Doctor Who 50th Anniversary

As the Doctor Who crew returned to Comic-Con in San Diego for its third year, the thousands of fans in attendance at the Hall H panel were treated to a first look at the 50th anniversary episode, alongside the show's actors Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman and its executive producer Steven Moffat. Whovian Craig Ferguson moderated the panel, bantering with the audience of proud geeks with "who's taking care of your cats while you're here?" and navigating through the upcoming episode's trailer.

Also on hand were David Bradley and Mark Gatiss, the star and writer, respectively, of An Adventure in Time and Space, the upcoming BBC program that looks at the origin of the series in 1963. What can you expect in the rest of this momentous year for the show? The trailer explained we'd see the Doctor's "darkest days" and showed a whole lot of Ten/Eleven shenanigans, along with appearances from Rose Tyler and the Daleks.

When we spoke with Jenna and Matt, they confirmed the anniversary episode would include three doctors: Ten, Eleven, and the Doctor we were introduced to at the end of the most recent episode, "The Name of the Doctor," as played by John Hurt, and Steven assured us that all plotlines around this mystery Doctor would be wrapped up within the episode.

Read on for highlights from the panel and our interviews with the group.

Favorite moment from filming the show

• Jenna Coleman — "I love the TARDIS on a cloud [from the 2012 Christmas episode "The Snowmen"]. It's so fairy tale."

Which show character (other than their own) they'd love to play

• Matt Smith — "Probably the Master."
• JC — "I'd play Strax." Yes, the potato one!
• Steven Moffat — "I'd want to be the Doctor."

On the type of relationship the Doctor has with Clara

• MS — "Clara's different to Amy — she challenges him in a different way. He has more chances of snogging Clara."
• JC — But then again . . . "He's kind of asexual."

The difference between US and UK fans

• MS — "You're louder!"

How the show changed their lives

• MS — "It changed everything. It changed my life and my family's life. I'm proud and grateful to be a part of it. I also just wanted to say thank you for all your support and encouragement."
• JC — "It's changing every day, at quite a fast rate. I kind of just get filled with the magic of it all. It's been so great to see people on the street as Doctors and Claras; it's really rewarding."

Describing all Doctors, not just Eleven

• SM — "He lives in the moment all the time. He never really looks back . . . I think he's every age at once . . . Matt has done the best at combining the old man with the child. He [the Doctor] doesn't know he's the hero — he'd be quite surprised to know there's a show about him."

Could the Doctor ever be a woman?

• SM — "Within the narrative of Doctor Who, it is possible that he'd be female."

We'll have the trailer for the 50th anniversary episode as soon as it's available!