I don’t look at internet comments about shows very much anymore. Certainly not going to the comment sections after every episode.
People equate cynicism with being a smart reviewer. Saying everything sucks all the time doesn’t make you smart and it doesn’t make you a critic. The arts are about expression from the creator. They’re not court jesters who exist to attempt to satisfy whatever your own self determined metric of intelligence is supposed to be. These are not fans, but armchair tyrants who get off on declaring, “off with his head”, at every jester who dares to entertain their couch potato throne.
I refuse to believe that the vocal complainers of any fandom are ever anything like a majority (yes they do tend to pee in the pools of any online space they are allowed to pee in making it bad for everyone, but I digress…) However I have a feeling the C-suite folks who only care about money are seeing those complainers on Twitter and Reddit and believing they they represent more of the audience opinion than they do.
This was a sad but honestly refreshing take by RTD, usually folks just say “we love the fans!” and leave it at that.
Can’t really disagree with him about the substantial leaks, nor about the online outrage professionals. It’s an exhausting environment to navigate as viewers, especially because it largely feeds off our passion for shows like Who and Trek.
However, I’ll be interested in following the reactions of other parties involved in the production of the show for the past couple of years, once they’ve digested Davies’ version. If the messy season arcs and anticlimactic finales are any sign, there must have been more happening on the production than just unfounded optimism about Disney extending their streaming deal.
I mean the answer is literally to just ignore online communities and make art. It’s amazing that it’s taken both gave devs and show runners like 15 fucking years to figure this out.
People on the Internet are toxic. Ignore them. The “bigger” the influencer is, the more you should ignore them. I am available for consulting work if any big studio execs would like to learn more.
I mean the answer is literally to just ignore online communities and make art.
I’m sure most creators would love to, but you just know the network execs are coming to RTD and saying something like “Twitter is really upset about XYZ, can you tone down the wokeness?” etc.
I mean the answer is literally to just ignore online communities and make art.
I wish I could agree. The toxic communities aren’t doing what they do to get the creators’ attention, so withholding that attention don’t accomplish anything. That’s not what sustains them.
I think Davies is a pretty diplomatic guy - he didn’t really throw anyone under the bus as an individual, and was pretty sympathetic to the Beeb’s predicament.
Similarly, I don’t think he’s ever said a bad thing about Christopher Eccleston, even though the latter has openly called for him to be fired.
So as much as I’m sure there are other sides of the story, I’m not sure they’d be very juicy. Except maybe the Disney POV, but Davies likely isn’t privy to that.
When it comes to science fiction, the problem of leaking online is now so vast and so pernicious it threatens to ruin everything. And it’s more ferocious than ever with Doctor Who. Every decision we ever made, every single plot twist, every single moment, all the way up to the appearance of Billie in the very last seconds of the last series finale, was leaked. It’s absolutely extraordinary, and I swear it did a lot to destroy the profile of the show. It introduces a cynicism among fans, because they’re not surprised by anything any more. Their response to a leak is weariness, an instant assumption that whatever has been leaked won’t work. They instantly imagine the worst version of it, and then, when they eventually see it, it inevitably confirms their bias.
I feel seen.
