Oh, I think RTD realises perfectly well that he's pissing on fans. He just doesn't give a damn, because he's sufficiently confident in his own awesome that he thinks criticisms from fans just reveal the fans' shallowness.
...to some extent I do actually prefer that whole sense of 'Fuck it, I'm going to tell the story I want to tell, and you can't please all of the people all of the time, so I'm going to trust in my skills and do the best job I can. Because there will always be people who bitch and moan, and I'm not going to worry about that.'
I mean, there is SO MUCH fannish entitlement, and for the most part I think it's bullshit and crazy-making, and I'd rather have writers having integrity about their storytelling than bowing to the many-headed-hydra of the audience's whims. So I'm not wholly without sympathy to his "this is what I'm doing - like it or lump it" schtick.
But (and I've still not watched CoE, but I'm spoiled to death) I have heard criticisms that strike me as perfectly valid, intelligent and cogent, and dismissing ALL criticism as shallow whining with a "go someplace else if you can't cope with my unbridled awesome! This is DRAMA, you fools!" kind of reply does come across as arrogant fuckwittery.
OTOH, it cracks me up that he's basically saying "Watch SPN for the Wincest, people! It's hot like woah!" ...but then,
Torchwood
is
a huge cracktastic slash spinoff of
Doctor Who,
so I guess that shouldn't really be surprising. Hmm.
Oh, I think RTD realises perfectly well that he's pissing on fans. He just doesn't give a damn, because he's sufficiently confident in his own awesome that he thinks criticisms from fans just reveal the fans' shallowness.
His awesome, while extensive, is not enough to make me think I ever want to read another of his articles... I mean, I agree. I don't think he's just pissing on them, but I think his ... reactions? show his shallowness maybe more than the fans' shallowness.
...to some extent I do actually prefer that whole sense of 'Fuck it, I'm going to tell the story I want to tell, and you can't please all of the people all of the time, so I'm going to trust in my skills and do the best job I can. Because there will always be people who bitch and moan, and I'm not going to worry about that.'
If he'd stop at "trust in my skills and do the best job I can." I'd be so much more supportive of the dude. His work has awesomeness. His attitude ... made me really critical watching CoE because
there were parts that could have used criticism. And if he wasn't all pissy, I'd not have thought he should have done better in bits. I really liked the series, but there was a point I had to shush the cat with, "Not now honey, mommy's being emotionally manipulated."
(reaction in spoiler font, not actual spoilers.)
(To be clear, I'm not saying that I think RTD is as awesome as
he
evidently thinks he is. Although I have to give him mad props for
Queer as Folk
and for bringing back
Who.)
Oh, hell, quite apart from CoE I don't think he's entitled to the degree of smugness he manages to exude - I mean, okay, I'm fucking THRILLED about the fact that he brought
Doctor Who
back to our screens, and I like
Torchwood
a lot, but neither show is above criticism.
Torchwood
in particular was very hit-and-miss in its first season, and the second season wasn't flawless. Nobody can afford to think they're beyond criticism, and RTD most definitely isn't.
::nods::
Now why are you so far away that we can't talk about this over lovely cocktails with occasionally dashes to a computer or tv to watch and talk more? You should be in this part of the world.
Oh hells yes, what Cass said.
Balls. Apparently Kripke is now "open" to a sixth season, according to reports from the panel. Stick to your guns, man! At least he says he will close the five-year arc as planned.
I have heard criticisms that strike me as perfectly valid, intelligent and cogent, and dismissing ALL criticism as shallow whining with a "go someplace else if you can't cope with my unbridled awesome! This is DRAMA, you fools!" kind of reply does come across as arrogant fuckwittery.
Well, it's how he appears to have historically responded to all criticism, be it fan or professional. So. I think he's just kind of an entitled asshat.
If you've already seen the Cracked.com review of Supernatural, then disregard this. If you haven't seen it, here are a few teasers:
Season One
The boys' search for their missing father was presented by the Supernatural advertising campaigns as the main plot of the show, a parallel, presumably, to Mulder's search for his sister in the X Files. It is a bit of a bummer, then, when he calls them by cell phone in Episode Nine and is like "Hey, kids, what's up." By Episode Sixteen, the three are working together. We don't think that happens in the other show.
Large parts of season one are simply unwatchable, to the extent that we suspect that they didn't bother to actually put all of the episodes on the DVD set, and that when selected, the menu screen simply says "You want to watch the episode about the racist truck? Really?"
and in the character descriptions they lead with Metallicar:
The family car, a 67 Chevy Impala, is the coolest thing on the show by a factor of four million. It survives despite being possessed by a ghost, stolen several times, crashed twice, and also beaten up by Dean in a fit of rage, after which the car claimed that she'd just driven into a wall, and that Dean just gets angry sometimes.
There's also a flowchart of the fate of female characters who appear on Show that is totally made of win.
Some of the humor is a little...harsh...but on the whole, I enjoyed it.
Large parts of season one are simply unwatchable, to the extent that we suspect that they didn't bother to actually put all of the episodes on the DVD set, and that when selected, the menu screen simply says "You want to watch the episode about the racist truck? Really?"
Shit like this makes me want to go all stabby. (at reviewer, not Morgana). Author of article didn't enjoy season one? Here, let me point out the door to the fandom exit.
I may be a little overly defensive of the series. This is the reason I can't read about it on twop.
