Who News: Steven Moffat Teases Christmas Special

What fate awaits the Doctor at Trenzalore? Secrets will be revealed on December 25th.
Executive producer Steven Moffat has today provided an intriguing teaser for his upcoming 2013 Christmas Special. Set to broadcast after the blockbuster 50th Anniversary Special The Day of the Doctor, this festive episode will chronicle the final adventure of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor in the TARDIS and his inevitable regeneration.

Until now, though, with much of the BBC's focus placed on Day, little has been spoken of its successor's hidden narrative. Steven Moffat has changed things up today somewhat in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, though. Questioned by a reader as to how the TARDIS exploded, here's what he had to say on the matter: "Oh, never mind the TARDIS blowing up, what about the endless, bitter war Kovarian was on about? And what's Trenzalore? And the oldest question in the universe? And exactly what do they mean, silence will fall? Anyway, I'm off to a readthrough..."

Naturally, there are a few key elements of Moffat's response to examine here. First and foremost, it appears as if the Silence will have a role to play in the 2013 Christmas Special, perhaps as its primary antagonists. Nightmare In Silver's Cybermen are reported to be featuring in the Eleventh Doctor's last battle too, yet there's a chance that they will play second fiddle to the supposed Guardians of the Universe. The question as to why the Silence appeared to blow up the TARDIS to retain universal sanctity still looms heavily for fans. ]

The good news, judging on this response, is that the Special will likely address the explosion in The Pandorica Opens, Kovarian's hatred for the Doctor in A Good Man Goes To War, the significance of Trenzalore in The Name of the Doctor, the First Question teased in The Wedding of River Song and the meaning of 'Silence Will Fall' as first raised in The Eleventh Doctor. That the show's head writer seems to have anticipated his followers' confusion at these multitudes of arc strands is cunning on his part, especially if they can all be resolved in a graceful and satisfying manner come December 25th...

Doctor Who returns with its blockbuster 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor, on BBC One, BBC channels worldwide and in cinemas on November 23rd. The show's 2013 Christmas Special will broadcast this Christmas Day on BBC One.