When Davies first suggested bringing back the Doctor he was considered barking
Caitlin Moran
An e-mail from Russell T. Davies - my terrific showbiz pal - notes that, in Wales, the fact that he has just stepped down from Doctor Who has made the evening news.
“The NEWS!” he boggles, before adding, ruefully, “Though the next headline was, They Still Haven't Moved That Skip.”
And Davies's departure isn't just headline news in Wales. It is news that reverberates across all space and time, from Raxacoricofallapatorius to the end of the Universe and back again. For this isn't just the resignation of a writer and executive producer on a children's TV show. This is the resignation of the 15th most important media player in Britain, as calibrated by The Guardian last year. This is the man who resurrected a piece of British heritage, a key part of our mythology. For Russell T. Davies brought Doctor Who back from the dead, and made this country's playgrounds ring once again with “Exterminate!”, “Get in the Tardis!” and “If you don't let me be the Doctor this time, I won't be your friend.”
It's hard to believe now, when Doctor Who is to all intents and purposes the BBC's flagship show, but when Davies first suggested bringing back the Doctor he was considered totally barking. In 2003 he had just won the Royal Television Society Award for The Second Coming - Christopher Ecclestone as the new, Mancunian Messiah - and was still surfing off the success of his taboo-busting and hootingly funny gay drama, Queer As Folk.
Born in Wales, educated at Oxford and settled in Manchester, Davies had made his reputation by taking ostensibly controversial subjects - gay relationships, a new messiah, omnisexual historical adventuring (Casanova), Jonathan Creek going gay, then straight (Alan Davies in Bob & Rose) - and proving that they could make accessible prime-time dramas so long as you wrote the whole thing with joy, wit, tenderness and a fierce line in philosophical relativism.
So when he used his newfound professional leverage to resurrect Doctor Who - a show remembered primarily for its 1980s decline into overacting, miscasting and monsters made of rick-rack - there was widespread derision - yet he turned in a masterclass of creative reinvention.
Sometimes, with its cutting-edge FX, Doctor Who is the dystopian sci-fi nightmare of your childhood. Cybermen! Flying Daleks! Skies full of attack ships! And at other times, with its beautifully weighted relationships and ebullient good humour, it's like Coronation Street in space. Its success has been phenomenal, and Davies leaves the show as a writer who could get any project, no matter how ostensibly ludicrous or costly, green-lit.
“But to be honest, every other job in British TV feels so small, after this job,” he concluded in his e-mail last night. “I might try running ICI instead. Or KFC. I love KFC.”
Steven Moffat to be Doctor Who Lead Writer and Executive Producer
BBC Wales and BBC Drama has announced that BAFTA and Hugo Award-winning writer Steven Moffat will succeed Russell T Davies as Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the fifth series of Doctor Who, which will broadcast on BBC One in 2010.
Moffat has penned some of the series' most unforgettable and acclaimed episodes, including Blink, with its terrifying weeping angels, for which he was awarded the BAFTA Writer Award 2008 on Sunday 11 May.
His previous work on Doctor Who includes The Girl In The Fireplace for series two, which earned him his second Hugo Award.
His first was for the series one two-parter The Empty Child, which became famous for its terrifying refrain "Are you my mummy?"
For the current series, Moffat has written Silence In The Library, a two-parter starring Alex Kingston which transmits on 31 May and 7 June 2008 on BBC One.
Steven's career began with the landmark ITV children's drama Press Gang in 1989, for which he won his first Bafta.
Coupling, the hugely popular and award-winning sitcom he created and wrote for BBC Two, began in 2000 and ran for four seasons.
Jekyll, his six-part thriller starring James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan, transmitted on BBC One last year.
Steven will continue as one of the directors on the board of Hartswood Films which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where he is also working on his new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue.
He has just delivered the screenplay for Tintin – the first instalment of the trilogy of films featuring the iconic Belgian comic-strip hero – to Steven Spielberg who will direct it for DreamWorks. Thomas Sangster and Andy Serkis will star.
Steven Moffat says: "My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven.
"Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."
Lead Writer and Executive Producer Russell T Davies says: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"
Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction, says: "Scripts and writers are at the heart of what BBC Drama is all about, and especially at the heart of Doctor Who. The past four series have been brilliantly helmed by the spectacularly talented Russell T Davies.
"As Lead Writer and Executive Producer, he has overseen the creative direction and detail of the 21st century relaunch of Doctor Who and we are delighted to have his continued presence on the specials over the next 18 months.
"But the challenge and excitement of the fifth series is now being handed to Steven Moffat. The Tardis couldn't be in safer hands. Steven's talents on both Doctor Who and beyond are well known. He is a writer of glittering brilliance, comedy and depth, with an extraordinary imagination and a unique voice.
"Steven has a wonderful mix of being a committed Doctor Who fan and a true artist, and his plans for the next series are totally thrilling."
The announcement follows the news that Piers Wenger will take over the role of Executive Producer from Julie Gardner on series five of Doctor Who.
Piers Wenger says: "The challenge of taking Doctor Who to a new future is a huge and thrilling one and BBC Wales is blessed to have someone with Steven's extraordinary talent in charge.
"His imagination and creativity have already given birth to some of the series' most unforgettable monsters though in this instance no-one need fear; time, space and the future of The Doctor are safe with him."
Wenger and Moffat are already working closely together on the planning of the series.
Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales, says: "BBC Wales is very proud of Doctor Who's phenomenal success. Steven Moffat is an extraordinary talent and we are very much looking forward to him joining the Doctor Who team."
Series four has achieved some of the show's highest audience figures to date and forthcoming episodes feature a stellar line-up of guests including Lesley Sharp, Lindsey Coulson, Alex Kingston, Colin Salmon and Michael Brandon.
Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper – The Doctor's two former companions – have also returned to assist The Doctor in series four.
Doctor Who will return in 2009 with four specials, and the full-length fifth series is currently scheduled to be broadcast on BBC One in Spring 2010.
Russell T. Davies leaves Doctor Who
When Davies first suggested bringing back the Doctor he was considered barking
Caitlin Moran
An e-mail from Russell T. Davies - my terrific showbiz pal - notes that, in Wales, the fact that he has just stepped down from Doctor Who has made the evening news.
“The NEWS!” he boggles, before adding, ruefully, “Though the next headline was, They Still Haven't Moved That Skip.”
And Davies's departure isn't just headline news in Wales. It is news that reverberates across all space and time, from Raxacoricofallapatorius to the end of the Universe and back again. For this isn't just the resignation of a writer and executive producer on a children's TV show. This is the resignation of the 15th most important media player in Britain, as calibrated by The Guardian last year. This is the man who resurrected a piece of British heritage, a key part of our mythology. For Russell T. Davies brought Doctor Who back from the dead, and made this country's playgrounds ring once again with “Exterminate!”, “Get in the Tardis!” and “If you don't let me be the Doctor this time, I won't be your friend.”
It's hard to believe now, when Doctor Who is to all intents and purposes the BBC's flagship show, but when Davies first suggested bringing back the Doctor he was considered totally barking. In 2003 he had just won the Royal Television Society Award for The Second Coming - Christopher Ecclestone as the new, Mancunian Messiah - and was still surfing off the success of his taboo-busting and hootingly funny gay drama, Queer As Folk.
Born in Wales, educated at Oxford and settled in Manchester, Davies had made his reputation by taking ostensibly controversial subjects - gay relationships, a new messiah, omnisexual historical adventuring (Casanova), Jonathan Creek going gay, then straight (Alan Davies in Bob & Rose) - and proving that they could make accessible prime-time dramas so long as you wrote the whole thing with joy, wit, tenderness and a fierce line in philosophical relativism.
So when he used his newfound professional leverage to resurrect Doctor Who - a show remembered primarily for its 1980s decline into overacting, miscasting and monsters made of rick-rack - there was widespread derision - yet he turned in a masterclass of creative reinvention.
Sometimes, with its cutting-edge FX, Doctor Who is the dystopian sci-fi nightmare of your childhood. Cybermen! Flying Daleks! Skies full of attack ships! And at other times, with its beautifully weighted relationships and ebullient good humour, it's like Coronation Street in space. Its success has been phenomenal, and Davies leaves the show as a writer who could get any project, no matter how ostensibly ludicrous or costly, green-lit.
“But to be honest, every other job in British TV feels so small, after this job,” he concluded in his e-mail last night. “I might try running ICI instead. Or KFC. I love KFC.”
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle3978617.ece
Steven Moffat to be Doctor Who Lead Writer and Executive Producer
BBC Wales and BBC Drama has announced that BAFTA and Hugo Award-winning writer Steven Moffat will succeed Russell T Davies as Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the fifth series of Doctor Who, which will broadcast on BBC One in 2010.
Moffat has penned some of the series' most unforgettable and acclaimed episodes, including Blink, with its terrifying weeping angels, for which he was awarded the BAFTA Writer Award 2008 on Sunday 11 May.
His previous work on Doctor Who includes The Girl In The Fireplace for series two, which earned him his second Hugo Award.
His first was for the series one two-parter The Empty Child, which became famous for its terrifying refrain "Are you my mummy?"
For the current series, Moffat has written Silence In The Library, a two-parter starring Alex Kingston which transmits on 31 May and 7 June 2008 on BBC One.
Steven's career began with the landmark ITV children's drama Press Gang in 1989, for which he won his first Bafta.
Coupling, the hugely popular and award-winning sitcom he created and wrote for BBC Two, began in 2000 and ran for four seasons.
Jekyll, his six-part thriller starring James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan, transmitted on BBC One last year.
Steven will continue as one of the directors on the board of Hartswood Films which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where he is also working on his new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue.
He has just delivered the screenplay for Tintin – the first instalment of the trilogy of films featuring the iconic Belgian comic-strip hero – to Steven Spielberg who will direct it for DreamWorks. Thomas Sangster and Andy Serkis will star.
Steven Moffat says: "My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven.
"Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."
Lead Writer and Executive Producer Russell T Davies says: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"
Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction, says: "Scripts and writers are at the heart of what BBC Drama is all about, and especially at the heart of Doctor Who. The past four series have been brilliantly helmed by the spectacularly talented Russell T Davies.
"As Lead Writer and Executive Producer, he has overseen the creative direction and detail of the 21st century relaunch of Doctor Who and we are delighted to have his continued presence on the specials over the next 18 months.
"But the challenge and excitement of the fifth series is now being handed to Steven Moffat. The Tardis couldn't be in safer hands. Steven's talents on both Doctor Who and beyond are well known. He is a writer of glittering brilliance, comedy and depth, with an extraordinary imagination and a unique voice.
"Steven has a wonderful mix of being a committed Doctor Who fan and a true artist, and his plans for the next series are totally thrilling."
The announcement follows the news that Piers Wenger will take over the role of Executive Producer from Julie Gardner on series five of Doctor Who.
Piers Wenger says: "The challenge of taking Doctor Who to a new future is a huge and thrilling one and BBC Wales is blessed to have someone with Steven's extraordinary talent in charge.
"His imagination and creativity have already given birth to some of the series' most unforgettable monsters though in this instance no-one need fear; time, space and the future of The Doctor are safe with him."
Wenger and Moffat are already working closely together on the planning of the series.
Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales, says: "BBC Wales is very proud of Doctor Who's phenomenal success. Steven Moffat is an extraordinary talent and we are very much looking forward to him joining the Doctor Who team."
Series four has achieved some of the show's highest audience figures to date and forthcoming episodes feature a stellar line-up of guests including Lesley Sharp, Lindsey Coulson, Alex Kingston, Colin Salmon and Michael Brandon.
Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper – The Doctor's two former companions – have also returned to assist The Doctor in series four.
Doctor Who will return in 2009 with four specials, and the full-length fifth series is currently scheduled to be broadcast on BBC One in Spring 2010.
SH
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/05_may/20/who.shtml
Edited by Sylph