Great news for 'Doctor Who' fans! Details of this year's Christmas Special have been unwrapped.

The BBC has announced that production is underway on the annual staple of the festive season, and it's expected to film until mid-October.

Matt Smith's second Christmas special as the Doctor will find him embarking on an adventure in war-torn England with a widow and her two young children.

He will be joined by guest stars Claire Skinner ('Outnumbered'), Bill Bailey ('Black Books'), Arabella Weir ('The Fast Show') and Alexander Armstrong ('Armstrong & Miller').

Who is River Song and what's her connection to other characters on 'Doctor Who'?

Why do stories have to be told in a linear fashion, and what does "linear" even mean?

Do you have to fully understand what's going on in a story -- any story, even one that doesn't involve alien incursions -- in order to enjoy it?

I discussed all those things and more with 'Doctor Who' executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat in anticipation of the show's Saturday return on BBC America.

Truth be told, I was a bit nervous to talk to Moffat. I'd read other interviews in which he seemed -- well, prickly is the wrong word, but (justifiably) unwilling to suffer fools gladly. And when it comes to timey-wimey stories and the kind of puzzle plots that he sometimes creates for 'Doctor Who,' I don't mind admitting that I can be a bit of a head-scratching fool.

The wait is almost over! 'Doctor Who' returns with new episodes on Aug. 27, but to tide you over, BBC has released a new prequel clip to 'Let's Kill Hitler.'

Spoiler warning!

In the clip below, set between 'A Good Man Goes to War' and 'Let's Kill Hitler,' Amy Pond calls the TARDIS and leaves the Doctor a message on the answering machine -- yes, the TARDIS has an answering machine -- hoping to get some information on her missing baby.

The prequel clip was written by 'Doctor Who' showrunner Steven Moffat. He also penned 'A Good Man Goes to War' and the anticipated 'Let's Kill Hitler' episode.

So you've heard the buzz, your interest is tickled and you're ready to take the plunge into a new show. There's just one problem -- you don't have time to catch up on multiple seasons.

Have no fear, AOL TV is here. We'll be spotlighting five episodes from some of the best scripted comedies and dramas on TV that you need to see before jumping into the new season this fall.

Up now? 'Doctor Who.'


Starring Matt Smith, 'Doctor Who' follows the adventures of the ancient, mysterious alien Time Lord known as "The Doctor." A British cultural institution, it originally aired on the BBC from 1963 to 1989, and was then resurrected as a TV series in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston in the title role.

A one-show podcast this time: Ryan McGee and I talk all 'Doctor Who,' all the time (well, not all the time -- we clocked in at just under an hour this week).

We talk about the new season of 'Who' as a whole, we gab about the River Song revelation and 'A Good Man Goes to War' in detail, and we speculate about what may be next for Rory, Amy and the Doctor.

Did we mention that Rory is awesome? We also love the Victorian lizard lady and her plucky companion, who should get their own spinoff now (which someone on Twitter dubbed 'Cagney and Scaly'). In any event, it was a great end to an uneven season, all of which we discuss in the 'Who'-cast.

It was a mixed bag for PBS last night at the BAFTA TV Awards in London as 'Sherlock' took home two trophies, but 'Downton Abbey' left empty-handed.

'Sherlock' won the coveted Best Drama Series Award, and Martin Freeman ('The Hobbit') won Best Supporting Actor for his role as Doctor Watson in the modern take on the 'Sherlock Holmes' mysteries.

However, Freeman's co-star Benedict Cumberbatch lost out in the Best Actor category to Daniel Rigby ('Flyboys') for his role as legendary British comedian Eric Morecambe in 'Eric & Ernie.' Rigby also beat out fan favorite, 'Doctor Who' star Matt Smith.

'Downton Abbey' was nominated for three major awards -- Best Drama Series, Best Supporting Actor and The Audience Award -- but failed to win any of them.

Alex Kingston's River Song made her 'Doctor Who' debut in the Silence In the Library/Forest Of the Dead two-episode story arc in season four. Coincidentally, those episodes were written by Steven Moffat, who was announced as the new head writer shortly before the episodes aired.

Song, a time traveling archeologist, came back last year for season five, Moffat's first at the helm, and has been increasingly important to the storyline since then.

The character proves herself be even more important in season six, which debuts this Sat., April 23 on BBC America. Kingston recently told AOL TV she had no idea how involved she would eventually be in the show, but Moffat did. "Steven already had sort of like the whole journey of River Song planned in his head," she told us.

The British-born actress starred on 'ER' and in adaptations of classic literature, but the role of Song is a stand-out for her -- a rare part that allows her to "kick ass." She told us she wouldn't mind seeing Song pop up on the new 'Torchwood' on Starz, either.

Get ready for a brand new take on Sherlock Holmes (again!). 'Doctor Who' mastermind Steven Moffat has recast The World's Greatest Detective as a sharp, modern-day crime fighter in the new BBC miniseries 'Sherlock.'

The miniseries, starring 'Atonement's Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and 'The Office (UK)' vet Martin Freeman as Watson, transports Arthur Conan Doyle's classic characters to contemporary London, where they'll search for a clever killer who makes his murders look like suicides.

Head after the jump for the BBC's slick new promo to get an early taste of the new Holmes in action.

(S05E03) They say a Doctor isn't a Doctor until he's faced down his most famous enemy, the Daleks. Every Doctor has faced them (it's even implied that Paul McGann fought them in the Time War). It's best that newbie Matt Smith got it out of the way early otherwise children would be asking "when will he fight the Daleks?"

This episode could best be called a new beginning for our favorite pepperpots. In typical indirect and obscure fashion, they try to perpetuate their race and destroy the universe, in that order. And for once, they even claim a victory over our favorite Time Lord.

In the season debut of 'Doctor Who,' we got a new Doctor in Matt Smith, a new writer/producer in Steven Moffat, and the Doctor got a new companion in Amy Pond, played by Scottish actress Karen Gillan. But the series and the Doctor got something a bit more in Amy, who shows sings of being a more of a challenge, more of an independent thinker than many of her predecessors.

Amy and the Doctor meet when Amy is just a child, and then several years later, after she has mythologized him for years, and felt disappointment that he has been gone for so long. Immediately, they are on strange footing. When she leaves with the Doctor, we see the wedding dress she left behind. This week, we'll get to see a it more of Amy, as she and the Doctor take the TARDIS for its first spin. We'll also get to see "Starship U.K." and some new villains, the "Smilers."

(S05E01) You've read the interview, and now we have the review of the new 'Who.'

Eleventh Hour. Eleventh Doctor. Ha ha. We get it.

Matt Smith comes out of the gate running. Literally. In his new regeneration, the Doctor doesn't even get time to catch his breath since he's dealing with his new companion Amy Pond as well as yet another alien that wants to destroy the Earth.

This was one of the best introductions to the Doctor ever and a strong start for the newest version of the program. I liked how Steven Moffat didn't use the old trope of post-regenerative trauma (which was used in the last regeneration to David Tennant) and simply presented Matt Smith's Doctor as a bit of a scatterbrain.

Tomorrow's new episode of 'Doctor Who' is more than a season premiere (BBC America, 9PM EST). It's the beginning of a new era. Matt Smith steps into the Doctor's shoes, Karen Gillan is the new companion, Amy Pond, and Steven Moffat ('Coupling,' 'Jekyll') takes over as lead writer and executive producer. David Tenant will be a particularly hard Doctor to replace, but Smith hits the ground running, almost literally, arriving on Earth with a malfunctioning Tardis with only 20 minutes to save the planet from obliteration.

Smith, 27, is the youngest actor to take on the Doctor so far, although he points out no actor could ever really get close to the character's age (he's roughly 900 years old). He has been attending screenings in New York and Los Angeles this week, meeting and greeting fans, and trying to swim through an ocean of interviews and press coverage. I caught up with him by phone Thursday shortly after he touched down in L.A.

The Doctor is back, and he's a lot younger than his predecessors.

26-year-old British actor Matt Smith is the eleventh person to take on the intergalactic Time Lord role on 'Doctor Who'; he joins a long line of acclaimed thespians, including David Tennant (who just hung up his Doctor trenchcoat last year), Chris Eccleston, and the legendary Tom Baker, who played Doctor from 1974 to 1981. While Smith looks strangely like a hybrid of Eccleston and Tennant, he brings a youthful energy all his own to the sci-fi show.

If you're a 'Doctor Who' fan and you're not excited, then there is something wrong with you.

Saturday brings the new season of the show on the BBC in England (either the fifth season or the 31st season depending on who you ask) with a new Doctor in the form of Matt Smith, a new companion in the form of Karen Gillan and a new showrunner in the form of Steven Moffat. For those that reside in the United States, there is a two week delay before the season premiere on BBC America on April 17th.

If you have never watched the show before, then the introduction of a new Doctor is an excellent place to start. Usually you find that the Doctor you start with becomes "your" Doctor. It's a wonderful cult that is far more interesting than Scientology, so please join.

Everything is different, and yet the same, just as we've come to expect with 'Doctor Who.'

According to Zap2It, the latest incarnation of the classic sci-fi series will have its American debut Sat., Apr. 17 on BBC America, just two weeks after it premieres in the U.K.

Among the changes to the 'Who' reboot include a new star (Matt Smith), a new companion (Karen Gillan, who will play Amy Pond) and a new head writer -- Steven Moffat, who will take over for Russell T. Davies. Moffat has been with the series since 2005.