Doctor Who: 7 Most Unfair Criticisms Of Steven Moffat

Moffat must go (on and on?).

In May 2013 the Daily Mail published an online article entitled €œExterminate Doctor Who boss, BBC Is Urged.€ The proverbial unnamed BBC insider is alleged to have said €œThe 50th anniversary episode seems a good opportunity for Moffat to bow out. Either way, something dramatic needs to take place to improve ratings." Two years on and Steven Moffat is still at the helm. What's more, he isn't set to hang up his boats any time soon. But a vocal minority of fans continue to campaign for a change at the top. One Facebook group called €œSave Doctor Who, Fire Steven Moffat€ says, "Steven Moffat is systematically destroying Doctor Who, each year getting bolder and more blatant about it. BBC, please stop this mad man from destroying your best product." It only has around 500 likes but a now closed change.org petition "BBC: Remove Steven Moffat from Doctor Who" garnered 4,413 signatories. It would be all too easy to dismiss the anti-Moffat brigade as an insignificant obsessive minority, but among those who have been turned off from the show are some well respected long term fans who are not usually prone to making wild and unfounded statements. They are not the type to complain for the sake of complaining and would steer well clear of negative Facebook groups and barmy petitions. But what are the reasons for such unrest and are the most common complaints justified? Let's find out.

Contributor
Contributor

Paul Driscoll is a freelance writer and author across a range of subjects from Cult TV to religion and social policy. He is a passionate Doctor Who fan and January 2017 will see the publication of his first extended study of the series (based on Toby Whithouse's series six episode, The God Complex) in the critically acclaimed Black Archive range by Obverse Books. He is a regular writer for the fan site Doctor Who Worldwide and has contributed several essays to Watching Books' You and Who range. Recently he has branched out into fiction writing, with two short stories in the charity Doctor Who anthology Seasons of War (Chinbeard Books). Paul's work will also feature in the forthcoming Iris Wildthyme collection (A Clockwork Iris, Obverse Books) and Chinbeard Books' collection of drabbles, A Time Lord for Change.