The TARDIS does have seats. And a pool, and some huge storage areas, and bedrooms...

And anyone else remember that funny little food dispenser thing?

As for RTD saying good night... Hooray! Good on him for bringing the series back, but I really think they should have watched a few stories from the old days before they got going again.

I'm also hoping the doctor might wake up from a dream at some stage and realise the entire lot of new episodes were a dream... Gallifrey and the Time Lords should still be out there, and things like aliens in London in the current (our) time period are silly.

Is it therefore time...

...to revisit La Stob's sublime "Under Torch Wood"?

http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2006/11/06/torchwood/

I must confess to being somewhat underwhelmed by the Dokta Oho revival, the more so once the sublime Ecclescake was replaced by a gurning muppet. Also, there haven't been enough Daleks.

I had that William Hartnell in the back of my cab once.

Lorks a'mighty: since when did El Reg open a Children's Section????

"Doctor Who" is a TV series for kids and simpletons who believe in Crop Circles starring (if that's the word) actors who failed to negotiate adolescence, still less drama school, and centres upon the journeyings of a device whose name derives from the word "retard".

We watched it a couple of times when the man with the funny voice and a long scarf was in it. Then the series vanished, much like Dixon of Dock Green and Z Cars.

By accident we encountered it again last year when some actor called Tennant was trying to recover from a personality by-pass operation and a monster called The Piper was struggling, but failing, to manage any kind of credibility.

The only reason "Doctor Who" gets any kind of mention is thanks to Caitlin Somebody or Other who set up the puerile PopBitch website and has a job on the nowadays pre-pubertal Sunday Times writing about the other parents she meets when she picks up her kids from primary school. Apparently, half the cast of "Doctor Who" is associated with that school, though whether as parents or pupils isn't always clear.

Lots of journos are in thrall to Caitlin PopBitch because she seems very sophisticated and also because they live in the same part of Norf London and next door to BBC drama commissioning editors.

Well, fair enough, but that's no reason for El Reg to start mentioning "Doctor What?" in its esteemed pages.

I've no idea who RTD is and couldn't care less but am happy for him to feature here as long as El Reg makes room for mention of programmes of infinitely greater worth.

"Magic Roundabout", for example, was always superior in its narrative arc, dialogue, acting, and production values.

As was Shaw Taylor in "Police 5".

Goody goody

"The Girl in the Fireplace" - another Moffat special - was an absolute blinder; I'd have hired him on the strength of that one alone, or indeed "The Empty Child" from series one. Top notch. I look forward to more actual plot substance and less tremble-puny-Earthlings-before-the-might-of-the-Sontarans-muahahaha.

Russell T Davies -

Russell T Davies ..... YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!

About time

Frankly I think RTD gets far to much credit for 'reviving' Dr. Who.

The fact that so many people had fond memories of the series from their childhood (and will therefore get their own kids to watch it) and the fact that it is just clearly such a great idea/concept for a TV series, meant that it would have taken an massive amount of incompetance to make the 'come back' a failure. I'm not saying anyone could have done it, but pretty much anyone with a modicum of talent could have.

My biggest grip with RTD is that he clearly does not really understand the sci-fi genre, as can be seen with his attempts to turn the series into sort sort of time travelling 'soap opera'. i.e. too much time spent exploring Doctor/assistant love stories, attemps to 'humanise' the doctor and make him 'vunarable', painful polical correctness, 'bisexual' characters, all taking up so much time that the plot has to be cramed into some gabbled technobabble spewed by the Doctor while running away from monsters.

And don't even get my started on why a time lord with a ship that can take him to anywhere in the universe spends every episode on earth!

Lets hope things improve.

Andy.

easy to be critical..

totally agree with Les.

fans cried out for years for the return of the series, when we eventually got it the fanboys came out in their droves, yes the series felt scary when I was six , but then that was 1974 and Tom Baker was(is) god.

the new series is a different doctor and a different Doctor Who, its success, despite the BBC constant interference is scheduling is continuing. At the end of this series we'll have long gaps as the specials are aired and bugger all to watch bar the repeats on BBC3 - moan all you want then.

seats ???

I think you will find that there are at least 1 if not 2 seats in the current incarnation of the TARDIS.

Mines the one with the miniture K-9 in the left hand Pocket

moffat rocks

His episodes (1 a series) are dark and much more gritty than the norm, which is what you want. Blink scared the "£$%£"$% out of me and I am 32. :)

I think doctor who is more of a kids program, and you have to bear that in mind when reading this and other forums. My four year old Nephew thinks it is the best thing ever and he hides behind the sofa.

So Russel did something right.

I note my kids reaction is very similar to the one I had to Doctor Who..

..when I was a kid. They laugh at the funny bits and get scared at the scary bits. So it's pretty much doing it's job then.

A fair few of Russell T Davies scripts have been toss, but the show overall has been great. All credit to him and his team for making it fun and bringing some drama to Saturday nights, instead of Ant and bloody Dec. (Bringing back Dr Who also gave us Primeval, which is good fun as well.) Also, just think about the utter shite the BBC show on a Saturday night when Dr Who isn't on.

I like Catherine Tate in Doctor Who as well and Torchwood has improved immensely since it's first season. So there.

Re: Moffat rocks

Absolutely. Top notch. Deserved the BAFTA for Blink, and Jekyll was cracking.

Creating something that atmospheric with nothing more than a bunch of statues is a work of pure genius.

Always found RTD's episodes had an unfinished, rushed feel to them. Like he got bored halfway through writing them.

Girl in the Fireplace

Girl in the Fireplace gets overlooked because of how scary Blink was, but for me it is the best episode of Dr Who in the programme's history. It was a Moffat one too.

I do worry, however, as to whether being a great script writer makes someone a great script editor. I guess we'll find out.

So long and thanks for the TARDIS

While RTD had quite a big hand in bringing back Dr Who (yay, thanks), some of the story arcs/progression drive me nuts. If you have a craft that can travel anywhere in time/space (as the TARDIS is), then why more often or not does it end up somewhere in London (usually a South-East London housing estate)? AAAARRRGGGHHHHH! Just once it would be nice to dump them in a quarry somewhere and claim it's the planet Squargos 9 in the Foozbane system.

The other big annoyance of RTD's tinkering is the obvious soap-opera type facination with the Doctor's female 'companions' and their bloody families. I don't watch Dr Who to see if he will/won't get off with Rose Tyler (whichever dimension she may be in) but to outiwt nasty aliens (or sometime humans) out to do bad things in the universe*.

Some of this is a bit academic for me at the moment as I'm boycotting the current series due to the inclusion of Catherine Tate, who I loathe with a passion. This wasn't helped by the fact that a few months back every time I went to the cinema there was the BBC ads that consisted of a Tate-centric Dr Who trailer and that git Chris Moyles attepting to be funny by jacking off to the sound of his own voice (business as usual then).

*Note that universe does not always have to be within the congestion charge zone or even the M25.

Whinging Fanboys

The fanboys whinging on about how bad Doctor Who is now really p*** me off.

I didn't like the Peter Kay episode much, but my kids loved it, and guess what, it's a kids show. Well, a family show anyway.

RTD has done a great job, and I'm fascinated to see what SM does with it because Blink and The Empty Child were so good.

It's better sci-fi now than the classic show as well; far more intelligent stories than it

used to be and of course better production values.

I even like Catherine Tate (miles better than Martha Jones). And Torchwood.

Thanks RTD.

The definitive statement on Billie Piper

Came from this letter to Viz magazine a few years ago:

"If I was Dr Who, I'd have that Billie Piper bent over the Tardis console and given what for before you could say Jack Robinson. Then I'd use my time-twiddling powers to constantly repeat the time I was in the vinegar strokes, keeping me in a delicious state of eternally-looped space-time ecstasy. Do any other readers waste their valuable time dreaming up frankly unlikely sexual scenarios involving timelords and their beaver-faced sidekicks?"

Genius.

hmmm

@ I had that William Hartnell in the back of my cab once.

mannn, if you dont like it dont watch it. and as for the 'why does el reg have to mention this' what do you want? just loads of articles on linux and phorm?

the reason el reg is so well viewed is that it doesnt just cater for geeks who cant wait to get home to program and play with the latest linux distro.

most of us (i guess) work in IT but out of hours i couldnt give a shit. do builders go home and study new types of brickwork?

am i the only one who thinks david tennant is actually good? and i think billie piper was the best dr who stooge i can remember (not that i can remember much from when i was 10)

its simple escapism... light and accessible. if it wasnt it would have died after series 1. the fact is its probably the best thing the beeb has done for ages. i am glad we can see our license fee going towards something other than bloody come dancing and period drama!

my main gripe is catherine tate (much better than expected) and it not being on the HD channel (ffs torchwood is in HD/dolby digital!)

of course its not scary! i mean kids watch films like saw now, how can that compete? and come on - the blink one? was that really scary? how big a pussy are you lot :)

anyone else slightly worried how many people know all the episode names? :)

of course there is gay references. RTD is as camp as a row of tents. what do you expect?

@Andy

"And don't even get my started on why a time lord with a ship that can take him to anywhere in the universe spends every episode on earth!"

That would be due to the dark machinations of his ultimate nemesis, The Beancounter...

Even accepting the limitations of the format, the RTD-penned shows have seemed to be generally, weaker, sillier and more reliant on a McGuffin of the week than others. He's good at setting up a two parter but does seem to have problems with wrapping up the second part. He still deserves kudos for getting the show revived.

More Moffattt should be a very good thing :)

The prize

Surely a small alien made out of Adipose would be more appropriate ;)

Point of order re the Moderatrix

"Apparently the poor wee lad was upset that it was only the size of Peter Kay, and not the size of a double-decker bus as he had originally imagined."

Now, I knew that..but I have a Tardis USB hub on my desk (that makes the noise when you plug a device in), I'm about to build Tardis doors for my workshop that it took me years to build because of illness, and I remember the first episodes with William Hartnell, ie I'm a saddo...like I said, I knew that piece of information regarding the Absorballoff, the question is how did YOU know it?

About time

RTD has profoundly mishandled the Doctor Who model, turning it into a saggy Home & Away with a time machine. Steven Moffat has demonstrated what it *could* be - The Girl in the Fireplace et al - let's home he's up to sitting in the big chair. RTD wasn't.

Get a life

It's only a TV show. I enjoy it, and am interested to hear this news (also the news that the new Lead Writer wrote some of the more interesting episodes), but c'mon. Working yourself into a froth over a TV show? I bet most of the "angered" readers haven't touched a woman since they were breast fed (if indeed they were at all).

Re: Good riddance

Christ at last someone else can see the light! DS is taking sensible pills!

I've been harping on about the quality of Dr Who vs. stateside shows for so long and against so much resistance I was beginning to think I'd fallen through a bloody rift in the universe and landed in stupidland.

Sure enough Dr Who's a kid's program, but that's zero excuse for Torchwood - which could have been bloody fantastic, instead it's "not as bad as the first season" lol. Makes me cringe. Bad sets, bad scripts, bad lighting and direction, bad effects, all ruin what was a great opportunity to do something 'over here' to compete with the unbelievable production standards being shown 'over there'.