10 Things Doctor Who Fans Can Thank Steven Moffat For

8. He Created River Song, Sweetie!

River Song is a truly polarizing character. Just the idea that the Doctor isn't an asexual creature has proven to be controversial enough, so the suggestion that he has a wife is seen by some as blasphemy. But the problem for others lies in River's personality. She is undisputedly a know-it-all, always smirking at the fact she knows more about the Doctor's future than he does. Combine that with her over-the-top flirtatious behaviour - which, unlike the aforementioned Jack Harkness, isn't endearing or funny - and it's pretty understandable how she could come across as being a tiny bit grating. In fact, she gets old really, really fast (which is ironic really, given the fact that with every appearance she's been getting younger!). When she was first introduced in Silence in the Library, though, she was all kinds of intriguing. It was a role reversal from the usual time travelling story that fans were used to. Most of the time it's the time traveler that tells a historical figure that he will one day do incredible things. With River, it's the time traveller that gets told of the incredible things he'll do. It's at these moments the Doctor is seen at his loneliest. He is, after all, the last of his race with all of time and space at his fingers and he knows he'd never be able to live a "normal" life with the plethora of companions who are constantly leaving him left, right and centre. with all of his companions leaving him left, right and centre. So for someone to appear and hint that the Doctor will one day finally live a long and happy life... It was a big deal. What's more, in the Library episodes, River wasn't forcefully hinting at the Doctor's future because it was fun - she was doing it because she was desperate for him to trust her. She was a different and better character and, even after just two episodes, her death was genuinely sad. Too bad it turns out that the reason she knows so much about the Doctor isn't actually because of a happy and long marriage, but because of Stockholm Syndrome as a side effect of her upbringing and years of subsequent stalking. She is just a victim who was destined from both to dedicate every aspect of her life to the Doctor. Talk about wibbly-wobbly. Still, an episode featuring River is still something to look forward to. It means something eventful is going to happen to the Doctor that she - and us - won't want to miss. While her character has come under scrutiny in recent years, she is still a unique and effective story telling device.