Rumours on Gallifrey Base, and seemingly confirmed on his agents website, point to the return of .

Presumably he'll be playing , as his character name is listed as .

Thoughts?

Daleks. Silurians. Weeping Angels. River Song. Sontarans.

An awful paucity of new ideas coming from Moffat.

Well there is a theory going round that Episodes 12 and 13 concern

ROFL

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4845/againu.jpg

Well, if he wa sone before it would be good for him to return as it is a clone race.

Even better to have more episodes without returning monsters/aliens in them.

What's wrong with returning aliens? Everybody likes seeing old favourites!

Nothing in moderation.

RTD's first series only had three episodes with returning aliens.

Moffat's will have at least seven. That's less than half the series featuring original creations.

Where the weeping angels and River Song characters created by Moffat?

If so the odds were heavily stacked they'd return, especially as the whole River Song episode was based on "we will meet in another time"

Oh and Dr Who ain't Dr Who unless you see The Daleks

Four, surely-the Daleks appeared in three episodes, the Autons in one.

But it makes sense, all the same. With a new Doctor, new companion and new direction, returning villains are a kind of safety net for the audience, a link with previous series'. I'd expect to see more original creations next year.

Three and a thity-second cameo. but let's call it four and that's still less than seven.


And yet Davies was bringing the series back 16 years after its last full series and didn't need that crutch...

Wait until he starts with the gay agenda!

I wouldn't call River Song a returning alien.

(I wouldn't quibble at returning monster though)

it seems that are some who would love to see SM fall flat on his face or wish to turn it into a childish playground arguement of RTD did it better than SM did. RTD has had his turn so lets see what SM does after viewing the full series before praising or condemning it.

RTD may not have used as many returning aliens in his first series but he reused characters (Daleks/Slitheen) as well as utilising sets as a money saving device which perhaps is what SM is doing.

Well, that may well be the point. Davies brought it back to TV after several years. Longtime fans were glad to have it back (to begin with, anyway) and newer viewers had no preconceptions. Moffat though is giving us a whole new show after four years of one actor and five years of one showrunner both of whom the wider audience have (inexplicably) come to seemingly regard as indivisible from the series. I'd guess the thinking is that those newer viewers will need returning monsters to keep continuity with RTD's version, whereas RTD didn't need to do that. Once the new team have found their feet, we'll see less reliance on old monsters. Not that I mind old monsters at all, personally.

I can't speak for stcoop, but I for one am mocking the idiots who criticised RTD for everything he did, without exception, by sarcastically making the same ludicrous accusations towards Steven Moffat.

I certainly don't wish to see him fall flat on his face - to do so would mean the failure of the show, which is more important than him or RTD or anyone else.

If stcoop's posts were not made in a similar vein, then I apologise for getting involved. I wish him nothing but the best. And those who've spent the last five years rubbishing RTD, I wish a meeting with the Weeping Angels. They'd be much happier living their lives in the past.

You might be onto something there...

Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Weeping Angels and other returnees are probably all in storage just waiting to be dusted off and used again, which is probably a lot cheaper than creating something from scratch.

And haven't we heard whispers of budget issues on SERIES FIVE?

(Budget issues drive everything Dr Who has ever done. It's the reason when we see aliens a lot of the time they're wearing masks and only the leader ever takes off his helmet to reveal the complex make up/headpeace underneath, like the Sontaarans, Sycorax, Judoon etc)

I wish Moffat all the best but will also be looking forward to pointing out every gay reference, "unsuitable for children" joke, "Deus Ex Machina" ending, etc. etc. that crops up next series just to see if the anti-Davies brigade will be willing to hold Moffat up to the same standards they expected from RTD.

The returnees in the coming series all seem to be returning for story purposes, not budget reasons. The Silurians will be completely new to many people and I think everyone who does know them is going to be in for a shock as they're so different. The Daleks are being done in a different way too, as will the Cybermen IF they do make an appearance. It's not like 'oh let's bring out the old alien costume to save money'.

Okay... I need to ask the seriousness of some of these comments. Weeping Angels were Moffats creation and they are a fan fav; I myself can't wait to see them again!! They are amazing.
Silurians haven't been brought back yet and besides they'll be new to a new audience. Plus... we've seen alot of old enemies be brought back... it's good Moffat is bringing back some other oldies.
River Song... no comment. Obviously she's a big part of Moffat's plan for DW in the coming years.
Daleks... true these are tried and tested but I am interested to see what he does with them.
Sontarons... same really. I wasn't too keen on the new design. It made them look a bit funny.
All in all seriously what the hell? This new series looks like its going to be awesome. I'm sure we'll have our fair share of new monsters!!!

it seems this anti thing has also been created by some to support their side of the argument. just because someone criticises his style of writing or prefers other writers scripts above his doesn't necessarily make them anti.

again I can't make any assessment on SM (other than liking his previous scripts) until I have seen his first full series.

I agree whole heartedly with this line - I honestly feel some of his stories are over rated but The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances are two of my favourite New Who stories. I really hope he does well as I want the series to continue being the massive success it has been and I want to continue loving it - but, I will wait to actually watch it before I judge him.

Of course - which is why Sontarans, Judoon and Slitheen have shown up on Sarah Jane Adventures.

Weeping Angels were probably one of the cheaper aliens to create - they're basically make-up and lighting. I've always found it interesting that they and the FOB scarecrows were among the simplest yet scariest creatures.

Then you really can only have been deliberately ignoring what's right in front of your eyes.

Some of the stuff written about him has been absolutely appalling - Catherine Tate as well. Nothing at all to do with "preferring other writer's scripts" - they may well prefer other scripts, but that has nothing to do with the sheer hatred and bigotry heaped on him by some.

Now that I can really see where you're coming from, I wholeheartedly retract my apology. I can now see you're firmly in the camp of the people I was mocking.