These last seasons have seen quite a bit of what at least one fan refers to as "run-run-fight-fight," with very little talk or explanation, with some of what minor attempts being so dubious as to make no sense ("Journey to the Center of the TARDIS," anyone?). More thought put into dialogue would not go amiss, nor would opportunities for more secondary or even tertiary characters to get involved in the solutions to the problems at hand. This doesn't have to be a transition to "talk-talk-think-think" as a polar alternative, but elements of more open exploration, experimentation, and even argument make for more diverse plots. A show's texture consists of two major parts, really, when you think of it: pacing and mood. Pacing relates to the speed of the experience itself how much action there is, how often the camera angles change, and how often the mood changes. Mood relates to more than just the emotional content that people experience, but also how the spaces themselves are used. Consider, for example, "The Invasion of Time" (one of the Fourth Doctor's stories). The story starts with the action in process and a mysterious deal, and it gets more and more mysterious and tense, with the Doctor frequently showing actions that seem completely uncharacteristic, until the Big Reveal which makes it all make sense (I won't spoil it for you!) and just as the audience can feel some relief, BANG! a new urgency comes to the fore, and the story changes again!
Michael Marcus is a game designer, author, and mad scientist living in Hamtramck, Michigan; his current project list include a series of comic short-stories collectively called "One-Punch," a book on hypnosis and language called "The Prometheus Codex," a collaborative game project called "Art War," and a fun spy story called "The Adventures of Jack Uzi" at http://tinyurl.com/JackUziChannel (for those interested).
