Quick Note: Obviously no one has any knowledge of how the Eighth Doctor regenerates into the Ninth Doctor so this countdown is minus one so I figured I would just acknowledge that now.
9. Seventh to Eighth Doctor (Doctor Who TV Movie, 1996)- From watching the recent regeneration documentary on the War Games DVD, this one gets a lot of flack but I don't see the trouble in this one. I know showing one Doctor regenerate into a new one that will encompass the most of your viewing of the tv movie may seem a bit out of place especially when you are targeting a new audience that knows nothing of the original series and seeing the protagonist fail upon introduction is not a great idea but it's the only way to establish continuity. Just how this new Doctor got to this point needed to be explained. It's also key to note that is the most violent circumstance of the Doctor needing to regenerate as he is brutally gunned down while exiting the TARDIS and for 1996 when American television was heavy on sex and violence it fit firmly into the psyche of Doctor Who heading into a new century or at least what was attempted sadly.
8. Sixth to Seventh Doctor (Time and the Rani 1987) Here is a tricky one. Here you have the circumstances of having your leader actor fired from the role and needing to fastly replace him with no regeneration story and an actor not willing to return to record a quick regeneration sequence. The whole of "Time and the Rani" let alone the whole of Season 24 of Doctor Who focuses on setting in place finally the introduction of a new Doctor that is needed to be brought out of nowhere. Indeed this story has you sitting there wondering 'what has happened to Colin Baker?' With all do respect to Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor which tries so hardly to keep the show above water, especially towards the end, the troubled history of this regeneration spared from anything regarding continuity within the show lies in the behind the scenes trouble of keeping the show in place towards the end of the eighties. Nobody wanted it, and within one decade we had scene almost four doctors on screen. The actual regeneration while dubious of its actual circumstances within the show's canocity actually looks believable onscreen eventhough years later we would find out that McCoy himself donned a blonde wig to play the sixth Doctor in his own introduction scene. It also doesn't help that the idea that the Doctor simply bumped his head on the console and regenerates makes him seem so vulnerable and not the strong minded character views have grown to love over the show's lifespan. One strong point to the controversy of the reason behind the Sixth Doctor's regeneration is in fiction, especially during the Virgin New Adventure's novelization it allowed for some interesting storylines involving the Seventh Doctor believing he intentionally killed off his sixth persona to be born. There was even a BBC book novelization years later called "Spiral Scratch" which gave a justifiable reason to the Sixth Doctor's regeneration, so not all is lost in this troubled episode.
7. First to Second Doctor (Tenth Planet, 1966) It may seem shameful to put the very first instance of regeneration within Doctor Who this far down but due to a lack of build up within in the story to the actual event (probably for good reasons) and a lack of real footage from the final episode of the "Tenth planet," the first regeneration is lost on a real impact. After fighting off the Cybermen in the North Pole he returns to the TARDIS with his companions Ben and Polly to rest except he knows more than them and more than the viewers will ever fully understand. Surrounded by strange sounds and a spooky aura he collapses to the floor and changes in front of his friends' eyes. It does however come off very convincing simply based on the use of a lense flare to create the strange effect as well as the Bill Hartnell Doctor's muffled dialogue of refusing to die, something the Doctor would bring up on several other occassions when his life was ending.
6. Ninth to Tenth Doctor (Parting of Ways, 2005) Ah! the first regeneration of the new millenium and the new series. The inital build up to Christopher Eccleston's Doctor into David Tennant's Tenth Doctor was muffled on its anticipation before the first series of the revived show was off the ground completely. Having said that and the fact that you never feel like you got fully use to the cockny northern smile of Eccleston, his exit after bringing the show back on high marks after a 16 year absence is well choreographed. For once, the Doctor is accepting fully his regeneration's imminent arrival. After knowingly sacrificing his body to save his companion's life, he knows right away what breathing in the powers of the time vortex means. There is almost that point right after he releases the energy back into the TARDIS that he looks and realizes his time is up. But the crowning achievement is how he not keeps the viewers and Rose calm about what is about to happen to him. He knows what will happen may surprise his companion but he reassures her its normal for him and that eventhough he is changing his appearance he is still the same Doctor. The hallmark is acknowledging how great he was and that he had one hell of ride in this incarnation, almost a shakespearan like bow metaphorically speaking, curtains fall on the Ninth Doctor honorably.
5. Second to Third Doctor (The War Games, 1969) While we never actually see Pat Troughton's Second Doctor regenerate, the circumstances none the less are rather harsh. Having summoned his own people to help restore the War World that he has been thrown into with his companions, the Doctor is returned to his homeplanet by the god like Time Lords where he is put on trial for interfering in time and space. The signifiance is tremendous, here is a man so hell bent on his renegade life style must finally come to terms with the laws he has broken. He is sent into a terrible fate: exiled to earth in the 20th century with access to his ship wiped from his memory, his companions sent home with their memory wiped and worst of all his appearance changed once again as part of the sentencing. There is something awe inspiring and dark about watching the Second Doctor spiral into oblivion as he sentenced to earth and forced to regenerate. Legend tells that the BBC almost contimplated cancelling the show after this story was broadcast. It would have made for quite a series finale had the show ended after six seasons with our hero spiralling towards expulsion after running for so long and in an unidentifiable form. Thank god for Jon Pertwee though.
4. Third to Fourth Doctor (Planet of the Spiders, 1974) I won't delve too much into this one, not because I think it's a bad story or regeneration but Planet of the Spiders has always been lost one me as a really good story mainly because there seems to be a lot of filler in it. None the less, what matters is the ending. Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor had built up so greatly over five years this macho, heroic demeanor and to have his final story focus on the Doctor's flaw of fear is even more fascinating. His death is almost shakespearan as he lies lifeless on the floor of UNIT HQ having been devistated by radiation from the Metebelis 3 spider crystals. Weakened, his heroic exterior is restored for one final instant as he lays satisfied that he conquered his fear and that life is only a remnant of existence. Given a push by a fellow Timelord, he regenerates once more given the chance to live life again.
3. Tenth to Eleventh Doctor (End of Time, 2010) So this is relatively fresh but there was so much satisfying about the Tenth Doctor's exit. While the integrity of the story itself is questionable and the fact that the Doctor's exit comes off egotistical, the regeneration comes off the heal of both a personal triumph in the re-energizing of the classic show but also a tumultous run for a man now considered the best Doctor ever, surpassing Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. The fact that we are given such a prolonged scenario leading up to his regenration not only acts as the closing of one chapter in the new series but also gives us as viewers time for personal goodbyes to everyone on the show. The Tenth Doctor's line of "I don't want to go" can be seen as a personal dissapointment for both viewer and character as if to say "shucks, we were getting so use to him." With a rather over the top regeneration, the Doctor revels in his regeneration as we give rise to the newest incarnation, with giddy anticipation. I think the one thing that makes this year long build up to David Tennant's exit interesting is that we have seen the Doctor change so greatly in five years. Now with his omen of death hovering over him he suddenly fears death more than anything, not that we would expect him to invite it but he is so gung ho on living he comes off cowardly initially for avoiding the inevitable. Nevertheless his last act of kindness which leads to his demise shows the true heart of the Time Lord, one of good nature and a desire to see life expressed even if it means at the cost of his own.
2. Fifth to Sixth Doctor (Caves of Androzoni, 1984) This one normally gets ranked the highest but for me its one notch below, not for any particular reason. One of the great aspects of the character of the Doctor is his spurts of heroic tendancy depending on the incarnation. Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor isn't necessarily regarded for being the most daring of the Doctor's but a very popular one indeed. Timid, kind hearted and very reluctant against risk and violence, the Fifth Doctor in "Caves of Andrazoni" is a rather different breed than what most viewers had seen of him over three years. He is a bit calculating but still retains the timid persona in dangerous scenarios. His final act of sacrifice for the sake of Peri's life is so daring it can only be described as epic. He even goes as far as to prolong his own death long enough to save Peri a demonstrated towards the end of Part Three as he visually sees himself slipping into the regenerative cycle only to wave it off a little longer. Poisioned by the spectrox toxemia, he crashes a ship onto the planet of Andrazoni Minor to retrieve Peri and takes her back to the TARDIS where he gives her the antidote, sacrificing himself and regenerating on the floor of the TARDIS. Its stories like these that makes me wish Davison had stayed on for a fourth season.
1. Fourth to Fifth Doctor (Logopolis, 1981) There is a main reason why I chose Tom Baker's swang song as the best regeneration; it was the first one I ever watched. When I first discovered Doctor Who back in the third grade, I was shown upon initial introduction both an introduction story and a regeneration story so that I could grasp the unique nature of why this show was on for so long. My friend showed me Tom Baker, believing best to start on the high mark of the Doctor's incarnations. Tom Baker was, THE doctor for many who were introduced to the show here in the United States as well as Great Britain. Holding the record of seven years on the show he was the most identifiable of the Doctors with his chesire cat grin, witty humor and long multi colored scarf. His exit in 1981 from the show was highly anticipated and dreaded for many who seemingly had grown up with his Doctor. Just as I had found myself dreading David Tennant's exit from the series this year, Baker's was the same but his send off is tremendous. The build up to the Fourth Doctor's regeneration in "Logopolis" is epic. As he is in pursuit of his arch nemesis the Master, the Doctor is greeted on Earth by a mysterious white figure known as the Watcher, who we later find out is the future incarnation of the Doctor. As if things were so bad in the universe that the Doctor was some how overlapping himself and his death is imminent. Baker's Doctor throughout the story is left with a gaze of fear and inevitable consequences as he knows his death is coming but how he has no clue. As he sabotages the Master's plans on the dish of the Pharos Project on Earth, he clings to life as he dangles from the tower. He sees his friends and enemies flash before his eyes before plummeting to his anticipated death. On the ground his accepting grin and utter of "it's the end, but the moment has been prepared for," just shows the endearing alien quality of the character and just what science fiction is capable of if done right. As he slowly fades into the Watcher's body to ease the regeneration, a new young face comes into play, introducing us to another Doctor fresh with new hopes and new adventures. I will never forget the impact this story had on me and to this day it is ranked as one of my top ten favorite stories of Doctor Who.
Well that's it for now, I hopefully should be back in the next week with some other entries I so desparately need to get posted on here. Peace
JMS
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