So maybe Amy and Rory can move to the US and go hunting for dining room furniture Los Angeles-style. Or not.

That much is confirmed, and Moffatt has promised that Smith will gain at least one new companion in the second half of the second series, but is remaining mum as to any hints of that companions gender, as well as any other details.

What is not officially confirmed, but highly rumored, is that Smith may exit the show soon, as well. Some say this could happen as early as the end of series seven, the upcoming 2012 season.

All these exits raise the question of whether the actors will be involved in the much-rumored Doctor Who feature film BBC is hoping to launch, or whether their exits are designed to allow for the new Doctor and companions to be in place by the timeframe of the feature film’s release.

Time will tell. Especially with The Doctor.

Current showrunner Steven Moffat will enjoy the longest tenure without major cast changes in the modern history of the show. THe Davies era was beset by constant change; his five seasons saw two different actors in the role of the Doctor, and four major shifts in companions, timed to ensure that there was no status quo on the show season-to-season.

By comparison, Davies’ run will enjoy the services of Smith and Gillan for three straight seasons, since he took the show over, and while a further extension of that three-year run hasn’t been assured yet, none have ruled it out, either. So a possible fourth season without major cast shifts is still entirely possible.

While one wouldn’t want to bet digital camcorders on the matter, right not it appears DOCTOR WHO is in the midst of what could become a creative golden age of its modern run. Could Moffat-Smith-Gillan become as highly regarded as the Tom Baker years?

I wouldn’t rule it out.

This retconning of WHO mythology is especially important as current Doctor Who Matt Smith is indicating he doesn’t want his stint to necessarily last as long as Tennant’s. That means the role might have to be recast again in a couple years, triggering the Doctor’s critical twelfth regeneration. Early WHO writers through out the “twelve regenerations” plot device early on, having no idea the show would prove as durable as it has; it was used primarily to make The Master more villainous because he was attempting to live beyond his twelfth regeneration.

Now, apparently, all that continuity is out the window. While I’m sure no one wants whoever follows Smith to be the final incarnation of Doctor Who, nor would anyone want to see BBC toss all the continuity aside and reboot the Doctor from his first regeneration ever, retconning a show in this way is largely frowned upon by science fiction fans.

We’ll have to see how the storyline plays out to determine fan reaction in the coming years.

Then, in Fall 2011, the remaining six episode, featuring the resolution to that cliffhanger and a new storyline, will air. A Christmas episode will put a bow on Series 6 in late 2011.

That’s a long time to wait for Who fans wowed by Moffat’s debut season at the creative helm, as well as the debut seasons for new Doctor Matt Smith and new companion Karen Gillan. With such ambitious plans for the sixth series since its relaunch, one wonders whether Moffat might already be expending so much energy that he’ll soon burn out.

Not to worry. Moffat doesn’t plan to leave the show any time soon. “I’m in it for the long haul,” the lifelong Who fan said. “I won’t be leaving the show for a while yet.”

Even better, it sounds like he’s still brimming with story ideas so that the Doctor and Amy Pond won’t be spending an entire season picking out new discount laminate flooring for the TARDIS… at least, not any time soon!

Still, the Smallville treatment of Arthurian legend has drawn its fans, and with Buffy alumn Tony Head as Uther Pendragon, there’s plenty of US appeal to the show. The season two finale seemed to indicate that Morgana could become the series three big bad, which could be a mislead, or an extremely exciting set-up for the upcoming season.

This is one viewer who’s looking forward to Merlin Series 3 almost as much as Glee Season 2.

Now comes word from Amy Pond actress Karen Gillan that the forthcoming two-part season finale will be “very emotional.” According to various Web reports, Gillan has said viewers will need “tissues” to endure the final scenes of her first season on the show.

“I’m going to say the word ‘horses’ and that’s it,” Gillan is quoted as saying. “The second part of the finale was the most difficult because it’s a big climax for Amy and her story that’s been building through the series. And it just required a lot of kind of concentration and emotion.”

No word on whether Gillan is on board for a second season, though hopes are high she will be. If not, the promise of an “emotional” finale is sure to bring to mind the final episode between David Tennant’s Doctor and Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, the most memorable episode ever for incurable Doctor Who romantics.

One thing’s sure about Moffat’s first season as showrunner is that absolutely no weight loss products have been needed; it’s tight, emotional storytelling at its best.

Titles Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars, the episode will feature Lindsay Duncan as Adelaide, the Doctor’s companion for the episode. Two more specials remain featuring Davies and Tennant at the helm of the TARDIS; both are expected to air as part of BBC One’s tradition “Christmas special” of Doctor Who; at the end of the fourth special, Tennant’s Doctor is expected to regenerate and reveal Matt Smith’s Doctor for the first time on screen.

After Tennant and Davies depart, Smith’s Doctor will see his fate rest in the hands of Steven Moffatt, who has worked under Davies for several years. Smith’s Doctor is set to be the youngest yet cast in the role of the Doctor, as he is still in his 20s. While there has been much talk of bringing back Tennant-era companions like Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones, Catherine’s Tate’s Donna Noble or even – however unlikely – Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, instead, it has been announced that Moffatt and Smith will reset the table for the Doctor, granting him an all-new companion for the fifth series in the form of young Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who’s so young she may still require the best acne treatment, and will portray new companion Amy Pond.

Although Davies has made it clear he will make a clean break with Doctor Who after Moffatt takes control, what is less clear are the futures of the successful Doctor Who spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Torchwood has survived largely without Davies’ input, but has credited him as creator and executive producer; The Sarah Jane Adventures has seen little direct involvement from Davies under similar circumstances. Time will tell.

Of course, Merlin is a “before they were famous” take in the vein of Smallville, so while all the main players are on the table, not all of the relationships are yet established. But for Joss Whedon fans, here’s an extra morsel: one-time Buffy Watcher, Anthony Stewart Head, plays the often ruthless and yet relatable father-figure, Uther Pendragon, whose hatred for all things magic casts Merlin’s safety in doubt and his abilities a necessity to keep secret.

While Colin Morgan as Merlin, who doesn’t need any more of those best diet pills the rail-thin actor seems to be on, and the rest of the cast, return at full strength, for now the show is only airing on BBC in Great Britain. Whether the second series will end up back on NBC next summer, or on BBC America, remains to be seen.

Of course, no viewer diet pill would have been enough to force Primeval’s ratings down to Reaper territory if the show had been anywhere near as popular as BBC-1′s Doctor Who. Just goes to show you that a Time Lord can still beat a dinosaur, even if Matt Smith is the Time Lord in question.

Smith’s debut, though, will have to wait until nearly 2010; his first appearance will be in the 2009 Christmas Special, scheduled to be Tennant’s final bow. Smith will immediately become the youngest man ever to take on the role of The Doctor in the long-running British show.

Smith’s debut will also be marked with changes to the creative team, as Davies steps aside in favor of Piers Wenger and Steven Moffatt. Smith is the eleventh actor to be cast as The Doctor, not counting Rowan Atkinson and a boatload of others during a BBC Christmas satire skit several years ago.

Personally, I was pulling for the new Doctor to be Dr. House – Hugh Laurie!