Ten Things for which I am grateful to Russell T Davies

[caz963]

Things like this tend to happen when I'm at home ill, because I get more time to think than normal. So I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I'm on the mend and will be returning to work shortly!

I read a blog post the other day (sorry, but I can’t remember where it was), the subject of which was Ten things we love about Russell T Davies’ Doctor

Comments

[wendymr]

Here from who_daily, and thank you for making my evening with this fantastic post! You've selected just about everything I love about RTD's Who here, including some very favourite episodes among those written by RTD, such as Midnight and WoM. I'm far, far more a fan of character-driven shows and episodes than plot-driven, and clever plots - unless they also have clever, engaging, likeable and interesting characters - bore me.

And, yes, S5 bores me :( And, just as you commented to someone else, I see the plot holes sooner now, too. I'm far more forgiving of those 'but what about...' moments during just about all of the RTD era, because I loved the characters and there was hardly a single episode when I didn't get at least one character moment I loved. Some of my flist-friends complain, for example, about farting Slitheen; all I can think of are those wonderful moments in the Cabinet Room, or the Doctor's exchange with Mickey at the end.

Companions and extended family I cared about; one-off characters I liked and remembered; and character arcs that made sense - that's what the RTD era gave me. Oh, and two Doctors who leaped head and shoulders above my childhood favourites, Three and Four (sounds like we were watching it at around the same sort of time). I miss RTD - and I miss the Doctor Who I loved so much for five years :(

[caz963]

The more I think about it - and I suppose the more the "distance" between now and the RTD era grows - I'm more and more impressed by how much he packed in to episodes. Of course he didn't write them all (although reading between the lines, it seems he rewrote a substantial number) but his was the overall direction. Yes, that was muddled sometimes, and yes there were times where characterisation was inconsistent, but for the most part, we got an action-adventure show that appealed to kids but which also managed to address some quite serious themes. And the more I think, and the more I read what other people are saying, the more layers are revealed. Hopefully, when the immediate Rusty backlash has died down - maybe when Moffat moves on, fandom at large will be able to appreciate just how good RTD was again.