Best/Favorite Regeneration "Pair" - Rank

[Emperor-Tiberius]

We've done the best regeneration stories before, as we did the best post-regeneration stories. However, I bet a lot of us have tried, at least occassionally, to watch the regeneration and post-regeneration episodes in order, just to see watch the passing-of-the-button, so to speak, unravel and experience the change in continuous fashion.

So, which pair of stories that lead to the end of one incarnation and the beginning of another do you like best? Which one do you like least? Which one are you indifferent to?

Vote away, and share!

NOTE: Time of the Rani is a post-regeneration story for the Seventh, so it wasn't included. The Enemy Within, aka The TV Movie wasn't included, either (although I wish I could've paired it with Big Finish's Master audio drama, as that feels like a neat prequel to the TV Movie, to me). I almost included Night and Day of the Doctor, but... A)the latter is a regeneration for the Warrior, and B)Night feels like a prologue to Day, anyway. Also, some may suggest Day of the Doctor/Rose, but to those I direct to this thread, which debates how possible that might be.

I also didn't included the vast series 4 finale from NuWho, because like the Warrior, the Meta-Crisis Doctor only appears in that one story.

 

[auntiehill]

It's very hard to pick a favorite, since I like so many of them, but I went with 10-11: "End of Time"/"The Eleventh Hour." I think "Eleventh Hour" is one the best "intro" episodes ever, in all my years of watching Doctor Who. I also like "End of Time," despite the melodrama, because it actually worked on me. I know it was too over-the-top for many, but I think it worked, for the most part. But "Eleventh Hour" was such a great intro for 11, I just have to vote for it.

 

[MacLeod]

For the classic era I think would have to go with

Logopolis and Castrovalva

For the modern era I'm leaning towards

End of Time and The Eleventh Hour

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Based on the strength of the individual stories: The War Games and Spearhead from Space

Based on the strength of the transition of regeneration and its effects on the companion(s) and the overall story: Logopolis and Castravalva

 

[VDCNI]

Power Of The Daleks is probably my favourite individual story but I've never been that fond of Tenth Planet so War Games/Spearhead takes this followed by Logopolis/Castrovalva.

Planet/Robot is probably the weakest of the old series though more average than bad. End Of Time/Eleventh were both pretty ordinary though Time/Deep Breath is comfortably the worst of the new series with Time being as bad as it was.

 

[kirk55555]

I went with The End of Time/The Eleventh Hour. I actually already like The End of Time anyway (despite its flaws), and The Eleventh Hour is one of the best post-regeneration stories in my opinion, so it was an easy choice.

 

[Captaindemotion]

End of Time and Eleventh Hour. I like EOT for all its manipulation and sentiment and I thought Smith did a brilliant job from his first few seconds in the role. He lost no time making this broken-hearted Tennant fan realise that things were going to be just fine in the TARDIS (apart from the small matter of it blowing up and crashing, obviously). Given how gutted EOT left me, this was no small achievement.

 

[DWF]

Planet/Robot, both were stories that focused on the respective Doctors, Pertwee went out on an all action tale and Tom Baker came in saved the world in his own style. Logopolis/Castrovalva while not being groundbreaking stories, the sadness of the end of Baker's era made seeing a new Doctor rather welcome.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

My favorites would be War Games/Spearhead from Space, and End of Time/The Eleventh Hour.

The first pair, because they're both great stories on their own. Spearhead from Space, untiil Power of the Daleks is ever recovered or completed-via-animation, is the best introductory New Doctor story, while War Games is a sprawling epic that is also one of the best regeneration stories ever. Its everything Hartnell's Tenth Planet wasn't - an epic exit with a befitting tragic ending for the Doctor, whose exit is actually a focus of the story.

The transition from one to the other story is, well, smooth, but it could've been a bit better. The Doctor could have elaborated a bit about his regeneration, and the Brigadie could've asked a few questions about Jamie and Zoe, the last companion he saw the Doctor with. But, they're both solid stories, and a solid transition period for this time of the Doctor's life.

The other is End of Time/The Eleventh Hour. Not necessarily because of the stories - I only prefer the latter story, and I find the previous story just OK. However, and despite the hype, I find the transition from Tenth to Eleventh to be the most effective one of all the Doctors. The Tenth's mourning segues into Eleven's newfound self to be a rewarding experience if both stories are watched in this order.

Otherwise, I like some of the rest, while being indiffirent in others. Time of the Doctor/Deep Breath is a good combo, but both Clara's douche attitude and that story's ludicrous elements (so a Tyranosaurus Rex roamed an Edwardian London? or didn't it? What the hell?) are a detraction to me, otherwise I'd have this at third spot, if not due for Eleven's phone call at the end.

Caves of Androzani is one of the best, if not the best DW story ever. However, Twin Dilemma is one of the worst, if not the worst DW story ever. The combo above only examplifies this even further.

Both Logopolis/Castrovalva and Bad Wolf-Parting of the Ways/The Christmas Invasion suffer from the New-Doctor-Doesn't-Feature-for-A-Lot-of-It. Which for a post-regeneration story is not exactly wise.

I like the Planet of the Spiders/Robot combo, but the latter feels like a lucklustre Pertwee story that was would've been too lame for Pertwee to do. Luckily, however, Tom Baker sells it with his fully realized Fourth Doctor.

 

[Ithekro]

Several regeneration episodes end with you still wondering about if this Doctor is going to work (the actor or in some cases just if the Doctor is alright). From what I heard in Power of the Daleks, Toughton sold it that he was the Doctor by the end. No question about it.

Unfortunately I've not gone far into the Fifth and Sixth Doctor, nor much into the Seventh Doctor to rate them, save that it takes a bit to believe McCoy is the Doctor at first with the Rani and Mel Davison takes a little while as well (though putting on the glasses the first time did sell it a bit). Didn't watch all of Twin Delemma yet. I know Colin Baker does come off as the Doctor by the time of the Two Doctors.

Spearhead from Space does alright to make you believe Pertwee is the Doctor. Also gives us a sense that the Doctor is not happy (at first) with his new face. He grows to like it quickly enough.

Tom Baker in the other hand, sells it as the Doctor easily, but then he might actually be the Doctor. Robot isn't all that good of a story, but the bits were it is Tom Baker being Tom Baker (the Doctor) make up for it.

Eleventh Hour sells Matt Smith as the Doctor very quickly though, and by the end, when he says "Hello, I'm the Doctor", I believe him.

Capaldi did sell me on him being the Doctor quickly enough. The question was more "is the Doctor alright", that stayed a plot point for the whole series.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

As far as individual stories go, "The War Games" & "Spearhead from Space" are both absolutely fantastic. But the regeneration itself feels like something of a minor incident compared to how prominently it featured in later stories.

I voted for "The End of Time"/"The Eleventh Hour" but mostly because "The Eleventh Hour" is so flippin' amazing that it really carries the entire pair. It's still one of my favorite Matt Smith episodes. "The End of Time" is too over-the-top but it works in several places, especially when Wilf is the one who knocks 4 times.

"The Tenth Planet" was pretty week and I've never seen "Power of the Daleks."

"Robot" is decent but nothing special. I've only seen "Planet of the Spiders" once and I don't remember much about it (other than some very long vehicle chases).

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

As for the others, I'm not nearly as enamored with "Logopolis" as a lot of fans are. "Castrovalva" has some fun moments but not enough to sustain an entire story. (I do really like the scenes where the residents of Castrovalva try to make sense of the map of the town where the Portreve's house exists in 3 different places at once.)

There are a lot of uneven pairs in here:

"The Caves of Androzani" is excellent but "The Twin Dilemma" is awful.

"The Parting of the Ways" is a fantastic climax for Eccleston but "The Christmas Invasion" is a dull affair. Rose spends most of the episode whining about how the Doctor might never wake up, when we all know that he will. It finally gets a much needed spark of energy in the last 20 minutes when Tennant finally wakes up but it's too little too late.

Capaldi got an excellent debut with "Deep Breath." It's not a 100% solid story but the character moments are great. "There is nothing more important than my egomania!" Unfortunately, Matt Smith, who was one of my favorite Doctors, received a truly terrible send-off in "The Time of the Doctor." Boring, tedious, drowning in self-indulgent sentimentality, and utterly lacking in that great manic spark that made Matt Smith such a joy in the role.

 

[C_Miller]

For the strength of serials alone, I have to go with War Games and Spearhead in Space. Although it feel like it's slightly cheating due to the fact that the Regeneration is done 100% off screen.

It's weird to see how uneven the rest of them are. I'd probably have to go with End of Time and Eleventh Hour. Though End of Time is a bit overwrought, it's still good in a lot of places and Eleventh Hour is one of the best episodes of Modern Who.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

It truly is astonishing that Twin Dilemma came right after Caves of Androzani. It boggles the mind.