Story Arcs

[Aneurin]

Carrying on from the other thread in the other section, this episode is proof, if proof were needed, that we really don't need to have a load of story arcs to tell excellent stories. This has been for me the best story of the season and there wasn't a hint of Silence, Melody, war or Kovarian.

[Exterminate]

I couldnt agree more. If I wasn't before, then I am definately sure now that they should be done away with

[Saber]

Again, I agree with what has already been said. There is no need for these big arcs and stories like this prove that it is possible to bring out excellent stories without them being bogged down by all the other stuff that makes no difference to what we are watching in the now, if that makes sense.

[Peri-Peri]

I am all about getting rid of the arcs so I would be happy to see the back of them anyway, but as Aneurin says, this episode is proof that they aren't even needed in the first place. The show, for me at least, is strongest when it is like this

[Joshua]

I liked the RTD arcs - the subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) mentions of Torchwood, Saxon, Bad Wolf etc leading to a great finale.

But this one has been a bit too much. But I will reserve judgement till the season is through

[Roranicus]

I'm with everyone else. Get rid of the arcs and give us stories like this every week. I'd much prefer it

[TheDoctorDonna]

Yea let's get rid of them. They have been very hit and miss and as Joshua has said the subtle RTD ones were better. Down with storyarcs!

[The Doc]

I agree about the arcs. Some have worked, some are a bit long winded, but I would rather see the end of them and a return to more stand alone stories like this one. They may not always be the best but they do offer more variety and make the series seem more rounded

[DAK]

Aw, I love the story arcs.  I love a good standalone episode like this as well.  They can do both!   

[Tardis-Console]

I joined the show when Moff took over, so the arcs seem sort of normal to me, but having watched all of NuWho and with working through the Classics in TIQ, I have to say the standalone adventures to it for me a lot more and are far more enjoyable, so given the option I would choose to do away with the arcs

[poprockgeek]

While I enjoy stand alone episodes, I also really like Story Arcs. Personal preference at the end if the day, but I like a series to be cohesive & have lots of threads that come together at the end. And I also don't mind if they go over more than one series. In fact I quite like it - tis why DS9 is my favourite Star Trek series   

[Twisted-Sister]

When they get the arcs right they can be brilliant, but for the most part I find them a bit long winded so I would prefer a more episodic type format personally

[DAK]

While I enjoy stand alone episodes, I also really like Story Arcs. Personal preference at the end if the day, but I like a series to be cohesive & have lots of threads that come together at the end. And I also don't mind if they go over more than one series. In fact I quite like it - tis why DS9 is my favourite Star Trek series    

DS9 is my favorite Trek series too.  Have you ever watched Babylon 5?  Best SciFi series ever, IMO.   5 year story arc, all planned in advance.

[Oh-Wise-One]

I'm firmly in the 'get rid of them' group. For the most part I find them frustrating. Actually no, scrap that. There are arcs in everything from childrens shows to movies and I don't hate them. What I hate about the arcs put into DW is that rather than having a well thought out arc covering X amount of episodes, Moff seems to need to prove his cleverness but sticking in a lot of timey wimey crap that often doesn't even make sense when thought about logically, and the rest of the time he is so wrapped up in trying to throw the viewer off and have all these loose and dead ends in the story, that it ends up really convaluted and as a result the overall story suffers, because all he cares about is the end game and throwing us off for as long as possible. Moffat is a brilliant story teller, but his stories and his arcs are getting weaker each time because he is in constant competition with himself trying to outdo everything he has done before. This series in particular I feel with every episode like if I don't pay 150% I am going to miss something really complex and important that is going to mean something later on down the line and it is getting to the point where I am concentrating on a story so much I ain't even paying attention to whats actually going on and I'm getting bored or losing interest. Moffat is capable of telling an excellent story as well as adding in intriguing and good arcs to follow throughout seasons, which I would be happy to see continue, but he needs to look at the bigger picture and concentrate on telling a good story instead of a mediocre one hidden under piles of complex stuff in the hope we won't notice.

So yea, if we can get some good story arcs that are there to enhance the story and not bog it down then I am happy for them to remain, but to carry on the way we are now I would rather see them dropped in favour of a more serial based approach

[poprockgeek]

While I enjoy stand alone episodes, I also really like Story Arcs. Personal preference at the end if the day, but I like a series to be cohesive & have lots of threads that come together at the end. And I also don't mind if they go over more than one series. In fact I quite like it - tis why DS9 is my favourite Star Trek series    

DS9 is my favorite Trek series too.  Have you ever watched Babylon 5?  Best SciFi series ever, IMO.   5 year story arc, all planned in advance.

I only saw bits of Babylon 5 - I'm sure I'll watch it properly at some point 

[Roranicus]

I'm firmly in the 'get rid of them' group. For the most part I find them frustrating. Actually no, scrap that. There are arcs in everything from childrens shows to movies and I don't hate them. What I hate about the arcs put into DW is that rather than having a well thought out arc covering X amount of episodes, Moff seems to need to prove his cleverness but sticking in a lot of timey wimey crap that often doesn't even make sense when thought about logically, and the rest of the time he is so wrapped up in trying to throw the viewer off and have all these loose and dead ends in the story, that it ends up really convaluted and as a result the overall story suffers, because all he cares about is the end game and throwing us off for as long as possible. Moffat is a brilliant story teller, but his stories and his arcs are getting weaker each time because he is in constant competition with himself trying to outdo everything he has done before. This series in particular I feel with every episode like if I don't pay 150% I am going to miss something really complex and important that is going to mean something later on down the line and it is getting to the point where I am concentrating on a story so much I ain't even paying attention to whats actually going on and I'm getting bored or losing interest. Moffat is capable of telling an excellent story as well as adding in intriguing and good arcs to follow throughout seasons, which I would be happy to see continue, but he needs to look at the bigger picture and concentrate on telling a good story instead of a mediocre one hidden under piles of complex stuff in the hope we won't notice.

So yea, if we can get some good story arcs that are there to enhance the story and not bog it down then I am happy for them to remain, but to carry on the way we are now I would rather see them dropped in favour of a more serial based approach

Excellent point. I totally agree

[Miss Wright]

I think what Mof needs to do is stop telling an arc, just for the sake of telling an arc. Tell an arc, but because it would be good, not just because that's what we do now. And, it honestly does not need to be the central point of the show. It shouldn't be, in fact. But on the other hand, swerving and hitting the opposite ditch would really upset me, cause I really love the running jokes and the like.