Posted in: BBC, Disney+, TV | Tagged: doctor who, steven moffat

Doctor Who: Steven Moffat is Now The Best Ambassador for The Show

Steven Moffat is now the best ambassador for Doctor Who since he doesn't have to worry about running the show anymore (and he's hilarious).

Former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat is having his best life right now. He was invited by current and returning showrunner Russell T. Davies to contribute to the new Disney+ era season of the series, and his two episodes, "Boom!" in season one and the 2024 Christmas special "Joy to the World," are two of the most well-received episodes of the new era. He's been on the publicity trail promoting the show every chance he gets and has made himself the best ambassador for Doctor Who out there right now. He's no longer responsible for the show, so he has nothing to lose as a wisecracking, endlessly entertaining cheerleader.

Moffat is an endlessly fun interviewee whenever anyone asks him about anything apart from Doctor Who. Like Davies, he loves genre television and movies. He's been on BBC Radio 4 talking about the appeal of The Prisoner. He has thoughts about any TV series out there now, but all anyone really wants to ask him about is Doctor Who, and he has loads to say. After all, he knows the series' entire history and the gossip behind it, and he is bloody funny about it. He sees the inherent absurdity of the series, both in front of and behind the camera. He can say that everything that made Doctor Who special was the result of budget cuts as the TARDIS looks like a police phone box because it was cheaper to use one than to build a spaceship. Anita, the hotel concierge in "Joy to the World," became a major character because they didn't have the budget to send The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) searching the world for the right hotel door, so they stuck to the one group of sets for one hotel.

Moffat Has No Objections to Returning to Doctor Who

A few years ago, Moffat came out and talked about how exhausting it was being the Doctor Who showrunner for the seven years he was on. He was constantly putting out fires: not enough budget, casting falling through, scripts not working and having to be rewritten or replaced, the sheer desperation of needing enough story to fill thirteen episodes per season and a Christmas special, including trying to develop the Fiftieth Anniversary Special when Matt Smith's contract hadn't yet been renewed nor was David Tennant available yet, and Christopher Eccleston turning down an appearance.

You wouldn't know any of this, considering the special came out as if everything was as it was supposed to be. Not that time has passed and he's rested, he said he's not against returning to the show. Well, the show is only eight episodes per season now because of the streaming era, not thirteen, so there's a lot less pressure than in his time. Or he could just be saying he's happy to come back and write the odd episode if he's invited. Then again, he's busy with new greenlit projects, so whether he returns is not something he has to worry about, even as fans have stopped attacking him for the show's various flaws during his time and actually would like him back.

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