Doctor Who showrunner, Steven Moffat, as well as the the Doctor Who advent calendar continue to whet our appetites for the Doctor Who Christmas Special and the return of the series in the spring. Just in case that wasn’t enough, there is a new book.

In an interview with SFX, Steven Moffat talks about the upcoming Christmas episode and second half of the series. Now, as expected, much of what Moffat has to say is generic, non-spoilery fluff that any regular viewer could have imagined on their own. Stating that they have, “… gone all-out to give you a fantastic alien planet, which is looking absolutely amazing…” doesn’t exactly reveal anything mind-blowing. On the other hand, amidst generic platitudes were a couple of good gems.

• An upcoming title was revealed. There is no indication where it falls in the eight remaining episodes of the series, but it is called “Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS,” and it is supposed to give us a deeper look into the TARDIS than ever before.
• The Diana Rigg episode, penned by Mark Gatiss pictured above, features an older and younger version of her to-be-named character. As we reported earlier in the year, the younger version will be played by Diana Rigg’s daughter. Apparently the episode will put Downton Abbey to shame. Moffat claims, “…all period drama will pale next to this monstrosity of nonsense! It’s absolutely glorious. You’ll watch other period dramas and say ‘When are they going to do the scary bit?'”
• Moffat felt Neil Gaiman was the perfect person to tackle the Cybermen story.
• The second half of the  series, like the first half, is comprised of entirely standalones that they are spending more money on than ever before with the movie quality in mind. The genres/locations for these standalones include the following: a ghost story, an urban thriller, a base under siege, and an alien planet.

Now how will this all wrap up by the end of the series prior to the kick-off of the 50th anniversary specials? According to Moffat, “And then there’s the finale, which has got some serious fanboy-pleasing going on in it. My aim for it – which I’m about to humiliate myself at the tone meeting by saying – is to have slightly more than you think could possibly happen in one episode. Slightly more treats than you think you could be allowed…”

On top of the information released by Moffat, there are some new bits of backstory on Jenny, Vastra, and Strax, AKA the Paternoster Gang, that we have learned courtesy of the Doctor Who advent calendar. You can check out how they met and more on the official BBC site.

Lastly, were you a fan of the Melody Malone tie-in novel that came out after “The Angels Take Manhattan” aired? If so, it looks like the BBC is going to capitalize on the Christmas episode in the same fashion with, Devil in the Smoke. The novel, penned by Justin Richards, who also did the Melody Malone tie-in, covers the adventures of the Paternoster Gang prior to the Christmas special. It’s currently listed on Amazon U.K. in audio book format. There will also be a digital version at £1.99. No American version is currently listed, but it likely will be forthcoming.

What piece of new information are you most excited about?