Doctor Who spoilers! What we learned about the new specials from the San Diego Comic-Con

Daleks! A new Doctor! No more Matt Smith! All the clues in one handy place

Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman and Steven Moffat host the Doctor Who panel at Comic-Con

Doctor Who headlined Hall H on the final day of the San Diego Comic-Con. You could tell from the trail of scarved, blue-covered and cyber-converted cosplayer fans.
The bar had already been set for the British contingent at this year's event thanks to a strong showing from a large chunk of the X-Men: Days of Future Past cast and, of course, that Tom Hiddleston appearance as Loki.But this is the Doctor’s 50th anniversary year. Details of what's being planned are still few and far between and of course, it’s Matt Smith’s farewell tour.
This was big.

The Panel comprised outgoing 11th Doctor Matt Smith and popular current companion Jenna Coleman. Alongside the time travellers was producer Marcus Wilson, lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and series writer Mark Gatiss.
The latter also penned the anniversary film An Adventure in Time and Space, an account of the 1960s birth of Doctor Who. Fuelling hopes that the large crowd would see a trailer for that, he’d also brought along star of that drama, David Bradley. The new First Doctor.
A Mexican waves of sonic screwdrivers rose and fell in the room during the hour long panel, but what did we actually learn?

Matt Smith might have made a huge mistake

Doctor Who are you again?

 Comic-con must be a gruelling occasion for an expiring Time Lord, having to explain himself to upset fans and occasionally stalking around the convention floor under cover as... Bart Simpson.  Chants of “Thank you Matt!” even rang around the hall at points. Smith will be missed, but it’s not all over yet...

His Christmas Special farewell will be a tear-jerker

Dry your eyes, Matt...

 
Lead writer Steven Moffat confirmed that he is currently only 22 pages into writing the Christmas episode – not even a third of the way. It may be a safe bet that many of those pages fall at the end of the episode where Smith’s Eleventh Doctor is set to make his final appearance.
At least in Moffat-era Doctor Who he doesn’t have to waste script on explaining regeneration to worried companions.  When a fan told the Panel that she would cry when Smith starts glowing, Moffat duly promised, "Oh, you will". For his part, Smith was angling to film the special in America. A crowd pleasing move, but also probably his new home when he leaves the show.

We still don't know the identity of the Twelfth Doctor

As Moffat hasn’t even finished the script yet, it’s feasible the identity of the Twelfth (or is that Thirteenth?) Doctor is as yet unknown. And if the team do know, they’re going to keep the speculation going as long as they can.
It would be impressive if they can keep it all under wraps until Christmas day, but the anniversary week is surely the perfect time for an announcement. In any event, the rumour mill has time to do another round of the time vortex.

The 'other' anniversary special is looking a bit special itself

David Bradley plays the First Doctor, William Hartnell, in 'Adventures In Space and Time'

 
Shots of the vintage console used in An Adventure in Time and Space and lead actor David Bradley’s uncanny likeness to First Doctor William Hartnell have surfaced in the last week but Comic-Con played host to the full trailer. Writer Mark Gatiss commented on the incredible likeness of the whole cast, and the clip looked to be high on period accuracy and drama.
Bradley duly told the crowds that William Hartnell was his doctor and, as the star's performance was described as “brilliant”, it looks like he’ll be doing the great original justice. Hartnell’s certainly the star of the show, but whether this special will cover much more of Who’s legacy remains to be seen.

Expect the unexpected in the 50th Anniversary Special proper

Daleks! Explosions! Yes please

 

“I’ve been lying my ass off for months!” Moffat was on usual tricky form concerning the upcoming main event, albeit with an edge.  He warned fans not to leak the trailer or risk never having an exclusive at the SDCC again. But we’d all rather wait for the high quality versions anyway, right? It was a short trailer, but it was there and it was heavy on action.
So what boxes were ticked?
• A multi-Doctor tale promising great interplay from the leads. As actors Tennant and Smith have previously implied, there may not be the same bickering edge of previous team-ups, but there will definitely be some Sonic Screwdriver envy.
• John Hurt is definitely the Doctor and it seems he’s the one right in the flux of the Time War. “Great men are forged in fire” he intones.

More Daleks! More explosions!

  • Explosions, explosions, Daleks! Could this could be the most footage yet seen from the Time War? Coming soon to a screen near you in 3D.
• No surprise that Zygons really are back for the first time since 1975, and they look like they’re itching for a fight.
• The sight of the TARDIS hovering over Trafalgar Square generated the most buzz during filming and, sure enough, there was the Eleventh Doctor dangling over the London landmark.
• Rose is back with her Doctor. Hopefully this will also quash those rumours that we’ll see Rose and the human-Doctor of Season Four. The action shown looked to be set sometime in Rose and the Tenth Doctor’s Season Two – and so it should be.
  In all, the trailer just confirmed a lot of what we already knew. With four months still to go, the team are determined to keep some secrets. Despite Moffat recently saying that this wouldn’t and couldn’t be a traditional multi-Doctor story, expect plenty of nods to the recent and distant past of the series - some of which will, hopefully, come as a complete surprise.

“How do you know what is or is not in the 50th?" Moffat asked of fans at one point. Captain Jack? Other Doctors? Cybermen and their Mites? Scarves?  We’ll just have to wait and see.
We do know that excitement is building, growing fans across the Atlantic by the show. While Smith’s imminent departure added a slight melancholy to proceedings, Doctor Who is all about change. The month between the Anniversary and Christmas specials is going to fly by.