When it was announced back in May 2008 that Russell T Davies, the man who brought Doctor Who back from the farthest depths of forgotten space, was appointing Steven Moffat as his replacement, fans rejoiced. Moffat's contributions to the previous four series (The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead) were considered instant classics, each and every one. While Russell's style was considered a little too campy by some, too sentimental by others and even downright lame by a contingent of grumps, Moffat's was seen as someone who would bring a darker edge to the show. All of his episodes had featured fearsome and iconic imagery, complex plotting and witty scripts. He seemed like the perfect man to cement Doctor Who as a show that the whole family could enjoy, rather than children who liked it when aliens farted. And for a time, he really was. Series 5, Moffat's first on the job, and the first season of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, was probably the best series of NuWho so far produced, from it's punch the air opener to its timey-wimey finale. But time, ironically, hasn't been kind to Moffat. The general consensus has been that, since Series 5, the show has declined in quality, reaching a particular nadir with Series 7. For a number of reasons, many of the hardcore fans, and some of the casual, have turned on Moffat, and the volume of viewers on Twitter calling for his resignation increases by the year. Some are even looking back on the Russell T Davies years with rhapsodic nostalgia. So, what the hell happened?
