2. Story Arcs (Doctor Who)
When I heard that Series Seven was going to feature bigger, self-contained episodes that featured no obvious link between them, I was overjoyed. And let me tell you why... The vast majority of Moffat's major story arcs don't make sense (although once again this is a problem that only rose to prominence when he became head writer). The best example I can think of is Series Six, particularly the final episode which might have had a little too much hype leading up to it that it unfortunately didn't live up to. How does River Song discharge her weapon pack? Why does her not killing the Doctor cause all of time and space to happen at once? Why were there no Reapers ripping everything to shreds? If River Song's memory is wiped after she kills the Doctor, why does she know what she's done in the 'Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone' story? Why did the Tenth Doctor's meddling in fixed points in history have no similar consequences? I could go on. I probably won't. It's not like I'm TRYING to annoy people... It also seems to slip a lot of people's minds that 'The Wedding of River Song' and 'The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang' are practically identical. They both involve time collapsing (for some reason), River Song messing things up to begin with (I know, I love her too, but she needs to think things through more), the Doctor apparently dying only to be brought back by slightly questionable means, and a rather flimsy resolution that's supposed to answer every question the series brought up but really, really doesn't. While the Season Six finale was a lot of fun and did have some interesting visuals, and while it could be argued that the focus of the story is not how the setting comes about but how the Doctor will triumph over the Silence, it still had its flaws, as does most of the 'Silent' subplot. Why was the crack in the TARDIS scanner generated by the Silents shaped like one of the cracks in the universe? Why did everything go quiet at the end of 'Vampires in Venice'? Why did the voice that said 'Silence will fall' sound nothing like any of the Silents? There's probably a rational explanation out there, either one that is yet to come or one that has already been broadcast that I've not picked up on, but knowing Steven Moffat it might confuse many of us even more.