Recently I have started re-watching new who. It has been a while since I watched any of the episodes (Except for Blink which I every now and then watch as a standalone). The latest episodes chronologically I have watched were during Capaldi's era. I got a bit excited about the new doctor, and the fact that Davis is returning to the show (Also seeing something about a trans character helped). Just the other day, I finished the conclusion to Tennant's run.
It has been a fun re-watch so far. Some of the specials for Tennant were ones that I had missed watching it years ago. The effects can sometimes take you a bit out of it but then there are episodes such as Blink that really captures what the series is about for me.
Vision
But coming in, having watched the three first episodes of Smith's run is that Moffat is fascinated with what cannot be seen. The first episode of the eleventh doctor is about a convict that cannot be directly seen in most cases. And while the Silence hasn't been introduced yet in my re-watch, they cannot be remembered after being seen. Looking back, the Vashta Nerada is a race that by itself cannot be witnessed, but only by the lack of light. The weeping angels is the inverse of this, they can be observed but at that point, they aren't existing in the same way.
The focus
One of Doctor Who's focuses has always been the monsters. Moffat focuses on these monsters via the lens of vision But the viewing experience of Doctor Who feels a bit off due to the way these monsters work in a meta way. You have to have some kind of resistance in the episodes and this comes from the enemies which needs to provide something each time. You therefore have to either create new monsters, or reuse the ones that are already a part of the canon. If you create a new monster, they will need to have difference that brings something unique to it. If you reuse the older ones, they will feel overused or not new enough.
Time lines that don't happen
I am continuing to write this a few days later when I am now almost done with the first season of the eleventh. The thing that I am thinking of is that Moffat also likes to introduce plots where something doesn't end up existing or is locked away. This vision, of something that doesn't exist, is a mainstay in his writing. He seems to like making his stories convoluted, not necessarily from a viewer perspective, but from a timeline one. Comparing something such as the episode Vincent and the Doctor to The Doctor's daughter it is clear to see the difference.
The Doctor's daughter
This episode is about a future planet where humans, along with another species are trying to make it habitable but leadership broke down and initiated a war. This is however not clear from the beginning so you go through the episode, getting more hints about what has been going on such as characters referring to generation instead of years.
Vincent and the Doctor
This focuses on the Van Gogh and has a monster which cannot be seen by people, yet Van Gogh can for some reason. There are no hints, but on the surface it feels clever based on what the public conscience of Van Gogh is. A note here is that Moffat is not the main writer of this episode but still the producer of the episode.
Conclusion?
What does this just rambling conclude to? To be quite honest, I don't fully know. Steven Moffat seems to write stories that on the surface are clever or hard to understand, but are in reality based on a few core concepts. Yup, I think that is it. I understand the intention, that the story should be fleshed out, but without actually giving it depth it feels off. A focus on the characters would be more interesting. Comparing something like The Beast Below to The Empty Child, you can see how Christopher Eccleston's Doctor shows his feelings in the acting, while Matt Smith's Doctor is only said to be lonely and kind by his companion.
Unrelated side ♫
I have gotten to the flesh episode and there is a oart if it that could be interpreted as relating to gender identity. At one point, one of the "flesh" named Jennifer, gets surprised that Rory used her name when talking about her. Then she goes into full appreciation mode and is so happy that Rory referred to her correctly. It is kinda cute.