Madness, Steve Winwood and Squeeze lined up for the rest of the year.

Hope you have a fantastic evening Martin. Will definitely be there with you in spirit. Many thanks for taking the time to post those links. In Doctor Who news (don't worry, I've not included any with spoilers), Stephen Moffatt has said there is no vacancy for the role of the Doctor - http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a249091/moffat-cumberbatch-wont-be-doctor.html Moffatt says he expects Matt to stay in the role for many years to come. Meanwhile Karen Gillan admits her Mum hated Matt's Doctor to start with! http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a248600/karen-gillan-my-mum-hated-matt-smith.html The Doctor Who video games are now available to download worldwide - http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/s7/doctor-who/news/a248936/doctor-who-games-available-worldwide.html Toby Whitehouse and Paul Cornell could return to write for the next season - http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a248946/being-human-creator-for-who-return.html And bizarrely, Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire says he's started writing a Doctor Who script, featuring the last days of Dylan Thomas! http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a248594/wire-tries-to-pen-doctor-who-script.html

Anita and love2travel, Glad you liked the links, etc. I'm very happy to hold off on spoilers, etc. I hate it when people tell me plot details ahead of time too, so glad you've been able to enjoy the show unspoilt! Let Martin and I know when you've seen The Pandorica Opens, so we can discuss it!

Karen Gillan has rubbished claims by UK "newspaper" The Sun that Matt Smith is looking to leave the show to pursue a career in Hollywood. "Matt will be sticking around," she said. "I think those rumours were made up." http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a246624/gillan-matt-smith-isnt-leaving-who.html

Hi love2travel, Rory died at the end of "Cold Blood" (second part of the Silurian story - first part was "The Hungry Earth" when Amy got sucked/dragged into the earth at the mine). Rory was shot by one of the Silurians in front of one of the large cracks and disappeared into it as he died - and disappeared from existence. Amy desperately tried to hold onto her memories of him, but without success and ended the episode oblivious to the fact that he had even existed. VERY sad. Only The Doctor could remember him. Just before this happened, the Doctor reached inside the crack and pulled some debris from it - a piece of scorched wood, bearing some letters: "POLICE TE" and "FR" in black on a white background. The Doctor recognised it immediately, and at the end of the episode held it against the TARDIS notice - "POLICE TELEPHONE FREE FOR USE OF PUBLIC" and is seen to be dreading the possible implications. This is a really bad quality video, but it shows the relevant part of the episode -

david mitchelson:

Looks like Matt Smith is off at the end of next year. He will apparently vacate the Dr Who role for a chance of film stardom, mainly in Hollywood. Dr Who chiefs had hoped he would stay on beyond the end of his three year contract. Good. Perhaps now they can find someone who can act and is capable of more than one facial expression. And while their on with it they can shift Amy Pond's limited talent into the dole queue too. If they do these things and ditch the Tele-Tubby daleks and get back to scripts with some depth and meat (or tofu if your that way inclined like meself) to them then I may just like Dr Who again. This series has been purgatory.

Report appeared in "The Sun" newspaper yesterday - they haven't got a good track record for getting Doctor Who stories accurate, so I doubt this one is true either. I've loved Matt this season - very Patrick Troughton - and think the scripts have allowed Karen to show more range as the season's gone on. Her character was a bit one-dimensional (i.e. "feisty") to start with, but she's been allowed to show more of a vulnerable side as the season's gone on. Re the scripts, David, just out of interest, are you comparing this season with the Russell T Davies era or the "classic" Doctor Who series with Tom Baker, etc? I actually think Steven Moffatt's moved it away a little from the RTD approach (big emotional dramas) back to some of the lower-key English sci-fi of 1970s Doctor Who - e.g. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood story in an abandoned mine, the Weeping Angel "base under seige" type story and the "Eleventh Hour" and "Amy's Choice" set in a sleepy English village. Without giving anything away for Anita, who hasn't seen Episodes 12 or 13 yet, I've loved the way Steven Moffatt's woven an intricate story across the whole season, so been happy with the extra layers built in. And there were some good ethical issues raised in "The Beast Below" and "Cold Blood". And "Vincent and the Doctor" managed to incorporate mental illness into the programme in an affecting and sensitive way. So there was plenty for me to think about as well as enjoy this season.

Re the Christmas special, showrunner Steven Moffat said: "Oh, we're going for broke with this one. It's all your favourite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters. And The Doctor. And a [DELETES SPOILER]. And... oh, you'll see. I've honestly never been so excited about writing anything. "I was laughing madly as I typed along to Christmas songs in April. My neighbours loved it so much they all moved away and set up a website demanding my execution. But I'm fairly sure they did it ironically."

I agree Martin. Fantastic end to a fantastic season! Steven Moffatt - I salute you! Now that's a way to wrap up a season! Counting the days til next season already - and even more so having heard the teasers from Steven in this week's Confidential. Looking forward to reviews and impressions from everyone, when everyone's had the chance to watch the whole season. Enjoy!

Nice teaser from Stephen Moffatt ahead of the season finale in the UK on Saturday: UK viewers can read this if they've already seen Episode 12 "The Pandorica Opens". It doesn't give anything away that you don't already know. US viewers - PLEASE DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK until you've seen Episode 12. Contains BIG spoilers for Ep 12. You have been warned. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/tubetalk/a232067/steven-moffat-talks-who-finale-future.html

david mitchelson:

Good to see you all enjoying the Doc and his new adventures..... I am going to admit something now.......I hate the new Doctor Who. From the new tardis to the Teletubby daleks, from Matt Smith to the average storylines, I loathe it. We are massive Dr Who fans here in the Valley of the Damned and we all (including my 6 year old son) sit afterwards looking at each going nah! We still watch praying that it'll get better.....but so far we're disappointed. I think it's him really. After David Tennant he is too lightweight and nowhere near the actor that Tennant is. Amy's Pond?.......she is lovely eye candy, but I prefer Tennant's partners and their characters.

Hi David, great to have you back. We were huge David fans in this house too. My little boy literally cried his eyes out when David regenerated into Matt at Christmas. He was determined not to like Matt Smith, but admitted at the weekend that he likes Matt just as much now! I agree David's range was far greater, possibly due to his age, but also because he's an incredible actor. However I have taken to Matt as the season's gone on and think he's playing the role really well now. He's got an unwordly quality, like an absent-minded professor that I think suits the role really well. Reminds me of Patrick Troughton's Doctor, even before the papers started making the connection. We've been discussing Amy's character on here as the season's progressed. We were concerned that the character was a little too one-sided at first - lots of feistiness, but little else. But as the season's gone on she's shown more of a vulnerable side and is a more rounded character now. Just loved Saturday's season finale part 1 - as Martin said, incredible how they've woven the plot across the whole season. For US viewers, I won't post any spoilers, because believe me you won't thank me if I do. All I'll say though, is just keep in mind all the little bits we've been discussing all season about the season arc, and all the little mysteries, when you watch the Pandorica Opens - it will ALL make sense!