Dr.Who news....

I dunno if this has been mentioned previously, however it is kinda big news in the Dr. Who Universe.

For a show that has a very strictly observed continuity for over 40 years, this is more than a little disappointing.

Still, I just got into Doctor Who two months ago, so there's not much indignation to which I'm entitled.

Should deserve a full episode or two rather than a passing comment.

Ummm, who didn't see this coming?

If the series is popular and the actor playing the Doctor bows out and they need a 13th regeneration, did anyone think, "Aww, too bad. We have to cancel the series now!" would be an acceptable solution?

Non-issue.

I agree, and im a relatively new convert to the series. But it does seem like for as long as this lore has been around the 12 regen limit has been in place. And yes you knew it was going to get delt with they wouldnt just end the series.

But to my understanding there were already timelords that had regenerated past 12 lives, like rassilon if i am not mistaken wasnt he considered immortal?

So they opened the door to extended regenerations being possible, i really think they should have delt with the issue in the show and given it a good storyline. I think changing something this dramatic and deeply inbeded in the show and character deserves more then a passing one liner in a spin off series that doesnt explain anything.

I'm certainly not surprised by this move. As the article stated we only have 2 more regenerations left. I knew something like this would be comming around, heck, even way back yonder with the "5 Doctors" episode when we learned that a Time Lords life cycle could be rebooted.

But really? A passing comment on a spin off show? Seriously? Perhaps they just decided to get this news out of the way and will expand on it in the future (when they figure out just how they are going to explain this)

Continuity?

Did you see the ways they keep bringing back The Master?

They've already established immortality for Time Lords.

I wouldn't be surprised if this has been misunderstood.

Time Lords can be immortal but a limit of 12 regenerations was put in place by Rassilon IIRC. Now given that he broke that limit himself, and granted a new set of regenerations to The Master for his help in the Time War, there is precident for that limit being lifted. So if the Doctor was asked how many times a Time Lord can regenerate, he would still be correct in saying 'none'. It just depends on how the question was asked.

So I'd put my money on this being a misunderstood quote from the episode rather than a rewriting of Who lore. I would be hugely surprised if a big Whovian like Moffat let something like that slide. Of course the BBC will continue to make Who after his 12 regenerations are up, that's a no brainer. It's just how they go about it that will be interesting.

So no, not convinced by this leak just yet.

This isn't April first! What the heck?

Most of the Doctor's regenerations were required due to damage, poison, etc. Other Time Lords seemed to have a more cavalier attitude towards it however.

The second Doctor said that Time Lords were "Immortal, barring accidents".

The Time Lords allowed the second Doctor to choose the face of his next regeneration, which he refused to do, so the Time Lords chose for him.

The fourth Doctor mentioned the 12-regeneration limit into canon, which got reinforced by the fifth Doctor and was mentioned by the sixth with reference to the Valyard.

Romana demonstrated the ability to control regeneration to the point of being able to 'try on' several new bodies, and duplicate the appearance of someone she had seen previously.

There were at least two sets of people in the original series that used Time Lord technology to give them unending regenerations. The scientists led by Mawdryn, and the Minyans.

The Master exceeded the limit, but kept himself alive first just through force of will and stolen technology from other advanced peoples, and then via stealing other people's bodies. He was then offered a new set of regenerations by the Time Lord Council. Then, in the new series he says he was resurrected by the Time Lords to fight the Time War, and demonstrated he could regenerate (and *refuse* to regenerate), and then later he was resurrected again, in a sort of incomplete state.

The tenth Doctor showed that you could start a regeneration, and as long as you had the right maguffin, you could abort it and 'store' the remainder of the 'energy'.

Now, the eleventh says there is no limit. I can't say he's wrong, really.

To be honest, I got the impression (from having lived long enough to see the entire old and new series from the original broadcasts), that the abitlity to regenerate was something that was instilled artifically and the 12-regen limit was more a legal and medically advisable limit than a hard and fast rule. Everyone extended beyond the 12-regen limit seemed to have serious side-effects like mutations, mental unbalance, and debilitating exhaustion.

The Doctor also has taken on energy from the Mawdryn during their attempt to end their life. Who knows how that could have messed up his psysiology. In addition, it was an artificial limit imposed by the Time Lords, and numerous mechanisms to proceed past it were presented. It could be one of a number of systems, and I'd be curious to see it addressed.

Meh.

What do you do when a child asks you if you're going to die?

Particularly a child that's relying on you to save him?

You lie your 900-year-old tail-end off.

I still expect them to deal with the impending end of regenerations in some dramatic fashion.

This just delays the 'need' some fans feel for the issue to be addressed NAOW! and gives some Dr. Who blogger something to post for another day.

I expected them to pull out the half human duplicate Doctor from Journey's End somewhere down the line.

The Doctor is already on his 12th regeneration. He regenerated twice during David Tennant's run. There was a comment that the Master's regenerations were reset during the Time War, I just assumed the Doctor's was reset as well. The Doctor's might have been made unlimited considering he was a leader during the Time War.

I always thought the 12 Regenerations thing was more a tradition more than a hard limit. Which would be consistent with what's occurred in the past since the Doctor is the Only remaining Time lord (that we know of)

As a friend of mine pointed out when I emailed him the link:

The Doctor lies to children. A LOT.

In fact, it's easier to quote him and I trust his vast knowledge on things Whovian:

A) The Doctor Lies, especially to children about difficult subjects like his own death,
B) It wouldn't be the first time Doctor Who writers have ignored things that have been said in the past on this subject, and the older quotes actually suggest there no limits but are also almost certainly exagerations see point
A)
C)Time Lords are NOT naturally immortal. Otherwise Rassilon wouldn't have been such a big deal. Bottom line is if you shoot at the Doctor he is still in jeapordy an can be killed. Whether he is or not references point E)
D) I can think of a thousand plot device reasons why the Time War has changed the rules and so can you guys and
E) Details like this don't matter a fraction as much as the quality of the writing.


I like these arguments.


S.

I don't believe it is a physical limitation so much as a law. It's a rule put in place by Rassilon. No more time lords = no more time lord rules = no more limit on regenerations.