daleksinmanhattan.com Blog

Now that David Tennant has finished filming Doctor Who and we wait for the arrival of Matt Smith, let’s look back at the regeneration process the Doctor has gone through over the show’s history. For those who don’t know, the Doctor can heal himself after grave injury by regenerating the cells of his body resulting in a new, healthy Doctor with a new face and, usually a new personality. This process has become very useful for explaining how the Doctor looks different when new actors take the role. So far, the Doctor has regenerated nine times with 10 actors playing the role. Let’s review:

1. William Hartnell

William Hartnell debuted as the first Doctor in the 1963 story “An Unearthly Child” and played the role until 1966’s “The Tenth Planet.” Defeating the Cybermen has taken a toll on the Doctor’s health and he and his companions retreat to the safety of the TARDIS, which we see for the first time behaving like a sentient being. The controls operate by themselves, much to the young companions’ surprise. The Doctor collapses to the floor, surrounded by a ghostly light. Has the TARDIS aided the Doctor’s regeneration somehow? Note the wheezing in sync to the the transformation.

The move to replace one actor with another as a natural story element must have seemed a very bold move then, but it worked and has become part of Doctor Who’s mythology ever since.

2. Patrick Troughton

Doctor #2 was a 180 degree portrayal from the first incarnation and younger, too. Patrick Troughton played the Doctor as a “cosmic hobo,” dressed in rumpled pants and jacket with an askew bow tie. Troughton’s Doctor fought a wide variety of villains during his three-year run, but the people of which he was most afraid we learned, were his own people, the Time Lords. At the end of “The War Games,” the Doctor defeats the enemy, but is unable to return captured people to their own time periods. With a tremble in his voice, he calls upon the Time Lords for assistance, knowing that doing so could result in him being hauled back to Gallifrey to answer for his “crimes” of interfering with other races. The Time Lords do indeed punish the Doctor, not by imprisoning him, but by exiling him to Earth with the TARDIS control codes blocked from his memory and a forced regeneration. As the Doctor spirals down a long, dark time tunnel, his face obscured, viewers are left to wonder, what will he look like next?

3. Jon Pertwee

When the third Doctor burst onto the scene, fans knew there was something exciting taking place. First, the show was broadcast in color! Second, and perhaps more important, the new Doctor was dashing and suave. As portrayed by Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor was everything his predecessor was not: tall, confident, a man of action. The show achieved enormous success during Pertwee’s four-year stint and news of his regeneration was met with much trepidation among fans. Having stole a rare jewel from Metebilis Three, the Doctor is forced to confront his past offense when he has to return the jewel and is exposed to fatal doses of radiation. Meanwhile, back at UNIT HQ, the Brigadier and Sarah Jane Smith, lamenting the Doctor’s long absence, are surprised when the TARDIS materializes and the Doctor stumbles out. Again, viewers get a hint that the TARDIS is more than a mere ship as the Doctor reveals that it was “the old girl” that returned him to Earth.

4. Tom Baker

When Tom Baker’s Doctor regenerated, it certainly seemed like the end of an era. It was during Baker’s seven year run as the Doctor that the show evolved from quirky British television show to worldwide phenomenon. In fact, most people’s impressions of Doctor Who involve long, flowing scarves. Towards the end of his tenure, Baker’s performance revealed a tired, resigned Doctor that has indeed been alive for over 700 years and feels the weight of millenia on his shoulders. There is a sense of hopefulness as this Doctor regenerates. “It is the end,” Baker intones, gravely injured while saving Earth, “but the moment has been prepared for.” Indeed it has, as viewers learn the identity of the mysterious Watcher who had been shadowing the Doctor throughout “Logopolis.”

5. Peter Davison

Peter Davison was the youngest actor ever to play the Doctor and he had straight hair! In an attempt to update the look of Doctor Who for the eighties, producer John Nathan-Turner hired a youthful actor to play the character. In a scene that perhaps best demonstrates this desire to break with the past, Davison wanders around the TARDIS unraveling the famous scarf that had become such a symbol of Doctor Who. Davison literally grew into the role over two years and regenerated while trying to save his companion Peri from Spectrox poisoning.

6. Colin Baker

Where to begin with Colin Baker? In his first episode he comes across as arrogant and brash, then suffers from a post-regeneration mental breakdown and tries to strangle Peri. Not exactly the best debut ever. Many viewers felt this way as Doctor Who went on season break. In fact, Baker’s two-year portrayal was a troubled one from the beginning, with poorly written stories, out of character moments, and a Doctor/companion relationship that was at times snipey and condescending. Oh, and that outfit! On top of all this, Baker received very little support from the BBC and when they pulled the plug at the end of Season Twenty-Three it seemed that all the Time Lord’s lives had been used up. When Doctor Who returned and it was decided that a new actor should play the role, Colin Baker was approached about appearing for the regeneration scene. Considering his treatment at the hands of the BBC, it’s really no surprise that he declined. How then to introduce the new Doctor? Just present him, post-regeneration and get going? Nah… Let’s put Sylvester McCoy in a very bad wig. That’ll work, right? Oh, and the reason he regenerates? Falling on the floor. Worst. Regeneration. Ever.

7. Sylvester McCoy

When the announcement came in 1996 that there was going to be a Doctor Who TV movie, the show had been off the air for seven years. Paul McGann was signed to portray the eighth Doctor and Sylvester McCoy was brought back for the regeneration. After getting caught in gang war crossfire, the Doctor’s alien physiology prohibits surgeons from saving his life. Alone on a cold slab, McCoy’s facial features twist and morph into McGann’s and a new Doctor takes the stage. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t generate enough support for an ongoing series, but fans of McGann’s Doctor can follow his adventures in Big Finish’s series of eighth Doctor audio adventures.

8. Paul McGann

When news broke in 2005 that Doctor Who would start broadcasting again on the BBC, fans rejoiced. Russell T Davies had a reputation for quality programming like Queer as Folk and was a vocal fan of the Doctor. To say that Davies succeeded bringing back and updating Doctor Who would be an understatement. In order to bring new viewers in who might not be familiar with Doctor Who, it was decided to limit references to the original series. To that end it was decided that there would be no regeneration. Eccelston’s Doctor would show up fully formed. It was a bold move, considering how much the regeneration scene is part of the tradition of Who, but it worked, even though fans are left with the question: how did McGann become Eccelston? It is assumed to have occurred during the Time War or maybe even earlier. There is a scene in the first episode, “Rose” where the Doctor notices his appearance, seemingly for the first time and comments on his ears. Plenty of fan flicks exist that morph McGann into Eccelston, but the most interesting regeneration theory exists as a “deleted scene” in Panini’s “The Flood” collection of Doctor Who comic strips that shows the regeneration from 8th to 9th. It was nixed by Davies who wanted the Ninth Doctor to be associated only with Rose.

9. Christopher Eccleston

The successful relaunch of Doctor Who ended with one of the best regenerations the show has ever seen. The Doctor absorbs the Time Vortex that has infected Rose Tyler and now his body is slowly dying. The Doctor tries to brace Rose for the change and as the moment approaches says “You were fantastic,” as a sort of thank you to Rose for reminding him what a gift life can be. David Tennant makes his debut, happily announcing, “Barcelona!” Trivia note: this is the only time the Doctor regenerates standing up.

Good luck, David and Matt!

Share on Facebook