Talk:Steven Moffat

Alleged sexism removed?
There was a section here about some comments Moffat made about women. They have mysteriously disappeared. Why? Why are people so cowardly (or full of themselves) that they don't feel the need to justify their edits? --HillbillyProfane (talk) 05:21, 21 August 2008 (UTC)
 * If something's been removed with genuine "mystery" (ie. there's nothing in the edit history at all), then it's happened at admin level, for convincing reasons (perhaps a libel issue via OTRS). If it was just a cowardly or arrogant edit, you'd still be able to find it in the history. --McGeddon (talk) 08:11, 21 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Can we find out precisely what occurred here? How do we find out whether it was libel? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.27.116.96 (talk • contribs) 22:41, 2 July 2013‎
 * This is a very old edit (from 2008), so not sure why being brought up again almost 5 years later. Viewing the page history shows it was removed by with the edit summary "as per OTRS". The instructions at WP:OTRS explains how to dispute an OTRS edit. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 21:28, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

The issue has been discussed by the press at various points in the last year, what with the new episodes of Dr. Who, and the broadcasting of Sherlock since 2008) which would explain why it is being brought up again here 5 years after the original edit. I also wondered why there was no information about this controversy, though I am pretty new to this editing lark and OTRS seems to apply to several different issues, from vandalism to general errors - if anyone with more of a clue is interested in pursuing this I think that would be good? It certainly would be worth having a 'controversies' section, as it has now been covered quite significantly by the media over a period of a few years. 141.228.106.151 (talk) 13:09, 22 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia does not have 'controversies' sections on living people. Wikiditm (talk) 12:27, 4 January 2016 (UTC)

Press Gang "Something Terrible" BAFTA
Hello. I know that Press Gang won a BAFTA after its second series, but I can't find a source that says that it was specifically for "Something Terrible." Does anyone have a source, or should that phrase just be removed from the article? The JPS talk to me  16:20, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Citation needed
There are a lot of reliable sources around to support the statement that Moffat's father was a headmaster, but do we have a source for the specific school? The JPS talk to me  20:02, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

Sherlock
There's a bit of info which is out of date about this project; it says the pilot will be shot in Jan 09. It's March now, so has it been shot as planned?Number36 (talk) 21:56, 1 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I've changed the tense to fit with the sources we have. The JPS talk to me  09:23, 2 April 2009 (UTC)

Personal motivation behind scripts - but not Doctor Who
All the earlier shows descriptions include discussion of Moffat's personal life and how it affected the scripts he wrote, he seems to frequently use his personal life for inspiration in stories. Yet none of this is discussed in the section on Doctor Who. the Silence in the Library double, and Girl in the Fireplace both have the Doctor falling seriously in love with someone new, someone not his current companion, and more than most other writers he pushes the boundaries on the Doctors love life very explicitly - do we not have some source that could clarify Moffat's motivations here? Perhaps that omitted 'Sexism' section might shed some light? I think readers will be interested in Moffats psychology as it influences a new era of Doctor Who, since this whole page freely admits how much of his personal life ends up on screen. 220.253.226.245 (talk) 08:48, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

followup to my comment above, this is the reference we're apparently not allowed to put in the wiki http://living.scotsman.com/features/Time-Lad-scores-with-sex.2535185.jp i would think that without opinionative commentary the quote should be included, as Moffat is writing a female companion for the new series and judging where this UK icon of a show will be taken. (and i'm only anonymous because i've forgotten my bleeding wiki password again, i'm lou77) 220.253.226.245 (talk) 09:07, 29 January 2010 (UTC)
 * To what quote are you reffing? Without references to reliable sources, any interpretive comments about the texts you mention, or "Moffat's psychology", fail our OR|original research policy. The JPS talk to me  11:12, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

'English pronunciation' - IPA-en tag
Why has the 'English pronunciation' for Moffat's name been added to the opening sentence? This isn't normal practice for biographies of people with English names. The name shouldn't present any pronunciation difficulties for readers of the English Wikipedia. Rubywine (talk) 16:36, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Moffat's not a common name in America. DonQuixote (talk) 16:42, 22 May 2011 (UTC)


 * Moffat (surname) suggests that the name is actually not uncommon in North America, and none of the other several dozen Moffat biographies have been tagged with IPA-en. Why single out this particular biography for this treatment? I really think the tag is completely unnecessary. Besides, what are the possibilities for mispronunciation? I can't see how any English speaker could mispronounce 'Moffat'. Rubywine (talk) 17:04, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Don't take it personally. It hasn't been "singled out".  It's just that no one's gotten around to the other articles yet, particlarly since this one is the most popular (as far as I know).  Besides, your expertise in pronouncing English surnames isn't universal, so you being unable to imagine how it can be pronounced incorrectly doesn't mean that it hasn't been. DonQuixote (talk) 17:50, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm not taking it personally, and there's no reason whatsoever for you to assume that I am. Try to focus on the issue that I've raised, and not on me. Once again - why does this article need to be treated differently from the vast majority of other biographies? Rubywine (talk) 18:02, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
 * It's not being "treated differently". If you calm down and step back a little, you'll see that it's rather trivial and that Steven Moffat's not that famous (especially in America) and therefore not everyone may know how to pronounce "Moffat" properly. DonQuixote (talk) 18:11, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
 * If you could cease to be so ludicrously patronising and step back a little yourself, it would be appreciated. Style is not a trivial issue. The phonemics are unhelpful clutter. See Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style (pronunciation). Rubywine (talk) 18:28, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Read "There are no real guidelines," etc. Seriously, you're making a mountain out of a molehill.
 * Skimming through the thread and...there's no general consensus. Some bios might require them and some don't.  Everyone knows how to pronounce George W Bush because he's one of the most famous people in the entire world, and "bush" itself is a common word.  As for Steven Moffat...not as famous.  And as for famous Moffat's in America, I've never been in Colorado (after a quick disambig search).
 * And I apologise for appearing condescending, but you're seeing "conspiracies" that aren't there. This article hasn't been "singled out" nor is this article being "treated differently". DonQuixote (talk) 20:11, 22 May 2011 (UTC)
 * See this for some amusement: DonQuixote (talk) 20:23, 22 May 2011 (UTC)


 * Moffett Federal Airfield is familiar to at least a few million Americans. I'm just sayin'. —Tamfang (talk) 03:34, 27 May 2011 (UTC)


 * Hi, in terms of difficulty in pronouncing 'Moffat', Russell T. Davies, who knows Steven personally, has pronounced the surname 'differently' in various Doctor Who documentaries. I can't remember offhand which specific ones, but it struck me as odd every time.  Davies pronounces it (and I don't know the phonetic alphabet): 'Mo-FAT', rather than 'MOF-fit' (with a non-stressed 'a').  I know someone who used to know him personally, which is where I get my pronunciation from.  Presumably, if Russell T. Davies can pronounce it 'differently' (notice how I'm not saying he's wrong), then anyone could.  In saying all of that, I've just looked at the way it's been written, and, although I still don't know the phonetic alphabet, I'm wondering if it's got Davies' pronunciation.  I'm from the same area in Scotland as Steven.  Introspecta (talk) 23:48, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Proposing New Section
A cultish following has developed around a lot of Moffat's work, especially Doctor Who and Sherlock. Moffat's tendency to kill off beloved main characters has a strong impact on these fans who worship the awesomeness of his work. Many fans meet on the popular website "Tumblr", using it's awesome blogging capabilities to express themselves. His apparent joy in plots containing lovable characters who suffer immensely has earned him the title of "psychopath". These communities, known as "Fandoms" despise Moffat and death threats are a casual occurrence. The love for his characters and the hate for him amongst these massive fandoms is notable and I believe should be included. A basic paragraph with a gist of "Many believe Moffat is a psychopath hellbent on destroying their happiness and lives through the use of indirect emotional manipulation". It's important to show Moffat's horrible impact on his beloved fans. dftba (Torch Perish (talk) 22:53, 6 January 2013 (UTC)) — Torch Perish (talk&#32;• contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
 * If you have a reliable secondary source that discusses this community, there might be a way to mention it (I'm not sure a section is merited). Otherwise, they represent a fringe element of the larger audience, nothing more.  You have to question the judgment of this group and whether their rather distorted view is notable enough for mention.  Hell, Davies killed far more characters than Moffat's gotten close to; whereas Moffat started the whole "nobody dies" theme within the Doctor Who canon in "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances".  This seems to be largely a group of people who can't handle that Rory and Amy left Doctor Who. --Drmargi (talk) 23:04, 6 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I can't see any way that this would be presented in a form that would pass verifiability guidelines, even if this mania on the part of a comparatively small number of people was notable enough merit inclusion. A small community on tumblr with a penchant for vandalizing this article isn't attuned to the goals of this project.  Moreover, you unquestionable represent a fringe perspective, and don't speak for the mainstream audience.  Far better you find a fan site where this can be discussed; Wikipedia simply isn't the right venue.  --Drmargi (talk) 21:38, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
 * I completely concur with Drmargi's response to this. These threads tend to pop up whenever we have the article protected to prevent the rather juvenile posts that occur. Since the OP has not made another post I would suggest archiving or collapsing this thread to keep the trolling to a minimum. MarnetteD | Talk 22:15, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Agreed. This is a done deal as far as I can see.  --Drmargi (talk) 23:14, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
 * A better solution is to collect reliable citations of his fandom here until they're notable enough to add to the article. That's what talk is for, after all. 174.62.68.53 (talk) 07:31, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

New Section: Sherlock
The TV series Sherlock has is very popular, and I think it deserves its own section. I suggesting taking away the Sherlock content from the Jekyll, Tintin, and Sherlock section, and placing it in a new section with more information about Moffat's input and association with Sherlock. 24.246.61.25 (talk) 01:43, 9 January 2014 (UTC) In addition to the new section, an edit should be added for the airing of the 3rd series in continuation of style with previous series airings as well as which episode Moffat has written. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JLUTD (talk • contribs) 05:22, 5 April 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 March 2014
Steven Moffat has now written 30 episodes of Doctor Who. The "current" number there is wrong.

Pcyr9999 (talk) 17:49, 7 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. -- El Hef  ( Meep? ) 19:19, 7 March 2014 (UTC)

Knifer
Hi, I'm new here, so I can't edit Steven's page, but could someone more 'established' link the reference to Knifer, the musical Steven wrote and directed, to the new page about it? I've heavily added to that page, and would like more people to know about it. Introspecta (talk) 00:05, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

Trivia
I can't edit this page but it would be interesting to add that Steven Moffat has written for more actors who have played the Doctor in Doctor Who than any other writer (eight - Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Paul McGann, John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi). BlueBlue11 (talk) 20:25, 1 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia doesn't do trivia. DonQuixote (talk) 20:39, 1 February 2015 (UTC)
 * I didn't say it would be in a designated "trivia" section, I just said that it would be interesting trivia to add somewhere on the article. 82.17.101.121 (talk) 18:13, 3 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Regardless, it's trivia, and we don't do trivia anywhere in an article. --Drmargi (talk) 18:33, 3 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Even though the page for Christopher Barry says a completely similar thing? It says "He was one of only three (the others being Douglas Camfield and Lennie Mayne) to direct all of the first four actors to play the Doctor – William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker". BlueBlue11 (talk) 17:54, 11 February 2015 (UTC)
 * WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS is a weak argument. That bit of trivia should probably be removed from Christopher Barry's page as it's pure trivia. DonQuixote (talk) 18:56, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Not only is it trivia and probably WP:OR, it is also a bit of a trick to up Moffat's status. Sure Moffat wrote for all these but Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Paul McGann combined only amounted to five minutes. Why not include all the Doctors because of their intervention at the end of "Day of the Doctor"? Str1977 (talk) 07:12, 19 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Because he didn't write for them it that story. All of them were clips from past episodes, so he didn't write for the actor. That said, John Guilor and David Bradley (both playing First Doctor) should be added to the list if ever we decide to add this. --86.152.200.56 (talk) 16:51, 22 August 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 September 2015
The titles for all the episodes for Series 9 of Doctor Who have now been released, so the two part finale needs to be changed from TBC.

Ryan0ry (talk) 12:28, 17 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Ivanvector 🍁 (talk) 19:22, 17 September 2015 (UTC)
 * They're confirmed. See Doctor Who (series 9).  19:29, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

Edit Request
The title is not "Inversion of the Zygons", it is "The Zygon Inversion". 90.192.195.45 (talk) 19:11, 17 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Fixed.  19:30, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Semi-protected edit request on 23 January 2016
In the section of doctor who, please can you add a new paragraph in stating that he will be stepping down as the showrunner for doctor and will be replaced by Chris Chibnall.

Eaglesflight1 (talk) 14:19, 23 January 2016 (UTC) More importantly, you have not cited reliable sources to back up your request, without which no information should be added to, or changed in, any article. - Arjayay (talk) 15:17, 23 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: as you have not requested a specific change in the form "Please replace XXX with YYY" or "Please add ZZZ between PPP and QQQ".

Should be...
"Moffat also co-wrote Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn in 2011."-217.248.8.211 (talk) 21:52, 11 March 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Showrunner?
So this guy is the "showrunner" of Doctor Who? What actual job title, as given in the credits, does this position relate to? Can't say I've ever seen anyone descried as a "shworunner" before. 141.6.11.24 (talk) 20:48, 16 July 2017 (UTC)


 * It's just what the name sounds like: the executive producer in charge of overall production of the show, and the head writer. Everyone else works under the showrunner.  I believe the expression was coined in the U.S. (it's been used here for 20 years or more), and has crossed the pond relatively recently.  -- -- Dr. Margi   ✉  20:51, 16 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Okay, thanks. I'd thought it was maybe executive producer. In the lead he's described as "showrunner, writer and executive producer", so I think this should be changed to remove the duplication. 141.6.11.25 (talk) 21:38, 16 July 2017 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, this subject also came up on the Talk:Chris Chibnall page at pretty much the same time. I added some references for UK use of the term, including this article.  I don't have massively strong feelings on it one way or another, but maybe good to make both of these pages consistent in their use or not of the term?  ErsatzCulture (talk) 23:35, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Controversy
Should we note the controversies around Moffat during his time as a writer for Doctor Who and Sherlock? Some criticisms of Moffat’s work surrounds his representation of female characters. The first is this article (https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/aug/23/doctor-who-steven-moffat-sexism) which notes: “In May [2014], a group of university students applied the Bechdel Test to the female characters on Doctor Who, and found significant differences between those created under Moffat and those created under Davies. They found decreases in onscreen speaking times for companions, total speaking times for women, and the number of speaking roles for women.”

The second is this article (https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/steven-moffat-sexism-sherlock-doctor-who/)

I don’t know if these could be considered realible sources but Moffat’s writing has had some criticism and could be the subject of discussion for this article, especially as “A Scandal in Belgravia” article suggests his quote, "We don’t acknowledge you on television 'cos you’re having FAR TOO MUCH FUN. You probably don’t even watch 'cos you’re so BUSY!" fits more appropriately on his article here, as part of a section on the controversy.213.107.66.180 (talk) 08:18, 11 November 2021 (UTC)