I remember when Doctor Who was a 25 minute fantasy show on Saturday at dinnertime.

@NightTimeWolf hmm... I seem to remember the worst aspect of the McCoy era was the writing, so the pressure would have to have been on the writers.

But is it possible the article you were reading was a conspiracy theory and not hard, behind-the-scenes information?

@ImperialAerosolKidFromEP Why so hard to believe? If the BBC wanted shut of it, which they did, then what better way? Who chose the writers? The old writers who had served it so well were still available.

@NightTimeWolf well, tbh, I'm having a hard time picturing why the BBC would kill their own brand instead of letting the ratings do that naturally, if they were destined to. But I suppose there could be complex effects in the marketplace that could make it seem worthwhile from a corporate POV.

As for the writing, my 30-year-old memory tells me that it was the plots and how they developed that were the most sickeningly ridiculous parts of the shows--nothing that bad takes would have caused. At the time, I just assumed it was an attempt to prevent jumping the shark or a very bad idea of what the public wanted

@rjc36 The BEST bar none! Met him, super lovely man.

@NightTimeWolf That's cool!

@Bootsiebaby You like a good scrap yes? Look in the mirror and see your biggest opponent! When you have won that fight come back to me.

@Bootsiebaby I hereby grant you "The Last Word" signed and engraved for you to hang on your wall! I hope you and all your many friends enjoy it!

@ImperialAerosolKidFromEP It was a fantasy adventure, bigger than life. the themes were universal themes. Good guys vs bad guys. Viewers could easily tell who was who.