Having found himself written into a corner, series runner Steven Moffat has written himself out of it in a workmanlike manner that is at once thrilling -- because he knows how to keep things moving along, fast and furious, with verminous pterodactyls, hungry skulls and weird, weird images -- and in other ways a cheat. It shows up as like those rococo Doctor Who novels of the turn of the millennium, turned out by writers who loved the Doctor for fans who loved him even more: bizarre, tightly plotted ormolu clocks that ticked on the mantel while people argued over weird stuff.
It is in some ways necessary to have these pieces in the background, to give some depth to the show. Otherwise it's just about a mad man in a box running around the universe, fouling up history and keeping Daleks from their day-to-day job of extermination. In other ways, it's a danger as fans demand more and more details to keep up their interest. After a while it's of interest to no one save five guys in a chat room, arguing about the spelling of made-up words. It's certainly not enough to keep a major television series running. These things, after all, do cost money. Balance is needed.
The first attempt to rebalance the universe was what is known as the Cartmel Masterplan. Andrew Cartmel was the script editor of the last few seasons of the classic series, and after more than a quarter of a century, there was little mystery left. Cartmel roughed out some ideas for the background of Doctor Who to restore the mystery. Unhappily, the series ended before he could do much with it, and the Cartmel Masterplan was left for those clockwork novels in the 1990s. They wound up revealing all again, only this time it was different. Then the series was revived, and the first season set up those mysteries, while the next four years revealed them. Again, the answer was different.
Time for another change. Although Moffat has let us see what he is doing, like Penn and Teller doing the cup-and-ball trick, he has, in this last story, set up the Doctor for another turn around the park. Again, no one knows that he exists. Again he is just a madman in a box and again, we are confronted with the basic mystery: "Doctor Who?" In some ways it is unsatisfying, but in others it is just right. Doctor Who has been reinvented so many times without what is called these days a "series reboot." It's needed to keep it fresh and interesting, and I am willing to nod and pretend that the hand is faster than the eye. It's all part of the game. We need to ask "Doctor Who?" and know that the answer we get today is not the answer we will get tomorrow. There is something childish about continuing to play the game... no. Something childlike. Every time they invent the Doctor, we get a chance to look at him with fresh eyes. It's exhilarating. On to the next season!
It is in some ways necessary to have these pieces in the background, to give some depth to the show. Otherwise it's just about a mad man in a box running around the universe, fouling up history and keeping Daleks from their day-to-day job of extermination. In other ways, it's a danger as fans demand more and more details to keep up their interest. After a while it's of interest to no one save five guys in a chat room, arguing about the spelling of made-up words. It's certainly not enough to keep a major television series running. These things, after all, do cost money. Balance is needed.
The first attempt to rebalance the universe was what is known as the Cartmel Masterplan. Andrew Cartmel was the script editor of the last few seasons of the classic series, and after more than a quarter of a century, there was little mystery left. Cartmel roughed out some ideas for the background of Doctor Who to restore the mystery. Unhappily, the series ended before he could do much with it, and the Cartmel Masterplan was left for those clockwork novels in the 1990s. They wound up revealing all again, only this time it was different. Then the series was revived, and the first season set up those mysteries, while the next four years revealed them. Again, the answer was different.
Time for another change. Although Moffat has let us see what he is doing, like Penn and Teller doing the cup-and-ball trick, he has, in this last story, set up the Doctor for another turn around the park. Again, no one knows that he exists. Again he is just a madman in a box and again, we are confronted with the basic mystery: "Doctor Who?" In some ways it is unsatisfying, but in others it is just right. Doctor Who has been reinvented so many times without what is called these days a "series reboot." It's needed to keep it fresh and interesting, and I am willing to nod and pretend that the hand is faster than the eye. It's all part of the game. We need to ask "Doctor Who?" and know that the answer we get today is not the answer we will get tomorrow. There is something childish about continuing to play the game... no. Something childlike. Every time they invent the Doctor, we get a chance to look at him with fresh eyes. It's exhilarating. On to the next season!