Moffat – What’s with the roofs?

So, it’s been a couple of weeks since the Doctor Who finale and the internet is still buzzing with angry commentators either producing ‘stfu Moffat’ blogs or getting angry with said blogs and denying that there is any problem. I’ve been interested in the feminist analysis and I’ve found myself trying to become more analytical about the portrayal of different groups in the media. After one blog analysis someone asked for people’s opinion on the use of roofs, this is my attempt to analyse why. I have thought about different aspects of the question. 

Before I start I think I should point out that although I had no problem with Reichenbach on Sherlock, I was not a huge fan of Rory and Amy leaping off the roof, nor the way that it was filmed. I thought that while Sherlock made it seem like an awful last resort and showed how it affected other people, I felt that Doctor Who made it far too romantic due to the way that it was filmed with Rory and Amy leaping off in each other’s arms and with all those magic slow motion effects .  Perhaps this could have been because of the relative ages of viewers (and I know it wasn’t really supposed to be “committing suicide” as such), but it grated.  

Inappropriately Romantic? Link

So why roofs?

• First of all, obviously falling is a terrific visual. You can dress your main character up in a big coat that swirls when they are falling against a grey, unforgiving sky or you can have a New York skyline and have your main characters hugging as they are falling with beautiful swirling hair, slow motion and even sparkly effects. The realism of the falling in a horizontal hug should not be questioned here as long as it looks good, that’s the main thing. Anybody know any good locations? Roofs perhaps.
• The Reichenbach problem, aka “there are no waterfalls in London” and Sherlock has to fall to comply with canon. You could move out of London, but it would be a shame to move Sherlock’s death out of the city which is such an important part of his life and such an important setting for the programme. Add to this considerations such as finding locations, getting permission to film, realistic (not too expensive) stunts, realistic (not too expensive) CGI and other considerations, and roofs seems the most suitable medium for jumping off.
• Same with Doctor Who, we’ve established that we’re setting the episode in New York, and seeing as we’ve spent all the budget getting there, we need to make the most of the New York skyline and not go mad getting the Williams to jump off the Statue of Liberty or anything else to expensive/unrealistic (not that realism is a major consideration here). Roofs it is.
•  We need a nice re-set button and dismissing it all with a wave of the hand as being ‘something timey-wimey to complicated for your tiny brains to worry about’ will do. Never mind the plot holes generated or the Doctor’s previous refusals to go messing up the timeline or any other issue. It worked for Sherlock, we’ve had a trial run as it were, we know the logistics, it’s romantic, find me the nearest roof (as long as it’s cheap).  
• Oh, and for the writers, it’s a lovely metaphor for the characters having to be ‘brought back down to earth’.  In Sherlock’s case this was because he was becoming too high-profile. The reason for this? The writers decided to do Reichenbach perhaps because of the great storyline but it also fits in nicely with the predicted hiatus for the Hobbit, Star Trek, Parade’s End and whatever else the cast did/are doing. Which is turn gives them the all important re-set button. JohnLockers everywhere tremble in fear that John could be married to Mary by the time Sherlock returns. It could all change. In Rory and Amy’s case it was so they could settle down an live some sort of normal life where they wouldn’t be stalked by a mad man in a blue box who kept insisting that he accompany them on madcap adventures whenever he felt like it at the most inconvenient times like in the middle of their anniversary party. And everyone has agreed it’s time for Karen and Arthur to move on, preferably without some depressing death.  So the writers make sure that they are stuck in the past in New York (shhh, shut up about the plot holes). Has anyone found a roof yet?
•  It is also linked to the theme of character choice – in Rory and Amy’s case this is Amy finally, once and for all, choosing Rory over the Doctor (and in the process choosing to ‘grow up’ and stop being Amelia Pond, the Girl Who Waited, so let’s throw all the romantic special effects we can afford at it. Sherlock seemingly has no choice, but here I think that there is this tension between Sherlock’s ‘I have no friends’ speech in Hound of the Baskerville’s and his final realisation that his friends (particularly John) are actually vitally important to him to the point where he has to fake his suicide. He has to make a horrible choice to hurt the people closest to him in order to be able to save them and it’s beautifully written and acted without this sense that it’s just one big stunt to try and tug at out heartstrings.  The Doctor will have forgotten about Rory and Amy by Christmas anyway (in all likelihood), he’ll have a new companion. Sherlock, on the other hand, will be in a shit load of trouble when John finds out.  That roof I asked for? Make it two.
• Okay, so we’re going with potential suicide on Saturday tea-time telly. Can’t scar the kiddies for life or get any complaints, this is the BBC after all. So it’s going to have to be something not too horrifying we can write ourselves out of. I know, jump off the roof, re-set everything, back to the graveyard. Sorted. As for Sherlock, he’s going to need something magnificent to do with falling that we can subsequently explain (if we need to, I’m still not sure they ever will explain how he did it). Oh good, you found the roofs I asked for.

That’s it though, I think the man has used up his quota of roofs for a long time. It’s going to get ridiculous if anybody else jumps off them. Time to look for a new re-set button.