Regeneration: Difference between revisions

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{{dab page|Regeneration (disambiguation)}}

Conversely, regeneration could be prevented by choice, although choosing not to regenerate from fatal damage was essentially an act of suicide. ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'') However, a Time Lord could delay the actual change in appearance and enter "a [[state of grace]]" for a brief period of time. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'', ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'') Precise damage to a Time Lord could also cause a delay in the regeneration starting. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'', ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'')

During a regeneration, a Time Lord's body could shine with milky [[white]] [[light]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Indestructible Man (novel)|The Indestructible Man]]'') a swirl of rainbow colours ([[TV]]: ''[[The Caves of Androzani (TV story)|The Caves of Androzani]]'', ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'', ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') or no colours, ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Night Walkers (comic story)|The Night Walkers]]'') crackle with [[electricity]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'') appear to be engulfed in flames, ([[PROSE]]: '' [[Timewyrm: Exodus (novel)|Exodus]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[Fast Asleep (comic story)|Fast Asleep]]'') or discharge [[regeneration energy|golden energy]], which could vary in speed and intensity from being brief and contained to explosive and capable, in extreme circumstances, of causing damage to the nearby area. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Forgotten (comic story)|The Forgotten]]'', ''[[Doorway to Hell (comic story)|Doorway to Hell]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death (TV story)|The Curse of Fatal Death]]'', ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'', ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'', ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'', ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'', ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'', ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'', ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'', ''[[The Lie of the Land (TV story)|The Lie of the Land]]'', ''[[World Enough and Time (TV story)|World Enough and Time]]'', ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'', ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]], [[The Timeless Children (TV story)|The Timeless Children]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Time War (short story)|Doctor Who and the Time War]]'')

[[File:Baker to Mccoy2.jpg|thumb|The [[Sixth Doctor]] regenerates. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'')]]

After a [[forced regeneration]] into {{Dhawan}}, the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] found herself at the Edge but refused to pass, meeting past incarnations who acted as the [[Guardians of the Edge]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Doctor (TV story)|The Power of the Doctor]]'') When the [[amnesia]]c Eighth Doctor was in a coma after his chest was crushed by sandbags, during his coma fantasy he experienced a feeling that he compared to the idea of his body as a coat that he could take off and don another body around a corner, but in this instance the Doctor did not need to regenerate as his current link to [[Sabbath]] would sustain his life even after such serious injuries. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Camera Obscura (novel)|Camera Obscura]]'')

<!--The following focuses on the apparent age of "newborn" incarnations-->

=== Attitude toward regeneration ===

In fact, the Doctor sometimes seemed to regard their previous incarnations as different individuals, capable of interacting and working with each other. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'', ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', ''[[The Two Doctors (TV story)|The Two Doctors]]'','' [[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'', ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'', ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'') However, they still regarded their other selves as them, to the extent that their [[Seventh Doctor|seventh incarnation]] became ashamed of the actions of his [[Sixth Doctor|sixth self]], going through a period of keeping his memory of his previous self locked up in his mind ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Head Games (novel)|Head Games]]'') until he accepted that he was the Doctor in all of his incarnations, and forgave his past self's sins after he nearly died after being shot by an arrow. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Room With No Doors (novel)|The Room With No Doors]]'') Younger or older Doctors could also disapprove of their other selves, such as the [[Fifth Doctor]] being horrified when he witnessed what the Seventh Doctor was capable of, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cold Fusion (novel)|Cold Fusion]]'') the [[Eighth Doctor]] being ashamed at the manipulations of his past self, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Resurrection of Mars (audio story)|The Resurrection of Mars]]'') the [[Third Doctor]] regarding his immediate predecessor as a distraction who would actually make him less effective, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'') the Tenth Doctor expressing a rather low opinion of his [[Ninth Doctor|previous self]], considering him to be violent due to being "born in battle", ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'') and the Twelfth Doctor saying that his first incarnation was "rude to people" in his early days. ([[TV]]: ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'') The Missy and Harold Saxon incarnations of the Master grew to outright despise each other, despite having grown attracted to each other when working together, due to their juxtaposed view of the Doctor, to the point that they actually killed each other. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'')

==== Skin colour ====

==== Number ====

However, events depicted in Steven Moffat's ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'' confirm the twelve-regeneration limit for Time Lords, and of the Doctor in particular, with the events of ''Time'' exploring the impact this has on the character having finally reached his limit, the Doctor facing his final death of old age until the Time Lords send him the [[regeneration energy|energy]] for a new regeneration cycle. Several characters express a lack of knowledge over how many regenerations the Doctor currently has including the Doctor himself, ([[TV]]: ''[[Kill the Moon (TV story)|Kill the Moon]]'') [[Rassilon]] who had a hand in giving him the new regeneration cycle ([[TV]]: ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'') and [[the Master]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'') Currently, a number has never been given for the number of regenerations the Doctor possesses in this second cycle. It is also unclear if the portion of regeneration energy that was stolen from the Twelfth Doctor by Davros impacted his ability to regenerate in any way. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'') The number of possible future regenerations came into more dispute with the release of ''[[The Timeless Children (TV story)|The Timeless Children]]'', which revealed the Doctor to be of a species with seemingly unlimited regenerations. It has not since been made clear if they retain this ability, or if they are still bound by the usual Time Lord limitations.

== Footnotes ==