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

[sue_denimme]

Glad to hear you're on the mend, and hope your recovery continues apace

[caz963]

I'm too busy being entertained and moved regardless of how many holes there are

*nods* Me, too. And while I didn't set out to make this a Rusty vs Moff post, I can't help but say that I tend to see the plotholes earlier now. Which makes me sad :(

I agree with you on the use of the word "soapy" (which was PC's not mine - I remember him saying it or using the comparison in a DWC). I admit, I hate soaps, so I'd probably be one of the first to use it as a derogatory term! Phil Collinson is now the Exec producer on Coronation Street, which just celebrated it's 50th birthday and which is one of the two most popular soaps in the UK. I remember that when he left DW in S4, RTD said it was his dream job - so I'm certain he was being complimentary.

Good for you on the exercise bike!

[sue_denimme]

Yeah, I was addressing PC's use of "soapy", not yours. Guess it wasn't clear, sorry. (Kind of funny where he ended up, after saying that. :-))

I was a huge fan of Star Trek: DS9 a while back, and "soapy" used to be one of the accusations flung about by people who thought Trek (and by extension all sci-fi) had to be all spaceships and monsters and explosions, mixed in with the occasional moral message. No room for character or emotion or romance, no sir, all that belongs only in soaps, chick flicks, and trashy novels with Fabio on the cover -- you know, stuff they imagine women like. So I got to be a little sensitized to that word. :-P (Conversely, women can't possibly be in it for the spaceships, etc... *I'm* not, but I know there must be some who are.)

[caz963]

No, I know - that's okay :)

I remember from years ago when I worked in advertising that when it came to sci-fi the male/female split in terms of audience was about 80/20 or less, so as a female who'd always enjoyed sci-fi in film and tv, I was in a minority! I imagine that's changed a bit these days, and I'm sure there are many who bemoan the fact that the girlies are spoiling their fandom ;-)

At the end of the day for me, it's about stories. I didn't get into BSG, but I know a lot of people who did, and it sounded like much of that show was about politics and relationships... but with spaceships and special effects. If it's a good story, the setting is sometimes incidental. Conversely, a bad story can't be made better by throwing SFX at it.

[ooxc]

I hadn't a TV in 2001, so I missed Bob and Rose - but it's Alan Davies, so I must watch out for repeats!

[caz963]

Bob and Rose is a great show. I doubt it'll be repeated, but it's available on DVD for under a fiver!

It's got Lesley Sharp and Penelope Wilton (as Bob's mum) too - more good reasons to watch.

[ooxc]

Thank you - I'll look out for it - and then for a DVD player! They don't play well on my ancoent computer

[goldy_dollar]

Aw, this was a lovely list. For all these reasons and more, RTD will always be one of my favourite (if not THE favourite) showrunners. He really had a way of telling character stories that spoke to me. I often felt while watching his Doctor Who that the only person who loved the characters more than me was RTD... and that's not something I often feel when I watch TV.

I've never seen Bob & Rose. Clearly I must rectify this!

[caz963]

Bob & Rose is well worth watching. If you have trouble finding it, PM me.

There's only one other writer/producer that I'm fannish about, and that's Aaron Sorkin, another writer of fantastic, character driven drama.

I often felt while watching his Doctor Who that the only person who loved the characters more than me was RTD

Awww... But that's the thing. He cared and we KNEW he did.

[topaz_eyes]

I haven't seen Casanova or Bob and Rose, but a big YES X 1000 to the rest of your list!

And can I add to your list? A lot of my favorites actually deal with the themes RTD espoused, hope those count. :-)

11. "Human Nature/Family of Blood." Paul Cornell wrote it, but Rusty approved it, and it's a tour de force all around, for David, Freema, Jessica, everyone involved. It's a stunning character drama, period, one of the best I've seen on any show. For me, HN/FoB defines Ten, both in what it says and what it does not say about him

[caz963]

Oh, I don't mind at all - especially as they're all things with which I completely agree. I usually cite FoB/HN as my favourite nu-Who story overall for the reasons you say, but I decided to limit my episode-love to ones Rusty wrote.

I'm impressed by the way that Rusty's DW works on so many different levels. The kids could enjoy the heroics and the adults could appreciate the underlying complexities and the moral dilemmas as well.

Someday, my eldest will understand why I think Midnight is scarier than Blink.

ETA: Do seek out the other two shows I mentioned. I can't remember why I watched Casanova in the first place - I didn't really know who David or Rusty were, but I was hooked right away. And I hadn't expected to be, because I'd always seen Casanova as a bit of a bastard who used women. I'm not saying that the real Casanova wasn't like that - but the thing that stayed with me about RTD's fictional lover was that he was a man who really liked women - which I think is a rarer thing than one might think. It's well worth watching

[caz963]

I loved DW as a kid, and I probably watch Classic Who now through that filter of nostalgia. I said somewhere around here (it might have been in my post about the Xmas special)that kids are - generally - more interested in the action side of things, watching the Doctor be heroic and clever and save everyone than they are in what's going on underneath. And that's natural - they're kids. And that seems to me to be what Moffat wants to get back to, whereas with the RTD era, the show worked on different levels. I'm not saying that Moff-Who lacks that entirely, but there certainly seems to have been a move away from the Doctor "in focus".

[solitary_summer]

I wish I could say something intelligent, but it's been a long day and my brain has apparently decided to switch itself off, so I'll leave it at 'word'.

I think what I love most about RTD's writing is the lack of cynicism and ironic detachment; the fact that he isn't afraid of the big emotions and the big questions.

not the serial seducer of legend, but a man who genuinely liked women

*nods a lot* I never found the right words for it, but I know what you mean.

(Here's the link to the original post, btw: http://enterpriseofgeeks.blogspot.com/2011/01/ten-things-we-love-about-russell-t.html)

[caz963]

Ah yes - thanks for the link. That's the one I saw.

he isn't afraid of the big emotions and the big questions.

Yes, absolutely. And I know that some people felt the emotion was too much, but I never did. I like to feel these things, even if sometimes, it's not especially pleasant.

I always thought that one of the things DW could do at its best was to look at important issues, even if it was just a snapshot - and hold them up to examination. Planet of the Ood does that very well, I think, and that's just one example from the new era.

ETA: Re Casanova - that's about the best way I can put what was, for me, the defining characteristic of the man as RTD presented him. He liked women for who they were rather than just what he could get from them. Of course, it helped that the women were more than ready to give him something back (!), but that was sort of the point - it was given readily and by way of a "return", if that makes sense. I could write a lot more about the way I see Casanova the character, which in itself shows what a big

[solitary_summer]

I like to feel these things, even if sometimes, it's not especially pleasant.

Me too.

Re Casanova... I was so hesitant to watch it, because I'm pretty much on the asexual side of things, and, well, it's Casanova, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Despite the tragic ending there is just so much warmth in the story. My only problem was that I watched it only after TEoT and for a while I had a hard time mentally disentangling Ten and Casanova.