‘Doctor Who’ season 9: Steven Moffat discusses strong internet reactions

There’s no doubt from our perspective that Steven Moffat has a tremendous job. He gets to be one of the main creative people behind “Doctor Who,” a series that is highly regarded by many as one of the finest things that British television has to offer. He has also had the opportunity to be a part of the experience of working on the show for many years. This is something that many others would love a chance to be a part of, even though only a select few can throughout the run of a series.

Of course, there is also a tremendous downside, mostly in that you are going to have to deal with internet hate that can at times be completely suffocating. We compare the feelings of “Doctor Who” fans in some ways to the perspective that many longtime “Saturday Night Live” fans have about the series: It is always best whenever you start watching it, and from there on out you get increasingly cynical. There are always going to be people looking to leap to the other side of the fence, and while criticism is far (the first episode of season 8 to us was a little too complicated), there’s a difference between that and dealing with nastiness.

For the most part, though, Moffat seems to have a great perspective on all of it, based on what he said recently to Doctor Who Magazine:

“The fact is, you don’t judge the newspaper, or people in general, by the standards of those comments sections, so why would you judge Doctor Who fandom by the occasional attention-seeking ranter? I have always found [fans] to be clever, funny, articulate and more than usually friendly. And perfectly and humorously aware that knowing every detail about an early Saturday evening adventure serial is a pleasant but extremely daft thing to do. May it be daft forever. It is now, and always has been, a game for the civilised and kind. Lone exceptions don’t change that.”

We do often feel like many of Moffat’s victories are somewhat overlooked in the grand scheme of things. For example, he helped to establish the rise of an excellent new Master played by Michelle Gomez, and “Listen” to us is one of the top ten greatest episodes in the show’s history.

Do you think Moffat has the right perspective on being a showrunner for this show, and taking on the negativity? Also, what do you think of his era as a whole? Share below, and click here to see more of the latest “Doctor Who” news! Also, you can sign up here to get some other TV news transported to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: BBC.)