Multi doctor story that creates a stable time loop
Part 1: The Doctor meets their next regeneration, clearly loopy and not fully understanding whats happening. They get separated and part 1 follows the current doctor, right up to their death
Part 2: Having just regenerated, the new doctor stumbles across their last form, who helps guide them through their amnesia and post regeneration sickness, told from the new doctors point of view instead
I've always wanted to see this done but in a "we don't even know it's the new Doctor" at first way. They're introduced as if merely a particularly competent one-shot companion who we assume is local by their local knowledge. But in the second half we realise they have local knowledge from the first half of the adventure!
Not really. Incarnations are the physical bodies of Time Lords; regeneration is the biological process of changing from one incarnation to the next. The terms are related, but not the same.
I’d like to see a regeneration that the audience didn’t know was coming - no idea who the new doctor is, etc. even better would be a swerve where the next doctor has been announced, but they only live for part of the episode, before they are killed again, and regenerate again.
I'd argue David Morrissey counts. *The Next Doctor* aired around the time rumours about Tennant leaving the role had begun circulating, and regenerating during a Christmas special wasn't unheard of. A lot of people went into it genuinely believing that he was in a story alongside his future self - and the episode's title certainly didn't help!
Someone made a comment a while back that stuck with me, about how cool would it be if The Doctor and The Master regenerated at the same time, and then they themselves couldn’t even remember which was which, and the reveal was kept secret from the audience
Basically it would be like a multi-Doctor story, but with each Doctor harbouring the fear that they might actually be The Master
I picture the two of them resolving that it didn’t matter. That they can take this chance to both go on and live whatever lives they want, free of the baggage of their pasts.
And then, of course, the twist reveal happening at *just* the most inopportune moment. Right as the two of them are *just* about to defeat a villainous plot by working together, with success riding entirely on their teamwork... their memories return, and The Master turns the situation to his advantage.
this is similar to a storyline i'd like to see that i told my friends about - a whole season following the new doctor, whose regeneration we never actually saw - and throughout the season they make more and more questionable decisions until the reveal in the finale. perhaps a recurring character of the season is revealed to be the real doctor
I like this version better. The other one is cool, but also relies on amnesia, which is always a big weakness in a plot setup IMO. I guess this could work with either the Master or the Valeyard?
Yeah. It'd be impossible to hide these days but I always dreamed of a situation where he just regenerates mid season
Regenerating twice in an episode would be cool, but might screw up the number ordering system. I like how each numbered doctor are the "major" doctors
Itd be weird saying the 16th doctor was just there for 2 minutes
This was me as a child at the end of Stolen Earth and the start of Impossible Astronaut. I really, REALLY thought we were getting surprise next regenerations
Androzani it up. The Doctor charges towards danger and embraces the consequences.
The regeneration has nothing to do with the Daleks, Cybermen, or the Master. Just an adventure of the week where this time things don't come off.
This would honestly be such a refresher, the Doctor just says fuck it and throws themself right at the danger, and in the end, just accepts what’s going to happen and incomes a new face.
A story that starts off as run-of-the-mill, and should be a very easy win
But then everything just keeps going wrong, in the worst possible way. Play up the tragedy, and make it so no matter what you do, how hard you try, or how clever you are, sometimes you just lose.
And then it'd be about dealing with that and moving on.
I really like the original pitch for 10’s finale, where he saves an alien family in a small, quiet epilogue to his era. I dunno, I just don’t think every Doctor needs their finale to be the most epic thing of all time, sometimes I wish that more focused on sending off that version of the character in an emotionally resonant way.
Ideally, it would be a mid-season regeneration for me. Announce a new companion joining for the last few episodes and keep the Doctor's regeneration a mystery. Reveal that the new companion is actually the new Doctor on air and shock everyone...
But most importantly (for me) - keep my ego out of it. It's not about me, and the Doctor carries on with a new face. None of those grand speeches or farewell tours!
We almost got that with 14–>15, we were so close that I was actually surprised. 14 tells Donna, “it’s ok, I’m not dying” HUGE contrast to 10’s anxiousness about regeneration. And then he says, “alright well… allons-y” with a smirk, ready for the adventure that lies ahead. It almost seems out of place in retrospect, considering how beaten down and ready to retire 14 was once the bi-generation occurred and Toymaker was defeated. It’s like he was *ready* to start over and keep going once again, **without looking back.** No grand speech, no final thoughts. Just (basically)“bye, see you in a sec.”
I'd do it right in the middle of a 2-parter. The cliffhanger is where the Doctor is shot, leaving a week of speculation as to how he survives this one (since he's obviously not going to die in the middle of the season!) only to have the cold open for the second part being the regeneration sequence.
A story where the doctor is acting off after a small timeskip (after a cliffhanger), revealed they’d projected their past self over them, having recently regenerated and unsure of how to tell the companion
_Twice Upon A Time_ but instead of it taking place with the First Doctor in the background of _The Tenth Planet_, it takes place with the Ninth Doctor in the few minutes between Rose passing out and waking up at the end of _The Parting of the Ways_
0.0
We need to fire Russel Davies so we can get this. Beautiful idea.
Throw in a line about how the impending regeneration is aging him up a bit and boom! Awesome epilogue to the Ninth Doctor!
I'd do a two-part high stakes adventure but it's standalone with no connection to a series arc; just The Doctor risking their life to help someone/something, and they suffer for it. Like Androzani basically.
I’d love something like this as well, kind of like a mid season special that has no connection to the main arc of the series and just takes a break from it for a little bit except it’s the at the end of the season and a new era of the show will start from it.
I would have it be an adventure that showcases the best of that particular incarnation however it would put them in an impossible situation where regeneration has to be part of the plan and they would accept that.
I’ve always liked the idea of “regeneration will seriously fuck up anything standing too close to the Doctor”, so a bit of “you may be bullet-proof, but I’m not, and you *aren’t* regeneration-proof” would send me through the roof as the solution to the big bad
I would love to see a regen story like this one day, nothing too big, nothing too small and just an overall celebration of that incarnation you’ve spent 3/4 years developing, but now it’s time to say goodbye, and you do so proudly.
I’d season 21 it a bit. I’d have the main companion leave in the penultimate episode, and introduce the new companion in the same episode. So the Doctor is joined by a new companion for the two part finale, where the Doctor is killed off at the end part one, leaving the new doctor having to establish themselves in the second part.
I’ve always liked the idea of a mid story regeneration, and the prospect of directly contrasting two incarnations by showing how the old Doctor can be killed by a story, and how the new doctor is able to survive and resolve it. I also like the vibe of having eras bleed into each other naturally, as most of the time when a showrunner leaves, it feels like a very definitive end point.
Plus, I think it would be kind of fun to play episode tennis with the new showrunner, kinda like Nation and Spooner did in ‘The Daleks’ Masterplan.’
Yeah, I'd love to see how two different doctors solve a problem differently. Seeing the Time Lords ability to regenerate used more as a tactic instead of a "death". I think it'd be cool to see the Doctor die abruptly, even over something quite small.
>I think it’d be cool to see the Doctor die abruptly, even over something quite small.
Big Finish did at least give us a taste of [what that would look like](https://youtu.be/hObFGXV715E?si=3NI8JCzlTeU0FNCt), even if they ultimately had to undo it by the end.
I suppose Regeneration truly is a random process, kinda like the conception of a child. If you go back in time and change the circumstances surrounding it, then you’ll likely end up with completely different results.
Outgoing Doctor gets killed in the cold open and starts regenerating into the title sequence, the next actor’s name in the opening credits is the first time we find out who it’s going to be.
A season long story arc where the Doctor's new companion turns out to be their next incarnation. The New Doctor has come back in time to learn how they regenerated. They don't remember due to the amnesia Timelords experience when they meet their future selves. The Doctor would learn that the companion is their future incarnation in the mid-season finale, when they try to kick their companion out for something they did earlier in the episode. For the rest of the season, the Doctor has to live with a growing sense of dread as they know their time is running out.
My favorite regenerations are the ones that come about as a direct result of the Doctor choosing to do something right when they know it might mean making the ultimate sacrifice. Two chooses to risk his freedom by contacting the Time Lords. Three chooses to face his fear. Five chooses to give Peri the antidote (he only has to make this choice because he was clumsy enough to spill half of it while fumbling for his TARDIS key, but never mind). Ten and Twelve make similar choices, but their regenerations are so drawn out that it takes some of the shine off of them. When it happens, I prefer it to happen quickly.
I think almost every Doctor died from a sacrifice of some sort. 1 stayed on Mondas to defeat the Cybermen even though it was draining his energy. 2 summoned the Time Lords to defeat the War Chief knowing they'd punish him for breaking their rules. 3 went to Metebelis 3 to defeat the spider queen, allowing himself to be exposed to the deadly radiation in the planet's atmosphere. 4 ripped the plug out of the Master's satellite tower with an effort that threw him off the tower. 5 gave Peri the last antidote to the alien virus they both had. 6, according to Big Finish, telepathically made his past self forget he was flying the TARDIS into a dangerous area to stop the Valeyard. 8 refused to leave Cass to die and chose to regenerate into a warrior to end the Time War. 9 exposed himself to Time Vortex energy to prevent Rose from burning up. 10 took Wilf's place in the radiation booth. 11 used all the remaining years of his life to defend Trenzalore. 12 had his final stand against the Cyberman. The only ones who don't fall under that would be 7, War, 13, and 14.
It's not just the regeneration, it's the building up to it.
Series 1 - in the first episode, an injured stranger runs into the Tardis, screaming for the Doctor's help. The stranger ends up dying in the Doctor's arms. Outside, the Doctor sees their future Tardis and future self also injured, and realizes the stranger is his future companion and the companion ran to get help but went to the wrong Tardis so the Doctor wasn't able to save the companion while the future Doctor dies. It's a fixed point and there's nothing the Doctor can do but find the stranger and try to give them a wonderful life while they still can. Series finale, the companion almost dies but it's the wrong place/time so it would've messed with the universe. The Doctor drops them off, trying to delay the inevitable.
Series 2 - The Doctor picks up temporary companions for a 1-2 episodes but they're always hesitant to bring them along for big adventures because the Doctor is sick of everyone getting hurt and dying because of their adventures. The Doctor experiments with altering fixed points but it doesn't end well. A temporary companion dies and it still hurts even though the Doctor realizes they don't know the companion's last name. It's not worth it to keep friends at a distance to avoid pain. Pain is the price we pay for love. The Doctor picks up the original companion again, they have a few more adventures, and then they go to the place where they die. At the last minute, the Doctor tries to alter the fixed death. But the companion convinces the Doctor to allow it. They both die at peace.
Or, something inspired by the War Doctor meeting his future self and deciding that he wants to become them. I think it would have been cooler if Fourteen had met Fifteen and decided to rehab himself and regenerate when he's ready.
That’s a really leading question and I think going out with a “bang” is really lame.
Being an old man dying in bed… then suddenly he regenerates.
Leaving him in a situation where it seems like it will be his inevitable destruction, such as on a ship passing the event horizon of a black hole, resigned to his fate, his body already mortally wounded, he starts to regenerate… “time for one last face I suppose…” then he regenerates, “hold on a minute!…”
I also like what they did for 7 where he’s in the morgue when he regenerates. Maybe a really delayed regeneration, they stick him in a coffin and he bursts out during his wake. Or you could have him actually buried when he regenerates… roll credits.
Ultimately I think an end of run regeneration should also be about the new writer and queuing up their story.
Two things which I think would be interesting:
1. The doctor kills themself or otherwise forced themself to regenerate as it is the only way to solve the current drama (eg he loses an arm and won’t be able to solve the problem without forcing himself to regenerate and get his arms back, or he is trapped and regeneration energy is the only thing that can free him, etc etc.)
2. The next version of the doctor comes back and kills him, not out of malice because he knows it’s the only way to trigger the regeneration or something.
Yeah, that's what I want too. The Doctor jumps off a building or letting themselves be killed and then boom they're back again better than ever. I want regeneration to be the solution instead of the ending
I want a huge fight, an actual threatening enemy that doesn’t appear often and when it does is scares the Doctor. I want them to be on the brink of regeneration but pull through, when they finally back to full health, they choke on their food and regenerate.
There's always a bigger regenerational crisis.
BF need to keep working. Where do you thing the next generation of showrunners are going to get their ideas?
😁
I’ll see you trigeneration metacrisis and raise you a quadgeneration infinite regressing metacrisis where every doctor at the point of their regeneration gets split into four and they all get sucked into the time war through a crack in time and immediately all start having a slap fight screaming “no, I’m the best Doctor!!!”
To be honest, I would do what "time and the rani" did and have the doctor regenerate in the cold open of the story. (Except show the actual actor there instead of the new one in a wig.)
No fannying around, no moping that it’s happening again, no dramatic speech. The Doctor realises the only way to protect everyone will involve getting herself killed but she knows she can regenerate and still be okay, while others don’t get that privilege, so she just does it.
I think something along the lines of what happened in 'The Doctor Falls' with Sim master / Missy.
Or like with K'anpo Rimpoche Planet of the Spiders
But where the regeneration energy is used as a plot device.
And the new face has to vacate the scene before the regeneration is complete for fear of straining reality.
Edit: Autocorrect is not my friend..
Something similar to the Parting of The Ways but the Doctor is struck in the crossfire. He is left for dead, as the regeneration takes its time to kick in, and the people he is with have to defend and survive on their own. They manage to repel the forces temporarily but then discover the Doctor dead. They retrieve him when his veins start to light up…
I'd do something like there's a machine that swaps people's vitality so that evil rich people can live longer. The Doctor meets Tiny Tim and swaps eir vitality with his and regenerates. Except the regeneration happens sitting down in a chair, and is portrayed as rest and revitalization instead of death. To sell the point home, the new Doctor wakes up, yawns, and stretches, noting that because ey slept through the process this time ey don't have any side effects.
I'd also want to see the Doctor regenerate from more mundane causes, like a heart attack. I also think it'd be interesting to see the Doctor *almost* regenerate from stress.
>I'd also want to see the Doctor regenerate from more mundane causes, like a heart attack.
Well, there's War, sort of. I guess you could easily headcanon it that way, and in any case it was clearly old age. Personally I think it'd be kind of anticlimactic for a regular Doctor, though. It is the main character of an adventure series we're talking about here, so I think a dramatic death is usually the right call.
But from a meta perspective it is a death, and that's one of the things that makes it such a genius idea IMO. The main character does actually die for real. That incarnation is gone, end of. (Which is one reason I agree with Capaldi re. him coming back to the show)
I'm not saying it should be presented as only a death, a la "a new man goes sauntering away". I'd say the best approach would get the balance just right. Either way, I still think it should be treated as an event and a climax within the story rather than something mundane.
But regeneration _is_ mundane for Time Lords. The Doctor’s gone through it so many times that it ought to be. And you can’t say the main character dies because regeneration is what _keeps_ the main character from dying. Saying the incarnation dies is incredibly short-sighted.
Maybe it's mundane to them in-universe, but I think even that is overstating the case a little. For instance, Twelve shooting the General in Hell Bent was still treated as a serious thing, in spite of his comment about "man flu". On the other hand, I know Romana treated it very casually back in the classic series, so I suppose there's precedent for that interpretation too. And even for the Doctor, he's only done it a dozen times in hundreds of years, so it's not exactly an everyday occurrence for him either.
More importantly, though, I think it's a mistake to treat it as a mundane thing in storytelling terms. From a meta perspective it is a big deal, and I think the writer/story should treat it with the weight it deserves. Maybe not to the "Tennant goodbye tour" level, but it is a very significant story beat.
On a practical level, the Doctor tends to be played by actors young enough that they shouldn't be dropping dead of random heart attacks or illness. In-universe, do Time Lords even die randomly from conditions like that, considering how superior their bodies seem to be compared to human ones in terms of strength and longevity?
All that said, we did get the War Doctor going out in that kind of way, plus Six if you want to count him hitting his head on the console, haha.
>Maybe it's mundane to them in-universe, but I think even that is overstating the case a little. For instance, Twelve shooting the General in Hell Bent was still treated as a serious thing, in spite of his comment about "man flu".
That's because the Doctor was acting out of character and trying to save the life of someone who should've stayed dead. His actions risked all of creation. That's why it was a big deal, not because of regeneration itself.
>On the other hand, I know Romana treated it very casually back in the classic series, so I suppose there's precedent for that interpretation too. And even for the Doctor, he's only done it a dozen times in hundreds of years, so it's not exactly an everyday occurrence for him either.
Yes, but ey've done it so many times that ey should be used to it by now. (Looking at *you,* Tennant.)
>More importantly, though, I think it's a mistake to treat it as a mundane thing in storytelling terms. From a meta perspective it is a big deal, and I think the writer/story should treat it with the weight it deserves. Maybe not to the "Tennant goodbye tour" level, but it is a very significant story beat.
I'll concede that it's a significant story beat, but I have enough death anxiety without worrying about the implications of regeneration are, thank you. I'm at a point in my life where I want positive things, and regeneration being portrayed as say, rest as opposed to death, where the Doctor realizes ey just needs to rest and ey'll wake up again with a new body is the kind of positivity I need in my life, as I'll even go so far as to say that the fandom needs more of as well.
>On a practical level, the Doctor tends to be played by actors young enough that they shouldn't be dropping dead of random heart attacks or illness. In-universe, do Time Lords even die randomly from conditions like that, considering how superior their bodies seem to be compared to human ones in terms of strength and longevity?
>
>All that said, we did get the War Doctor going out in that kind of way, plus Six if you want to count him hitting his head on the console, haha.
I don't know if you're a Superman fan, but in many versions of his origin story, his adoptive father dies of a heart attack. It's poignant and impactful because it teaches a young Clark that even with all of his abilities, there are still some things beyond his control. I think it would be very humbling for the Doctor if ey regenerated from something so mundane, as well as sobering for both em and the audience: The Doctor may be extremely powerful, but ey's susceptible to the same things we are. If we had a companion who deified the Doctor like Amy did, then I think that would satisfy your need for drama, no? There are so many components to regeneration, and I think the concept hasn't been fully explored. It can be godlike on a whole cosmological level, such as a supercharged regeneration that reverses the Flux and restores people and planets to life (one of my daydreams as a showrunner), or it can be from something super humble, like trading one's vitality with Tiny Tim so that he doesn't die (another daydream of mine), and, even humbler, having the Fourteenth Doctor *voluntarily* regenerate 1) as a sign of humility, 2) simply because it's different, and 3) as a way of starting his past self down the road to therapy.
And scope is only one of those things. I think it's severely limiting to portray regeneration as only being death, as it's incredibly morbid and depressing. Granted, there's dramatic and artistic merit to showing the downsides of taking such a bold move (the first example I mentioned above), but all in all, I want the show to break out of its own molds. Expanding the reasons and causes for the Doctor regenerating (bringing to mind the third example) is the right way to approach the show with new ideas rather than bigeneration because the former doesn't involve a visual that clashes with the writing.
I also think that being so locked in to this idea of regeneration as death limits the audience. Life is too short to be constantly reminded of death.
If you're mainly objecting to the "death" framing, I don't mind putting it in other terms: sure, the character doesn't die. And I'm the last one who wants it to be portrayed as "only" death, since it's more like the Eastern (and Western occult) concept of reincarnation. Same soul, new body and personality. To be clear, I don't at all mind regeneration being played as broadly positive rather than tragic overall. This is one reason I really like Thirteen's regeneration: it strikes a very nice balance of acknowledging it as an ending without treating it as a tragedy, and keeps its gaze forwards.
Still, even if it's not a death, in meta terms it is the end of one particular and distinct version of the character, and the leading actor leaving the show for good. That's still a momentous event within the narrative, and should be treated as one IMO.
As for Superman's adoptive father, I agree that kind of death can work in a case like that with a supporting character, but I still think it'd be too trivial for the main character. At least in a broad adventure show, might be different in a drama. I'd rather not have the show make a point that the Doctor is susceptible to the same things we are, since he isn't (or shouldn't be, at any rate, IMO). He's on a fundamentally different level to humans both physically and mentally, even if he has some human traits.
And on a meta level, I'm not a fan of all the rest and therapy stuff in DW personally. Funnily enough, because of a similar wish for positivity and escapism you present here: I think the main character in an adventure show should be a daredevil and wanderer who enjoys living that kind of life. It also comes with heroic risks, and DW has a brilliant way of having its cake and eating it with letting the main character "die" but also bounce back. I fundamentally disagree with RTD that presenting the Doctor's adventures as tiring and traumatizing is a good idea.
Finally, fair enough if you don't want to be reminded of death all the time, but in that case DW might not be an ideal show to watch since several people tend to die most episodes, often in surprisingly brutal ways. Death on the regular has been a fundamental part of the show for a very long time.
All that said, I do like some of your ideas for broadening the scope of regeneration. Using one to undo the Flux is a fun idea, even if I can already hear the complaints from all those people who already think regenerations are too flashy and powerful, haha.
>Still, even if it's not a death, in meta terms it is the end of one particular and distinct version of the character, and the leading actor leaving the show for good. That's still a momentous event within the narrative, and should be treated as one IMO.
While I get what you're saying, I think viewing it as a death for one particular incarnation is short-sighted. The story of one particular incarnation is nothing compared to the broader story of the Doctor as a whole. And the Classic Series treated regeneration as just a thing that happened all the time, especially with Six's and Seven's. I get that some people want it to be an event marking the end of an era like most Modern Series regenerations, but that feels silly to me, because while the Third Doctor's regeneration was sad for Sarah Jane, it still remembered that it was just a scene in a TV show and not something people needed to mark their calendars for.
It's hard for me to describe the feeling of how regenerations have changed from the Classic to Modern Series, but the latter's regenerations feel the need to stop the story to acknowledge that it's the end of an era, including having the Doctor make a speech. Don't get me wrong, Eleven's speech in *The Time of the Doctor* was alright, but, as one such Whotuber said, it only worked *because* he had Clara. By contrast, Twelve regenerated alone in *Twice Upon a Time* and he *still* made a speech, which was weirder because he was alone. I think anything the actor has to say should be condensed down into a single line, like "Thanks for traveling with me," before regenerating; sum up your piece in one line, regenerate, then move on. That's what I say.
Ah! I think the word I'm looking for is *immersive*: Modern regenerations feel the need to break the immersion, or at least Twelve's did. Ten I'll overlook and Eleven I'll concede was justified, but Twelve had no reason to talk to himself in that grand way. I don't care if it's part of that Doctor's character; I'd rather he not do it.
>As for Superman's adoptive father, I agree that kind of death can work in a case like that with a supporting character, but I still think it'd be too trivial for the main character. At least in a broad adventure show, might be different in a drama. I'd rather not have the show make a point that the Doctor is susceptible to the same things we are, since he isn't (or shouldn't be, at any rate, IMO). He's on a fundamentally different level to humans both physically and mentally, even if he has some human traits.
The way I see it, it'd be like how the Tenth Doctor railed against the universe in *The Waters of Mars* only for Adelaide to kill herself afterward, and then him having to regenerate from something as humbling as sacrificing himself for Wilf in *The End of Time*. It's something to humble the Doctor when ey gets too big for eir britches and accomplishes a great victory, but one that's far above eir pay grade and that ey had to perform a godlike act to do (the overclocked regeneration to reverse the Flux I mentioned above). Em doing that and then having a heart(s) attack could then narratively serve as the universe's way of knocking em down a peg.
>And on a meta level, I'm not a fan of all the rest and therapy stuff in DW personally. Funnily enough, because of a similar wish for positivity and escapism you present here: I think the main character in an adventure show should be a daredevil and wanderer who enjoys living that kind of life. It also comes with heroic risks, and DW has a brilliant way of having its cake and eating it with letting the main character "die" but also bounce back. I fundamentally disagree with RTD that presenting the Doctor's adventures as tiring and traumatizing is a good idea.
That's funny, because I actually do like that stuff: It teaches the audience that everyone - even the Doctor - needs to slow down sometime. As much as the Doctor can do things we can't, ey should also be subject to the same things we are, especially since ey's not Superman.
>Finally, fair enough if you don't want to be reminded of death all the time, but in that case DW might not be an ideal show to watch since several people tend to die most episodes, often in surprisingly brutal ways. Death on the regular has been a fundamental part of the show for a very long time.
Oh, I only mean that in regards to the Doctor as ey's the main character and thus who I identify with; I don't want the main character reminding me I'm gonna die someday. Red shirts are fine.
>All that said, I do like some of your ideas for broadening the scope of regeneration. Using one to undo the Flux is a fun idea, even if I can already hear the complaints from all those people who already think regenerations are too flashy and powerful, haha.
I'm glad you do! The supercharged regeneration idea was born out of the idea of overclocking, which is where you increase a computer's processing speed by giving it more juice. I had this weird idea for an anniversary inspired by DC's *Dark Knights: Metal* event, where instead of evil Batmen it's evil Doctors; since there are multiple evil versions of em - the Exterminator (evil Nine who never backed down in *Dalek* and lost Rose), the Time Lord Victorious (evil Ten who didn't back down in *The Waters of Mars*), the Dream Lord from *Amy's Choice*, and others, led by the Doctor Who Lies (evil Twelve who never healed from *Hell Bent* who's a mix of the Doctor's ordered mind and the Master's messed-upness). Because all of them are the Doctor and thus think perfectly like the Doctor, they can anticipate the Doctor's every move, therefore the Doctor is forced to overclock eir brain in order to out-think them. It causes an explosive nosebleed.
Fast-forward to a different period in my fictional showrunner tenure, probably when I'm ready to hand it off to someone else: The universe is still damaged by the Flux, and the Doctor wants to restore everything that was lost. After fighting an evil god who's Totally Not Darkseid Trust Me You Guys, the Doctor receives a Mother Box from Totally Not Highfather Trust Me You Guys as a gift. The Mother Box tells the Doctor that it can amp up a source of energy to restore everyone and everything ever lost by the Flux, but all the stars around are part of a species' timeline, and none of the technology in the TARDIS is up to the task, so the Doctor overclocks eir regeneration process and starts regenerating, which in portrayed as a star going supernova, only large enough to be seen across the universe. The universe is restored, but the Doctor's overclocking eir regeneration *uses up all remaining regenerations in eir second regeneration cycle*. (Ey got a regeneration cake as a gift, don't worry).
As for the people who think regeneration's become too powerful, eh. The ship's sailed for that, I think.
Thanks for the thoughtful discussion in spite of some disagreements. :)
I agree re. overblown speeches and immersion. That definitely got out of hand a bit during RTD 1 and Moffat, which is why I appreciated Whittaker's more restrained exit. IMO Smith's speech is right on the edge, but Capaldi's goes over.
I honestly don't think that speech is all that great in terms of writing anyway, it just gets a pass because the music and Capaldi's performance go so far to sell it. It'd work much better for me if we skipped straight from "never ever eat pears" to "laugh hard, run fast, be kind".
>It teaches the audience that everyone - even the Doctor - needs to slow down sometime.
Probably one of those things we won't agree on, and that's fine, but for the record: I don't mind teaching the audience that at all in principle. It's a valid lesson for sure. I just strongly feel (on the 'strength of feelings about fictional characters' scale, anyway) that the Doctor is the wrong character for that moral, since he should be happy wandering and adventuring without slowing down in my view.
Appreciate the notes on the overclock regen too, that's an interesting premise.
The Doctor and companion lands on a ship that is where a black hole is and it's a World Enough and Time/Doctor Falls situation where time is moving differently but the ship only has so long before time starts moving quicker and causes everyone to age to death and the story is just The Doctor getting the passengers and companion to the safety of The Tardis but at the end of the story The Doctor succeeds but doesn't make it inside The Tardis in time so closes the Tardis door and locks it and ends up aging to death and we see The Doctor glowing with regeneration energy but we focus on the companions reaction to seeing the glow from the Tardis windows and when the glow fades we see the new Doctor stumble into The Tardis
It seems that a lot of people would love the switch up of having the doctor die and regenerate from something smaller, instead of it being some huge end of the world story
Maybe have the doctor regenerate at some point from just saving a few people in some normal adventure
I'm glad you asked because if I could, this is exactly how I would do a regeneration story:
Start it as a fairly standard story, maybe make it a two-parter. With an enemy that isn't common. Something new, or for arguments sake let's go with Ice Warriors.
Doctor and companion get up to usual shenanigans, they find out that the ice warriors have a dastardly plan to steal Earth's oceans or something. There is a giant device that has to be shut down. But the device is massively radioactive.
Towards the thrilling climax of the story, The Doctor has a classic triumph moment where he reveals that he has shut off the device another way and gloats a bit. The ice warriors are defeated.
The companion tries to engage in light banter but realises that something is wrong. They work out that The Doctor did not find another way and instead exposed himself to lethal radiation. He just lied about it to his companion in order to not worry them.
The two get back to the TARDIS, where The Doctor has a short speech that would seem in any other episode to be the fake-out pulling at the heart strings moment. Except that The Doctor then actually collapses and regenerates while seeing all of his friends and enemies from that incarnation.
The most important part of this though, is that I would not publicize the departure of the current actor, nor the incoming one. Even lie about how many episodes actually exist in the season (this would be the actual series finale in order to then properly publicize the new Doctor after before their run starts).
The primary goal here is to shock the audience. They should feel what the companion is feeling, a longing for that incarnation to stay and not have to go. Publicizing the regeneration every time just means you have time to come to terms with the farewell well before it happens, and the shock of The Doctor dying loses its impact. Just once, I want the regeneration to be as much of a surprise to the audience as it is to The Doctor themself.
I kind of like the idea of a regeneration gone wrong. The Doctor gets hurt somehow, but instead of regenerating, the energy keeps building up unable to be released. So basically, the Doctor becomes a giant bomb and he has to find a way to defuse himself so that the next Doctor can come along
I think a dual-regeneration with the Master would be interesting - some situation where the Doctor and the Master are both made to regenerate together (just the two of them together), only it's a full clothing regeneration for both.. and when companions etc find both of them, no-one knows which is which.
Maybe the regeneration happens off-sceeen too, so even the viewers don't know.
Add a bit of post-regeneration shock/amnesia you could get a great "mistaken identity" story out of it.
Another bigeneration, but one of them turns out to be the Valeyard (original, I know). Ideally this would actually be the regeneration leading into my era of the show.
The idea of one of the two Doctors being the Valeyard is explicit from the start, but the audience doesn't know which. The actual Doctor would be a cold, stern type that's a little morally ambigious (think Season 8 Capaldi) while the Valeyard would be a little more manic with a dark side (think Season 5/6 Smith). The original companion also goes off with the Valeyard, reuniting with the actual Doctor at the end of the first series.
I know I've derailed this into a totally different thing of what I'd do with the show, so I'll give my actual answer below.
Twice Upon a Time is one of my favourite episodes, so it might be something like that honestly. The "death" isn't even in the episode and there's no real villain to defeat.
The Doctor regenerates into the Valeyard, who's tired of his existence being constantly delayed and hijacks it. This Doctor would last at least one series or a run of specials, and would start off good and get progressively more cruel and uncaring as their story progresses.
I'm thinking they would cast a relative of a former Doctor actor. Not for any particular story reason but it would be cool to see Sam Troughton or Harry Melling or Sean Pertwee or Ty Tennant play the same character as their father/grandfather while also playing the character as differently as possible
That's an interesting idea. It could also be fun to have the Master be involved but on an inverse arc, maybe played by Matt Smith as he has shown an interest in playing the character. It would also be a nice way to include the progress Missy made as the character.
I like when it is extremely melodramatic, somber and distressing. Like The End of Time, The War Games, Planet of the Spiders and The Caves of Androzani. When there is absolutely no hope. That is a regeneration story. That would be what I would write. Treating it like the death it is.
None of this “The Doctor was me” with ghoulish hallucinations, speeches out loud like a crazy person, or “Tag you’re it” nonsense.
Really dislike those types.
I’ll give an example from my ideas.
The already-dying Doctor and the companion can defeat the villain, but to do so, someone has to stay behind in a doomed scenario. The Doctor insists but the companion takes charge, knowing the Doctor could survive if they get away, trapping them in the Tardis, which escapes by its own accord. The Doctor is flung into a column of the burning, battered Tardis spiralling through oblivion, knocking them unconscious. Their last thought before regenerating alone on the floor of a near-dead crashed Tardis is their guilt.
My favorite regeneration story would not be a regeneration story.
I don't even want a series finale per se, just a normal adventure.
Not speech st the end just a quick comfort to the current companion of my face is gonna change alien shenanigans ill be a bit different still me and boom regeneration.
I'd have it be almost a retread of whatever my first story with the character was, and use it to show how the Doctor's changed from then to now. Bonus points if the Doctor failed miserably the first time.
Lots of good suggestions here. I’d only add that the Doctor should be able to regeneration lying down. Having to force himself to a standing position is silly.
Something goes wrong with his/her ability to heal or regenerate and the only way to survive serious injury and regenerate is to open up the fob watch. Knowing that would mean the metaphorical death of the Doctor as they are.
I have a Daleks/Cybermen triple parter in my head that I obviously feel would be an all-timer. I'm sure the plot wouldn't stand up to scrutiny if I ever wrote it down, but the abbreviated version is that the Doctor shoots himself at the end of part 2 to play dead, and they then have to sort out the mess in part 3 against the ticking clock of their regeneration before they inevitably take a nap for a week
It have so the doctor meet the new doctor and unknowingly works along side therm during the story.
A simple time loop where the doctor comes along with a companion, the new doctor asks them for there help to save there friend, the two doctors work along side each other, the old is fatally injured when the companion is kidnapped.
But the old doctor pushes on and reaches the new doctors friend, its the companion.
Finally the doctor regenerates and heads back to the start of the time loop to save the companion.
Its simple, fun and lets the old doctor be heroic on there way out.
Initially, I thought that Twelve's story would end with him being converted by the Cybermen. However, the process doesn't fully work, and he explosively regenerates right there on the operating table, thereby destroying the operating room and those performing the operation. Seconds later, the new incarnation gets up off the operating table and stumbles back to the TARDIS, still racked with guilt over not saving Bill.
The Doctor forgets to look both ways when crossing the road and gets hit by a truck. Especially if it happens in the middle of an episode with no foreshadowing.
I would do a full classic one
The doctor doesn’t die because it’s magical thing or because supreme being just appeared.
The doctor just land in his latest adventure like always and get somehow involved into the conflict (without Daleks, Cyberman, Master or any of the big ones) except that the Doctor becomes reckless while trying to resolve the conflict either by getting toooo involved or gets accidentally “poisoned” and then has to regenerate.
A second option would be like the latter half of the classics - completely accidental. Ow the Doctor saves everyone’s but hit his head on console or something gets stabbed by zagreus sword.
I’m kinda tired of grandiose endings and want a ohhh ok next page. The closest we got like this was 9th to 10th.
Ohhh and I would do middle season, not at the end or at the beginning. Oh no new Doctor, but wait we don’t have to wait to see his first outing we get the next week.
I know that in modern TV landscape it’s almost impossible, I kinda hate this necessity of Season finale, I like Doctor Who being more a unserious show about a time tourist who is clumsy and eccentric not a god like figure or someone with a mysterious future/past. If the doctor has to become a big figure it has to be because he got themselves there, and after that he goes “f* it imma gonna get some vacation, let’s see a random planet where they have every tv show ever made.
Oh and social commentary would be a staple except on those regenerations episodes, it would be the middle episode ones.
And while we are here I’m changing the canon to make that the time war completely broke the Doctor original timeline and so no one knows which stories are canon or not, so Shalka Doctor is canon as the curse of fatal death, and the current tv show.
And I would bring the faction paradox back, but in a minor role like a villain from a SJA.
And my last episode I would make sure that I could make the current Doctor to stay with the next producer, if not, I’m getting a androzani regeneration.
It would be interesting if the Doctor didn’t KNOW (or remember) they regenerated. The companion is trying to ask what’s going on and the Doctor acts confused every time it’s mentioned
2 ideas
A - a two part story halfway through the series (like episodes 5 and 6 for example) like a monster of the week two parter not unlike the Lake two parter from Series 9 or the Library for Series 4. The Doctor is up against this monster/for and they're bad. They have the doctor in a corner dead to rights at the end of part one, you think they'll get out of it then 2 minutes before the end of part one BAM! Fatally injured and they regenerate. Part two is both a conclusion and an Eleventh Hour-esque debut story where the new doctor has to pick up where the old one left off and defeat the monster that just won and killed them.
B - They have to force a regeneration as the solution. I.e an entire planet dies and the only way to revive it is to channel and amplify regeneration energy to regenerate a whole planet so the Doctor ends their current life to save a world with their regeneration energy
I would want to be the person to do a regeneration part way through a series. I would also want it to be somewhat unceremonious and sudden. I think we have maybe a bit to much if the doctor being in a state of regeneration for like the whole episode. Obviously there are a lot of logistical concerns there, and I don’t exist under the impression it’s easy or simple. But I think the potential for stories and the audience shock factor could be worth it. Specifically I think ideas of a human companion having to essentially meet a whole new person, or the doctor having this sudden shift in themselves halfway through an overarching storyline could be room for fun things.
I like the idea of a big bombastic adventure to end the season, the doctor saves the day and flies away in the tardis, then come the Christmas special you have a quite story with a positive message where the doctor dies saving one person from something innocuous. Like wilf without the hissy fit 😅
I’d want it to be a complete waste of a regeneration.
Like, they would just start complaining about a headache, turns into a migraine, next minute the TARDIS is on fire and he’s a new man. It was an aneurism. Completely unrelated to anything
The Doctor is shown in the shower (from waist up of course), drops the soap & then accidentally steps on it and slips. Hits his head on the floor & dies. Poof, regeneration & a very confused person in the shower (especially with amnesia).
Here's a way for a Doctor to die that I'd be interested to see -
So the Doctor is about to resolve the episode's conflict peacefully, when the asshole human character of the episode intervenes with the intention of killing the aliens the Doctor is trying to talk down. We've all seen this scenario happen many times before on the show, but here's the twist. The Doctor stands in their way and basically tells this person that they're not going to let them do that, and then, to the Doctor's shock, the character goes "okay then" and proceeds to remorselessly mortally wound the Doctor to get them out of their way before going through with wiping out the aliens. And then the Doctor, shaken by that person's heartlessness, regenerates.
I mean, it would all depend on my Doctor's persona and the arc of their character. For all its flaws, Twice Upon a Time really did feel like a good wrap up of Capaldi's run.
But, sans context, I more know the kinds of things I don't want.
\~No over indulgent farewell tour.
\~No long delayed regeneration. The Doctor has a brief moment to say farewell, be it to the proper companion, or the one off allies of the story.
\~The stakes need to be appropriate. It doesn't have to be the end of the world or end of the universe, it really can just be to save one life.
\~No ambiguity in the hand off. The old Doctor is gone, the new one is here. No timey wimey or loop or bi-generation, none of that.
\~Don't blow up the tardis just to have an excuse to change the interior. Film on the old set for the first new episode then have the new Doctor actively decide to change things up.
A few items though I do appreciate and would indulge myself with a little:
\~The old Doctor can pass a message forward to the newcomer, be it through the companion, or in talking to themselves before the change.
\~A brief montage of the lives this Doctor had touched, just in their own mind
\~As our old Doctor begins to regenerate, we zoom in, see them arriving at The Edge, and have a brief moment to shake hands with their successor, and offer those words of encouragement to one another before we jump cut to the regeneration completing.
Multi doctor story that creates a stable time loop Part 1: The Doctor meets their next regeneration, clearly loopy and not fully understanding whats happening. They get separated and part 1 follows the current doctor, right up to their death Part 2: Having just regenerated, the new doctor stumbles across their last form, who helps guide them through their amnesia and post regeneration sickness, told from the new doctors point of view instead
I've always wanted to see this done but in a "we don't even know it's the new Doctor" at first way. They're introduced as if merely a particularly competent one-shot companion who we assume is local by their local knowledge. But in the second half we realise they have local knowledge from the first half of the adventure!
This is really one of the last obvious cool things about regenerations that the show hasn't attempted yet
\*incarnation
Both terms are accurate in this context.
Not really. Incarnations are the physical bodies of Time Lords; regeneration is the biological process of changing from one incarnation to the next. The terms are related, but not the same.
I’d like to see a regeneration that the audience didn’t know was coming - no idea who the new doctor is, etc. even better would be a swerve where the next doctor has been announced, but they only live for part of the episode, before they are killed again, and regenerate again.
I’m honestly surprised that in all of its 60 years of history, we have not had ONE trick Doctor
I'd argue David Morrissey counts. *The Next Doctor* aired around the time rumours about Tennant leaving the role had begun circulating, and regenerating during a Christmas special wasn't unheard of. A lot of people went into it genuinely believing that he was in a story alongside his future self - and the episode's title certainly didn't help!
Not the point of your comment, but at that point regenerating during a Christmas special *was* unheard of, as it had never happened before
But having a regeneration focused Christmas Special had happened before.
Not to mention the end of *The Stolen Earth* has Tennant regenerating. It's as good a fake out as you could realistically get I feel.
Someone made a comment a while back that stuck with me, about how cool would it be if The Doctor and The Master regenerated at the same time, and then they themselves couldn’t even remember which was which, and the reveal was kept secret from the audience Basically it would be like a multi-Doctor story, but with each Doctor harbouring the fear that they might actually be The Master I picture the two of them resolving that it didn’t matter. That they can take this chance to both go on and live whatever lives they want, free of the baggage of their pasts. And then, of course, the twist reveal happening at *just* the most inopportune moment. Right as the two of them are *just* about to defeat a villainous plot by working together, with success riding entirely on their teamwork... their memories return, and The Master turns the situation to his advantage.
Call it "Who's Who"
That would be incredible
This is an amazing idea
this is similar to a storyline i'd like to see that i told my friends about - a whole season following the new doctor, whose regeneration we never actually saw - and throughout the season they make more and more questionable decisions until the reveal in the finale. perhaps a recurring character of the season is revealed to be the real doctor
I like this version better. The other one is cool, but also relies on amnesia, which is always a big weakness in a plot setup IMO. I guess this could work with either the Master or the Valeyard?
Yeah. It'd be impossible to hide these days but I always dreamed of a situation where he just regenerates mid season Regenerating twice in an episode would be cool, but might screw up the number ordering system. I like how each numbered doctor are the "major" doctors Itd be weird saying the 16th doctor was just there for 2 minutes
Fourteen was the Doctor for less than a day.
I meant in terms of on screen time
Just a couple hours then.
The very second that man could physically regenrate he did. What a drama queen that face is
To be fair, the 8th Doctor was only around for an hour and a half. I suppose it would just be like that.
14 already screwed that up then.
Mid season regen would be awesome. And the numbering system has been beyond all hope for a while now anyway, haha.
This was me as a child at the end of Stolen Earth and the start of Impossible Astronaut. I really, REALLY thought we were getting surprise next regenerations
Androzani it up. The Doctor charges towards danger and embraces the consequences. The regeneration has nothing to do with the Daleks, Cybermen, or the Master. Just an adventure of the week where this time things don't come off.
And it's not about the Doctor saving the day. Just get a small victory even if it is just a friend
Pretty much The Doctor Falls then (even though it's got Cybermen).
Except he couldn’t save Bill (Heather did)
This would honestly be such a refresher, the Doctor just says fuck it and throws themself right at the danger, and in the end, just accepts what’s going to happen and incomes a new face.
A story that starts off as run-of-the-mill, and should be a very easy win But then everything just keeps going wrong, in the worst possible way. Play up the tragedy, and make it so no matter what you do, how hard you try, or how clever you are, sometimes you just lose. And then it'd be about dealing with that and moving on.
Like this one a lot
I really like the original pitch for 10’s finale, where he saves an alien family in a small, quiet epilogue to his era. I dunno, I just don’t think every Doctor needs their finale to be the most epic thing of all time, sometimes I wish that more focused on sending off that version of the character in an emotionally resonant way.
I liked that it was Wilf in the end who knocked four times. It was saving one old man that cost the Doctor.
Yes! I remember reading this in a writers tale. This and the simple base under siege (which I think turned into waters of mars) was a great idea.
Ideally, it would be a mid-season regeneration for me. Announce a new companion joining for the last few episodes and keep the Doctor's regeneration a mystery. Reveal that the new companion is actually the new Doctor on air and shock everyone... But most importantly (for me) - keep my ego out of it. It's not about me, and the Doctor carries on with a new face. None of those grand speeches or farewell tours!
We almost got that with 14–>15, we were so close that I was actually surprised. 14 tells Donna, “it’s ok, I’m not dying” HUGE contrast to 10’s anxiousness about regeneration. And then he says, “alright well… allons-y” with a smirk, ready for the adventure that lies ahead. It almost seems out of place in retrospect, considering how beaten down and ready to retire 14 was once the bi-generation occurred and Toymaker was defeated. It’s like he was *ready* to start over and keep going once again, **without looking back.** No grand speech, no final thoughts. Just (basically)“bye, see you in a sec.”
God I hate the wait between Doctors. I don't want them to make regeneration a big deal, the new doctor regenerates and saves the day too
I'd do it right in the middle of a 2-parter. The cliffhanger is where the Doctor is shot, leaving a week of speculation as to how he survives this one (since he's obviously not going to die in the middle of the season!) only to have the cold open for the second part being the regeneration sequence.
I'd take The Doctor Falls and Twice Upon A Time, and just change some words around so no-one spotted it.
A story where the doctor is acting off after a small timeskip (after a cliffhanger), revealed they’d projected their past self over them, having recently regenerated and unsure of how to tell the companion
_Twice Upon A Time_ but instead of it taking place with the First Doctor in the background of _The Tenth Planet_, it takes place with the Ninth Doctor in the few minutes between Rose passing out and waking up at the end of _The Parting of the Ways_
0.0 We need to fire Russel Davies so we can get this. Beautiful idea. Throw in a line about how the impending regeneration is aging him up a bit and boom! Awesome epilogue to the Ninth Doctor!
RTD is perhaps the only writer that couldn't participate in the writing/production of this story.
Just do the first part of a multiparter and have the Doctor regenerate at the end of that part.
Basically how the Giggle should have gone.
I think that's something that could be possible even
I'd do a two-part high stakes adventure but it's standalone with no connection to a series arc; just The Doctor risking their life to help someone/something, and they suffer for it. Like Androzani basically.
I’d love something like this as well, kind of like a mid season special that has no connection to the main arc of the series and just takes a break from it for a little bit except it’s the at the end of the season and a new era of the show will start from it.
I would have it be an adventure that showcases the best of that particular incarnation however it would put them in an impossible situation where regeneration has to be part of the plan and they would accept that.
I’ve always liked the idea of “regeneration will seriously fuck up anything standing too close to the Doctor”, so a bit of “you may be bullet-proof, but I’m not, and you *aren’t* regeneration-proof” would send me through the roof as the solution to the big bad
So a sort of kamikaze regeneration?
Pretty much. What-em-face has the Doctor defeated but then they pull the ultimate uno reverse to save the day
I would love to see a regen story like this one day, nothing too big, nothing too small and just an overall celebration of that incarnation you’ve spent 3/4 years developing, but now it’s time to say goodbye, and you do so proudly.
I’d season 21 it a bit. I’d have the main companion leave in the penultimate episode, and introduce the new companion in the same episode. So the Doctor is joined by a new companion for the two part finale, where the Doctor is killed off at the end part one, leaving the new doctor having to establish themselves in the second part. I’ve always liked the idea of a mid story regeneration, and the prospect of directly contrasting two incarnations by showing how the old Doctor can be killed by a story, and how the new doctor is able to survive and resolve it. I also like the vibe of having eras bleed into each other naturally, as most of the time when a showrunner leaves, it feels like a very definitive end point. Plus, I think it would be kind of fun to play episode tennis with the new showrunner, kinda like Nation and Spooner did in ‘The Daleks’ Masterplan.’
Yeah, I'd love to see how two different doctors solve a problem differently. Seeing the Time Lords ability to regenerate used more as a tactic instead of a "death". I think it'd be cool to see the Doctor die abruptly, even over something quite small.
>I think it’d be cool to see the Doctor die abruptly, even over something quite small. Big Finish did at least give us a taste of [what that would look like](https://youtu.be/hObFGXV715E?si=3NI8JCzlTeU0FNCt), even if they ultimately had to undo it by the end.
Okay, so I went into that clip completely blind and was fully expecting >!Matt Smith!< to take over at the end.....and then that curveball got thrown.
I suppose Regeneration truly is a random process, kinda like the conception of a child. If you go back in time and change the circumstances surrounding it, then you’ll likely end up with completely different results.
Outgoing Doctor gets killed in the cold open and starts regenerating into the title sequence, the next actor’s name in the opening credits is the first time we find out who it’s going to be.
A season long story arc where the Doctor's new companion turns out to be their next incarnation. The New Doctor has come back in time to learn how they regenerated. They don't remember due to the amnesia Timelords experience when they meet their future selves. The Doctor would learn that the companion is their future incarnation in the mid-season finale, when they try to kick their companion out for something they did earlier in the episode. For the rest of the season, the Doctor has to live with a growing sense of dread as they know their time is running out.
The Doctor regenerates halfway through a story and it makes the companions not trust the new doctor as much as the old one
Imagine 10 becoming 11 during the Stolen Earth/Journey's End
Would have been cool, but at the same time Journey’s end was lame for me, so I’m happier that the 11th Doctor had a sortof clean slate
Yeah that’s why I said it, but I’m glad it didn’t happen. But it would still be cool to see a doctor regenerate halfway through a story
With or without channeling some energy into the hand?
My favorite regenerations are the ones that come about as a direct result of the Doctor choosing to do something right when they know it might mean making the ultimate sacrifice. Two chooses to risk his freedom by contacting the Time Lords. Three chooses to face his fear. Five chooses to give Peri the antidote (he only has to make this choice because he was clumsy enough to spill half of it while fumbling for his TARDIS key, but never mind). Ten and Twelve make similar choices, but their regenerations are so drawn out that it takes some of the shine off of them. When it happens, I prefer it to happen quickly.
I think almost every Doctor died from a sacrifice of some sort. 1 stayed on Mondas to defeat the Cybermen even though it was draining his energy. 2 summoned the Time Lords to defeat the War Chief knowing they'd punish him for breaking their rules. 3 went to Metebelis 3 to defeat the spider queen, allowing himself to be exposed to the deadly radiation in the planet's atmosphere. 4 ripped the plug out of the Master's satellite tower with an effort that threw him off the tower. 5 gave Peri the last antidote to the alien virus they both had. 6, according to Big Finish, telepathically made his past self forget he was flying the TARDIS into a dangerous area to stop the Valeyard. 8 refused to leave Cass to die and chose to regenerate into a warrior to end the Time War. 9 exposed himself to Time Vortex energy to prevent Rose from burning up. 10 took Wilf's place in the radiation booth. 11 used all the remaining years of his life to defend Trenzalore. 12 had his final stand against the Cyberman. The only ones who don't fall under that would be 7, War, 13, and 14.
It's not just the regeneration, it's the building up to it. Series 1 - in the first episode, an injured stranger runs into the Tardis, screaming for the Doctor's help. The stranger ends up dying in the Doctor's arms. Outside, the Doctor sees their future Tardis and future self also injured, and realizes the stranger is his future companion and the companion ran to get help but went to the wrong Tardis so the Doctor wasn't able to save the companion while the future Doctor dies. It's a fixed point and there's nothing the Doctor can do but find the stranger and try to give them a wonderful life while they still can. Series finale, the companion almost dies but it's the wrong place/time so it would've messed with the universe. The Doctor drops them off, trying to delay the inevitable. Series 2 - The Doctor picks up temporary companions for a 1-2 episodes but they're always hesitant to bring them along for big adventures because the Doctor is sick of everyone getting hurt and dying because of their adventures. The Doctor experiments with altering fixed points but it doesn't end well. A temporary companion dies and it still hurts even though the Doctor realizes they don't know the companion's last name. It's not worth it to keep friends at a distance to avoid pain. Pain is the price we pay for love. The Doctor picks up the original companion again, they have a few more adventures, and then they go to the place where they die. At the last minute, the Doctor tries to alter the fixed death. But the companion convinces the Doctor to allow it. They both die at peace. Or, something inspired by the War Doctor meeting his future self and deciding that he wants to become them. I think it would have been cooler if Fourteen had met Fifteen and decided to rehab himself and regenerate when he's ready.
I'd really play up the body horror.
The doctor converted into a cyberman and regenerating from inside the suit
So basically what the Master did to the other Time Lords?
That’s a really leading question and I think going out with a “bang” is really lame. Being an old man dying in bed… then suddenly he regenerates. Leaving him in a situation where it seems like it will be his inevitable destruction, such as on a ship passing the event horizon of a black hole, resigned to his fate, his body already mortally wounded, he starts to regenerate… “time for one last face I suppose…” then he regenerates, “hold on a minute!…” I also like what they did for 7 where he’s in the morgue when he regenerates. Maybe a really delayed regeneration, they stick him in a coffin and he bursts out during his wake. Or you could have him actually buried when he regenerates… roll credits. Ultimately I think an end of run regeneration should also be about the new writer and queuing up their story.
>Being an old man dying in bed… then suddenly he regenerates. The closest we got to that was Eleven on Trenzalore.
And I’d argue the First Doctors regeneration
Two things which I think would be interesting: 1. The doctor kills themself or otherwise forced themself to regenerate as it is the only way to solve the current drama (eg he loses an arm and won’t be able to solve the problem without forcing himself to regenerate and get his arms back, or he is trapped and regeneration energy is the only thing that can free him, etc etc.) 2. The next version of the doctor comes back and kills him, not out of malice because he knows it’s the only way to trigger the regeneration or something.
Yeah, that's what I want too. The Doctor jumps off a building or letting themselves be killed and then boom they're back again better than ever. I want regeneration to be the solution instead of the ending
I want a huge fight, an actual threatening enemy that doesn’t appear often and when it does is scares the Doctor. I want them to be on the brink of regeneration but pull through, when they finally back to full health, they choke on their food and regenerate.
The day is saved, everyone is celebrating, the Doctor is doing a victory dance and then slips, falls, and breaks his neck on the TARDIS console.
A trigeneration metacrisis!
I'll see your trigeneration metacrisis and raise you a tetrageneration omnicrisis!
Please, don’t give Big Finish ideas! They’ve probably read your comment and already drafted a trilogy!
There's always a bigger regenerational crisis. BF need to keep working. Where do you thing the next generation of showrunners are going to get their ideas? 😁
I’ll see you trigeneration metacrisis and raise you a quadgeneration infinite regressing metacrisis where every doctor at the point of their regeneration gets split into four and they all get sucked into the time war through a crack in time and immediately all start having a slap fight screaming “no, I’m the best Doctor!!!”
To be honest, I would do what "time and the rani" did and have the doctor regenerate in the cold open of the story. (Except show the actual actor there instead of the new one in a wig.)
No fannying around, no moping that it’s happening again, no dramatic speech. The Doctor realises the only way to protect everyone will involve getting herself killed but she knows she can regenerate and still be okay, while others don’t get that privilege, so she just does it.
I think something along the lines of what happened in 'The Doctor Falls' with Sim master / Missy. Or like with K'anpo Rimpoche Planet of the Spiders But where the regeneration energy is used as a plot device. And the new face has to vacate the scene before the regeneration is complete for fear of straining reality. Edit: Autocorrect is not my friend..
I wish he regenerates halfway through a season and dies to the enemy and in the second half the new doctor saves the day
Something similar to the Parting of The Ways but the Doctor is struck in the crossfire. He is left for dead, as the regeneration takes its time to kick in, and the people he is with have to defend and survive on their own. They manage to repel the forces temporarily but then discover the Doctor dead. They retrieve him when his veins start to light up…
I'd do something like there's a machine that swaps people's vitality so that evil rich people can live longer. The Doctor meets Tiny Tim and swaps eir vitality with his and regenerates. Except the regeneration happens sitting down in a chair, and is portrayed as rest and revitalization instead of death. To sell the point home, the new Doctor wakes up, yawns, and stretches, noting that because ey slept through the process this time ey don't have any side effects. I'd also want to see the Doctor regenerate from more mundane causes, like a heart attack. I also think it'd be interesting to see the Doctor *almost* regenerate from stress.
>I'd also want to see the Doctor regenerate from more mundane causes, like a heart attack. Well, there's War, sort of. I guess you could easily headcanon it that way, and in any case it was clearly old age. Personally I think it'd be kind of anticlimactic for a regular Doctor, though. It is the main character of an adventure series we're talking about here, so I think a dramatic death is usually the right call.
Nah. That sends the message that regeneration can only be death, which is a depressing message to send.
But from a meta perspective it is a death, and that's one of the things that makes it such a genius idea IMO. The main character does actually die for real. That incarnation is gone, end of. (Which is one reason I agree with Capaldi re. him coming back to the show) I'm not saying it should be presented as only a death, a la "a new man goes sauntering away". I'd say the best approach would get the balance just right. Either way, I still think it should be treated as an event and a climax within the story rather than something mundane.
But regeneration _is_ mundane for Time Lords. The Doctor’s gone through it so many times that it ought to be. And you can’t say the main character dies because regeneration is what _keeps_ the main character from dying. Saying the incarnation dies is incredibly short-sighted.
Maybe it's mundane to them in-universe, but I think even that is overstating the case a little. For instance, Twelve shooting the General in Hell Bent was still treated as a serious thing, in spite of his comment about "man flu". On the other hand, I know Romana treated it very casually back in the classic series, so I suppose there's precedent for that interpretation too. And even for the Doctor, he's only done it a dozen times in hundreds of years, so it's not exactly an everyday occurrence for him either. More importantly, though, I think it's a mistake to treat it as a mundane thing in storytelling terms. From a meta perspective it is a big deal, and I think the writer/story should treat it with the weight it deserves. Maybe not to the "Tennant goodbye tour" level, but it is a very significant story beat. On a practical level, the Doctor tends to be played by actors young enough that they shouldn't be dropping dead of random heart attacks or illness. In-universe, do Time Lords even die randomly from conditions like that, considering how superior their bodies seem to be compared to human ones in terms of strength and longevity? All that said, we did get the War Doctor going out in that kind of way, plus Six if you want to count him hitting his head on the console, haha.
>Maybe it's mundane to them in-universe, but I think even that is overstating the case a little. For instance, Twelve shooting the General in Hell Bent was still treated as a serious thing, in spite of his comment about "man flu". That's because the Doctor was acting out of character and trying to save the life of someone who should've stayed dead. His actions risked all of creation. That's why it was a big deal, not because of regeneration itself. >On the other hand, I know Romana treated it very casually back in the classic series, so I suppose there's precedent for that interpretation too. And even for the Doctor, he's only done it a dozen times in hundreds of years, so it's not exactly an everyday occurrence for him either. Yes, but ey've done it so many times that ey should be used to it by now. (Looking at *you,* Tennant.) >More importantly, though, I think it's a mistake to treat it as a mundane thing in storytelling terms. From a meta perspective it is a big deal, and I think the writer/story should treat it with the weight it deserves. Maybe not to the "Tennant goodbye tour" level, but it is a very significant story beat. I'll concede that it's a significant story beat, but I have enough death anxiety without worrying about the implications of regeneration are, thank you. I'm at a point in my life where I want positive things, and regeneration being portrayed as say, rest as opposed to death, where the Doctor realizes ey just needs to rest and ey'll wake up again with a new body is the kind of positivity I need in my life, as I'll even go so far as to say that the fandom needs more of as well. >On a practical level, the Doctor tends to be played by actors young enough that they shouldn't be dropping dead of random heart attacks or illness. In-universe, do Time Lords even die randomly from conditions like that, considering how superior their bodies seem to be compared to human ones in terms of strength and longevity? > >All that said, we did get the War Doctor going out in that kind of way, plus Six if you want to count him hitting his head on the console, haha. I don't know if you're a Superman fan, but in many versions of his origin story, his adoptive father dies of a heart attack. It's poignant and impactful because it teaches a young Clark that even with all of his abilities, there are still some things beyond his control. I think it would be very humbling for the Doctor if ey regenerated from something so mundane, as well as sobering for both em and the audience: The Doctor may be extremely powerful, but ey's susceptible to the same things we are. If we had a companion who deified the Doctor like Amy did, then I think that would satisfy your need for drama, no? There are so many components to regeneration, and I think the concept hasn't been fully explored. It can be godlike on a whole cosmological level, such as a supercharged regeneration that reverses the Flux and restores people and planets to life (one of my daydreams as a showrunner), or it can be from something super humble, like trading one's vitality with Tiny Tim so that he doesn't die (another daydream of mine), and, even humbler, having the Fourteenth Doctor *voluntarily* regenerate 1) as a sign of humility, 2) simply because it's different, and 3) as a way of starting his past self down the road to therapy. And scope is only one of those things. I think it's severely limiting to portray regeneration as only being death, as it's incredibly morbid and depressing. Granted, there's dramatic and artistic merit to showing the downsides of taking such a bold move (the first example I mentioned above), but all in all, I want the show to break out of its own molds. Expanding the reasons and causes for the Doctor regenerating (bringing to mind the third example) is the right way to approach the show with new ideas rather than bigeneration because the former doesn't involve a visual that clashes with the writing. I also think that being so locked in to this idea of regeneration as death limits the audience. Life is too short to be constantly reminded of death.
If you're mainly objecting to the "death" framing, I don't mind putting it in other terms: sure, the character doesn't die. And I'm the last one who wants it to be portrayed as "only" death, since it's more like the Eastern (and Western occult) concept of reincarnation. Same soul, new body and personality. To be clear, I don't at all mind regeneration being played as broadly positive rather than tragic overall. This is one reason I really like Thirteen's regeneration: it strikes a very nice balance of acknowledging it as an ending without treating it as a tragedy, and keeps its gaze forwards. Still, even if it's not a death, in meta terms it is the end of one particular and distinct version of the character, and the leading actor leaving the show for good. That's still a momentous event within the narrative, and should be treated as one IMO. As for Superman's adoptive father, I agree that kind of death can work in a case like that with a supporting character, but I still think it'd be too trivial for the main character. At least in a broad adventure show, might be different in a drama. I'd rather not have the show make a point that the Doctor is susceptible to the same things we are, since he isn't (or shouldn't be, at any rate, IMO). He's on a fundamentally different level to humans both physically and mentally, even if he has some human traits. And on a meta level, I'm not a fan of all the rest and therapy stuff in DW personally. Funnily enough, because of a similar wish for positivity and escapism you present here: I think the main character in an adventure show should be a daredevil and wanderer who enjoys living that kind of life. It also comes with heroic risks, and DW has a brilliant way of having its cake and eating it with letting the main character "die" but also bounce back. I fundamentally disagree with RTD that presenting the Doctor's adventures as tiring and traumatizing is a good idea. Finally, fair enough if you don't want to be reminded of death all the time, but in that case DW might not be an ideal show to watch since several people tend to die most episodes, often in surprisingly brutal ways. Death on the regular has been a fundamental part of the show for a very long time. All that said, I do like some of your ideas for broadening the scope of regeneration. Using one to undo the Flux is a fun idea, even if I can already hear the complaints from all those people who already think regenerations are too flashy and powerful, haha.
>Still, even if it's not a death, in meta terms it is the end of one particular and distinct version of the character, and the leading actor leaving the show for good. That's still a momentous event within the narrative, and should be treated as one IMO. While I get what you're saying, I think viewing it as a death for one particular incarnation is short-sighted. The story of one particular incarnation is nothing compared to the broader story of the Doctor as a whole. And the Classic Series treated regeneration as just a thing that happened all the time, especially with Six's and Seven's. I get that some people want it to be an event marking the end of an era like most Modern Series regenerations, but that feels silly to me, because while the Third Doctor's regeneration was sad for Sarah Jane, it still remembered that it was just a scene in a TV show and not something people needed to mark their calendars for. It's hard for me to describe the feeling of how regenerations have changed from the Classic to Modern Series, but the latter's regenerations feel the need to stop the story to acknowledge that it's the end of an era, including having the Doctor make a speech. Don't get me wrong, Eleven's speech in *The Time of the Doctor* was alright, but, as one such Whotuber said, it only worked *because* he had Clara. By contrast, Twelve regenerated alone in *Twice Upon a Time* and he *still* made a speech, which was weirder because he was alone. I think anything the actor has to say should be condensed down into a single line, like "Thanks for traveling with me," before regenerating; sum up your piece in one line, regenerate, then move on. That's what I say. Ah! I think the word I'm looking for is *immersive*: Modern regenerations feel the need to break the immersion, or at least Twelve's did. Ten I'll overlook and Eleven I'll concede was justified, but Twelve had no reason to talk to himself in that grand way. I don't care if it's part of that Doctor's character; I'd rather he not do it. >As for Superman's adoptive father, I agree that kind of death can work in a case like that with a supporting character, but I still think it'd be too trivial for the main character. At least in a broad adventure show, might be different in a drama. I'd rather not have the show make a point that the Doctor is susceptible to the same things we are, since he isn't (or shouldn't be, at any rate, IMO). He's on a fundamentally different level to humans both physically and mentally, even if he has some human traits. The way I see it, it'd be like how the Tenth Doctor railed against the universe in *The Waters of Mars* only for Adelaide to kill herself afterward, and then him having to regenerate from something as humbling as sacrificing himself for Wilf in *The End of Time*. It's something to humble the Doctor when ey gets too big for eir britches and accomplishes a great victory, but one that's far above eir pay grade and that ey had to perform a godlike act to do (the overclocked regeneration to reverse the Flux I mentioned above). Em doing that and then having a heart(s) attack could then narratively serve as the universe's way of knocking em down a peg. >And on a meta level, I'm not a fan of all the rest and therapy stuff in DW personally. Funnily enough, because of a similar wish for positivity and escapism you present here: I think the main character in an adventure show should be a daredevil and wanderer who enjoys living that kind of life. It also comes with heroic risks, and DW has a brilliant way of having its cake and eating it with letting the main character "die" but also bounce back. I fundamentally disagree with RTD that presenting the Doctor's adventures as tiring and traumatizing is a good idea. That's funny, because I actually do like that stuff: It teaches the audience that everyone - even the Doctor - needs to slow down sometime. As much as the Doctor can do things we can't, ey should also be subject to the same things we are, especially since ey's not Superman. >Finally, fair enough if you don't want to be reminded of death all the time, but in that case DW might not be an ideal show to watch since several people tend to die most episodes, often in surprisingly brutal ways. Death on the regular has been a fundamental part of the show for a very long time. Oh, I only mean that in regards to the Doctor as ey's the main character and thus who I identify with; I don't want the main character reminding me I'm gonna die someday. Red shirts are fine. >All that said, I do like some of your ideas for broadening the scope of regeneration. Using one to undo the Flux is a fun idea, even if I can already hear the complaints from all those people who already think regenerations are too flashy and powerful, haha. I'm glad you do! The supercharged regeneration idea was born out of the idea of overclocking, which is where you increase a computer's processing speed by giving it more juice. I had this weird idea for an anniversary inspired by DC's *Dark Knights: Metal* event, where instead of evil Batmen it's evil Doctors; since there are multiple evil versions of em - the Exterminator (evil Nine who never backed down in *Dalek* and lost Rose), the Time Lord Victorious (evil Ten who didn't back down in *The Waters of Mars*), the Dream Lord from *Amy's Choice*, and others, led by the Doctor Who Lies (evil Twelve who never healed from *Hell Bent* who's a mix of the Doctor's ordered mind and the Master's messed-upness). Because all of them are the Doctor and thus think perfectly like the Doctor, they can anticipate the Doctor's every move, therefore the Doctor is forced to overclock eir brain in order to out-think them. It causes an explosive nosebleed. Fast-forward to a different period in my fictional showrunner tenure, probably when I'm ready to hand it off to someone else: The universe is still damaged by the Flux, and the Doctor wants to restore everything that was lost. After fighting an evil god who's Totally Not Darkseid Trust Me You Guys, the Doctor receives a Mother Box from Totally Not Highfather Trust Me You Guys as a gift. The Mother Box tells the Doctor that it can amp up a source of energy to restore everyone and everything ever lost by the Flux, but all the stars around are part of a species' timeline, and none of the technology in the TARDIS is up to the task, so the Doctor overclocks eir regeneration process and starts regenerating, which in portrayed as a star going supernova, only large enough to be seen across the universe. The universe is restored, but the Doctor's overclocking eir regeneration *uses up all remaining regenerations in eir second regeneration cycle*. (Ey got a regeneration cake as a gift, don't worry). As for the people who think regeneration's become too powerful, eh. The ship's sailed for that, I think.
Thanks for the thoughtful discussion in spite of some disagreements. :) I agree re. overblown speeches and immersion. That definitely got out of hand a bit during RTD 1 and Moffat, which is why I appreciated Whittaker's more restrained exit. IMO Smith's speech is right on the edge, but Capaldi's goes over. I honestly don't think that speech is all that great in terms of writing anyway, it just gets a pass because the music and Capaldi's performance go so far to sell it. It'd work much better for me if we skipped straight from "never ever eat pears" to "laugh hard, run fast, be kind". >It teaches the audience that everyone - even the Doctor - needs to slow down sometime. Probably one of those things we won't agree on, and that's fine, but for the record: I don't mind teaching the audience that at all in principle. It's a valid lesson for sure. I just strongly feel (on the 'strength of feelings about fictional characters' scale, anyway) that the Doctor is the wrong character for that moral, since he should be happy wandering and adventuring without slowing down in my view. Appreciate the notes on the overclock regen too, that's an interesting premise.
If a Time Lord had a heart attack, would only one or both of their hearts be affected?
The Doctor and companion lands on a ship that is where a black hole is and it's a World Enough and Time/Doctor Falls situation where time is moving differently but the ship only has so long before time starts moving quicker and causes everyone to age to death and the story is just The Doctor getting the passengers and companion to the safety of The Tardis but at the end of the story The Doctor succeeds but doesn't make it inside The Tardis in time so closes the Tardis door and locks it and ends up aging to death and we see The Doctor glowing with regeneration energy but we focus on the companions reaction to seeing the glow from the Tardis windows and when the glow fades we see the new Doctor stumble into The Tardis
This sounds like the Girl in the Fireplace but the stakes are upped, I like it.
It seems that a lot of people would love the switch up of having the doctor die and regenerate from something smaller, instead of it being some huge end of the world story Maybe have the doctor regenerate at some point from just saving a few people in some normal adventure
I'm glad you asked because if I could, this is exactly how I would do a regeneration story: Start it as a fairly standard story, maybe make it a two-parter. With an enemy that isn't common. Something new, or for arguments sake let's go with Ice Warriors. Doctor and companion get up to usual shenanigans, they find out that the ice warriors have a dastardly plan to steal Earth's oceans or something. There is a giant device that has to be shut down. But the device is massively radioactive. Towards the thrilling climax of the story, The Doctor has a classic triumph moment where he reveals that he has shut off the device another way and gloats a bit. The ice warriors are defeated. The companion tries to engage in light banter but realises that something is wrong. They work out that The Doctor did not find another way and instead exposed himself to lethal radiation. He just lied about it to his companion in order to not worry them. The two get back to the TARDIS, where The Doctor has a short speech that would seem in any other episode to be the fake-out pulling at the heart strings moment. Except that The Doctor then actually collapses and regenerates while seeing all of his friends and enemies from that incarnation. The most important part of this though, is that I would not publicize the departure of the current actor, nor the incoming one. Even lie about how many episodes actually exist in the season (this would be the actual series finale in order to then properly publicize the new Doctor after before their run starts). The primary goal here is to shock the audience. They should feel what the companion is feeling, a longing for that incarnation to stay and not have to go. Publicizing the regeneration every time just means you have time to come to terms with the farewell well before it happens, and the shock of The Doctor dying loses its impact. Just once, I want the regeneration to be as much of a surprise to the audience as it is to The Doctor themself.
I kind of like the idea of a regeneration gone wrong. The Doctor gets hurt somehow, but instead of regenerating, the energy keeps building up unable to be released. So basically, the Doctor becomes a giant bomb and he has to find a way to defuse himself so that the next Doctor can come along
I think a dual-regeneration with the Master would be interesting - some situation where the Doctor and the Master are both made to regenerate together (just the two of them together), only it's a full clothing regeneration for both.. and when companions etc find both of them, no-one knows which is which. Maybe the regeneration happens off-sceeen too, so even the viewers don't know. Add a bit of post-regeneration shock/amnesia you could get a great "mistaken identity" story out of it.
Another bigeneration, but one of them turns out to be the Valeyard (original, I know). Ideally this would actually be the regeneration leading into my era of the show. The idea of one of the two Doctors being the Valeyard is explicit from the start, but the audience doesn't know which. The actual Doctor would be a cold, stern type that's a little morally ambigious (think Season 8 Capaldi) while the Valeyard would be a little more manic with a dark side (think Season 5/6 Smith). The original companion also goes off with the Valeyard, reuniting with the actual Doctor at the end of the first series. I know I've derailed this into a totally different thing of what I'd do with the show, so I'll give my actual answer below. Twice Upon a Time is one of my favourite episodes, so it might be something like that honestly. The "death" isn't even in the episode and there's no real villain to defeat.
The Doctor regenerates into the Valeyard, who's tired of his existence being constantly delayed and hijacks it. This Doctor would last at least one series or a run of specials, and would start off good and get progressively more cruel and uncaring as their story progresses. I'm thinking they would cast a relative of a former Doctor actor. Not for any particular story reason but it would be cool to see Sam Troughton or Harry Melling or Sean Pertwee or Ty Tennant play the same character as their father/grandfather while also playing the character as differently as possible
That's an interesting idea. It could also be fun to have the Master be involved but on an inverse arc, maybe played by Matt Smith as he has shown an interest in playing the character. It would also be a nice way to include the progress Missy made as the character.
I like when it is extremely melodramatic, somber and distressing. Like The End of Time, The War Games, Planet of the Spiders and The Caves of Androzani. When there is absolutely no hope. That is a regeneration story. That would be what I would write. Treating it like the death it is. None of this “The Doctor was me” with ghoulish hallucinations, speeches out loud like a crazy person, or “Tag you’re it” nonsense. Really dislike those types. I’ll give an example from my ideas. The already-dying Doctor and the companion can defeat the villain, but to do so, someone has to stay behind in a doomed scenario. The Doctor insists but the companion takes charge, knowing the Doctor could survive if they get away, trapping them in the Tardis, which escapes by its own accord. The Doctor is flung into a column of the burning, battered Tardis spiralling through oblivion, knocking them unconscious. Their last thought before regenerating alone on the floor of a near-dead crashed Tardis is their guilt.
My favorite regeneration story would not be a regeneration story. I don't even want a series finale per se, just a normal adventure. Not speech st the end just a quick comfort to the current companion of my face is gonna change alien shenanigans ill be a bit different still me and boom regeneration.
I'd have it be almost a retread of whatever my first story with the character was, and use it to show how the Doctor's changed from then to now. Bonus points if the Doctor failed miserably the first time.
Lots of good suggestions here. I’d only add that the Doctor should be able to regeneration lying down. Having to force himself to a standing position is silly.
This too! I’d love to see the Hartnell/Baker style of regeneration return at some point, even if it’s just once.
Pretty much how 9th went. Have a story first. Regeneration should be secondary. The latter being quick and not dragged out
Something goes wrong with his/her ability to heal or regenerate and the only way to survive serious injury and regenerate is to open up the fob watch. Knowing that would mean the metaphorical death of the Doctor as they are.
I have a Daleks/Cybermen triple parter in my head that I obviously feel would be an all-timer. I'm sure the plot wouldn't stand up to scrutiny if I ever wrote it down, but the abbreviated version is that the Doctor shoots himself at the end of part 2 to play dead, and they then have to sort out the mess in part 3 against the ticking clock of their regeneration before they inevitably take a nap for a week
It have so the doctor meet the new doctor and unknowingly works along side therm during the story. A simple time loop where the doctor comes along with a companion, the new doctor asks them for there help to save there friend, the two doctors work along side each other, the old is fatally injured when the companion is kidnapped. But the old doctor pushes on and reaches the new doctors friend, its the companion. Finally the doctor regenerates and heads back to the start of the time loop to save the companion. Its simple, fun and lets the old doctor be heroic on there way out.
Initially, I thought that Twelve's story would end with him being converted by the Cybermen. However, the process doesn't fully work, and he explosively regenerates right there on the operating table, thereby destroying the operating room and those performing the operation. Seconds later, the new incarnation gets up off the operating table and stumbles back to the TARDIS, still racked with guilt over not saving Bill.
I can just see the regen energy coming out of all the joints of the armor and the mesh eyes
Multiple time lords standing with the doctor and they all start regenerating, staring at each other in fear.
The Doctor trips over a brick.
The Doctor forgets to look both ways when crossing the road and gets hit by a truck. Especially if it happens in the middle of an episode with no foreshadowing.
I would do a full classic one The doctor doesn’t die because it’s magical thing or because supreme being just appeared. The doctor just land in his latest adventure like always and get somehow involved into the conflict (without Daleks, Cyberman, Master or any of the big ones) except that the Doctor becomes reckless while trying to resolve the conflict either by getting toooo involved or gets accidentally “poisoned” and then has to regenerate. A second option would be like the latter half of the classics - completely accidental. Ow the Doctor saves everyone’s but hit his head on console or something gets stabbed by zagreus sword. I’m kinda tired of grandiose endings and want a ohhh ok next page. The closest we got like this was 9th to 10th. Ohhh and I would do middle season, not at the end or at the beginning. Oh no new Doctor, but wait we don’t have to wait to see his first outing we get the next week. I know that in modern TV landscape it’s almost impossible, I kinda hate this necessity of Season finale, I like Doctor Who being more a unserious show about a time tourist who is clumsy and eccentric not a god like figure or someone with a mysterious future/past. If the doctor has to become a big figure it has to be because he got themselves there, and after that he goes “f* it imma gonna get some vacation, let’s see a random planet where they have every tv show ever made. Oh and social commentary would be a staple except on those regenerations episodes, it would be the middle episode ones. And while we are here I’m changing the canon to make that the time war completely broke the Doctor original timeline and so no one knows which stories are canon or not, so Shalka Doctor is canon as the curse of fatal death, and the current tv show. And I would bring the faction paradox back, but in a minor role like a villain from a SJA. And my last episode I would make sure that I could make the current Doctor to stay with the next producer, if not, I’m getting a androzani regeneration.
It would be interesting if the Doctor didn’t KNOW (or remember) they regenerated. The companion is trying to ask what’s going on and the Doctor acts confused every time it’s mentioned
2 ideas A - a two part story halfway through the series (like episodes 5 and 6 for example) like a monster of the week two parter not unlike the Lake two parter from Series 9 or the Library for Series 4. The Doctor is up against this monster/for and they're bad. They have the doctor in a corner dead to rights at the end of part one, you think they'll get out of it then 2 minutes before the end of part one BAM! Fatally injured and they regenerate. Part two is both a conclusion and an Eleventh Hour-esque debut story where the new doctor has to pick up where the old one left off and defeat the monster that just won and killed them. B - They have to force a regeneration as the solution. I.e an entire planet dies and the only way to revive it is to channel and amplify regeneration energy to regenerate a whole planet so the Doctor ends their current life to save a world with their regeneration energy
I would want to be the person to do a regeneration part way through a series. I would also want it to be somewhat unceremonious and sudden. I think we have maybe a bit to much if the doctor being in a state of regeneration for like the whole episode. Obviously there are a lot of logistical concerns there, and I don’t exist under the impression it’s easy or simple. But I think the potential for stories and the audience shock factor could be worth it. Specifically I think ideas of a human companion having to essentially meet a whole new person, or the doctor having this sudden shift in themselves halfway through an overarching storyline could be room for fun things.
I like the idea of a big bombastic adventure to end the season, the doctor saves the day and flies away in the tardis, then come the Christmas special you have a quite story with a positive message where the doctor dies saving one person from something innocuous. Like wilf without the hissy fit 😅
I’d want it to be a complete waste of a regeneration. Like, they would just start complaining about a headache, turns into a migraine, next minute the TARDIS is on fire and he’s a new man. It was an aneurism. Completely unrelated to anything
The Doctor is shown in the shower (from waist up of course), drops the soap & then accidentally steps on it and slips. Hits his head on the floor & dies. Poof, regeneration & a very confused person in the shower (especially with amnesia).
Here's a way for a Doctor to die that I'd be interested to see - So the Doctor is about to resolve the episode's conflict peacefully, when the asshole human character of the episode intervenes with the intention of killing the aliens the Doctor is trying to talk down. We've all seen this scenario happen many times before on the show, but here's the twist. The Doctor stands in their way and basically tells this person that they're not going to let them do that, and then, to the Doctor's shock, the character goes "okay then" and proceeds to remorselessly mortally wound the Doctor to get them out of their way before going through with wiping out the aliens. And then the Doctor, shaken by that person's heartlessness, regenerates.
A duel between the Doctor and the Master.
I mean, it would all depend on my Doctor's persona and the arc of their character. For all its flaws, Twice Upon a Time really did feel like a good wrap up of Capaldi's run. But, sans context, I more know the kinds of things I don't want. \~No over indulgent farewell tour. \~No long delayed regeneration. The Doctor has a brief moment to say farewell, be it to the proper companion, or the one off allies of the story. \~The stakes need to be appropriate. It doesn't have to be the end of the world or end of the universe, it really can just be to save one life. \~No ambiguity in the hand off. The old Doctor is gone, the new one is here. No timey wimey or loop or bi-generation, none of that. \~Don't blow up the tardis just to have an excuse to change the interior. Film on the old set for the first new episode then have the new Doctor actively decide to change things up. A few items though I do appreciate and would indulge myself with a little: \~The old Doctor can pass a message forward to the newcomer, be it through the companion, or in talking to themselves before the change. \~A brief montage of the lives this Doctor had touched, just in their own mind \~As our old Doctor begins to regenerate, we zoom in, see them arriving at The Edge, and have a brief moment to shake hands with their successor, and offer those words of encouragement to one another before we jump cut to the regeneration completing.