How Every Doctor Who Reacted To Their Regeneration Sickness – Armessa Movie News

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The Doctor’s regeneration process on Doctor Who has allowed the show to remain relevant for years, but each version of the Time Lord has had a different reaction to their regeneration sickness. Time Lords aren’t immortal, but their regenerations allow them to extend their lifetimes far beyond that of a human. After each regeneration, the Doctor is hit by a period of confusion and disorientation that comes with the complete physiological change in their body. Though each version of the Doctor has a different reaction to the sickness, it’s almost universal that they will experience adverse effects immediately following their transformation.

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Originally introduced in 1966 when the First Doctor willingly regenerated into the Second at the end of the serial The Tenth Planet, the Doctor has regenerated every few years into an entirely different form. Whether it’s classic Doctor Who or modern seasons of Doctor Who, the Doctor’s regenerations have each had a unique twist, though some have had a much larger reaction than others. On rare occasions, fans don’t get a chance to see the regeneration, as the First and Ninth Doctor’s reactions remain a mystery. Also, the War Doctor and the Fourteenth Doctor seemed to have no major ill effects at all.

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The Second Doctor

In terms of actual side effects, the Second Doctor actually got off easy compared to many of his successors. Taking over for his first serial, The Power of the Daleks, the Doctor had little time to be incapacitated when taking on his oldest and most dangerous Doctor Who foe, the Daleks. While he suffered a momentary lapse in memory, he experienced none of the fainting spells or incapacitation that came in later regenerations. The act of regenerating has taken on a larger importance in the canon of Doctor Who, but for the Second Doctor it was merely a clever story device to replace his elderly predecessor.

The Third Doctor

A Sea Devil sneaks up on the Third Doctor in Doctor Who

Exiled on Earth for his violation of Time Lord law, the Third Doctor’s newly regenerated form stumbled out of the woods and spent the bulk of the first episode of his serial Spearhead from Space in a coma. Though that aspect of his sickness wore off quickly, the memory loss and fatigue continued to plague him throughout the story, with the memory loss vexing him over a lot of his first Doctor Who season. The Third Doctor’s particularly strong reaction could have been due to his forced regeneration, though there has never been a full explanation as to how regeneration actually works or why the Doctor gets sick.

The Fourth Doctor

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith standing in front of a sarcophagus in Doctor Who: Pyramids of Mars

After contracting radiation poisoning during the events of Planet of the Spiders, the Third Doctor willingly regenerated to save himself from death. Though the regeneration was intentional, the Fourth Doctor was nevertheless struck with intense confusion and had to remain in bed for an extended period before he could get involved in the plot of the Doctor Who serial Robot. His recovery wasn’t quite as extended, though, and he suffered no long-term side effects from the regeneration. Without the intentional memory block from the Time Lords that the Third Doctor suffered from, the Fourth Doctor was eager to leave Earth and begin exploring time and space again.

The Fifth Doctor

Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor Who looking on

Beloved for being the most eccentric Doctor in Doctor Who history, the Fourth’s sad-but-necessary regeneration came after a fall from a radio tower. To successfully regenerate, the Doctor had to merge with a future incarnation of himself which resulted in the youthful Fifth Doctor. The Fifth didn’t suffer from the extended comatose period of his predecessors, but he was prone to fainting throughout the Castrovalva serial. The merging most likely affected his memory, and the Fifth Doctor had a difficult time remembering who he was for a while. He was also hit by various ranges of energy that saw him exuberant and lethargic until the sickness wore off.

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The Sixth Doctor

The Sixth Doctor stands next to the Tardis controls in Doctor Who

During the events of The Caves of Androzani serial, the Fifth Doctor and his companion Peri were poisoned. The Doctor chose to use the only antidote on her, thus sacrificing himself. Doubting his regeneration was even possible, the Fifth Doctor did eventually become the Sixth, though the latter suffered greatly after regenerating. Lacking any physical ailments, the Sixth Doctor attempted to strangle Peri while in a delirious state and was emotionally unstable for quite a while. The Doctor’s behavior left a bad taste in many Doctor Who viewers’ mouths, and the Sixth Doctor was mostly disliked because of his behavior after regenerating.

The Seventh Doctor

The Seventh Doctor scowls from Doctor Who

The Sixth Doctor’s tenure was the shortest of any classic Doctor Who Doctor, and his regeneration during The Ultimate Foe was just as rushed and nonsensical. After sustaining an unexplained injury following an attack from the Rani, he quickly regenerated into the Seventh Doctor, who immediately reversed the worst things about the Sixth Doctor. Weakened by his transformation, the Doctor was suggestible enough to be hypnotized by the Rani and was controlled throughout most of the Time and the Rani serial. Though most of his reaction was due to the sickness, the Rani did also use chemicals to enhance the effects of his illness.

The Eighth Doctor

The Eighth Doctor in the TARDIS

The serial Survival was the last of the classic Doctor Who series, but the Seventh Doctor got away unscathed. It wasn’t until the Doctor Who TV movie in 1996 that the Seventh got a proper send-off. After getting shot while in San Francisco in 1999, the Seventh Doctor was defibrillated, which caused him to die. Hours later, he regenerated as the half-human Eighth Doctor, who suffered from the ill effects of the change as well as the drugs he was given at the hospital. The Eighth Doctor had intermittent memory loss and fatigue for a short period of time before making a full recovery a short way into the movie.

The Tenth Doctor

The Tenth Doctor stepping out of the Tardis in Doctor Who

Coming as the first regeneration seen in modern Doctor Who, the short-lived Ninth Doctor saved Rose Tyler from the Time Vortex and thus sacrificed himself to the overwhelming energy. Freshly regenerated into his new form, the Tenth Doctor was overcome with energy that saw him bounding around until he suddenly crashed into a comatose state where he slept for an extended period to recover. The Tenth Doctor’s regeneration was faulty, and this resulted in health problems during the special episode “The Christmas Invasion.” This was most likely due to the fact that his predecessor’s regeneration was one of the most painful in the history of Doctor Who.

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The Eleventh Doctor

The Eleventh Doctor talks to the Tenth in Doctor Who

Similar to the Fourth Doctor, the regeneration of the Tenth was met with great sadness as he used his last moments to help out his friends. The 500,000 rads of radiation the Doctor was bombarded with made regeneration necessary, and he held back the transformation for as long as he could until he eventually became the Eleventh. Like his predecessor, the Eleventh Doctor was consumed with energy, but he had an added quirk that made him crave different types of food even though he disliked the taste. In lieu of an extended rest period, the Eleventh Doctor’s hunger could be seen as his body’s attempt to recuperate from regeneration.

The Twelfth Doctor

The Twelfth Doctor regenerates in Doctor Who

Having used up all of his regenerative energy fighting against the villainous Daleks, the Eleventh Doctor was granted another regeneration cycle and was thus allowed to shed his form in favor of another. The Twelfth Doctor was much older in appearance than his predecessor and suffered from a totally different set of regeneration sickness symptoms as well. Completely delirious and racked with memory loss, the new Doctor forgot how to pilot the TARDIS and had a difficult time remembering who his companion Clara was. The effects only lasted a few hours but were more profound than his modern Doctor Who predecessors.

The Thirteenth Doctor

Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor using the Sonic Screwdriver in Doctor Who

The Twelfth Doctor sustained injuries while fighting the Cybermen but was reluctant to regenerate. He then met up with his first incarnation, and together they decided to willingly go forward with the change despite the Doctor’s fears and reservations. The regeneration resulted in the Thirteenth Doctor, and she was immediately struck with amnesia regarding her own personality. She entered a brief comatose state that was interrupted, but she suffered no ill effects from the interference with the process. She quickly gained all of her memory after a rush of adrenaline, and she set out on exciting Doctor Who adventures with no long-term side effects.

MORE: Every Single Doctor Who Regeneration, Ranked

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