RTD talking about his writing style...

[CaptainWacky]

Discussing re-watching a repeat of “The Sound Of Drums”, he ponders the fact that you suddenly learn about things like the Archangel network, the Valiant, and the TARDIS becoming a Paradox Machine out of nowhere, with no advance seeding or foreshadowing in the script. It’s a fascinating passage, worth quoting at length: “I can see how annoying that looks. I can see how maddening it must be, for some people. Especially if you’re imposing really classical script structures and templates on that episode, even unconsciously. I must look like a vandal, a kid or an amateur… The simple fact is, all those things were planned. All of them were my choice. They’re not lazy, clumsy or desperate. They’re chosen. I can see more traditional ways of telling those stories, but I’m not interested. I think the stuff that you gain from writing in this way – the shock, the whirlwind, the freedom, the exhilaration – is worth the world. I’ve got this sort of tumbling, freewheeling style that somersaults along, with everything happening now - not later, not before, but now, now, now. I’ve made a Doctor Who that exists in the present tense. It’s happening now, right in front of your eyes! If you don’t like it, if you don’t join in with it then… blimey, these episodes must be nonsensical. But those classical structures can be seen in Primeval, in Demons, in Merlin, in all of them – and yet we stand with millions more viewers. And I think that’s partly why.

What a cunt.

http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=20_things_we_learnt_from

Apparently there was genuinely plans to do a crossover episode with Enterprise. Yes, Enterprise.

 

[The Tomtrek]

Yeah I remember reading that and just thinking how it explains so much.

"They’re not lazy, clumsy or desperate. They’re chosen."

No, Russ, they ARE lazy, clumsy and/or desperate, it's just you choose to write like that for some reason.

That's like making a chair with one leg, and when people say "This is a shit chair, it has one leg." you say "Well, no, I CHOSE to make it like that! If you want a TRADITIONAL chair, then go sit on others!". It's still a shit chair that no one likes, and you're still a prat however you rationalise it to yourself.

 

[Gagh]

Primeval, Demons & Merlin get fewer viewers because they're not established franchises like Dr Who has been for many years. If RTD were to write any of those shows, they'd pick up a modest number of viewers at best.

Nice to know he still thinks he's the shit, when if fact he's just a shit.

 

[whisky]

Do you post at SFX Wacky?

 

[Fuddlemiff]

What a fucking moron. I'm glad I'm not a bigger Who fan or I'd probably be compelled to send him hate mail.

The one thing I don't get is how did the Torchwood CoE miniseries work so well? Did he have a team of co-writers for that? I mean, it didn't have millions of anything invading and the climax actually made sense, so I can't believe he wrote it alone.

 

[The Tomtrek]

That's one of the most annoying things about RTD, it's not that he's a totally bad writer - CoE as you say was good, and if you look at the wiritng in Series 4 and the Specials compared with Series one, it's like night and day (Series 1 was really good even with the farting aliens) - it's just that he gets very lazy with his writing (to the point where he buildinfs up masses and masses of problems and then can't figure out how to get out of it so he handwaves them all away, which he did LITERALLY with Dalton waving his hands and all the Masters go away) and doesn't have anyone to say "No, Russ, that's retarded. Don't do that." when he says "HEY HOW ABOUT LIKE THERE'S ANOTHER DOCTOR WHO GOES OFF WITH ROSE AND THEY'RE IN LOVE BECAUSE OMG HE'S SOOOO CUTE!!!!".

 

[CaptainWacky]

That thing he wrote with Christopher Eccleston as Jesus was supposed to be good too (HMM, THE DOCTOR AS JESUS, THAT GIVES ME AN IDEA...)

And it would be a BIT easier to forgive his failings if he didn't come across as such a total cunt in every interview. Like how I always defend George Lucas because I think he's a nice man.

Do you post at SFX Wacky?

No.

 

[Fuddlemiff]

The Jesus thing (Second Coming?) was very good and was what made me first notice Ecclescake. They should repeat it some time, because I doubt it would look dated or be any less relevant.

 

[CaptainWacky]

And that clip of Queer As Folk they always showed whenever he was on Richard and Judy where the gay are about to have sex but one notices the other has Doctor Who videos and wants to watch them instead.