The countdown is on to the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special – but before we enter The Day of the Doctor, Paul McGann makes his triumphant return as the Eighth Doctor in the Steven Moffat-penned minisode, The Night of The Doctor.

During TARDISblend 69, we discuss our thoughts as we review the prequel to the 50th anniversary special – and also to give you a round up on the rumors and news surrounding the upcoming special, highlighting what to expect, and what may be yet to come!

We also look deeper into the future – into 2014 and beyond – as to what we can expect from the new Peter Capaldi Doctor in Series 8. All this and more on the latest TARDISblend!

Yesterday saw the online release of The Night of the Doctor, a mini-episode prequel to the upcoming Doctor Who special The Day of the Doctor. There was a lot of secrecy surrounding this minisode, so we left out any spoiler-talk regarding it when the video was released. But, today’s a new day, and the news and photos from the mini-episode have littered the internet, so it’s time to take off your blindfolds. There’s been enough time now for every Whovian to have seen the 7-minute video (and if you’re not a Whovian, the “surprise” will be lost on you anyway). So, if you haven’t watch it yet, I’ve included the video here below for your viewing pleasure.

With that, it’s time to talk more about what we saw in The Night of the Doctor, and more importantly, who we saw in it and what they’re doing there!

Doctor Who showrunner and writer Steven Moffat recently spoke to the BBC about The Night of the Doctor, and BBC America’s Anglophenia blog has posted a “Making Sense of The Night of the Doctor” feature, which goes into detail about the prequel.

As the Doctor Who 50th anniversary continues this month and we prepare for the highly anticipated The Day of the Doctor, the BBC has released a mini-episode prequel to the upcoming special called The Night of the Doctor.

Watch the nearly 7-minute mini episode here below – and trust me, you will definitely want to. There’s lots to see and some surprises, too – I don’t want to spoil it, so scroll down and watch!