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1. We are talking about a race billions of years old. How do you put "checks and balances" on an "immortal" race that very well could last until the end of the universe? For this reason, I purpose that the regeneration limit was political and not biological.
2. These limits were enforced by the matrix on Gallifrey. This served as a repository for all time lord knowlege and sentience. The matrix had a biological imprint of every time lord that ever has, or will, exist. After the 13th "death" the matrix would accept the atrion energy that formed the time lords "soul" (for lack of better term) everything the time lord ever was would have been deposited into the matrix. When the Master finally "died", this is where the time lords would have had to gone to resurrect him.
3. I was surprised to actually see the eye of harmony on board the Tardis. Now we have 3 different examples of the eye represented on Doctor Who. One is a gigantic crystal on Galifrey, one in the TV movie, and now one here, in "Journey to the Center of the Tardis". At first I thought the Doctors Tardis was mainlined into the eye on Gallifrey, like an extreme ultimate speed internet connection. When Gallifrey was cut off, the power source for the Tardis was cut off, and he had to refuel at rifts like the one where Torchwood was stationed. I wonder if this is the star that went nova when he spoke to Rose when she was marooned in the other universe, captured and used to re-create the eye so he would no longer be vulnerable during these "pit stops"?
4. So if he is cut of from the eye on Gallifrey, it would make sense that he is cut off from the matrix as well. As long as this remains true, he can regenerate an unlimited amount of times, as long as his connection to the matrix is NEVER restored. The master disconnected himself from the matrix when he (possessed?) Nyssa’s father. The matrix would no longer be able to bind him to rejoin it upon death since now he has altered his biology. Since Nyssa’s father could not regenerate, neither could the Master. (In the classic series anyway)
5. It is also possible that the in TV movie when the Doctor was on route to Gallifrey with the Masters remains; the purpose for this was to re-integrate him into the matrix. If this happened, then it would have been possible to pull him back out, resurrect him as a new time lord with a new set of regenerations for the TV series.
6. So as long as Gallifrey remains time locked, the Doctor can regenerate as long as he wishes. If Gallifrey becomes free and returns to the land of cause and effect, the Doctors regeneration cycles could restart with his current incarnation being equivalent to his first. This could open new character development as the Doctor gives up his immortality to bring back his people.
Fallingstar1971 ☎ 15:51, May 9, 2013 (UTC)
- I like a lot of these ideas. They would explain a lot, especially the bit about the Master. I like the idea of the Matrix enforcing the regeneration limit. Shambala108 ☎ 03:54, May 11, 2013 (UTC)
- Don't forget, 507 was given as the limit of regenerations in a new who episode. We really don't know what the limit is or if there even is one. Anoted ☎ 01:37, May 19, 2013 (UTC)
- The 507 limit was in The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor, (in)appropriately enough. It appeared to be a flippant answer to an intrusive question & RTD (who wrote it) has said it wasn't meant to be taken seriously. Whatever was intended, it hasn't been taken seriously. (See the References section of the story's article.) --89.242.70.9talk to me 07:55, May 19, 2013 (UTC)
I think The Doctor would become very scared toward the end of what he believes to be his thirteenth incarnation, as he might not want to defy the Time Lords. The last time he used their extinction as reasoning for breaking a Time Law created the Bowie Base One incident. So, even though the people who established those laws are long-since dead, he might want to stick to them still. Even if there's no risk involved in simply regenerating for a thirteenth time, whether he'd want to is a very interesting - and dangerous - thought... Gallifrey102 ☎ 12:52, May 19, 2013 (UTC)
- Don't forget the TARDIS. She is connected to the Doctor, she would not want to lose him. I see the Doctor "dying" for the 13th time and thinking this is it. He isn't coming back. Only to have the TARDIS step in and regenerate him. -- Loyal Companion
- Loyal Companion: Although nothing much was made of it at the time (or has been since), in The Tenth Planet, the TARDIS appeared to be assisting the Doctor's regeneration very actively. I know it was a long time ago & most of the video has been lost -- the surviving clip is only part of the scene -- but I remember the time rotor going like crazy when the Doctor collapsed & then changed. (The audio of that episode still exists & you can hear the TARDIS grinding away like mad during that scene.) This offers support for the idea of the TARDIS intervening, if the writer(s) at the time wanted to do things that way. --89.240.242.92talk to me 15:58, May 19, 2013 (UTC)
- Exactly. I believe there were other regenerations that she assisted in as well. -- Loyal Companion
- None where it seemed so obvious or so active. But that only really means she didn't need to. There were special circumstances in The Tenth Planet, most notably that the Doctor's vitality had been severely depleted (it wasn't made very clear if this was just age or if Mondas had been draining him & fans have been arguing about that for over 40 years).
- There's another definite example a transfer of energy between the TARDIS & the Doctor, this time in the opposite direction, in Rise of the Cybermen, where the Doctor sacrifices some of his vitality to help the TARDIS to regenerate. --89.240.242.92talk to me 17:00, May 19, 2013 (UTC)