Why the Tintin movie might actually be good

It’s tough being a fan of Doctor Who, because whenever you sit down to watch it with someone, it turns out to be shit.

The shit episodes chuck in everything but the kitchen sink, with all sorts of whizzes and bangs and over-the-top special effects, and try to evoke fear by having someone in a silly costume bellow that they’re going to “DESTROY THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!!!!” That sort of thing might make five-year-olds want to hide behind the sofa, but it just makes me want to change the channel.

However, there are still those brilliantly creepy, low key episodes that build tension gradually, while telling a coherent story and showing a sense of humour about it all. The difference is in the writing: the great episodes are generally the ones written by Stephen Moffat, while the bad ones are mostly the ones done by Russell T Davies.

Which is why I was heartened to learn that Moffat is one of the writers of Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming Tintin movie. With Tintin being another of My Favourite Things, I had been dreading the big screen version due to misgivings about CGI and a general feeling that Hollywood is more likely than not to balls it up. But now my hopes are high. Moffat only did one draft before having to pull out when he was made exec producer of Doctor Who, but guess who they brought in next? Only Edgar Wright of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead fame! And Joe from Adam and Joe! It’s like I picked the writers myself.

Who’d have thunk. The Tintin movie might actually be good.