The Thing With RTD...
A brief bit of Doctor Who musing, but nothing terribly explicit or spoilery, so not under a cut...
The thing I've noticed about a lot of RTD's writing, when he does episodes, is that the plot tends to exist for the character interactions rather than the character interactions being created by the plot.
This isn't always the case, of course. And it's a lot more noticable in some episodes than others. I didn't see it so much in, for example, Smith and Jones, or Gridlock, or Doomsday. But, that said, it was very noticable in 'filler' and 'buildup' episodes such as Boom Town and the most recent ep, Utopia.
And it's not a bad thing neccesaraly. Sure, Boom Town kinda flopped but Utopia, because the interactions and the buildup was so very core to the unerlying season plot and, in general, so very, very well done, it came out wonderfully! But if you look at the plot of those two eps... it's really cast by the way side. It's there, but only to grant a neccesary amuont of tension so that the auther can explore the issues and the character. Which is far different to other writers who tend to create a plot situation and then ask themselves, 'What character interactions will this lead to?'
I think this is why RTD's stuff tends to either rise to the occasion or flop limply. I find myself more or less unable to critisise it, as it's something I do myself and, to be honest, I love it when such things are explored. But never the less it is something that is very noticable within his work. Or so I find, anyway.
At any rate; what do you guys think?
The thing I've noticed about a lot of RTD's writing, when he does episodes, is that the plot tends to exist for the character interactions rather than the character interactions being created by the plot.
This isn't always the case, of course. And it's a lot more noticable in some episodes than others. I didn't see it so much in, for example, Smith and Jones, or Gridlock, or Doomsday. But, that said, it was very noticable in 'filler' and 'buildup' episodes such as Boom Town and the most recent ep, Utopia.
And it's not a bad thing neccesaraly. Sure, Boom Town kinda flopped but Utopia, because the interactions and the buildup was so very core to the unerlying season plot and, in general, so very, very well done, it came out wonderfully! But if you look at the plot of those two eps... it's really cast by the way side. It's there, but only to grant a neccesary amuont of tension so that the auther can explore the issues and the character. Which is far different to other writers who tend to create a plot situation and then ask themselves, 'What character interactions will this lead to?'
I think this is why RTD's stuff tends to either rise to the occasion or flop limply. I find myself more or less unable to critisise it, as it's something I do myself and, to be honest, I love it when such things are explored. But never the less it is something that is very noticable within his work. Or so I find, anyway.
At any rate; what do you guys think?