I would really recommend checking out iPython. It's easy to have it execute an existing script, and it plays well with matplotlib. I would use a script to load

I would really recommend checking out iPython. It's easy to have it execute an existing script, and it plays well with matplotlib. I would use a script to load all my data into it, then use it interactively like matlab. If I found something I liked, I would add it to my script. I found it be a really enjoyable way to work.