For the most part, I've stuck to criticizing what I see as the flaws in CoE itself rather than RTD. There are a number of reasons for that, first and foremost being I had four years of "critique the work not the author" drilled into me during a previous round of college. Secondmost being I know firsthand that the story does wtf it wants sometimes, even when you don't want it to. Case in point, my snape_after_dh fic, His Soul, which was supposed to be a resurrection fic and ended up being not, or, for that matter, TFTWSD, which is loaded with elements that are almost guaranteed to piss people off, elements that I keep trying to write back out but can't seem to because the characters are too damned insistent. So, yeah, very clear on the whole "the story sometimes does wtf it wants" concept. Do I think that was the case for CoE? Not based on various interviews, but whatever. The story is what it is, and I still think it doesn't actually work, but again that comes back to critiquing the story itself.

The acceptance speech RTD had James Moran read at SFX, however, is not about the story at all. It strictly has to do with RTD, and it absolutely makes me see red.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Because there, at the very beginning, we have special needs jokes. Does anyone even think that's actually funny instead of crass and offensive? Kinda sets the tone for the whole thing.

Some of the stuff in the middle could be funny, maybe, if it made sense or we could figure out who he was supposedly talking to on his side of the phone conversation. Then we come to the end and all becomes clear. "You missed a bit, Gareth, over there, that's it, bend over."

Seriously? No, I mean, for real? You think this is humorous? Oh yes, I realize it harks back to one of Ianto's first lines ever. That does not, in this context, make it funny. Because you know what? GDL was apparently a very good sport when he came on stage to accept his own award just after this. (Not finding a link to his acceptance speech on SFX's site, just going by what folks who were there have said.) But that is harassment, sir. And if pointing that out makes me "hysterical," well, clearly I've already embraced the label.

I was already dubious about any S4 for TW, whether on the BBC or Fox*. Not because of Ianto specifically, but for the same reason I couldn't work up an interest in Dollhouse S2 after seeing "Epitaph 1": it felt too over-and-done-with. Now? This just left a really, really bad taste in my mouth. Way to go, RTD. You're actually pushing away fans who still had a foot somewhat in your corner.

*Can I also add that, for someone who's supposedly a Whedon fan, RTD seems utterly incapable of learning from JW's mistakes? Let's leave aside the parallel with Tara's death and the explosive reaction to it, because AfterElton.com already covered that pretty thoroughly. How can you be a Whedon fan and think shopping your sf show out to Fox can end anywhere but disasterland?