We've waited long enough but next weekend - on March 30th - Doctor Who finally returns with the sixth episode of its seventh series, The Bells Of St John, starring Matt Smith as The Doctor and Jenna Louise Coleman as his most recent companion Clara Oswald.
Something's using the WiFi for nefarious means in episode six, and it's up to the Doctor and recently refound companion Clara to put things right. But rest assured, the doors will be opened onto a bigger mystery. One that may even be beyond the Doctor's comprehension. Who IS Clara Oswald?! Why does she keep popping up?!
Don't expect all the answers at once because Moffat and the gang have eight episodes ready to thrill us with before we're thrown head first into the 50th Anniversary celebrations this Autumn - celebrations that have already divided fandom, despite nobody really knowing what we're going to get.
But before we get there we can expect to see deadly enemies, old and new, as well as some welcome friends of yester-Christmas. Packed with special guest stars (Celia Imrie in this first episode) as usual, this run promises to be every bit as thrilling as ever!
Below you can see the prequel to The Bells Of St John which was released online today by the BBC. It's very sweet and sets up the mystery to come very well, even if that ending is signposted from a mile off. I have a feeling this next eight episodes could be some of the best we've ever had.
Unfortunately, they could be some of the last episodes to feature Matt Smith as the Doctor. Rumour has it he's set to regenerate in this year's Christmas Special. I hope, but not disrespectfully, that Moffat goes with him, opening the series up to new talent. It did wonders for the show when Moffat took over and it's about time the same happened again.
So with any luck, this time next Saturday I'll be penning an excited intro post to what some reviewers have called "the best series opener we've ever had" (though The Eleventh Hour will be a tough one to beat). Only time will tell! And there isn't that long left to wait. Let's do this.
Here's the prequel to The Bells Of St John:
