Doctor Who: 12 Steven Moffat Quotes You Might Not Have Heard
4. On Classic Who...
There's a myth that Moffat hates Classic Who, possibly perpetuated by a messy quote he made about how in writing, you take what you love and build on it to make something better than it ever was. He's obviously very aware of the classic series's mixed reputation, but this set of quotes tell us more than ever about what he liked and disliked growing up watching Doctor Who. Note: he LOVES Jon Pertwee.
"Rather liked season 18, though found it a bit dry and uninvolving, and thought Tom was a bit off. Adored the next three seasons, and thought (and think) Davison was superb. Colin Baker's two seasons, and Sylvester's first - well, I'm afraid I found very little to enjoy there, though honestly I tried! Colin is a good actor, and been good in many things, but I didn't think he landed the role of the Doctor. On telly, anyway - been good on audio. And no, the costume and the scripts weren't helping. Really enjoyed the last two seasons of Dr Who - some plunges from grace, but some cracking stuff too. You'll never quite convince me that Sylvester is an appropriate choice for a BBC1 leading man, but clever people like Paul Cornell think otherwise so what do I know? Preferred him to Colin and (ooh, the heresy!) William Hartnell, so that's gotta count for something."
The Doctor Who Forum
"And yes, it's true - Doctor Who has never the critical respectability it has now, or even close. "It probably helps that the show is absolutely bloody marvellous now but I'm not really allowed to say that, cause people will hit me and lecture me about Jon Pertwee, or something."
The Doctor Who Forum
"Oh God, before everyone starts, I LOVE Jon Pertwee, and I'm watching Planet Of Evil right now and LOVING it, and I want Robert Holmes brought back to life just so I can tell him he's a genius, cos I don't think he knew."
The Doctor Who Forum "I really enjoyed Peter's Doctor. I said sometimes, he's underrated as the Doctor - although not after 'Time Crash', that's for sure. I think he's a brilliant Doctor... He paved the way for the younger, more reckless Doctors... He is the first modern Doctor... Before Davison, he was always the father figure, and suddenly the Doctor became your reckless mate... The Doctor always doesn't know what he's doing, he just hopes he can get away with it." BBC
