Tue May 20, 2008 2:09PM8 comments ›
Tue May 20, 2008 — by Mike Gold
Steven Moffat To Take Over 'Doctor Who'
Acclaimed Writer To Replace Russell T Davies
According to our friends at Outpost Gallifrey, Steven Moffat will be succeeding Russell T Davies as the chief writer and executive producer of Doctor Who beginning with next year’s series of specials. Moreover, he will be taking over as showrunner for the 2010 series.
This move was long expected by fans and predicted by the omnipresent rumor mill.
Moffat has written a great many episodes over the past four seasons, including the award-winning “Blink,” the forthcoming “Silence in the Library” and “Forest of the Dead,” “Empty Child,” and the crossover special “Time Crash.” He has a great many credits, including the upcoming Tintin movie for Steven Spielberg.
Moffat also wrote the classic 1999 Doctor Who episode “The Curse of Fatal Death,” which starred Rowan Atkinson, Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant and Joanna Lumley as The Doctor and Jonathan Pryce as The Master. Some regard this broadcast as out-of-continuity; however, given the nature of the show one can never be certain.
He told the BBC’s publicity department “My entire career has been a secret plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cause the BBC wanted someone else. Also, I was seven.”
Jump to comments (8) 
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Comments (8)
mike weber (2:53 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
I thought this was an announcement of a new Eleventh Doctor when i read the headline.
Mike Gold (2:54 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
Ha-ha! Made you look!
Jason M. Bryant (3:08 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
I just did a happy dance in my chair. Mr. Davies has done a great job in getting the show running again, but I'm a big Moffat fan and couldn't be happier.
mike weber (3:10 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
"Blink" alone is a strong recommendation.
I remember a Brit fan who said it had about the highest "behind-the-couch" factor he could remember since "Terror of the Autons" when he was about twelve.
mike weber (3:10 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
...and "Empty Child" has a good BTC factor, too.
Vinnie Bartilucci (3:17 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
Verified! http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/news/latest/080520_news_01
This is spectacular news. Once again, the show is in the hands of a person who knows it inside and out, can make sure it gets the treatment (and dare I say respect) it deserves, and create some truly staggering narratives.
I'll be curious to see if this position will bring an increase in stories he pens himself, or if he'll keep more in a supervisory mode, adding bits and ideas to all the scripts. I think he'd be equally fabulous in both strategies.
I don't have nearly as much emnity as some fans have gained for RTS - the man made Doctor Who a force to be reckoned with again, and for that he deserves praise indeed. I wouln't mind seeing the odd script from him in the future.
Considering Moffat is much more of a "fan" of the show, I'll be curious to see if the level of interaction with the fans will change. I'm not worried about the show getting too self-referential or fan-wanky, but I think we'll defintely see a change in the format of the season.
A great choice, coming off a series of great choices. But considering that Julie Gardner, Phil Collinson and RTS (plus, it's rumored, Tennant) will all be going next season, we may well see more of a change than we're expecting in the show. I'm confident they'll be positive changes, however.
I'd love to see another Mark Gatiss script if he's got one in him. Hell, one wonders if they'll ever come across the pond and let some Americans write any? I seem to recall Peter David having more than some knowledge of the show - didn't he just get to write a piece for Big Finish? Considering that's where a LOT of the current Who creators did stuff during The Quiet Years, it'd sure be nice.
Mike Gold (3:21 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
I think Gardner is gone already, at the end of this season. Given Tennant's comments and the way the BBC rearranged their 2009 schedule to accommodate him, I think he might be around for all -- or most -- of those 2009 specials. It's hard to imagine them killing off the Doctor at the end of the 2008 Christmas special.
But, then again...
Vinnie Bartilucci (3:35 PM on Tue May 20, 2008)
Gardner and Collinson are both gone - they verified that Phil is not working on the Christmas special. I should have said "will be gone" as opposed to "will be going".
Usually, when a large number of people change in a show's production staff, it's a period of trepidation. But with Moffat already being such a fixture, it's not a big a change as it seems. He's already been sticking his finger into things this season - it was his suggestion to make a certain change to the script of "The Doctor's Daughter" that made for a major shift in tone for the story.
I love the fact that there's a good half a season of this series left, ad we still don't know all the answers. Add to that the mystery of how the movies will play out (will they be standalone stories, or contain a connected narrative like a full season) and it's a fun time to be Whofen.