"Doctor Who" - The Steven Moffat Years Quiz

Answer: Six

Aside from Davies, Moffat was the only other writer to have contributed at least one episode to each of the first four series of the revived "Doctor Who". For Series 1, Moffat wrote the two-parter story consisting of "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", set in a Blitz-threatened London where a gas mask-wearing child roamed the streets. "The Girl in the Fireplace" was Moffat's Series 2 offering, with the French aristocrat Madame du Pompadour having her life interwoven with the Doctor's.

In Series 3, Moffat's "Blink" was a standout and regarded as his best work yet, with the exceptionally frightening Weeping Angels making their first appearance.

His fifth and sixth offerings formed another two-part story in Series 4, namely "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead", in which the Doctor met River Song, one of the most important women in his life, for the first time.

Answer: "The Eleventh Hour"

Not pressured enough with a new series to helm, one of Moffat's first tasks was to cast a new leading man too! The role of the Eleventh Doctor landed with 26-year-old Matt Smith, who, at the time, was the youngest actor to play the role since Peter Davison took over as the Fifth Doctor after Tom Baker's Fourth.

The Eleventh Doctor featured very briefly following his predecessor's regeneration in "The End of Time, Part Two" in 2010 before properly appearing later that year in "The Eleventh Hour".

Answer: River Song

After her first appearance in Series 4's "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead", it was inevitable that River Song would return at some point - her death in the latter episode left too many good plot points dangling, particularly as we discovered she knew the Doctor well before he knew her. "The Time of Angels" brought back River Song as well as some of Moffat's most popular and frightening creations, the Weeping Angels. River also appeared in the second part of the story, "Flesh and Stone", as well as the final two episodes of the series, "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang".

Answer: It was split into two halves

For those who were eagerly awaiting their next dose of "Doctor Who" after Series 5's end, the news that Series 6 was to be split into two parts was a little bit unexpected. The move was billed as a reason to stretch "Doctor Who" over more of the year instead of being clumped together in one long run with an even longer drought between episodes.

The first seven episodes first aired in the UK in the spring of 2011, with the final six following in the autumn. Fortunately, we were treated to an absolute blinder of an overarching story for the series: the Doctor was seemingly killed in the first episode, "The Impossible Astronaut", establishing his death as an unavoidable, fixed point in time (though a past version of himself turned up moments later, unaware of what had happened). And if that wasn't enough, the true identity of River Song was revealed in the midway point of the series, leaving us on tenterhooks at the end of "A Good Man Goes to War".

Answer: "The Angels Take Manhattan"

Much like Series 6, Series 7 was split into two halves (more or less), but began airing much later in the year, kicking off in autumn 2012. The first five episodes constituted the first "half" ("Asylum of the Daleks", "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", "A Town Called Mercy", "The Power of Three" and "The Angels Take Manhattan"), with a Christmas special following in December and the final eight episodes airing from spring 2013 with a new companion, Clara.

The deaths of Amy and Rory in "The Angels Take Manhattan" were at the hands of the Weeping Angels, who zapped them both back in time and fed off their "potential lives" (as per Series 3's "Blink" and in contrast to the more physical brutality of Series 5's "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone").

Answer: John Hurt

In the Davies era, the events prior to the beginning of Series 1 (ie, the gap between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors) were referred to as the Time War, an embittered battle between the Daleks and the Time Lords which resulted in only the Doctor and a handful of Daleks surviving.

The Davies era didn't go into too much detail about these events, though they were frequently referred to as the reason for the Doctor being the last of the Time Lords. Years later, in 2013, Moffat took the 50th anniversary as an opportunity to fill in this gap in the series' continuity, creating a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor.

The original plan was to include Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, but he declined the role, leading to the creation of the War Doctor (so named to be distinct from the regular Doctors and maintain the established numbering). John Hurt, as the War Doctor, made his first appearance at the end of Series 7 in "The Name of the Doctor" and continued the role in "The Day of the Doctor".

In a special online episode called "The Night of the Doctor", we saw the long-awaited return of the Eighth Doctor to our screens, only for him regenerate mere moments later into what would become the War Doctor.

Answer: Peter Capaldi

Interestingly, Capaldi was considered for the Eleventh Doctor before Matt Smith was cast. At the time, it was felt that Capaldi's style of Doctor wasn't quite right for the programme, following David Tennant's exit. However, Capaldi's contrast to Matt Smith was a key opportunity for the Twelfth Doctor to become a little bit more alien and different to the Eleventh so as not to draw comparisons between the two actors.

At the time of his casting, Capaldi was mere months younger than William Hartnell was when he was cast as the First Doctor in 1963 (both actors took their respective roles at 55 years old).

Answer: Phil Ford

Having written extensively for "Doctor Who" spin-off "The Sarah Jane Adventures", Phil Ford returned to "Doctor Who" for the second time with "Into the Dalek". Coincidentally, the last time he wrote an episode for the programme (2009's "The Waters of Mars"), he shared the credit with then-showrunner Russell T Davies.

Other episodes in Series 8 with two writers were "Time Heist" (Steve Thompson and Steven Moffat) and "The Caretaker" (Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat).

Answer: "Sleep No More" & "Face the Raven"

The self-contained "Sleep No More" was Mark Gatiss' sole offering to Series 9 and a rather different approach to an episode at that. Gone was the traditional opening sequence, and the action was presented from the perspective of the characters or from recordings - the episode represented a sort of "found footage" collection of the events aboard the Le Verrier space station. "Face the Raven", meanwhile, shifted back to regular programming but, interestingly, climaxed with the death of incumbent companion Clara Oswald (though she appeared in the following two episodes as well). Clara was originally set to be written out in the previous year's Christmas special but a last-minute change of heart (and a rewrite from Steven Moffat) kept her aboard the TARDIS for one more series. "Hell Bent" marked the departure of Jenna Coleman from "Doctor Who".

Answer: "Twice Upon a Time"

Series 10 was, undoubtedly, Moffat's and Capaldi's finest hour. The introduction of new companions Bill and Nardole breathed new life into the TARDIS team, and this final run of twelve episodes (thirteen if you include the Christmas special) showcased some of the best episodes of "Doctor Who" since its revival.

But Series 10 was a series of endings, with Michelle Gomez appearing as Missy for the final time in "The Doctor Falls" and Pearl Mackie making her final appearance as the incumbent companion in the Christmas special. "Twice Upon a Time", which saw Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor teaming up with David Bradley's interpretation of the First Doctor, capped off a phenomenal eight years of "Doctor Who" under the watchful eye of the Moff. With the slate more or less cleared for the future, the reins were handed over to "Broadchurch" creator Chris Chibnall and his Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker.