This is a longish (I'm not complaining) SFX interview with the Big Moff himself. And I do appologise for the length of this post, me commenting on a few things the Moff says.
Well, I guess there are not many Whovians who don't like and appreciate what Steven Moffat has done for Doctor Who, and I usually don't make a secret of me being a fan of him. Reading Steven Moffat interviews comes 2nd on my imaginary Doctor Who-related hobbies list. Still, there is one thing I'll never get about him: why he just can't leave the 'online fandom' of Doctor Who alone. Or at least live in peace with them. Still, he says: 'these are the people in the whole world who understand Doctor Who the least. They’ve stared at it so long, and invested so much in it that they no longer understand what it is. They can’t see it for what it is. Everyone else in the whole world gets it better than they do.' I can't help it, but I don't agree with that statement. After all, we are a big part of those 6.5 million people who are regularly watching the programme, who are madly in love with it, who are willing to spend their spare-time analysing it... I guess I don't need to go on to clarify my point. Maybe he is not fond of us pointing out a number of paradoxes which could have been easily avoided if script writers would stick to their own rules (and a small set introduced by others): But we are those who try to find explanations for them... which should have been actually their job. I agree that it's easier to write for the 2nd half of the 12 million people, those who do not watch this show regularly, who won't notice that the Doctor could not have given Rory the sonic-screwdriver while being locked in the Pandorica... and stuff like that. But it's possible to explain them, and as long as we are successful he can go on and write whatever he pleases to. In real life companies employ people to point out mistake to them. We are making it for free, and as a small bonus we even do our best to get them out of the way...
However, I guess we just can't stop adoring him for everything else he thinks and does.It seems to be so Moffat-like going on about Doctor Who's ratings. It is certainly the most important issue to a show. It's not only the money the BBC and he and everyone else earns by it, but also some sort of a cultural heritage. And let's not forget about all the streaming-services, if I may call them that way, which also play an important role nowadays, even if the BBC is not earning a penny, at least not directly, by it. However, it is great advertisement and I guess there is quite a number of fans who bought something Doctor Who-related on their trip to the UK. They would have never made that money otherwise. Now it's me rambling, sry for that...
The next point he talks about is that he can't imagine an American network doing Doctor Who or something comparable to it. I fully understand that. Over there people would not get the idea of a horror-show for children. Not the sort of horror of The Adams Family but a more realistic one. I know this sounds dull, because Doctor Who is sci-fi after all, but it manages to feel realer than Frankenstein-servants... When watching it it seems to be possible, somehow. In a very un-scientific way.
Altogether, Moffat is certainly one of those people who have a unique and astonishing passion for Doctor Who, but he does not seem to understand that there are also other people loving it, maybe in a slightly different way. Ironically, with being head of Doctor Who it should be him knowing that differences and conflicts are what keep things fresh and going.
Well, I guess there are not many Whovians who don't like and appreciate what Steven Moffat has done for Doctor Who, and I usually don't make a secret of me being a fan of him. Reading Steven Moffat interviews comes 2nd on my imaginary Doctor Who-related hobbies list. Still, there is one thing I'll never get about him: why he just can't leave the 'online fandom' of Doctor Who alone. Or at least live in peace with them. Still, he says: 'these are the people in the whole world who understand Doctor Who the least. They’ve stared at it so long, and invested so much in it that they no longer understand what it is. They can’t see it for what it is. Everyone else in the whole world gets it better than they do.' I can't help it, but I don't agree with that statement. After all, we are a big part of those 6.5 million people who are regularly watching the programme, who are madly in love with it, who are willing to spend their spare-time analysing it... I guess I don't need to go on to clarify my point. Maybe he is not fond of us pointing out a number of paradoxes which could have been easily avoided if script writers would stick to their own rules (and a small set introduced by others): But we are those who try to find explanations for them... which should have been actually their job. I agree that it's easier to write for the 2nd half of the 12 million people, those who do not watch this show regularly, who won't notice that the Doctor could not have given Rory the sonic-screwdriver while being locked in the Pandorica... and stuff like that. But it's possible to explain them, and as long as we are successful he can go on and write whatever he pleases to. In real life companies employ people to point out mistake to them. We are making it for free, and as a small bonus we even do our best to get them out of the way...
However, I guess we just can't stop adoring him for everything else he thinks and does.It seems to be so Moffat-like going on about Doctor Who's ratings. It is certainly the most important issue to a show. It's not only the money the BBC and he and everyone else earns by it, but also some sort of a cultural heritage. And let's not forget about all the streaming-services, if I may call them that way, which also play an important role nowadays, even if the BBC is not earning a penny, at least not directly, by it. However, it is great advertisement and I guess there is quite a number of fans who bought something Doctor Who-related on their trip to the UK. They would have never made that money otherwise. Now it's me rambling, sry for that...
The next point he talks about is that he can't imagine an American network doing Doctor Who or something comparable to it. I fully understand that. Over there people would not get the idea of a horror-show for children. Not the sort of horror of The Adams Family but a more realistic one. I know this sounds dull, because Doctor Who is sci-fi after all, but it manages to feel realer than Frankenstein-servants... When watching it it seems to be possible, somehow. In a very un-scientific way.
Altogether, Moffat is certainly one of those people who have a unique and astonishing passion for Doctor Who, but he does not seem to understand that there are also other people loving it, maybe in a slightly different way. Ironically, with being head of Doctor Who it should be him knowing that differences and conflicts are what keep things fresh and going.
No comments:
Post a Comment