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Much like their origin, the Doctor's death was a matter of conflicting accounts and alternate timelines. (PROSE: Alien Bodies, TV: The Impossible Astronaut, The Name of the Doctor)
Through their ability to regenerate, the Doctor was able to "cheat death" on numerous occasions. (TV: The Tenth Planet, The Parting of the Ways) However, the Tenth Doctor noted that he could be killed without allowing for regeneration. (TV: The End of Time) As such, the Doctor was not truly immortal, which the Fifth Doctor deemed impossible even for a Time Lord. (TV: The Five Doctors) Even allowing for regeneration, the Tenth Doctor regarded the change it entailed as a form of death. (TV: The End of Time)
Due to their impact on the universe, having "touched so many lives" and "saved so many people", the prospect of the Doctor's death would affect a great many people. Indeed, in one alternate timeline, news that the Doctor was dying led millions to offer their help. (TV: The Wedding of River Song) At the same time, Vislor Turlough, companion to the Fifth Doctor, noted that the Doctor had many enemies who would delight in his death, an observation which Kamelion concurred with. (TV: The Caves of Androzani) However, even the Tremas Master once remarked that "a cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about." (TV: The Five Doctors) Multiple occasions in which the Doctor was killed prematurely resulted in stars burning out across the universe. (AUDIO: The Furies, TV: Turn Left, The Name of the Doctor)
The Eighth Doctor was unique amongst his other incarnations in that he was technically dead both when he regenerated from the Seventh Doctor and when he regenerated into his successor incarnation. Following a non-fatal shooting, the Seventh Doctor was taken to a San Francisco hospital, where subsequent exploratory surgery by Grace Holloway with a camera accidentally clogged a vein; the anaesthetic he had been given delayed regeneration for several hours and almost destroyed the process. (TV: Doctor Who) The Eighth Doctor himself died aboard Cass Fermazzi's gunship when it crash-landed on Karn, but was resurrected for four minutes by the Sisterhood of Karn, enabling him to regenerate into the War Doctor. (TV: The Night of the Doctor)
Before encountering the Tenth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith believed that the Doctor had died, having left her for so long without returning. (TV: School Reunion) However, by another account, Sarah Jane always believed that when the Doctor died, she would know, because she would feel it. Jo Jones believed the same thing, having travelled with the Third Doctor:
When the Shansheeth brought news of the Doctor's supposed death, Sarah knew he was still alive, and proclaimed that she would find him. Rani Chandra thought of all the lives he'd touched on Earth, and was saddened that the whole world wasn't mourning. The Eleventh Doctor later reunited with Sarah Jane and Jo, putting these claims to rest. (TV: Death of the Doctor)
Lake Silencio
It was a matter of historical record that the Eleventh Doctor was killed at Lake Silencio, Utah on the planet Earth at 5:02 PM on 22 April 2011 at the hands of River Song, born Melody Pond. Knowing this, the crew of the Teselecta, a ship of the Justice Department which operated to inflict "hell" on unpunished criminals, deviated from their mission to punish Adolf Hitler when they discovered River. It was through this encounter that a younger version of the Eleventh Doctor became aware of his recorded death. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)
The Relic
Needs information about the Alien Bodies Doctor and the Relic.
to be added
Alternate timelines
Trenzalore
In one timeline, (TV: The Time of the Doctor) the Eleventh Doctor died on Trenzalore in a great battle. He was buried inside his TARDIS, which grew to an enormous size due to size leakage, acting as his tomb. As the Eleventh Doctor explained, the TARDIS was dying as well.
In a confrontation with the Doctor and Clara Oswald, the Great Intelligence entered the Doctor's time stream in the Doctor's tomb, which he used to attack his entire timeline, turning all his victories into defeats. As a result, the Doctor was, as Vastra put it, "dying all at once", including as the Fifth Doctor on Androzani and as the Eleventh Doctor in the Dalek Asylum. These deaths were averted when Clara herself entered the time stream, splintering herself into echoes who saved the Doctor, across all known incarnations. (TV: The Name of the Doctor)
Parallel universes
to be added
Behind the scenes
- The last objective of the online video game NOTVALID: The Last Dalek was for the player-controlled Dalek to exterminate the Ninth Doctor and destroy the TARDIS.