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OK, so following up on my post about redemption arcs, here's one about cracks. Not crackfic, but... cracks. That bit where a story made up of several different stories doesn't quite fit together seamlessly, and how that's not necessarily a bad thing.
This post contains spoilers for all aired episodes of Doctor Who, Buffy, Angel and Game of Thrones (the TV series).
So a while back, I was reading Russell T Davies' The Writer's Tale, which if you haven't read it is recommended both for fans of Doctor Who and for those interested in serial television and storytelling in general. And I say this despite the fact that it threw some of the things I dislike about RTD's writing style into even sharper contrast (and that I couldn't care less about his constant fanboying of Skins).
But the point I wanted to bring up, where something clicked into place, was this quote. The Writer's Tale is essentially the (mostly) complete and uncensored e-mail and text correspondence between RTD and Benjamin Cook as RTD writes s4 of Doctor Who, up until Stephen Moffat took over the show. This quote is from page 190-191, where RTD is trying to piece together the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned", essentially The Poseidon Adventure IN SPACE, and has trouble getting the narratives to play nice:
Now, here's the thing. ( Step on this crack )
This post contains spoilers for all aired episodes of Doctor Who, Buffy, Angel and Game of Thrones (the TV series).
So a while back, I was reading Russell T Davies' The Writer's Tale, which if you haven't read it is recommended both for fans of Doctor Who and for those interested in serial television and storytelling in general. And I say this despite the fact that it threw some of the things I dislike about RTD's writing style into even sharper contrast (and that I couldn't care less about his constant fanboying of Skins).
But the point I wanted to bring up, where something clicked into place, was this quote. The Writer's Tale is essentially the (mostly) complete and uncensored e-mail and text correspondence between RTD and Benjamin Cook as RTD writes s4 of Doctor Who, up until Stephen Moffat took over the show. This quote is from page 190-191, where RTD is trying to piece together the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned", essentially The Poseidon Adventure IN SPACE, and has trouble getting the narratives to play nice:
Davies:
The funny thing is - and I learn this every time, yet forget it - if a fault is fundamental, any problem-solving is only papering over the cracks. The cracks always show. Faults persist. They always do. The disaster movie fights the essential nature of the Doctor, because he becomes just Any Old Survivor - a clever one, yes, the leader, yes, but a hapless victim of events. He's lacking. Now, when the plot turns and he changes ('No more!' he says), then he's in charge again and good old Doctor Who kicks in...
Cook:
Well, isn't that true of the storytelling process full stop? If you're inventing something artificial, something false, and yet you're wanting to convince people that's [sic] it's real so that they can suspend their disbelief sufficiently, surely you're 'papering over the cracks' from the moment that you start writing?
Davies:
I like your version of papering over the cracks. I'm going to cling to that. (...) You're right, most stories require the writer to wallpaper like crazy, especially those stories that demand so many suspensions of disbelief. (...) I am a wallpaperer. Yes, that's what I am.
Now, here's the thing. ( Step on this crack )
