Doctor Who's fifth season has been a bit of a quandry for some fans, but not for me. While some found the season to be uneven and otherwise lesser in quality, I found it to be a well-written, well-acted series, for the most part -- that is, if you axed "Victory of the Daleks," one of the worst episodes the show has had since 2005.
In any case, Doctor Who will be returning in 2011 along with showrunner Steven Moffat and stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillan (and hopefully Arthur Darvill) for thirteen episodes, confirmed a spokesman for the BBC. Previous series of the show have lasted thirteen episodes as well, meaning that season six is maintaining the status quo. Meanwhile, Moffat has confirmed that he'll be writing five episodes of the sixth series, as well as this year's Christmas special.
"I’m doing the Christmas special plus five [episodes], so it’s the same. Six again," the writer told Den of Geek.
"I’m basically following what Russell did," Moffat said, referring to his writing schedule.. "Having worked out the sums and worked out how he does it, I thought that’s a perfect way of doing it."
In addition to Moffat's five episodes of series six, acclaimed fantasy author Neil Gaiman will be writing the third episode of the series, which is still very shrouded in mystery. That means seven episodes remain without confirmed writers. I personally hope one-time writer Simon Nye ("Amy's Choice") returns for an episode next year. Richard Curtis, another first-timer who wrote "Vincent and the Doctor" would be another welcome return. I'd also like to see Gareth Roberts return for an episode or two. Though his earlier contributions were a bore, this year's "The Lodger," was enough to redeem him, I think. Mark Gatiss, who crafted the awful "Victory of the Daleks" will undoubtedly be back due to his friendship with Moffat. This is all speculation, of course, but the writers of the series almost fascinate me as much as the series itself. I'm very interested to see where the show goes from here.
Wow, people actually think this series has been of lesser quality than the past four? They're crazy. I think this one blew all the others out of the water. Having hated Tennant's portrayal and RTD's awful writing enough to abandon watching the show sometime in season three, I went into five with low expectations. I kept waiting for the quality to go down, but it just never did, right up to the two-part finale, part one of which was perhaps the best Doctor story in its forty plus years. Like most who've watched the show all their lives, I've always put Tom Baker at the top of my list, but after this season, that's in doubt. Matt Smith may just be number one, and Moffat the best showrunner in series history. On top of that, not insignificantly, Amy Pond is the best companion, beating by far the string of blandies that marked the Eccleston-Tennant run. It's great to be excited again for the show that was responsible in the first place for my love of the genre.
Totally agree. Matt is best DW ever and Amy Pond is sensational.
I have been watching DW since late 70's and seen lots of ups like golden age of DW under script editor Douglas Adams and downs of BBC writers during Colin Baker era. RTD I think did a good job of season finales of 3 and 4. RTD was a little too touchy feely when Tennant's finale. Moffat worries me stretching himself too thin between DW and Sherlock. I thought "The Lodger" was terrible and done to be a money saver episode. Season 5 finale was watching almost copied version of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures" of temporal shift leaps of Matt Smith jumping and Moffat giving cop out of trying explain temporal shifts. Matt Smith is great actor but needs better story lines. Moffat excuse said he doesn't read blogs about his work which could be his downfall. Well I'll have wait for season 6 and have hope.
@Robozilla : I couldn't agree more.
To be totally honest, I was a little disappointed at the lack of quality in this past season’s finale. It didn’t give me the same shock and awe i felt from any of the other four, and seriously just felt like they were trying too hard to top what Davies has done. The idea of every single enemy the doctor has ever had teaming up against him to… what? Lock him up so he doesn’t end the universe? The idea isn’t just utterly unbelievable, it’s preposterous. And it really takes away from all the suspense that could have been in it. Don’t get me wrong, Stephen Moffat is absolutely brilliant, but the problem I think is that he has a much darker style of writing than Davies, and Matt Smith is alot livelier and a bit goofier than Tennant, which clashes with Moffat’s style when trying to build the kind of suspense needed for the finales. Another problem I had is with Amy. Martha was brilliant, Donna was hilarious, and Rose was practically the perfect companion, but Amy seems to only be good at wearing short skirts and trying to make love with the Doctor. That being said, I’m still very hopeful that they can pull things together for season 6. Also, I think Joss Whedon should write an episode for DW.
To be totally honest, I was a little disappointed at the lack of quality in this past season's finale. It didn't give me the same shock and awe i felt from any of the other four, and seriously just felt like they were trying too hard to top what Davies has done. The idea of every single enemy the doctor has ever had teaming up against him to… what? Lock him up so he doesn't end the universe? The idea isn't just utterly unbelievable, it's preposterous. And it really takes away from all the suspense that could have been in it. Don't get me wrong, Stephen Moffat is absolutely brilliant, but the problem I think is that he has a much darker style of writing than Davies, and Matt Smith is alot livelier and a bit goofier than Tennant, which clashes with Moffat's style when trying to build the kind of suspense needed for the finales. Another problem I had is with Amy. Martha was brilliant, Donna was hilarious, and Rose was practically the perfect companion, but Amy seems to only be good at wearing short skirts and trying to make love with the Doctor. That being said, I'm still very hopeful that they can pull things together for season 6. Also, I think Joss Whedon should write an episode for DW.
I hope they bring back Russell Davies to write a couple scenes, including bring back William Moffit, or better yet the mom has her own experience with the doctor, perhaps kidnapped and the doctor and amy have to find her, while rory remains home back at the hospital.
I hope they bring back Russell Davies to write a couple scenes, including bring back William Moffit, or better yet the mom has her own experience with the doctor, perhaps kidnapped and the doctor and amy have to find her, while rory remains home back at the hospital.