# Dr. Who - Russell Davies stepds down **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076 "2008-05-21T05:56:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/1 "2008-05-21T05:56:29Z")
and Steven Moffat takes over. Is this a good, bad or neutral thing? [BBC Link](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7411177.stm) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/2 "2008-05-21T06:06:11Z")
Steven Moffat is widely considered the best writer of the new series. So in that sense it’s a great thing. Hopefully it will also mean he’ll be able to shape the potential stories into better directions. He was also an Executive Producer on his show _Jekyll_, which I thought was astonishingly good, and the scariest TV show I’ve ever seen. But Russell Davies has done an outstanding job of getting Doctor Who made and at a consistently good standard, sometimes a very high standard, so any change is a big unknown and may not be as great a move as some might be expecting. The other regular Executive Producers, Phil Collinson and Julie Gardner, are also stepping out of the picture, so the regime change is going to be a major one - everyone will be new. And maybe by then there will be a new Doctor, too (I have no idea, though David Tennant seems to love the role). ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/3 "2008-05-21T06:53:45Z")
The story doesn’t say \*why \* RTD is stepping down. The show is obviously a hit so maybe he got greedy and wanted more money. RTDisn’t the best writer of the show, but he’s been an excellent show runner. Moffat is certainly one of the best tv writers alive and as GuanoLad pointed out, he produced Hyde. All in all, I’m optimistic. ---
**Author:** ![DCTrekkie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dctrekkie/32/18862_2.png) [@DCTrekkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCTrekkie)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/4 "2008-05-21T07:12:52Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan] The story doesn’t say \*why \* RTD is stepping down. The show is obviously a hit so maybe he got greedy and wanted more money. [/QUOTE] I don’t think so, this has been planned for a while. There have been mentions though that he’s been working with some of the main writers to sort out a 20-year plan for Doctor Who, so his influence will still be there for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/5 "2008-05-21T07:40:57Z")
I’m sure Davies has done a good job of reviving Doctor Who, but in all the interviews I’ve seen with him (I usually miss the actual programme and end up just catching _Doctor Who Confidential_ or whatever they call it) - I haven’t detected a glimmer of _passion_ in him, concerning the work. I mean, I guess it must be there, but I just don’t see it. Maybe it’s just the way he interviews. - he comes across as a cosy white collar just toying with ideas in a sort of amused, but disinterested way. Dunno what Moffat will be like at the job. The writing and direction of _Coupling_ was bloody first class though, so it could be good. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/6 "2008-05-21T09:35:20Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I’m sure Davies has done a good job of reviving Doctor Who, but in all the interviews I’ve seen with him (I usually miss the actual programme and end up just catching _Doctor Who Confidential_ or whatever they call it) - I haven’t detected a glimmer of _passion_ in him, concerning the work. I mean, I guess it must be there, but I just don’t see it. Maybe it’s just the way he interviews. - he comes across as a cosy white collar just toying with ideas in a sort of amused, but disinterested way. [/QUOTE] Odd, I’ve gotten the opposite impression - he seemed like a schoolboy brimming with enthusiasm for the whole thing. Of course, some of that enthusiasm may now be transferred to _Torchwood_, but he’s always been a huge SciFi fan from what I’ve read. Her also came across as very, very gay, before I _knew_ he was. ---
**Author:** ![Zomling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8baadc/32.png) [@Zomling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zomling)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/7 "2008-05-21T09:44:37Z")
Davies has done a great job in bringing back the series, but it has to be said that as a writer his episodes were some of the weakest. As Moffat has a proven track record as a good writer, combined with a passion for the series (he says in an interview that he’s wanted the job since he was 6), hopefully this will mean that the standards will improve rather than fall. I couldn’t find any reference to Davies’ reasons for leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/8 "2008-05-21T09:50:09Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] he comes across as a cosy white collar just toying with ideas in a sort of amused, but disinterested way [/QUOTE] I had a boss like that, he completely turned about the office I started in from a moribund place that leaked temps and was horribly inefficient at processing and distributing information to one that was fully manned and expanding and dishing out as much advertising and marketing material as was possible. Having said that, he was a bit of a messer and had no desire to sit and keep things ticking over having started them up. The deputy director was someone who was much more in the background but was much better at keeping things going on a day to day basis and deservedly stepped up to his post when he left. So perhaps a change in person at the top is necessary. Maybe Moffat can push more of his own stories or bring in better people than have been writing some of the stories so far. I got the feeling somehow that this season sees the quality of the NuWho series at its lowest so far and that a move to specials next year (something that Who hasn’t done too well so far) might tip it too far in the wrong direction. If RTD is still going to be about to supervise these specials that makes it more important for someone decent to pick up for the season that follows. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/9 "2008-05-21T11:06:41Z")
I’m going to say that it leans toward good but until we know what Moffat does with the series I’m not going to be positive on that. Davies was doing a fine job as a producer but cycling in someone fresh can prevent things from stalling out. My biggest fear in this is that Moffat will turn the show into a nostalgia fest. The new show has been good at acknowledging the past but not needing to be tied to it. Make the episodes be about old material brought up to date would be annoying. What Moffat has written doesn’t point to this in himself but as producer his responsibilities grow quite a bit… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/10 "2008-05-21T11:08:39Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] I got the feeling somehow that this season sees the quality of the NuWho series at its lowest so far [/QUOTE] I haven’t seen that at all. In fact most reactions I’ve seen, as well as my own, seem to be very positive for this latest series (There are a few who say they don’t like Catherine Tate, but they’re bringing their own baggage so don’t count). I think this series is much improved above the last two. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/11 "2008-05-21T11:16:26Z")
Oh hell yeah - Steven Moffat writes the best stuff they’ve had on DW, and as has already been mentioned, Jekyll is one of the best things I’ve seen on TV. Besides, it’s pretty normal to switch out producers on DW every 3-4 years. Keeps it from getting stale. Makes me really want to see what sort of Doctor we’ll get when David Tennant steps down. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/12 "2008-05-21T11:54:31Z")
[QUOTE=Mrs. Cake] Makes me really want to see what sort of Doctor we’ll get when David Tennant steps down. [/QUOTE] A friend of mine suggested a likely choice may be [James Nesbitt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Nesbitt). He’d be suitable indeed. I’d love to see him guest star, if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/13 "2008-05-21T12:06:15Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] I haven’t seen that at all. In fact most reactions I’ve seen, as well as my own, seem to be very positive for this latest series (There are a few who say they don’t like Catherine Tate, but they’re bringing their own baggage so don’t count) [/QUOTE] I think Tate is brilliant as Donna, no doubt about it. I just don’t think the show has picked up as much as it might have after the last season. The specials haven’t been great, I’m not looking forward to them terribly after the last three Christmas shows. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-who-russell-davies-stepds-down/450076/14 "2008-05-21T18:18:56Z")
I’m not feeling a lot of love for this season, so I’m happy to see him go. But I do appreciate what he’s done, outside of his really, really weak writing.