Doctor Who Showrunners Look Back, Part 2
By Leah Tedesco
Today, we continue the discussion of Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies revealing some personal perspective on their respective reigns as showrunner of Doctor Who.
Yesterday, we shared an article regarding some comments that Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies made about their personal experiences as showrunners of Doctor Who. Since then, we have discovered more pieces of information on the matter.
Moffat’s biggest regret about his time as showrunner may have come from Series Nine, but that is not the only negative memory that he holds about his time working on the program. William Martin of CultBox reported that, in Moffat’s latest interview with Doctor Who Magazine, he describes the production of Series Seven as being “fraught with difficulties.”
Already having two seasons as showrunner under his belt, at that point, it was still a strong possibility in his mind that he may only be the boss for one more season. I can’t imagine that anyone would have blamed him for leaving after what he was about to endure. With many major milestones and changes upcoming on the program, his honeymoon period was over. He recalls it being “a bit miserable,” with the workload being “just insane.”
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The major highlights of this clusterfrack were Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill leaving mid-season, the 50th anniversary special, and the Eleventh Doctor’s regeneration into the Twelfth in the 2013 Christmas special. Apparently, he even tried to get Matt Smith to remain on the show for longer. There was also a point when no Doctors were contracted to appear in the 50th special… and some clearly confused fans were sending him angry letters about William Hartnell not returning. On top of all of that, he was also working on Series Three of Sherlock. Damn, man!
Of course, just as he needlessly beats himself up over what he perceives to be a very flawed beginning to Series Nine, he also burdens himself with the full responsibility of having a difficult time coping with his job. Whatever the case, when all was said and done, he decided that he “couldn’t bear to let that be the end.”
The 2005 revival of Doctor Who naturally came with difficulties all its own. With the franchise struggling since its problems beginning in the 1980s, leading to its cancellation in 1989 — and the show having been on hiatus since the questionable 1996 television movie — Davies was presented with putting a fresh coat of paint on the show, so to speak.
According to Adam Miller of the Daily Express, Davies describes Doctor Who in 2005 as having “had degraded in people’s memories.” At the time, he still thought of the show as brilliant, and the general public’s focus on its “cheap ephemera” to be unfair. His challenge in reviving the program was not only to “repair” people’s image of it, but also balance their love of something old with their modern tastes. He takes great pride in the fact that he and his team were successfully able to accomplish this.
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