Ranking The Doctor's Regenerations

[The Nth Doctor]

The new into sequence was terrible (McCoy blinking was corny)

Hey now! McCoy's sequence is awesome as is the music. I'll give you everything else about Time and the Rani (especially The Rani pretending to be Mel), but not that. The only good thing about that serial was The Seventh Doctor rummaging through the wardrobe.

 

[Captain Pike]

C'mon, the 7th doctor's wink was just an eentsy bit crap, admit it

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Nope.

 

[Starkers]

The worst thing is that McCoy looks quite scary until he winks, ruins the whole thing!

 

[The Nth Doctor]

It shows both sides of The Doctor (particularly The Seventh Doctor): the manipulator and the jokester.

 

[C.E. Evans]

^^^
I agree with that. The Seventh Doctor got somewhat sinister in his final season.

 

[knine]

I don't entirely concur with the hatred for the regeneration of 6 into 7. If Colin wasn't going to come back to do a regeneration story (and I don't blame him at all, I think he was treated very harshly), then they did what they could. I think the blurry effect on McCoy's face was alright, for the time.

From the interviews I have watched / read, Colin was basically fired from the part and then refused to come back for a regeneration. IIRC, McCoy talks about it in the Confidentials for the new series and he pretty much didn't blame Colin for refusing to do it.

It's sad really. Colin had potential but the writers made his Doctor unpopular (although I've read he's popular in the BF episodes). I also recall reading he wanted to play the part for more years that Tom Baker did.

 

[davejames]

I think all the light pouring out of their head and hands in the new series is a bit much. You don't need all that and I wish they would change it.

Yeah. That moment when Tennant was on the floor in the booth with his face hidden, I was so sure he'd be Matt Smith when he got up, which I thought was great. Then he wasn't. Instead we got the whole flamethrower regen again.

Yeah I actually found that scene a LOT more dramatic and painful to watch than the actual regeneration. It was hard as hell to watch Tennant's Doc be in so much agony.

That said, I think the regeneration probably does deserve to be the flashiest and most spectacular effect on the show. The changing of one actor to another is a pretty big deal, after all. And with all the other visual effects we see every week now, a quick face-morph like in the old days just wouldn't have much of an impact.

 

[sidious618]

The Ninth Doctor's is my favorite by far. I was in tears.

 

[Bones2]

I think all the light pouring out of their head and hands in the new series is a bit much. You don't need all that and I wish they would change it.

Yeah. That moment when Tennant was on the floor in the booth with his face hidden, I was so sure he'd be Matt Smith when he got up, which I thought was great. Then he wasn't. Instead we got the whole flamethrower regen again.

Yeah I actually found that scene a LOT more dramatic and painful to watch than the actual regeneration. It was hard as hell to watch Tennant's Doc be in so much agony.

That said, I think the regeneration probably does deserve to be the flashiest and most spectacular effect on the show. The changing of one actor to another is a pretty big deal, after all. And with all the other visual effects we see every week now, a quick face-morph like in the old days just wouldn't have much of an impact.

Less can be more. Had he got back up as Eleven, that would have been far more effective. In my opinion, at least.

 

[23skidoo]

I don't entirely concur with the hatred for the regeneration of 6 into 7. If Colin wasn't going to come back to do a regeneration story (and I don't blame him at all, I think he was treated very harshly), then they did what they could. I think the blurry effect on McCoy's face was alright, for the time.

I think it was more a case that they could have come up with a more dramatic, or interesting way to do it. The fact that Colin wouldn't come back and they improvised with McCoy wasn't, I think, the problem. In fact I think it was a brilliant idea to use McCoy and, frankly, it goes by so fast you can't really tell the difference. And perhaps that's why it was so abrupt -- so there wouldn't be anyone going "that's not Colin!". But I think they probably could have come up with a better way of handling it in terms of overall story. As it is, because the cause of the regeneration is so obscured, you get absolute silliness (apparently even supported by BBC-licensed matter) like the suggestion the regeneration was caused by the Doctor falling off his exercise bike! Aside from being stupid, it was also an insult to Colin Baker and his incarnation of the Doctor.

(That said, I just remembered David Tennant's line in The Next Doctor about hoping he wouldn't die from tripping over a brick. It would have been brilliant if he'd said falling off a bike instead...)

Alex

 

[C.E. Evans]

I prefer the explanation given in the novelization that the Sixth Doctor died from blunt force trauma due to being smashed face-first into the TARDIS console as it was crashing...his face might have been literally a bloody mess prior to the regeneration.

 

[Turbo]

1. 5th to 6th
2. 1st to 2nd
3. 4th to 5th
4. 9th to 10th
5. 3rd to 4th
6. 7th to 8th
7. 10th to 11th
8. 6th to 7th
9. 2nd to 3rd

 

[Bones2]

I don't entirely concur with the hatred for the regeneration of 6 into 7. If Colin wasn't going to come back to do a regeneration story (and I don't blame him at all, I think he was treated very harshly), then they did what they could. I think the blurry effect on McCoy's face was alright, for the time.

I think it was more a case that they could have come up with a more dramatic, or interesting way to do it. The fact that Colin wouldn't come back and they improvised with McCoy wasn't, I think, the problem. In fact I think it was a brilliant idea to use McCoy and, frankly, it goes by so fast you can't really tell the difference. And perhaps that's why it was so abrupt -- so there wouldn't be anyone going "that's not Colin!". But I think they probably could have come up with a better way of handling it in terms of overall story. As it is, because the cause of the regeneration is so obscured, you get absolute silliness (apparently even supported by BBC-licensed matter) like the suggestion the regeneration was caused by the Doctor falling off his exercise bike! Aside from being stupid, it was also an insult to Colin Baker and his incarnation of the Doctor.

(That said, I just remembered David Tennant's line in The Next Doctor about hoping he wouldn't die from tripping over a brick. It would have been brilliant if he'd said falling off a bike instead...)

Alex

I've heard there's a novel that gave a better explanation as to how his regeneration arose in the end. Spiral Scratch or something like that. I know, non-canon. But it's the best we'll get now.

But yeah, poor Sixth Doctor. He's possibly my favourite. Top 5 at least.

 

[The Castellan]

I always liked Tom Baker. Many of his stories were pretty scary and he always was MY Doctor. I'd always be thrilled to be at the TV at 11:30 PM saturday nights from 1987-1992 here in Michigan to catch it right after Red Dwarf at 11:00 PM from 1990-1991.

I also liked Eccleston. I loved his world weary take of the Doc. Love the stupid apes bit. He had that mystery to him like Hartnell had.

I HATED the McCoy era. They had totally different writers, made the show into an action series and the Doc dodging gunfire every minute and using that stupid umbrella for everything....wanted to snap that thing in half. And simply blowing up the enemy and walking away calmly just did not do it for me. And it seems they ditched good stories for more visual effects....and crappy ones at that. I mean the late 1980's was known for crapp visuals, but these were real bad. Plus the opening and closing music...ugh....my old gameboy could have pumped out better sounding stuff.