Steven Moffat news

[J.P.]

I can imagine him being a nightmare for those not so bright ones though. I had a teacher like this. And knew another.

That sarcasm when you made an idiot out of yourself in front of the whole class? :o

[J.P.]

I have a question. Now and then I come upon not so nice opinions about Steven. Okay, his sense of humor might not be to everyone's taste, but so is Mark's... Why is it so, why people call him a troll repeatedly and in a manner that doesn't seem to be just fooling around anymore? Some seem to have issues with him.

[bedelia1984]

I have a question. Now and then I come upon not so nice opinions about Steven. Okay, his sense of humor might not be to everyone's taste, but so is Mark's... Why is it so, why people call him a troll repeatedly and in a manner that doesn't seem to be just fooling around anymore? Some seem to have issues with him.

 

J.P., I've noticed that online, and whilst I'm not totally sure why, I wonder if part of it is that Mark just has that certain indefinable charm that lets him get away with more? Because personally, I would forgive MG almost anything!

 

I don't really follow the Dr. Who fandom, but it seems like Moffat gets more flack for that than anything, and being at the helm of such a massive and longstanding franchise, of course your style will be different than others and you won't please everyone.

[J.P.]

Well, I think I would forgive both of them a lot. :D I like Steven. Really.  If I tend to fangirl more about Mark, it's because he is just more present in the media as an (amazing) actor.

[Arcadia]

I have a question. Now and then I come upon not so nice opinions about Steven. Okay, his sense of humor might not be to everyone's taste, but so is Mark's... Why is it so, why people call him a troll repeatedly and in a manner that doesn't seem to be just fooling around anymore? Some seem to have issues with him.

 

Oh gosh. I was pretty put off by him myself for awhile, let's see if I can remember why ....

 

1. He has made remarks that some people have interpreted as misogynist. To cite examples, I'd have to dig up some of the old interviews; lord knows where they are. I remember reading one shortly after I joined this forum that was being taken that way, and I could see why some people were upset by it.

 

2. I think it's fair to say that he does often have a rather inartful way of saying things, that sound worse than they actually are in print. I try to stick to uncut videos of his interviews; he comes across much better when you can hear his tone of voice. For example, when he makes fun of a theory about Reichenbach; in print, it can sound like he's being pretty nasty towards anyone who would believe in certain theories. When you watch him "in person," though, it's usually pretty clear he's just having fun, not trying to be mean. Well, clear to me; obviously some people feel otherwise.

 

3. I think some people object to the way he treats his characters. (For instance, I really dislike of his turning Sherlock into a murderer.) I gather some of the more popular Who characters have been killed off?

 

4. For reasons I don't quite understand, some people get upset when they discover he's lied about a plot point and they were fooled once again. Personally, I like that ... I don't want spoilers! Fool me all you like, Moff!

 

What turned me around more than anything was ... I read some interview where he talked about how shy he was. Suddenly I felt like I understood a lot more about him, and I've since become rather fond of the guy. But it's easy for me to see why he puts people off. He's smart to let Mark do more of the talking; Mark's just a naturally more charming guy.

[Carol the Dabbler]

What turned me around more than anything was ... I read some interview where [Moffat] talked about how shy he was. Suddenly I felt like I understood a lot more about him, and I've since become rather fond of the guy. But it's easy for me to see why he puts people off. He's smart to let Mark do more of the talking; Mark's just a naturally more charming guy.

 

That's what I need -- a Mark Gatiss clone to do my talking for me!  I often tick certain people off, especially in person (where there's no Edit button).  Even though they can hear my tone of voice, they tend to take what I say in a far different way from what I intended.  And I have no idea what to do about it.  If I had actually meant it in a bad way, then I could pretty easily avoid saying such terrible things -- but I didn't!

 

So yeah, that interview kinda changed my mind about Moffat too.  I assume that he usually means well.  (And he's really kinda clueless about women.)

[Arcadia]

You know, I have no clue how I come across to people. I'm on a citizens' committee right now where I get the feeling that some of them think I'm either too critical or too weird or too ... something ... (whereas I just think I'm airing ideas. ) But I'm not sure if that's true, or if I'm just being a bit sensitive those times when no one responds. How does one tell what they're thinking/feeling, unless they come right out and say something? Other times I get the impression some people find me likable or smart or whatever; but I'm never sure unless they actually say so. And yet other people seem so certain about what other people are feeling, and act accordingly .... gah! It's frustrating! And I haven't the faintest idea what I can to do about it, or even if I'm supposed to. 

[J.P.]

Too something. Yeah, I know that too. Was really horrified several times hearing how I come across...

 

Thanks guys for enlightening me. You don't have to look for examples. :-)

 

Well, it reminds me of the recent case: the unfortunate remark Stephen Fry made about Jenny Beavan at Baftas.

[J.P.]

Okay, there is one thing I most probably wouldn't forgive - killing Mycroft.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... I get the feeling that some of them think I'm either too critical or too weird or too ... something ... (whereas I just think I'm airing ideas. )

 

Oh, God, yes!  I seem to have a reputation for being picky, when I'm merely trying to make sure that all contingencies have been considered.  If people disagree with me, that's fine, and I'm happy to hear their reasons, with the expectation that we will discuss all suggestions and come up with the best available solution.  But maybe just posing an alternative is considered rude or pushy?

 

Okay, there is one thing I most probably wouldn't forgive - killing Mycroft.

 

... or John!  Or Mrs. Hudson, or Molly, or Greg, or Archie.  Or even Anderson.  I hope Sally still drops in every now and then.  I realize Mary is in a special category, possibly doomed to die, but I'd prefer that they surprise us by not killing her!  (And I assume we're all assuming they won't kill Sherlock.)

 

In my opinion, they're allowed to kill only evil guys and the occasional guest character.  Note to Moftiss:  I think you know this already, but Sherlock is not a gritty "realistic" crime show -- and I don't want it to be.

[J.P.]

Found a quite detailed bio of Steven. If you don't mind that it's on an astrology page

http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Steven_Moffat

[Arcadia]

If you DO mind that it's on an astrology page, you can read it on Wikipedia instead. :P Which I would link to but as usual in the morning, I'm using the Evil Browser which will not do links, for some Evil reason. But here's the URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Moffat

[Arcadia]

Oh, now look at that; it turned into a link anyway. I give up! :D

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, now look at that; it turned into a link anyway. I give up! :D

 

It doesn't do that for just anybody, you know!  :P

[J.P.]

Hilarious

http://londongypsy.tumblr.com/post/145737371544/skulls-and-tea-moffia-x-never-forget-who

[sfmpco]

Moffat to get honorary doctorate

 

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/news/a800109/doctor-who-steven-moffat-honourary-doctorate/?utm_content=buffera6550&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=maintwitterpost

[sfmpco]

A couple years old but new to me... this Hay Festival interview.

 

[Arcadia]

Nice find!

[sfmpco]

Really nice Moffat interview.

 

[besleybean]

Lovely man.

[J.P.]

Gosh, the story with the parking… I've heard it before and forgot. Sue is my hero. :D

[besleybean]

I'd not heard it.

Love it!

[Arcadia]

A new Moffat interview, most about Dr. Who, as usual. http://worldscreen.com/tvdrama/steven-moffat-talks-doctor-who-sherlock/

 

Here's the bit on Sherlock:

 

TV DRAMA: How did you and Mark Gatiss map out the fourth season of Sherlock?
MOFFAT: We started talking about it by accident one day. We were shooting “His Last Vow,” the third episode of the third series. It was raining so we took shelter in one of the production vehicles. As we sat there we came up with the idea of [sherlock’s] sister, which we’d been kicking around for a while. What if there were a sister? What if she was the smartest one of the lot, but the one who had no moral compass at all? What could we do with her? We knew that Mary [Dr. Watson’s wife] was going to die because Mary doesn’t stay around—that’s just a fact of the Sherlock Holmes story. Dr. Watson, for most of the run of the stories, is a widower. He has to be that. We had to get him there. We knew we were going to do that. We knew we had to tie up whatever apocalypse Moriarty had planned for Sherlock Holmes after his own death. And that wove quite neatly into the introduction of the sister. It was such a fun thing to do that. Everyone thinks he has another brother. How long can we trick [the viewers] into making that fairly simplistic assumption, that because there are two brothers, there must be three? There’s a fairly obvious alternative! So we just went for it. We were careful with our pronouns until the final moment when not only is it revealed he has a sister and she’s evil, but you’ve been watching her for two weeks. That was a brave plan. We didn’t know if we could find anyone to pull that off and make it work. It’s quite a phenomenal performance from Sian Brooke in the several roles she played. As a piece of acting craftsmanship, it’s right up there. It’s extraordinary.

 

 

TV DRAMA: I was quite gutted by Mary’s death—and that surprised me. I didn’t realize how much I had grown to like her.
MOFFAT: We didn’t want to introduce her and then just shoot her. It’s awful when you do that. We wanted to introduce her and against everybody’s expectations successfully make her part of the team. Not make you resent her, not make you think she’s an interruption or the nagging wife—actually make you think, she’s really cool, I like her, it’s almost better with the three of them. And then having got her there, [we had to] take her away again. Also, this is not an element that’s in the original story but it is in our version: it is her legacy that they then live, it’s her saying, this is who you have to be, you have to go and consciously be Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Sherlock Holmes will now wear the silly hat because Mary liked it. It just felt right. You’re always aware that people worry, and I can absolutely see why, about what they call “fridging,” which is where a female character serves no other function than to motivate the male characters. But Mary served many, many more functions than that within our show. She changed and illuminated the path of the show. So I felt we were safe from that. Although we never will be safe from that accusation since they call it fridging even when it doesn’t abide by those rules! You can’t have a rule that says you can’t kill female characters. You just can’t, that’s madness. But you should have a rule that says the death of a female character cannot simply be a device. It has to be an event in its own right. It has to be something important and personal.

 

 

 

Which just goes to show how different perceptions can be, depending on where you stand, etc. I thought that's exactly what they did ... introduce Mary, then immediately kill her off. But I was the one sitting around waiting to see what happened next; I guess these people in some ways live with their characters almost every day. And yes, it did occur to me, many times, that it might be a sister.

 

Anyway, the other thing I got out of this interview was ... they're just tired of Sherlock. It got too big ....

 

I’d probably like to do some things that are quite different because it does feel like, by accident rather than by design, I’ve been involved in curating two enormous behemoths, two enormous, showbizzy things that everyone in the world wants to have the most interesting opinion about. [Laughs] I’d quite like to do something completely different from that. It was very refreshing the first time I wrote Doctor Who because I’d been writing comedy for years. The first time I wrote for Doctor Who there was a glorious shock of the new, which I enjoyed and which I think ended up stimulating me as a writer. I’d quite like that feeling again.

 

 

 

[J.P.]

To see if he's right about Mary we should go back to the story and see where it would go if Mary wasn't there.

[Carol the Dabbler]

A new Moffat interview, most about Dr. Who, as usual. http://worldscreen.com/tvdrama/steven-moffat-talks-doctor-who-sherlock/

 

 ... they're just tired of Sherlock. It got too big ....

 

I’d probably like to do some things that are quite different because it does feel like, by accident rather than by design, I’ve been involved in curating two enormous behemoths, two enormous, showbizzy things that everyone in the world wants to have the most interesting opinion about. [Laughs] I’d quite like to do something completely different from that. It was very refreshing the first time I wrote Doctor Who because I’d been writing comedy for years. The first time I wrote for Doctor Who there was a glorious shock of the new, which I enjoyed and which I think ended up stimulating me as a writer. I’d quite like that feeling again.

 

Sounds like my impression may have been right all along -- blaming the actors' busy schedules was (at least to some extent.) an excuse.  It was more like, the writers didn't want to do so much of it.