No, I definitely think it's about simplification, not complication. It does two things well:
1) it prunes back the snarled and tangled Gallifreyan backstory for the Doctor, stripping him to the bare essentials (insert *snerk* here) of a quixotic loner. That's the core appeal of the charcter, after all. It has the added bonus that he now has a dark note of tragedy and mystery.
2) it replaces the old backstory with the single thread of a tragic past - a war which wiped out his planet. This is a thread that is easily grasped by old and new audiences alike, but which can gradually be unravelled to reveal depth and complexity if the need arises.
I suppose there's the danger that the revelation will get complicated (although it's hard to imagine anything more complicated than all the previous Gallifreyan political machinations) but that will hopefully be offset by it being new to the new series, and explained gradually.
no subject
1) it prunes back the snarled and tangled Gallifreyan backstory for the Doctor, stripping him to the bare essentials (insert *snerk* here) of a quixotic loner. That's the core appeal of the charcter, after all. It has the added bonus that he now has a dark note of tragedy and mystery.
2) it replaces the old backstory with the single thread of a tragic past - a war which wiped out his planet. This is a thread that is easily grasped by old and new audiences alike, but which can gradually be unravelled to reveal depth and complexity if the need arises.
I suppose there's the danger that the revelation will get complicated (although it's hard to imagine anything more complicated than all the previous Gallifreyan political machinations) but that will hopefully be offset by it being new to the new series, and explained gradually.