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| Doctor Who: How many more times can the Doctor regenerate? | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Peter Capaldi has been announced as the latest star of Doctor Who. But how many more times can the Doctor regenerate, asks Ben Milne. | |
| Among Doctor Who's hardcore fans, it's an accepted part of Whovian mythology that the world's favourite Gallifreyan can only have 12 regenerations. Capaldi is the 12th Doctor, so does this mean he's the penultimate? | Among Doctor Who's hardcore fans, it's an accepted part of Whovian mythology that the world's favourite Gallifreyan can only have 12 regenerations. Capaldi is the 12th Doctor, so does this mean he's the penultimate? |
| The idea that the Doctor has 12 regenerations is first mentioned in The Deadly Assassin, an 1976 episode from the Tom Baker era. The Master - an evil Time Lord close to his final regeneration - is said to have been offered a new cycle of lives in exchange for helping to rig the election of a new Time Lord leader. | The idea that the Doctor has 12 regenerations is first mentioned in The Deadly Assassin, an 1976 episode from the Tom Baker era. The Master - an evil Time Lord close to his final regeneration - is said to have been offered a new cycle of lives in exchange for helping to rig the election of a new Time Lord leader. |
| He fails, but in a later series we see him get around the regeneration problem by stealing the body of a dupe called Tremas (an anagram of… well, you get the point). The idea is mentioned again in the show's 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors. | He fails, but in a later series we see him get around the regeneration problem by stealing the body of a dupe called Tremas (an anagram of… well, you get the point). The idea is mentioned again in the show's 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors. |
| There are said to be some fans so hardcore that they say they will not watch the show if the Doctor survives beyond his 12th regeneration. However, this is the sort of thing which hardcore fans tend to say. | There are said to be some fans so hardcore that they say they will not watch the show if the Doctor survives beyond his 12th regeneration. However, this is the sort of thing which hardcore fans tend to say. |
| The fact is that Doctor Who's producers have often played fast and loose with "the laws of time and space" - for instance, the Doctor's only ever time lord (or lady) companion, Romana, apparently possessed the ability to regenerate several times before breakfast, trying on several different appearances before transforming from Mary Tamm to Lalla Ward. | The fact is that Doctor Who's producers have often played fast and loose with "the laws of time and space" - for instance, the Doctor's only ever time lord (or lady) companion, Romana, apparently possessed the ability to regenerate several times before breakfast, trying on several different appearances before transforming from Mary Tamm to Lalla Ward. |
| It might be that if the programme retains its popularity, the producers will find a way to get round this dilemma. It remains to be seen whether it's as drastic a solution as the recent Star Trek film which used time travel (the plot device which keeps on giving) to effectively wipe out the entire "history" of the Star Trek universe. | It might be that if the programme retains its popularity, the producers will find a way to get round this dilemma. It remains to be seen whether it's as drastic a solution as the recent Star Trek film which used time travel (the plot device which keeps on giving) to effectively wipe out the entire "history" of the Star Trek universe. |
| But ultimately, one doesn't need a sonic screwdriver to realise the Doctor's continuing existence will owe less to the laws of the space-time vortex than the health of the TV ratings. | But ultimately, one doesn't need a sonic screwdriver to realise the Doctor's continuing existence will owe less to the laws of the space-time vortex than the health of the TV ratings. |
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