Why We Love Eleven and the Moff Era

[randomgirl666.livejournal.com]

This was suggested as an obvious topic to get people engaged, so I thought I'd kick off a discussion. Why do you love Moffat/Smith era who?

First of all, I love complex/non-linear plotting and stories that demand your attention. Over the years, the standard plotting of a Doctor Who episode is basically: turn up in the TARDIS, see something weird, investigate it, sort it out, go away. That's all well and good, it's a format that's served the show well for a long time. Which is why I think it's a particularly brave decision to go with plots that credit the audience with a little more intelligence.

Second. Steven Moffat's Doctor Who is PROPERLY scary. I was too young for Doctor Who when it was cancelled, so I missed out on that formative "hiding behind the sofa" experience (do people really do that?). For me, Daleks were just part of the pop-cultural background - I never understood why they were scared of them. "Blink" on the other hand, is the first piece of television that ever properly terrified me, at the tender age of 28. Subsequently, we've had more Weeping Angels and the Silence, but what really impressed me was the fact that the series 5 two parter made both Cybermen and Daleks scary again, years after the original creepiness had melted away somewhat.

Casting in the last two series has been spot on so far. Matt Smith is MY doctor and Karen Gillan is one of the few companions I could ever actually believe as a real person. Arthur Darvill - charming, lovely. Alex Kingston. Mark Sheppard. Michael Gambon. Sophie Okenada. Helen McCrory. Tony Curran.

The only possible thing I can think of to complain about is the fact that there are non-Moffat scripted episodes. But when I compare it to previous episodes, two/three episodes I don't like a season is a pretty good success rate.

So what lurks behind everyone else's Eleven love?

Comments

[mmgage.livejournal.com]

I love Moffat's writing. When I look back over series 1-4, my favorite episodes are all Moffat ones. He's simply a fantastic writer.
I also LOVE Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor. He does an amazing job of showing us the Doctor's feelings with his eyes alone. He's such a refreshing change after David Tennant, who always made me cringe. He was always scowling and over-acting (felt the same way when I saw him in Hamlet). DT felt very much like a retread of Pertwee; Smith evokes Troughton and Davidson (two of my favs) while managing to put his own spin on it.
The rest of "Team TARDIS" is great. I like Amy Pond. Yes, she can be immature and a little thoughtless at times but she has a good heart. And I ADORE Rory. He's smarter than you think at first, he truly loves Amy, and in spite of himself he's come to like the Doctor. The chemistry between the three of them is terrific - it's obvious they genuinely like each other and that comes through - the Doctor, Amy, and Rory all truly care for each other too.
I look back on series 5, which I've watched about a million times now, and while there are eps I like less than others, there aren't really any that just bomb for me. I haven't been able to say that for a while. I think Moffat does a good job at the helm, guiding and shaping the eps he isn't writing.
Bottom line: my interest in Who was waning fast after Journey's End (I really don't like what they did to Donna) and my husband (who first brought me to Who) had to plead to get me to watch the specials. By the time DT regenerated, I was ready for him to be gone. Matt Smith and Steven Moffat brought me back and if anything, I'm more of a Who fanatic than my husband these days!

[mewiet.livejournal.com]

I love Moffat's writing. When I look back over series 1-4, my favorite episodes are all Moffat ones. He's simply a fantastic writer.

This! They just all sparkle above the rest. I was beyond thrilled when I heard Moffat was taking over from RTD, because I knew it would be brilliant and I was not disappointed. Season five, IMO, is much higher quality than a majority (save for a handful of bright spots) of anything from the first four seasons(even the lowest quality eps of season five are generally much better than much of seasons 1-4).

[welshgirl15.livejournal.com]

This! Moffat was the only other name I really remembered out of all the writers which definatly says something!

[loolaa.livejournal.com]

I will add to THIS. I came into the New Who fandom late (only starting to regularly watch after The Waters of Mars) and after seeing all the earlier seasons it's the Moffat episodes that I liked and that enthralled me the most.

[onlineminiboss.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna just in with tuppence - it's a really shallow thing, but a big part of the reason I love Moffat's era so much is just... how visually stunning it looks. I mean it's GORGEOUS. Most of my favourite icons and graphics have come from this series or series five, and so many people make so many different and beautiful things. It seems to be so inspiring to people.


And let's not forget, it's huger in America than DW's ever been before.

I actually heard somewhere a description of sorts... that Moffat's Who is far more middle class then RTD's. I mean, a chavvy companion who lives on an estate, a northern Doctor, vs. a slightly posh Doctor with a mildly expensive hairstyle and a girl who apparently owns her own house for a while and lives in a little village in the country.

[randomgirl666.livejournal.com]

I think it looks really good too. Without wanting to slag off the look of previous series, a lot of those spaceships had a fairly similar feel. I love the look of Starship UK and I love how they're taking full advantage of location shoots now.

I don't know how I quite feel about that "middle class" thing. I'm avowedly working class and usually if I think something is coming from a middle class perspective, I'm quite suspicious. I guess you could say the village of Leadworth is not exactly as grimy and authentic as Rose's estate, but if there's a slightly middle class influence on it, I don't think there's a middle class agenda as such.

[mmgage.livejournal.com]

It is visually stunning these days, isn't it?

I don't know if I feel it's more "middle-class" or not, because I am an American and I don't think we define "middle-class" quite the same way as Brits do (over here I would say the "middle-class" IS the "working-class"). But what it most definitely IS is more subtle than in the RTD era. RTD liked to hit you over the head with things (the exception being Bad Wolf in series 1 which was brilliant). Moffat expects us to THINK and so he doesn't spell everything out for us or hit us upside the head with it. I appreciate the subtlety and I appreciate being given credit for having a working brain. There have been so many discussions in my house since series 6 began as my husband and I try to figure out what's going on - I can't remember a tv show ever causing such intense debate and speculation before.

[glitterfairy25.livejournal.com]

You're very observant in understanding the class system in Britain, (and as an aside, I don't think we're far off from relabelling Middle Class as Working Class) and I'd have to say I agree with you: it is technically more middle class - I mean, I always think Eleven has something of a professor about him - but it doesn't come across that way, and that's the really important thing.

And COMPLETELY AGREE about Moffat being waaay more subtle than RTD. RTD would tell you outright that a character had *these* feelings, and that the plot was based around *this*; the Moff just gives you a story and allows you to get from it what you want. In doing that, there's so much more intrigue and audience participation and discussion. The fact that things that didn't seem important turn out to be, and the way things hark back to previous episodes and series' is one of my favourite things about the Moffat era: if something doesn't make sense now, I have every faith that they will eventually. That gentle, unrushed, uncurling of plot and narrative is something I'm always looking for, and Moff series' deliver that unquestionably.

[welshgirl15.livejournal.com]

I agree, the last two series, particularly series 6, have been visually stunning!

I'm not sure I agree with the 'middle class' thing. It was Amy's parents who owned the house not her. She was left there when her parents were taken into the crack. Also living in a country village doesn't mean that you're middle class. I live in a small village and most people here (myself included) are much more working class.

[mewiet.livejournal.com]

Where do I start?

I love the strong, independent female characters: River Song (probably the most feminist character NuWho has ever had), Amy Pond, Nasreen Chaudhry, Liz X. This is something that was seriously lacking in the RTD Era. I have a problem with a lot of the sexism (i.e. "Love & Monsters") in seasons one through four. I also love that ageism is fought against under the Moffat Era. Once again: Alex Kingston/River Song (48), Meera Syal/Nasreen Chaudhry (49), and Sophie Okonedo/Liz X (42).

I also like the fact that racial diversity (and interracial relationships) is being handled in a way that is actually progressive, instead of just looking progressive and actually sending another message by having racially diverse characters prop white characters/come in second best, be victimized, or be villified. We can once again cite the brilliant example of Nasreen and the Nasreen/Tony relationship as well as the bi/triracial Queen Elizabeth X. (And the wonderful nod to Canton's lover being black and male and one of Nixon's security detail being black in the season six opening two-parter.)

I also much prefer Moffat's clever storyline and engaging plot twists. He's definitely one of my favorite writers who has won me over with the likes of "Blink," "The Girl in the Fireplace," "Silence in the Library," "Forest of the Dead," "The Impossible Astronaut," and "Day of the Moon." Simply amazing talent storytelling!

There's so much more, but those are the ones that are right off the top of my head. There's just so much to love about the Moffat Era and that's not even including the brilliance that is Matt Smith's, Alex Kingston's, Karen Gillan's, and Arthur Darvill's performances aside from Moffat's writing/handling of the storylines and characters.

[errorsinconduct.livejournal.com]

This <3

[farsh-nuke.livejournal.com]

I did not grow up with the Doctor but he was always there, like the monsters in Moffat's reign (And damn it where's that knighthood?), waiting in the shadows. My dad would point at semicircular security cameras in shopping malls going 'look a dalek' and Jon Culshaw would go out and about as the fourth Doctor, filmed by a hidden camera.

That's why when Doctor Who came on, I wasn't really bothered. It was not a new concept to me but I watched it and loved it as I do any tele programme, only now this mythical show about an enigmatic mysterious old hero had become a soap opera. The Doctor was pining after a bimbo and moping about being all alone. I recognised myself in him, my own neuroses and angst reflected back at me by the very man who promised to take me away from earthly trappings. Disappointment is an understatement.

I'll be honest and say now that I was not scared by the Empty Child and didn't rate the girl in the fireplace though ticking clocks and the clock work men did terrify me, as well as the whole harvesting the crew concept. Blink was the turning point though, I have a stone frog door stop and I watched Blink with it and gleefully watched without fear only to become paranoid of the frog later. Then in Silence in the library Moffatt turned my fear of the dark into a fear of shadows also and I walked around like the blackpool illuminations, terrified.

When the Eleventh Doctor finally arrived though, I was a harder man. I'd conquered my own fears and angst, even learned a new skill and discovered the New Adventures, becoming a proper whovian as a result. So when the Doctor discovered fish fingers and custard I discovered I wasn't scared any more and I recognised the Doctor for what he was, a manipulative trickster using his companions as pawns. It might be important that I have since brought a tweed jacket and discover a passion for hats, I can't think why.

The real reason I love Moffat though, aside from delivering terrifying monsters, excellent real characters and marvellously complex plots, along with countless fan squee (Doctor Who Adventure Games, curse my using ubuntu, not mac or pc), is that he took the shark. The beast which first scared me and is indeed my first ever memory which in turn inspired a determined passion and guiding interest, a decision to stop consuming aquatic creatures and in turn resulted in the torment of an entire school. He took that beast, the symbol of my nightmares and evil urges (Every victim of bullying at some point imagines the monsters which stalk their nightmares going after the bullies) and made it fly. He turned a symbol of fear, guilt and anger and made it jolly. At that moment I knew that the scars which had caused me to pour scorn on tennant's Doctor were gone.

Moffat's Doctor Who let me feel fear and deal with it, then it, albeit coincidentally, celebrated my recovery. The show has become a part of me now, a part of my life in small but crucial way.

[i-luv-stanislav.livejournal.com]

I love Matt Smith's Doctor so much because he's so positive and goofy. The Doctor has always been charismatic, but in the past he's been a bit too angsty, but that's not the case with Eleven.

As far as the writing goes, I feel like the plot that Moffat has developed in each of his episodes, while sometimes filled with a plothole here and there, are very strong and compelling. The first episode I ever watched was "Blink" and his writing is what made me fall in love with the show. To this day, "Blink" is still on of my all-time favorite episodes.

[aareavis.livejournal.com]

I didn't know what I was missing until Matt Smith came along. I was in love with Tennant. He was charming and sophisticated. Matt Smith came along and I realized that, duh, he's an alien. Tennant said he was an alien but I never quite believed it. With Smith, I believe it. And I never knew that bowties are, indeed, cool. I hope he finds another stetson. :D

I love River. I loved her the moment she came on screen in The Library. I love that she scares The Doctor. And the chemistry between her and 11 is steamy. I don't think it would've worked so well with 10. One bit of fanservice I want is that last date with River before she goes to The Library. I can see it now. She meets him for the first time. The last time in his perspective. So he decides it's finally time for that last day together where there are no spoilers (except The Library).

Anyways, I love the twisty-turny plots. I love that not everything is wrapped up in a neat little package. At first, I hated the season 5 finale. But then I realized that I was stuck in RTD mode where everything was all tied up at the end of the season and the next one started fresh.

It kind of reminds me of LOST, except Moffat actually has it all planned out, instead of making it up as he goes along.

Another thing, I never used to dream about Doctor Who. Since season 6 started, I've been dreaming like crazy. One had Vashta Nerada and The Silence in it. It wasn't really a nightmare but it was thrilling to say the least. I woke up with a slight rise in blood pressure. Which went a little higher when I realized that I couldn't remember what The Silence told me and I started to feel a little queasy and I'm like, "That's exactly what they want!!!! Holy Crap!" :O

It takes a whole helluva lot to scare me. I've been watching Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees since I was in diapers (my parents were demented) and I never had nightmares. For a family show to do what Freddy and Jason couldn't is a very special thing.

[kondo85.livejournal.com]

"Lost" comment twins!

[kondo85.livejournal.com]

To begin in an off-topic note: I'm a relatively new Whovian (I started watching about a year ago - I'm all caught up on NuWho, and I'm delving into some of the older stuff now), so Eleven is the first Doctor I'm watching in real time, which I find to be a fun experience.

What I like about Moffat's era is its flexibility. He can create these amazingly intricate stories like we saw in the first two episodes of this season, while at the same time creating some of the less connected episodes like "The Vampires of Venice," which we later find out are important to the trajectory of the show. As other posters have pointed out, Moffat doesn't spoonfeed us information or plot points most of the time - in that way his plotlines sometimes remind me of what it seems the writers of "Lost" wanted to achieve (but hopefully, Moffat and Co. will tie up the major plot threads this season, as he did in S5).

Although Ten/Tennant/RTD were my first exposures to DW, Eleven's seasons have been amazing. I also have to say that "Vincent and the Doctor" is absolutely my favorite episode. And although Donna's my favorite companion ever, River runs a very close second.

[mewiet.livejournal.com]

while at the same time creating some of the less connected episodes like "The Vampires of Venice," which we later find out are important to the trajectory of the show.

This is another thing I love. I was shocked, but pleasantly so, when within the first few minutes into "The Pandorica Opens," we had Vincent van Gogh, Winston Churchill, and Liz X from all the seemingly "standalone" episodes come together to play intricate parts in the finale. I hope that happens again this season.

[kondo85.livejournal.com]

Agreed! I think that's why I can't completely discount "The Curse of the Black Spot" as a one-off without some sort of deeper significance, since we probably won't see the whole picture until the last few episodes of S6.

[mewiet.livejournal.com]

Well besides the second appearance of Madame Kovarian, I do think that the wholke storyline between Captain Avery and Toby was foreshadowing for The Doctor. Just listen to how Toby talks about his father's "legend." It totally made me think of The Doctor: a generally "good" man who is not adverse to lie, to bad things, and even kill a lot of people (even if some of them have been innocent). I theorize that we're going to see a return to a much darker Doctor in the near future, a Time Lord Victorious/Dream Lord Doctor, and I think TCotBS was using Captain Avery as a parallel/foreshadowing. It also reinforced the theme of parenthood this season, with Amy's pregnancy as well as the mysterious potential-Time Lady child. Actually, Toby - a sick little child - reminded me a lot of the Little Girl in TIA/DotM and, if she is somehow related to The Doctor (or even The Doctor's daughter as some people have theorized), that would work right into the parallel/foreshadowing that I was talking about earlier, with a child hero-worshipping the father that she never knew, only to meet said father at a point where he's turned into a really "bad" man.

But aside from the symbolic significance, I do think we'll see the pirate (space) ship again. In fact, I just saw a really interesting post on Tumblr today where somehow had pointed out River's quote in TIA about how there are creatures all over the universe that would do anything for even one cell of a Time Lord and then in TCotBS, we see The Doctor give up a tissue sample so he can get transported onto the space ship. Then we have a mysterious child who can regenerate and not only that, but knows how regeneration works, which implies she's either done it before or had it explained to her at some point. Coincidence? (Actually, that's even rather evocative of how Jenny was created in the progenation machine...)

[errorsinconduct.livejournal.com]

O_o Could be.

Hi everyone. I joined too. *akward wave*.

[glitterfairy25.livejournal.com]

The fact that they didn't forget about previous episodes - that they ACTUALLY REMEMBER THE SAME THINGS WE DO - cemented S5 as possibly my favourite since the reboot. So much love for intertextual referencing, and even loosely connected plot points and characters ♥

[glitterfairy25.livejournal.com]

I've already divulged some of my love in comments here but I thought it was fair to answer your question, too :)

I think you've opened a can of jelly worms here, because I could go on about my love for Eleven, Matt Smith and teh Moff FOREVER. I'll try and reign it in for the purposes of this comment though :P

I loved series 1. I loved series 2. Then series 3 came in, and the good ones were better but the worse ones were even worse. Series 4, and I lost interest. I was fed up of Rusty telling me how important Rose was and making their wuv oh so special; making it about wuv. I couldn't stand the emo. I'm not coldhearted but you can have too much of that, and there definitely was.

Then Eleven arrived. And oh. My. God. He was silly to the point of being sensible, child-like and old man at the same time, educated, naiive, excited, jaded... Matt Smith played (and plays) him perfectly. He's an alien with a earth-bound hobby, and that comes across; he cares about people - it's "I've never met anyone who wasn't important" against "I believe in her." Even things like how Eleven shakes off that boys Dyslexia: I never saw Ten do anything so human like that.

And then the plots. Oh GOD, THE PLOTS. I love anything that keeps up with itself; that relates to itself; that has a long winding plot rather than just being completely self-contained; that comes back to itself in the ass playfully and make everyone else go "ooowwwwhhhh"; timey-wimey, omg, TIMEY-WIMEY ♥ I enjoyed Rusty's arc words, but I always wanted more. What RTD taketh away, the Moff giveth: seeing River coming back and more story developing there, and plotholes appear that have more to them than holes of plot made my Saturdays. They were smart and funny and just... the epitome of Doctor Who.

I LOVE how Moffat sees it as a storytale, and isn't afraid to let everybody live, and people see the good side of things. Call me naiive, but IIRC, Rusty didn't particularly demonstrate the positive; Eleven's philosophy is something I very much believe in myself.

I adore how we find out a little bit more about River every time we meet her, that Amy insults Rory because she loves him, that the Doctor doesn't quite understand things about people are life on Earth sometimes. That Amy is the one who wears the trousers - not just the girlfriend or wife of anybody. People say Moffat is sexist but I have a hard time believing it because his understanding of modern relationships (he created JACK, ffs) seems to be without a hitch.

I could go on, with bullet points and everything. But this comment is already too long, so, er... no.