MylowpolygonI think barring some exceptions #RussellTDavies is a writer who works better at a lower budget. I think this is the key difference between RTD1 and RTD2. Budget restrictions for the writing to be more displined. I rewached series 1 recently and what struck me is the how much less vfx there is compared to #DoctorWho now. In 2005 writing a big CGI dog anatognist would have been a lot more expensive and not really feasable so the writing instead prioritised on character.
Starshine 🏳️⚧️ 🌜@Mylowpolygon This is definitely a big part of the problem, but it also kind of feels like RTD has done and said everything he can with Doctor Who, as show-runner at least. The best stuff he's done in this era are individual episodes (Wild Blue Yonder, 73 Yards or Dot and Bubble for example).
A lot of the series-arc and lore stuff he's doing feels like it's trying to re-capture the greatest hits from RTD1 (and the Moffat era arguably), but it's a pale imitation. A lot of the focus on call-backs and nostalgia are also a big part of the issue.
I do wish he'd stop trying to imitate the MCU too.