Steven Moffat Discusses Upcoming Season of Doctor Who: Matt Smith Is Doctor 13

Image courtesy of the BBC
"Doctor Who" showrunner, Steven Moffat, has recently announced that the upcoming series 8 will air as one full season. The seventh season of the monstrous BBC hit was split over 2 years, with the first half airing in 2012 and the second in 2013.

The new season is set to air in August 2014, and following his brief appearance in "The Day of the Doctor" and his debut in "The Time of the Doctor," this will mark Peter Capaldi's first full series run as the Doctor.

Moffat also confirmed that Matt Smith is NOT the 11th Doctor, but the 13th and final incarnation instead. Here's where things get a little...wibbly wobbly. According to Moffat, John Hurt's "War Doctor" and David Tennant's "10.2" regenerations cement Smith's status as the 13th Doctor. Moffat clarified, as much as he is wont to do, while speaking with Radio Times the regeneration limits of our favorite Time Lord, stating:

"We'll find out [in the Christmas special] that Matt Smith is actually the 13th Doctor. Although everyone knows that the Doctor can only regenerate 12 times. That 12 times limit is a central part of Doctor Who mythology - and science fiction is all about rules, right? So if the Doctor can never change again, what's Peter Capaldi doing in the Christmas Special?"

The regeneration limit was originally established in the 1976 episode, "The Deadly Assassin." Shedding a tiny bit of light on the time between Paul McGann's 8th Doctor and Christopher Eccleston's 9th, "[The eighth Doctor] Paul McGann turns into John Hurt so they're not the same incarnation [...] He used up another regeneration and I expect he'll be in trouble shortly," Moffat said. Fans also got a look at this during the "Doctor Who" short, "The Night of the Doctor," which finally showed McGann's regeneration.

What do you make of this news, fellow Whovians? As we are all well aware, the Doctor lies. The only way to make sense of this Gallifreyan paradox is to tune into the "Doctor Who" Christmas special, airing on December 25 at 7:30PM on the BBC. In case you missed it, here's a teaser for "The Time of the Doctor."

-Nowal Massari