Doctor Who: The PERFECT Regeneration Theory You Need To Know
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- Every regeneration in Doctor Who is literally life-changing. But is there more to them than meets the eye? Let's chat about a theory that might just make you view regeneration in a completely different way!
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I love the variance between 10 and 11. The Tenth Doctor was cool. Effortlessly so. He swaggered about and did the geek chic look, and just was *cool*. After he regenerates, 11 still thinks he's cool. He tries to do what 10 used to do, and just couldn't pull it off. Like at all. It's funny watching him try and fail, and just be kind of loveable and goofy instead.
11 was definitely "adorkable" and loveably goofy, and he also had a bit of a dark streak which emerged when someone he cared about was in danger.
But Bowties are still cool. Well to be fair I've always loved the look of bowties, so I thought they were cool before 11, but still.
Regeneration is like a dream. When you go to sleep you can’t pick what you’ll dream about but our dreams are often influenced by real life events. So if ur thinking a lot about a certain someone when your awake it’s more likely that your sub conscious will be thinking about them as well and they will likely pop up in dreams.
That’s a good way of seeing it
I legit had a dream n woke up then went back to sleep dreaming bout the same thing 🧍🏻
Excellent analogy! =:o}
Speak for yourself, as a lucid dreamer I can choose what I do in my dreams
@@AstralLaVista speak for myself what are twelve you are not special you can achieve this by meditation or just realize you are in a dream like huh it ain’t hard to tell what real and what’s not
One thing I’ve seen said is the 9th doctor took Clara’s accent from when he was the war doctor. They both have that northern accent
I had a similar theory about 12 regenerating into 13. 12 gets his memories of Clara back, then almost immediately afterwards turns into a woman with a northern accent - similar to what Ellie was saying about Amy making 12 turn out Scottish.
I love this theory. There's no way writers and showrunners could think that far ahead unless they own their personal TARDIS, but it turns the coincidence into a part of Whoniverse in a brilliant way.
Lots of planets have a north
There's a character in the audios named Lucie Miller who has both a northern accent and regularly says "fantastic!" She's an Eighth Doctor companion, one of his best friends, and one of the few of his companions to actively condemn him for being cruel. He called her "one of the noblest beings in the universe" and named her when he died in The Night of the Doctor. (SPOILERS REGARDING LUCIE BELOW)
Lucie's death was also one of the main turning points regarding the Eighth Doctor's morality (which led to him becoming the War Doctor) and the way he acted regarding the Time War (and wars in general).
Wouldnt Rose have made more sense though, since he technically spent more time with her, and was the ONLY one to see her?
'So the 11th doctor had two companions'
Rory 'I waited 2000 years to no be counted?'
JUSTICE FOR RORY
Thank you for mentioning!
12 Looks like Old Rory with Amy's Scottishness!!!
Rory wasn't the Doctor's companion. He was more like Amy's carry-on luggage that kept getting lost and finding its way back.
Honestly i think because he knows rory lived 4 2 thousand years he's sorta treated like a jack, because they really didn't need help on understanding what he sorta goes through so instead of companion there more like a regular friend because a companion needs the doctor jack and rory didn't really need him@adamhenry7043
I feel like 12 changing into 13 was to do with Missy and how the Doctor felt pride in her growth as a character during a female regeneration
Also, she had to redeem a female regeneration (because he didn't know that Missy did stand with him in the end).
If you've not read it (though you likely have), may I suggest The Missy Chronicles, an anthology of stories about the Master's fabulous femme-fatale side, published in 2018. There's one story in there that tantalises a meeting between Missy and 13.
@@peterratter6603 I have not! Will have to check it out!
Also Clara casually said he might return to Gallifrey as a queen not a king. The seed was planted for a while.
Came here to say this
Something about Three is that dresses like a gentleman. This fits with his man of action, James Bond style character, but it works when you consider the 'time' part of being a 'Time Lord' was taken from him, so he focused on the 'lord' part.
I can fit it into the 7-8 regeneration. 7, when we see him at the beginning of the movie, has no companion, and we don't know how long he's been alone for. When he regenerates into 8, he's a blank slate. He doesn't know who he is, why he's there, or what happened to him. It has to slowly come back to him over the course of events.
The Tardis I think also has some influence on regeneration, like when 10's face came back just before he met Donna, similar to how the Tardis often takes the Doctor to where they are needed instead of where they want to go.
I've also seen people say the that the redemption of Missy and 12 still having that hope that there's a good Time Lady out there in the back of his mind influence his 13th incarnation.
Something that can be added to this is that 11 was also with Clara who just saw him age up into a space Grandpa, So Capaldi.
6:49 I personally think he took a bit of Amy, yes, but he also changed for Clara. He allowed the facade to lower. Not only did he become Scottish, but he became older too. Clara kept coming back during the Siege of Trenzalore and each time she saw him, he was older. He definitely realised he could trust her that last time.
Ncuti's Doctor is comfortable with his emotions and doesn't bottle them up. Donna was driving home how 10/14 needed therapy.
4:42 that very hissyfit is why I think Smith was the perfect follow-up to Tennant. 10's ego death renders him as such a child in his final moments, and 11 was just that childish energy bubbling up from under the surface until it burst!
It does open the door for a future evil incarnate of the Doctor, not dark like 12, but a Doctor out and out corrupted by picking the wrong companions(s) to travel with. Could be a fun way to loop in the Valeyard.
That’s a great idea - let’s see how a rotten companion could affect the Doctor’s next regeneration!
@@WhoCulture Possibly, this has already happened as Vislor Turlough was "employed" by the Black Guardian to kill the 5th Doctor, although Turlough never carries out his instructions. Upon the 5th's regeneration into the 6th Doctor, the Doctor tries to kill Peri!
I would love to see it but it'd never happen.
Closest we got was Harkness imprint on 10, we could really see the parallels
I have a theory that River Song recognizes The Doctor in the Library, because she met the Fourteenth Doctor first.
As always thank you so very much for the video.
(And Mr. Davies, make it so, please. Either as a cameo, side-story, or short. PLEASE.)
Eight’s regeneration into War is an interesting spin on this theory. By Night of the Doctor, he’s travelling alone and kind of adrift. He then attempts to save someone and is actively rejected in a way that has rarely happened before or since, all because he’s a Time Lord and blamed for the war. His decision to become a lone warrior might come from a belief that no one will even want to be his companion again, and implicitly knowing that he cannot even be the Doctor without one. (After all, the next time he went without a companion for too long, we got the Time Lord Victorious.)
I personally think that people can choose their regenerations, the doctor has full on regenerated into other peoples faces multiple times (6th doctor taking on a different timelords face, 12 taking on that Pompeii guys face and even 14 taking on 10’s face. I believe river also chose some cosmetic things in let’s kill Hitler) however the doctor doesn’t like choosing his face since he is always running
When 8 regenerates into War, he's just barely survived a major crash where someone refused to allow him to save her, purely because of the war his people were perpetrating. And the War Doctor that came out of it, he was exactly a Doctor who could not only end the war, but bring himself to FIGHT in it, abandoning everything he stood for so that No More innocents would be lost.
except for all those young Gallifreyans.
not just someone, but the person he died for was a former companion of his whose timeline was entirely rewritten to make it so she never travelled with him
@@onyourleft4194 ??? .... Where does that come from? I mean, it makes sense as an idea, but I've not seen it/heard it anywhere before.
@@therealpbristow Cass Fermazzi (the woman 8 died for) travelled with the 8th Doctor in the Big Finish audios Meanwhile, Elsewhere; Vespertine; & Previously, Next Time. Her timeline was rewritten in the last one. (Fun fact: 13 was also the one to give Cass her bandolier - the same one the War Doctor takes after Regenerating.)
(also all of this info is found in the expanded universe, but you can read a summary on the tardis wiki. i have a special interest in dr who so i know way too much abt it lmao)
@@onyourleft4194 Thanks. I lost track of all the Big Finish stuff about 16-17 years ago, thanks to a sudden (unintended!) career switch, so I'm only familiar with their first decade... Yes, they've been going that long! =:o}
Classic Who, specifically with Romana did, iirc, indicate that Timelords can normally choose their faces (and NuWho has also indicated this when Mels regenerated into River- the line where she was focusing on a dress size) but that the Doctor is just bad at it- though of course other instances of NuWho showing other Timelords regenerate have also indicated randomness
But this seems like a solid theory to me.
What I remember from Romana is that if you trigger the regeneration early, you can choose your face. However, if it triggers because you are dying, you don't really have the time/focus to make that choice.
@@jerwheel When Romana regenerated, she tried out several faces before settling on one. The Doctor was amazed that it could be done and Romana replied that "he should have stayed in school longer". Romana was proud of her several degrees from Timelord University and she had mocked him when they first met that he had barely managed to graduate. and I remember when the Eleventh Doctor met the Curator, the Curator made a remark that in the future the Doctor would revisit some of the Doctor's favorite faces.
I pointed out in another comment that Romana cycled through a bunch of different looks before choosing the form of Princess Astra.
"The eleventh doctor had 2 companions" Rory crying in the corner
absolutely believe this theory, especially in regards to 9 & 10. it kind of falls apart for 11 tho, as he was basically trying to clean the slate. i do like 13 however, maybe becoming more "fun" and scatterbrain high energy because of Bill!
I freaking loved Bill and hated how dirty the did her.
And as always poor Martha is forgotten/ignored. I like the theory it hold more then many other theories.
I've always theorized this exact theory, how the relationships the Doctor has with his companions and what happens affects the incoming regeneration. Rose helped soften and heal 9. Ten's romance with Rose, the unrequited love from Martha made 11 a bit more goofy, childlike and uninterested in romantic entanglements. The loss of the Ponds made 12 not only Scottish, but more serious as he blamed himself for it. 12 turning into a female, that is because of Missy.
12 had 4 female companions: Clara, Bill, Missy, and River, die because of him. Regenerating into a female could have been a way to honor them.
To extend your premise, Adam, Turlough, and Missy all rubbing off on the Doctor may have helped lead to the Valyard. Perhaps even the worst parts of Glitz and handsome Jack?
Definitely think there's a lot of truth in this. As well as the ones you mentioned, 12 to 13 was heavily influenced by the loss of both Missy - a female incarnation of a usually male Time Lord - and Bill Potts, a strong and brave woman who loved women (which possibly also affected 13's feelings for Yaz). 1 to 2 was more or less just a rejuvenation because his companions were younger and he no longer needed the authority of a 'grandfather'; 2 to 3 was forced, so probably no obvious psychological influence there; 3 to 4 was younger to match Sarah Jane and to renew his wanderlust; 4 to 5 was younger still as he was surrounded by young people (and the choice of cricket outfit was probably due to him subconsciously thinking 'team').
It is strongly implied ( especially in the bbc books) that timelords can choose. Unfortunately, the dr tends to regenerate during a crisis, so does not get to choose what he looks like.
It's been clearly shown that they can choose. The Second Doctor was given a choice but he was stalling and being picky so the council made the choice for him. Romana straight up cycled through bodies and tried them on like clothes before choosing the look like Princess Astra. The Master when regenerating from Professor Yana choose to look young and dashing because The Doctor was younger as well. As you said The Doctor unusually regenerates during a crisis or heads directly into one, he probably takes a form the would be most suitable for the situation at hand but is influenced by other factors such as his companions.
In the Doctor Who game, getting to choose the form of your next regeneration was a special ability you could select. Also, of course, Romana 1 chose the form of Princess Astra for Romana 2.
I like the idea that regeneration is is partly biased in favour of the local genetic samples. Resulting in every regeneration drifting in interesting ways based on resent genetic proximity. Given that idea the timelord city being so isolationist turning them all stuffy(a kin to partly inbreeding with each regeneration) and then war crazy after Lela started to live with them before the Time War.😮
The novelization of "Destiny of the Daleks" established that Time Lords can learn to control their regeneration through training, the physical aspect at least. When the episode originally aired, some fans were upset that a serious and responsible Time Lord like Romana was shown wasting a half dozen regenerations for simple vanity. The novelization stated that her training enabled her to pause and resume a single regeneration multiple times, getting all her new faces from a single regeneration before finally settling on a copy of Princess Astra's face.
What a wonderful theory! There is a saying in my language that sounds (approximately) in English like, "The more time you hang out with a person, the more you become like them." So, yeah...
They also all have a similar accent to whoever they thought about last
Did you know that Clara’s favourite book was written by Amy pond and Amy’s favourite book featured the panostra gang so this is technically 1 big time loop
I don't remember this book with the Paternoster gang!
The cicada screeches over Matt Smiths slightly gormless and blank face made me laugh so much I got chest pains now... That's exactly the noise his brain would be playing at that exact moment.
That was REALLY good. Maybe the best analysis you’ve done but why leave out 15?
i think because 15's run isn't finished. every other doctor has had all of their (TV) story arcs completed, so it's easier to say something for sure. if they talked about 15, it could very easily be disproven in the christmas special or in the next season
@@onyourleft4194 I don’t know, they’ve discussed aspects of 15’s personality in other videos and they don’t seem averse to making predictions. Going into the bigeneration thing in this light would be very interesting.
@@Carpedog2206 ah i didn't know about that. that was my best guess, so idk why they didn't talk abt 15
You always do that Mona Lisa smile at the end. Thank you, though, Ellie. It's always pleasant to hear your voice.
You do realise that smiling Mona Lisa was the one they used to replace the stolen one in City of Death. Before that episode aired, Mona Lisa wasn't smiling.
@@geoffroi-le-Hook I think the Who franchise should hire Ellie as one of the recurring characters. Go Ellie!
In the classic series Ramana went through several looks before we got the one that traveled with the 4th
Exactly. Not only did she seem to have control of her look, but she purposely based on a person that they'd recently met. Also, one of the Doctors once said that they have some measure of control over a regeneration for the first few hours. Though I never saw it mentioned again.
And the master has said he can control his regeneration.
@@_Jem_The first regeneration I saw was when the master assumed the body of Tremas of Trakken. The actor who played Tremas went on to play the Master (4th-7th Doctors).
The Master's Trakken regeneration wasn't a normal regeneration though - I think he actually took over someone else's body rather than renewing his own.
@@darrengamer8189 That's true the Master stole the body so it wasn't a regeneration, Just like in the Come back Movie so he has stolen a body twice. It wasn't until New Who the Master said he can control his regeneration, But we have never seen a regeneration of the Master.
I wish somehow Amy had met 12. In fact, there's many companions that I wish met 12. Peter Capaldi was my Doctor
Maybe he did. Maybe the Doctor visit old companions with new faces off screen, I am sure Big Finish has done stuff with this
Pcap hasn't done big finish yet but fingers crossed he does eventually 😊@@arthemis1039
While the general rule of Americans not playing The Doctor should still stand I contend that Michelle Pfeiffer would be very stellar and varied as any/every major Time Lord from Rassilon to Missy to Omega I feel she could bring whatever power/intensity/intrigue/wit that any time lord role could need.
I definitely think 11 became older to Avert young companions falling for him, Scottish to honor amy, and colder and more awkward to preserve his hearts
I never thought about your theory before
it brings an interesting and believable element into the doctors re-generation plus I see a little of 15’s new personality in the 14th Dr.
One thing I love about this theory is I recently rewatched 9's era, and when he says all of those things to Adam about him making a stupid decision by downloading all of the knowledge of the universe into his mind, it really goes to show that he, especially the 9th doctor, fresh from war, would want nothing to do with someone like Adam.
I think that's one of the kindest things the Doctor has ever done for themselves.
Another great video I really enjoy watching these keep up the great work. Also really cool and interesting theory I saw similar versions of this online but this one puts it in perspective and I like the idea of the doctor’s companions having an impact on the doctor’s regenerations.
The transition from 7 and 8 is the most interesting to me
That's awesome, I feel like maybe one of the most direct iterations of this was Night of the Doctor with 8. He meets a potential new companion who rejects him because of the war, and so he becomes the War Doctor in an effort to end the war.
1 into 2 - Makes sense
2 into 3 - Makes sense
3 into 4 - The Doctor started having some feelings for Sara Jane, but wanted to avoid them, so we got a mix. A Doctor who was both human enough to show emotion while being alien enough to (mostly) separate his emotion when needed.
4 into 5 - After the fall a more durable and athletic body?
5 into 6 - We previous companions tell him he has to live and the Master tell him to die (in a kind of quasi dream state). And with sacrificing his life he became a Doctor who chose to do what had to be done and to hell with what anyone else thinks.
6 into 7 - He was a bit too serious. He still does what has to be done, but he's a bit more carefree for the most part.
7 into 8 - I got nothing. That regeneration was creepy as all hell to watch though.
8 into War - He finally accepted that he has no choice but to fight in the Time War.
War into 9 - His memory of trying to save Gallifrey was fading because of how muddled the timeline was with 1-13 crossing their personal timestream in a major way. So he remembers the fighting. He realizes his body is old. So 9 isn't just the doctor who carries all of the hatred and anger, 9 is also coping with a form of PTSD.
I always felt that the regeneration from 3 into 4 produced a more youthful look because the process had been given a little “push” by the Doctor’s former Time Lord mentor, K’anpo Rimpoche.
I always saw the 5th Doctor's arc as being a man born into the universe full of hope, only to be beaten down by a universe full of suffering, with his regeneration into the crass 6th Doctor being influenced by the more kind-hearted Doctor's tarnished hope.
Don't you dare call my darling 6. crass!
That. . .actually really works well. I hadn't really thought about it like that, but that really does make a ton of sense.
I love the canonical sheer amount of life saving things within a Time Lord’s physiology. Missy really sums it up when she says “I’m gonna need eight snipers!” And I don’t remember where each shot was supposed to be, but it was an insane amount.
I've always thought that 12th was older because Clara had a crush on 11th. She even needed a call from the past to accept 12th, even when she knew about regeneration more than any other companion before! As soon as The Doctor became older, she got a boyfriend.
Cassanova (over) - the author Terry Pratchett had, in his DiscWorld novels, a character: a dwarf (short person) named Cassanunda (under) who carried a stepladder around with him for those moments when he would work his charm on a lady.
Five had the cowardly and self-centered Turlough which may have influenced his Sixth incarnation's avoidance behaviors (edit: also guilt over Adric's death). Then Six had Mel, the computer scientist, leading to Seven who was a master logician. Ace could have influenced the more carefree and human Eight, and then we have circumstances. I think it honestly fits for most of the regenerations! This is such a good theory!
I have no idea if this is correct, but I love the amount of imagination and thought that went into coming up with this idea!!
I'm still waiting to understand why the 6th Doctor adopted the face of Commander Maxil, of all people...
My take on this: Five felt like he'd failed repeatedly to save people by being too much of a pushover. But he has mixed feelings about the idea of "toughening up"; Doesn't want to lose his compassion, or focus on protecting people. He realises he needs to be more pro-active against certain enemies, but doesn't want to become the one who "starts the fight". He remembers Maxil: an example of a tough guy held in check by authority, by the fact that he had a job to do... But who's a bit too single-minded and overzealous... Maybe just a *bit* of that toughness, that air of authority, but tempered with more compassion...?
But his thoughts are muddled and clouded by the Spectrox poisoning, and he's battling some serious self-doubt, and besides he never did have the knack of properly control over his regenerations... The image of Maxil comes through in exactly the ways he *didn't* intend: The face, the smugness, and the hard-to-control aggression.
The very easy one is that 14 into 15 was a clear sign they had finally been able to compartmentalise a lot of the heavy baggage from the last few incarnations
I think I can work the "imprinting" theory and the "subconcious face adoption" theory to at least three of the Doctors. The Fourth Doctor, for example, could have "pre-imprinted" on Sarah Jane due to their strong friendship; their accents are similar imho and they both have compatable senses of humor. Then there's the Fifth Doctor - rather younger looking than his previous self (reflective of his younger companions perhaps since Nyssa and Adric were basically teenagers), and the face he subconciously chose imho looked a lot like a younger version of Chancelor Goth and that was probably the Doctor's way to try to maintain his gravatas. The Sixth Doctor of course looked exactly like Maxil and had some of his arrogance and fire (which i've always enjoyed),and along with that a sense of defiance against (as Sixie himself might have said) "Machivellian miscreants". He chose that face to remind himself to be nobody's doormat and stand up for his rights as well as the rights of his companions and anyone else who he chose to give his protection.
I love this theory. IRL, it’s the writers/show needs, but the meta-in world view is so much satisfying!
I've thought about the Amy/Scottish influence, too. I've also thought that the 11th Doctor had such a childlike personality because he imprinted on little Amy, when she was the first face his face saw.
I have actually heard this theory before. I think it’s pretty solid 😁
It kinda confirmed in extended media that the personality of each incarnation is based on the experience of the previous one
People say that regeneration is the cause of drastic changes in the doctor personality , but i don't think regeneration is the only thing responsible
While regeneration causes the small changes, the big ones happened due to his character development
For example
2's personality is the result of 1's character arc from a grumpy and selfish old man to a heroic and caring grandpa, 2 got wronged by his people and his companions got taken away from him and got exiled, tha this caused the drastic change to 3's more serious personality that hates authority
6 encountered his evil future self the valyard, that made him so afraid that he was ready to do anything to stop the valyard , also he deep down wanted to be more in control to prevent more deaths than traveling with no plan , this created the 7th doctor who was ready to do anything never matters how twisted and cruel to stop evil
7 realized that his ways are wrong, that he losing his humanity and becoming a villain , he can't trust anyone's life in his hands anymore, that why he was traveling alone, he knew that deep down that he wanted to regenerate into someone more soft and soon he will die, but before he did it he speed runed some evil across time and space before regenerating into 8
8 in his late life lost so much that he became a broken man, and when the war came he had no choice but becoming a worrier
Flash forward to nuwho, 9's personality is the result of the trauma of the time war even though he tried to move on, this continued with him to 10, but he was started to heal, as we saw with 11, then trenzalor came and gived us series 8 unlikable 12, but we all saw the character development with him, 13 personality is the result of the doctor totally moving on from the time war and 15's personality is the result of 14 going through therapy
I’ve had a long running theory that each new Doctor represents something the previous Doctor lacked or an area he needed to grow in. I think I solidified it when Moffat described Matt as having the face an old man would create of a young man, or something like that.
This is a great theory, perhaps a "fantastic" one. If the theory is correct, the Doctor's regenerations would have something to do with his great *empathy* for everyone and everything around him. Including characters that the Doctor only meets once, such as Maxil. (The Sixth Doctor looked just like him.)
Also Colin Baker played the executioner before The Doctor. When Davison regenerates, he's close to death, has sacrificed himself, possibly lost friends due to his less commanding, boyish charm and is even haunted by The Master. He then regenerates into the more ruthless 6, who has the executioners face. He regenerated into someone able to battle the Master and his other enemies.
Fans have theorised this sort of thing for ages. For at least a decade. I always hoped we'd get the chance through some sort of multi-Doctor story shenanighans, an interaction between Amy and 12 where maybe she doesn't realise who he is and she's talking about her time with 11, and some day they'll part ways and have to stop, and maybe she wonders aloud whether, in the centuries to come, if he'll even remember her, and then 12 speaks in his little brogue and says something like, "You'll be with him. He'll carry a part of you wherever he goes." She'll remark on his accent and then later learn who he actually is. Big hug. The end.
This theory works with the classic Doctors too. 2 was more relaxed and humorous than 1. 3 was more establishment after being put on trial. 4 was more of a wanderer after being tied to UNIT on Earth. 5 kept himself less egotistical and questioned his decisions. 6 became more confident and 7 kept his confidence quiet and was more strategic.
I'm wondering if this theory can be applied to The Master's reincarnations too.
Does the Master travel with companions?
10s darkness started showing itself in The Runaway Bride when Donna had to stop him when he killed the Rachnoss children.
"The Eleventh Doctor had two companions".... Ahem... He had three: Amy, Rory and Clara
...and a wife/girlfriend/"what-are-we-this-week,-dear?". =:o}
There's a problem with this in the classic series, when Romana literally tries on several bodies before her regeneration. I don't know if this was a special skill she had, but there is a suggestion that there is usually some choice involved. Perhaps the Doctor's tendency to regenerate through trauma is atypical and screws this up.
It's a beautiful tapestry of doctor regenerations, thank you 🙂
Decided to go backward thru seasons/series of 12th - 9th doctors a while back and I swear the Dr and Amy had a conversation on what the doctor's regeneration where she straight up described the next doctor.
I was 15 when I heard David Tennant say "I don't wanna go" for the first time... HOW IS A 15 YEAR OLD SUPPOSED TO HANDLE THAT?!
I can also see this going from Matt Smith to Peter, Peter's dr dropped all pretense of saving the day because he accidently ended up in the situation and started purposely picking fights, going after the fights instead of planning on a "trip" and ending up in the situations
During matt smiths dr (starting with tenants ending time lord victorious) more and more people started calling him out on his "God complex" .or all this comes from me just finishing that episode..... one or the other lol
My personal theory is that Time Lords cannot control the appearance of their next incarnation organically (although they can use artificial machines to alter the process such as in the case of the Second Doctor or if you count the expanded media as cannon, looms) but they can nudge their subconscious in a general direction.
The Eighth Doctor decided, in his final moments to embrace the mantle of Solider and turned into the battle harden War Doctor.
The War Doctor, believing he had destroyed Gallifrey and ended the Time War, turned into the PTSD ridden Ninth Doctor who was tougher and less cuddly (for lack of a better word) than previous classic incarnations.
The Ninth Doctor, finally embracing his love for Rose in The Parting of the Ways, felt younger and in love and due to this the Tenth Doctor was a younger more romantic man.
The Tenth Doctor famous said ‘I don’t wanna go’ which would explain why the Eleventh Doctor is very similar to the Tenth Doctor.
The Eleventh’s Doctor regeneration into Twelve is particularly interesting in many ways. First of all, Eleven spent more than half of his life defending the town of Christmas and, when Clara was finally reunited with him, discovered he looked and certainly felt like an old man. This partly explains when the Twelfth Doctor is among the older incarnation. Between his regeneration of Eleven to Twelve The Doctor rang Clara from the TARDIS. During this conversation she confirmed that the Twelfth Doctor was ‘old’ and ‘grey’ thus creating a self fulfilling prophecy. Finally, inspired by Amy Pond whom the Eleventh Doctor had a particular bond with, the Twelfth Doctor adopted a Scottish accent.
The Twelfth Doctor, despite initially refusing to regenerate, was inspired my Missy’s male to female regeneration and decided to aim for that himself. The Thirteenth’s Doctor character does seem to come from the Twelfth’s Doctor departing speech which was essentially live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment.
Thirteenth’s regeneration back into the face of ten has been explained in show as the Doctor wanting to settle down with a ‘family’ or ‘fam’ to do rehab in the wrong order.
I really like this theory, I think #13 came out of his desire to change, to be better, he became someone radically different.
Mechanically I believe that regeneration works a bit like dreaming, that these are subconscious figures that rise to the surface. And that while dreams may be influenced by what went on that day, you never know which bits will stick, or your dreams may not have anything to do with the events of the day
Feels like the face they choose is just subconscious since as someone said when Capaldi came in with Clara and said he can be himself with her and not have to be a young face.
Anything in doctor who that looks like it's an intentional thing from randomness I chalk up up "cosmic coincidence" where the characters are so involved in the space time shenanigans that their actions invite cosmic coincidence
This would help explain why the Doctor jumps at the chance to get certain people to tag along, but seemingly shuts down adding others. He's slightly afraid of them being put in the regen lottery. Maybe it has something to do with being in the Tardis at somepoint
If Ncuti regenerated into Karen Gillan, the entire world would be watching
To me, 12-to-13 was influenced the most by Clara, who was a schoolteacher for most of her time as a companion. Thirteen acts so much like a schoolteacher that at various points she uses walls as a chalkboard!
This theory was actually confirmed in the final Sarah Jane story in the Classic era, The Hand of Fear. When Eldrad changes from a female body modelled on Sarah Jane to his original male body it is stated in the script that one factor in how a regeneration turns out are the characteristics of people nearby. And let's not forget Destiny of The Daleks where Romana was able to control her regeneration and pick her next body.
I've always believed the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 11th & 13th Doctors are who they truly are.
1st was someone who tempered his personality with TimeLord societal expectations, 3rd's personality was forced on him, 6th was trying to harden himself after the Adric trauma, I'm (retroactively) convinced 7 regained his memories of pre-Doctor Who escapades when his brand new regeneration was stuck in the time controller's cerebral mass (then re-erased during 8's amnesia rebirth).
War & 9 we know were traumatized by the Time War, and 10th was kind of a baby step towards returning to who he was.
I also think 14's regeneration might have been made possible due to lingering effects from the forced degeneration with the Master.
I agree. Madam Vastea also stressed to Clara that the face he puts on are for his companions.
Part of Mawdryn Undead talked about being around other humans helps according to the Brigader. Also, in "Destiny of the Daleks" with Romana and her being able to regenerate as some Timelords are able to do and have more control over it. (but not the doctor tries to avoid this) and shooting the General in Hell Bent.
It certainly fits with the observation that "you are the average of the five people you spent the most time with." (from Jim Rohn, author)
Except if this Doctor Who theory is correct, it's an even more literal meaning of that observation.
I posit that the Doctor's regenerations also adapt to become whatever is needed for their time. (Just chalk it up to "timey-wimey stuff.) In other words, I think that the Doctor's regenerations are as much (or more) proactive, as they are reactive.
... It's a time travel show with a unique set of rules, which also evolve over time. I wouldn't say that they get rewritten, but more that they are found to be more rich and complex and nuanced, just like our understanding of humanity and the nature of the universe have.
Well, if you read the complete history of dr who, which I'm not even sure if that site is still up now or not, but they'd taken every book, radio play, show, and ect before new who, and put it all into a single understandable timeline, they explain that early versions of the regeneration were HEAVILY influenced by the beings that surrounded you during your regeneration. Hence why the doctor in the 1996 movie said he was half human after regenerating in a morgue surrounded by human bodies. During the timewar they renewed that aspect and set it loose so that if a timelord died in battle they'd regenerate as a hybrid of what ever races were on the battlefield. Resulting in strange miss mashed creatures that would ultimately be cannon fodder.
And that's also where we learn why the doctor wants to be Ginger. Because if he ever regenerates into a Ginger, we'll finally have an answer as to if he was Merlin or not. Because the only time any version of the Doctor was offically Ginger, was in the comic where he meets a version of himself in King Aruthor's court, going by the name of Merlin, but it's always been assumed that was the Doctor from the sideways dimension, but it's entirely possible now with the unlimited regenerations that that was one of his past or future selves.
Of course I like the theory that Clara's the reason why we'll never get a proper return of the Valyard now. Because the Valyard was who he became when he created the black scrolls, and he was in the process of writing them when he met Clara in victorian london. Meeting her stopped him from going down the path that would have turned him into a monster who ruined lives just to steal his own future regenerations so he could change future events from his previous self's pov.
despite 14 being in between them, i thing a lot of thirteen's relationship with her companions impacts 15 as well. for example, she keeps a lot from them in terms of her past and trauma and even things she's going through in the present and she sees how much it hurts them, particularly yaz. but then 15 is a lot more open with ruby and comfortable talking about the time war with her
I've honestly had this theory for years. Every single regeneration can be tied in some part to the previous regeneration's companions both on and off screen. For instance 6th Doctor's companion Evelyn Smythe was a great influence into why he was a great deal calmer by the time he meets Mel. But again the reason for the 7th doctors great deal of manipulation has in part a lot was due to the complicated circumstance in which he met Mel in the first place, having met her before he was even supposed to meet her. (It's a whole thing...)
I've always felt each Time Lord has a different level of control when it comes to regeneration; Romana demonstrated a very high level, choosing Princess Astra, but then cycling through a few options before settling back on Princess Astra, all of which I assume (and the show's continuity supports) is a single regeneration.
The Doctor, on the other hand, has absolutely no control, and when they register the possibility their current face was "chosen", it's established that they don't know why, and only later come to understand it (perhaps the TARDIS is involved in "nudging" the regeneration in a certain direction, because it clearly wants what's best for the Doctor).
So you can probably make a case for each separate incarnation being somehow influenced by the previous one, which makes you then wonder if the Sixth Doctor tried to murder Peri because of some lingering resentment at his previous incarnation having sacrificed himself to save her...
And, with this fresh slant in mind, how and why does the Valeyard exist?
Romana's regeneration in the classic series adds weight to this if you ignore the silliness of Romana apparently being able to try on faces like hats.
It is interesting that Rose saw Ten's face long before meeting 9th and (as pointed out) 10 saw 12's from a previous adventure.
My understanding of “controlled” regeneration v “uncontrolled” regeneration has always been that it is based on the cause of the regeneration.
The Doctor, in contrast to say Romana, is that his regenerations are usually the result of fatal trauma where if he didn’t do it NOW he’d just die (granted the Endless Child changed some of the equation in that he can’t die unlike other Time Lords). In contrast, when Romana regenerated for unknown reasons (other than Mary Tamm out & Lala Ward in) was able to casually try on new bodies until she landed on one that looked like the Princess Astra (?) from the final Key to Time serial.
The guard the Doctor gave a case of “manflu” while rescuing Clara from the last moment of her life that set the precedent of changing gender & skin tone (hesitant to say race because that might be an Earth concept the Time Lords roll their eyes at) would also be an example of a traumatic regeneration.
That said, there may be room for the Doctor when going to the “in between regeneration zone” to momentarily go ‘I’d like to be more [this]’ and have it be a crapshoot of what happens, (eg, I want Amy’s red hair, I get an old Scotsman with face from a different regeneration based on some other desire (eg, to remember to save people)). If that room now exists … I like it.
I mean, 10th literally told Rose that when he met her, he was angry, born out of war (9th) and then she changed him (I always took it to mean that she influenced his regeneration).
Romana picked her face, the Doctor just likes it to be random because they want to be surprised.
You are correct in that they change to best suit their new attitudes and having been influenced by their companions. Also, I feel like being with River, Bill, Clara, and Missy as Twelve definitely influenced the change to becoming a female version of the Doctor. They wanted to change and experience things from their eyes, their perspective, the Doctor didn't remember being female so they wanted that. They needed that kind of change after seeing how profound it was for Missy.
My head-canon explanation is one simple thing...Multi-Doctor stories. There have been several adventures, I'm looking at you Day of the Doctor, where the Doctor meets his past and FUTURE incarnations...thus making them a fixed point, or fixed regeneration.
After The Key to Time. Romana regenerated into the actress who played the sixth piece. IIRC she was choosing her face.
I love this theory! I love it so much that it's the basis of my fanfic.
I really like this theory, it fit almost perfectly with a lot of the doctor's iterations.
The original series already explained this. Regeneration, for most time lords is something they can't choose exactly, but is influenced by their experiences as shown. However, there are two ways to control regeneration. First, is by the Sisters who can brew a concoction that will force specific traits in a regeneration, which the Doctor has used before. This can force a regeneration to be, male, female, blond, brunette, however the choice is never laid out with exacts because the concoction allows the Time Lord to choose what they need. Not necessarily what they look like.
The second way, is sheer power of will, as shown on-screen by the Doctor's Daughter being able to choose her own regeneration and being chastised by The Doctor for choosing a prominent face they had previously met.
Are you confusing Jenny with Romana? The Doctor didn’t know Jenny regenerated, so he couldn’t chastise her.
@@judithstrachan9399 Shoot, I tihnk you're right. IT's been forever since I've seen the old series lol
Take a look at the regeneration of Romana when with the fourth doctor. She was trying on different bodies and personalities for a while until she settled on one that looked just like princess Astra
Trouble is it's really easy to sift through all the experiences of an incarnation of the Doctor looking for connections with their next incarnation. What happens to everything left on the cutting room floor? A better explanation is that the actors change and bring in their own take on the Doctor. Romana changing from Mary Tamm to Lalla Ward depicts Time Lords being able to choose their regeneration outcome, although I always interpreted this difference as either the Doctor is poorly trained (he stole his TARDIS so is he really a fully licenced Time Lord?) and so doesn't have full control like other Time Lords have, or it was because she chose to regenerate and so there was no urgency. Would make sense that in a planned out, peaceful process you would have more control than a sudden emergency situation caused by trauma.