Talk:The General

Regenerate into a woman "Again"

Is there proof he's been a woman before? 23:32, December 5, 2015 (UTC)

If I'm not wrong, she said "back to normal". Which means, she used to be woman. --DCLM ☎ 23:40, December 5, 2015 (UTC)

Yes. Upon regenerating and learning she had become a woman, she said, "Back to normal, am I?" - DarkXaven 00:00, December 6, 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, she said her last incarnation was the only time she was a man Valeyard12.5 ☎ 21:24, December 12, 2015 (UTC)

Regeneration vs Incarnation

I've noticed a lot of confusion on which incarnation Ken Bones is. He is the eleventh, but when asked by the Doctor "Regeneration", the General states "Tenth", meaning he has regenerated ten times. His/her next incarnation is his twelfth, she would be the product of his/her eleventh regeneration. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by Valeyard12.5 (talk • contribs) .

Actually this is something to question. Obviously in-universe it can be considered a rather open statement - is the General on his tenth regeneration or is he about to have his tenth regeneration? - but Moffat did write in the DW Magazine that Ken Bones played the tenth incarnation. What's the best course of action for this? --The Thirteenth Doctor ☎ 20:41, January 8, 2016 (UTC)

There have always been confusement in the difference between those two words, but regeneration has nothing to do with incarnation. The issue can probably be pointed to the fact that the word "incarnation" has not been used on the show. Tenth regeneration is indeed the eleventh incarnation. --DCLM ☎ 20:54, January 8, 2016 (UTC)

Well, to be accurate, the term "incarnation" has been used on the show. In The Twin Dilemma, the Sixth Doctor compared himself to his "last incarnation" aka the Fifth Doctor. Unfortunately, this example of its use is no help to us with the confusion. So, instead, I'll fall back onto the last time the Doctor asked that question. In The Five Doctors, the First Doctor asks the Fifth Doctor, "Regeneration?" The Fifth Doctor responds with, "Fourth." Based on that, then the Ken Bones General would indeed be the eleventh incarnation. --DarkXaven ☎ 11:30, August 28, 2016 (UTC)

Well-dug-up, DarkXaven, but you're missing another important point that The Thirteenth Doctor was trying to make: regardless of what "tenth regeneration" means in terms of number of versions of the General (what is commonly known as "incarnations"), there's the question of whether the General is stating that his last regeneration was his tenth, or if the regeneration he's about to undergo when the Doctor shoots him is his tenth. --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 09:26, September 14, 2018 (UTC)

N

The first gender-swapped regeneration was the Doctor Who Comedy special from the 1990's with Rowan Atkinson, and latterly; Joanna Lumley as the Doctor. 176.250.139.80^{talk to me} 19:13, December 5, 2016 (UTC)

Correct, however that special namely The Curse of Fatal Death is generally considered "non canon" known here as invalid. -- Denchen: Lord of all that is invalid ☎ 19:15, December 5, 2016 (UTC)

"The General"

Is there any word on whether "the General" is a Time Lord name a la "the Doctor", or just his/her rank in the army? Because if it's the former as I've always then assumed, then the page has no business being called "Kenossium", any more than "The Monk" is titled "Mortimer". --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 09:26, September 14, 2018 (UTC)

I think it can assumed that that just refers to rank. After her name is revealed as Kenossium in The Clockwise War, everyone, including the Doctor, refers to her by name from then on. So it seem like “the General” is just rank. But if anyone finds any contrasting evidence... GloverMist ☎ 09:39, September 14, 2018 (UTC)

Per Tardis:Character names, the article name "should be the name by which the character was most commonly known in the Doctor Who universe". Shambala108 ☎ 14:15, September 14, 2018 (UTC)

It was a bit of a toss-up when I originally raised the point, but the General's use in The Eighth Doctor: Time War: Volume Four leaves no doubt that "the General" is a title used to refer to this individual specifically, both by characters and behind the scenes — not just a job-based descriptor.

Talk:The Monk#Article_title.2F_Name_change established that when a handful of stories purport to "reveal" the birth name of a Time Lord usually known by a "title", but the majority of uses of the character still call them "the [X]" instead, we should go with the title.

This accords with the way the character has been named in the credits for all of their appearances thus far, even ones postdating the reveal of the name "Kenossium".

Therefore, this page belongs at 'The General', not 'Kenossium'. However, a redirect will remain at the Kenossium namespace. --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 07:18, October 2, 2020 (UTC)