Complexity
There is truth in this article about the growing complexity of Doctor Who. Fans who started to watch Doctor Who in the 60s, 70, or 80s find things easier to understand. The producer found time to have multi-episode stories and tremendous character development. It was a simpler time in the making of Doctor Who.
Fast forward to Steven Moffat’s era as showrunner, what do we find with his stories and writing? The first thing we see he moves the focus from the Doctor to Clara. But there is another difference as well. The complexity of the stories is higher. Making them harder to understand. He doesn’t add anything to the canon, but it seems to take away from the show.
Did the ratings fall during this time? That is something which needs to be searched. There is some good for us to see. Moffat brought back old stories, but some of the other tactics may be a little more complicated. He did cross timelines, as well as explore time travel concepts. A big thing is a romance between the Doctor and River Song. This comes as a total surprise to some fans. Who never thought the Doctor would do such a thing. Sure, he had children while he was on Gallifrey because he has a granddaughter. But the romance between the Doctor and River complicates things.
One can look at these things and see it is not as easy to understand. In the end, does it make it harder to dive into as a fan? You would think it is harder. Did Doctor Who lose fans because of what Moffat does? Yes, some fans left while others stay. There are possibly other things Moffat did that could make fans more uncomfortable. Yeah, the complications that arise from what he does are less stressful than other steps, or maybe not. Everything is in the eye of the beholder. It depends on each fan’s preferences as to whether his actions are good or bad. Everyone is different, but there is some agreement at times.
