The Quirks of Regeneration – The Doctor’s Character Arc Part 2

“Back when I first started, at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you’re young. And then I was you.”

If you want to read the first part of this long-winded discussion on the nature of regeneration and it’s see-saw effect on our favourite Time Lord, check it out HERE. So, where did we leave off? Ah, right, on to the Seventh Doctor.

So, the kind and gentle approach didn’t work, grabbing the universe by the throat and trying to throttle it into submission certainly didn’t work, how would this new Doctor tackle the grim 80s? Why with a plan of course. The Seventh is well known as the chess master and for good reason. When we first meet him he’s quieter and more unassuming than his predecessor, he’s also more than willing to play the fool much like his second incarnation. It doesn’t take long though for his Machiavellian streak to start showing. This is not a Doctor who stumbles into trouble, but personally seeks it out. Looking at the Doctor’s life up until this point it’s hard not to read this incarnation as the one where he’s finally had enough and is determined to sort out the universe once and for all. Unfortunately it all comes to a rather unceremonious end, but I suppose that’s kind of fitting in an ironic way.

That brings us to the tumultuous era of the Eighth Doctor and the see-saw of personality goes into effect once more. Done with the plans and purposefully trying to right every wrong in the universe, this incarnation wants nothing more than to go on adventures and see the universe. He’s a romantic when you get right down to it, he is the first Doctor to kiss a companion after all. However, there is that tumult I mentioned and It’s at this point that another trend firmly establishes itself. Whenever the Doctor tries to play nice and just be a carefree adventurer, the universe has a habit of kicking him while he’s down. Mind wipes galore, exiled to a universe of anti-time, multiple companion deaths and, oh yeah, the Time War. To say he has a rough time of it is an understatement.

Now, speaking of the Time War, that means we’ve finally arrived at the War Doctor and possibly the Doctor’s most fascinating regeneration. You see this is the only time that the Doctor has gotten a choice over who they’ll regenerate into. Oh I know the Second Doctor was offered a choice when the Time Lords forced him to regenerate, but he never actually did choose. He was clearly stalling and in the end it was the Time Lords who chose for him. Here though, the Sisterhood of Karn asks the Eighth Doctor what he needs to be and he chooses. A warrior. A choice that will impact his life for regenerations to come. I really wish we’d gotten to see the aftermath of the War Doctor’s regeneration, did he go through the typical ordeal as his personality settled in, or was it a smoother process with that clarity of purpose? Ah well, I’m sure Big Finish will tell that story eventually.

This post is quickly approaching my self-imposed word limit so let’s rapid fire these next few regenerations. They all fit under the same umbrella anyway, dealing with the scars left by the Time War. The Ninth Doctor is the most openly wounded, he tries his best to get things back to normal, but he’s constantly having to deal with the aftermath of the war. Steven Moffat called the Tenth Doctor ‘the man who regrets’, but I feel that moniker better suits the Ninth. Ten, for me, has much more of a fury to his incarnation. He’s traded in the guilt for a self-righteous anger, feeling that the universe owes him after everything he’s been through and he’s very upset when it fails to meet his expectations. The Eleventh Doctor is the one who finally puts his trauma behind him, or at least buries it as much as possible, losing himself in his own legend.

And that is where the Doctor’s regenerations end, or at least should have. All because the Tenth Doctor had to waste an incarnation and create the Meta-Crisis Doctor just to stick around a bit longer. He really didn’t want to go. Anyway, the point being, that in the end the Time Lords’ hearts grew three sizes that day and at the end of the Doctor’s life they gave him a whole new regeneration cycle. That’s a whole bunch more Doctors to talk about and I might finally get to the point I’m trying to make here, but that will have to wait for next time. There’s that pesky word limit again so thank you for sticking with me so far and I promise, next time, we’re wrapping up this look at the Doctor’s regenerations. I mean, there’s only a couple left, I can’t possibly drag that out. Or can I? Let’s find out together next time!

I’m Chris Joynson, aka Neverarguewithafish, I’m a writer and blogger and if you want to chat with me you can find me on twitter @ChrisGJoynson. See you out there in the vortex.