Davies to Depart "Doctor Who," Beeb Names Moffat as Replacement
I woke up this morning to learn that Russell T. Davies would be leaving Doctor Who, the brilliant and imaginative series that he relaunched and watched over for the past four seasons.
Davies will stick around to oversee the four feature-length specials slated to air on the BBC next year but will then depart prior to the start of Season Five.
I'm really sad to be losing Davies as the man with his hand on the Who tiller. He's done a remarkable job at keeping things running smoothly, through not one but two major cast changes (as the incomparable David Tennant replaced original star Christopher Eccleston and Freema Agyeman replaced Billie Piper... and then was recently replaced herself with Catherine Tate).
But I am pleased as punch that it will be Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat (who also created comedy Coupling and BBC limited series Jekyll) who will be taking over as the lead writer and executive producer on Doctor Who.
If anyone should be the one to take over as Keeper of the Secrets for the Time Lord, it's Moffat. After all, over the past four seasons, he's single-handedly crafted some of the most memorable, creative, and awe-inspiring episodes of the series, including "Blink," "The Girl in the Fireplace," and "The Empty Child." (Yep, he wrote all of those superlative installments.)
"It's a huge honor to be following Russell [Davies] into the best--and the toughest--job in television," said Moffat. "I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."
Season Five, which will be Moffat's first as the new executive producer/head writer, will launch on BBC One in Spring of 2010. No US airdate has yet been announced.
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5 comments:
I'm soooo happy Moffat is taking over for Davies....Davies' episodes were always the worst.
Hallelujah! I for one am happy to see Davies go. While the man deserves tremendous credit for resurrecting and contemporizing the show, and for personally casting the truly brilliant David Tennant, it was clear he was out of ideas. While series 3 ended with a great flourish, the first half felt like a rehash of past eps, and many of the non-Moffat episodes suffered from a certain malaise of 'sameness' with lots of running and frenetic activity to hide the absence of a proper denouement. Unfortunately this means Tennant could be gone with Davies as well, which would be a darn shame because he's just about irreplaceable as the Doctor. Paging James Callis anyone...?
Moffat is the perfect man for the job. Not only is he my favorite Doctor Who writer but he's one of the best writers working in television today. Anyone who can write shows as diverse and brilliant as Coupling, Jekyll, and Who is okay in my book.
I'm sorry to see Davies go since he's been an integral part of the regenerated Doctor Who series. However, as Jace said, Moffat's responsible for those three episodes, which I think are perhaps the best of all time. They're the only episodes I've watched more than once.
anonymous, you're onto something. It's Doctor Baltar!
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