The idea that the episode wasn't budgeted for a specific length is just bollocks though. Five weeks shooting in native 3D won't give them much more than 60 minutes to play with once the final product is cut and edited together.
Totally agree with all of that. I wouldn't take what Moffat says to mean that he can choose any episode length he wants! That part is odd! Mr Awe
That's a way of gauging, but it's not always accurate. It depends on the writer, really. A Sorkin script might be a lot of pages, but because the banter is quick, it might not be 1 minute per page. The only real way is to sit down and read it out loud with a stop watch.