8 Excellent TV Series & Characters That Ceased To Exist In 2013

4. Matt Smith's Tenure As The Doctor In Doctor Who

Matt Smith's four-year tenure as the Doctor, initiated in the final minutes of "The End Of Time" as he regenerates from David Tennant in an out-of-control TARDIS that crashes into young Amelia Pond's garden, comes to its inevitable conclusion Dec. 25 on the planet Trenzalore. Yes, after this Christmas episode entitled "The Time Of The Doctor" airs, we shall sadly never hear the Doctor say "Fezzes/Bowties/Stetsons are cool!" or "Geronimo!" ever again. Series runner Steven Moffat promises fans that they will witness the Eleventh (or is it the Twelfth?) Doctor's final moments play out in an epic battle involving Weeping Angels, Daleks, Cybermen, and the Silence. And yes, the trailer assures us, in this episode we finally really see what "Silence Will Fall" means. It's also been promised that the many loose plot threads left dangling over the course of the last four years (like, who was trying to build a pseudo-Tardis inside Craig's flat in "The Lodger"? And didn't the Tardis itself explode at some point? And, is River Song really gone for good?) will at last be tied up with a holiday ribbon and bow, a fantastic Christmas present for continuity-obsessed Whovians. It's also the first-ever Christmas episode of the rebooted series to feature the regeneration of a Doctor, which current companion Clara Oswald aka "The Impossible Girl" will be witness to in the episode's final moments. Peter Capaldi's new version of the Doctor, set to debut in August 2014, from all indication seems to be a throwback to Third Doctor Jon Pertwee personality wise- i.e, older, dignified and somewhat flinty. So, fans should savor this final taste of Smith's manic, flailing Doctor (whose persona was perfectly nailed by John Hurt's War Doctor: "Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?") while they still can.