wsl@eosp1.UUCP (Warren Lobel) (07/20/84)
A thought has recently occurred to me that might spark some interesting banter between all Dr. Who afficianodos (spelling?). We all know that the good Doctor can (and will) regenerate in response to some great physical, bodily stress (except when the Timelords forced a regeneration on him at the end of the 'Wargames' story (i.e. from Doctor Two -- Patrick Troughton (who by the way also played the Priest who was impaled in 'The Omen') to Doctor Three -- Jon Pertwee). My point is this -- Throughout the Doctor Who series there have been many times in which the Doctor encountered the same type and severity of physical stress that normally (e.g. when a new doctor is about to appear on the scene) sparks a regeneration. For example, Tom Baker's Doctor almost died on the planet Karn after his mind duel with the reincarnated (or regurgitated) Morbius and was only saved by drinking 'The Elixer of Life' given to him by the sisterhood. Surely this must qualify as a regenerative crisis. Tom Baker also was prematurely aged during the 'Leisure Hive' definitively a cause for regeneration (for example: William Hartnell's Doctor (the original for those less informed) specifically stated that his body was old and too worn out and that he had to trade it in for a new one thus turning into Patrick Troughton. I am sure there are many more examples where the Doctor's life was in severe enough danger to spark a regeneration but its pointless to repeat them here. What I want to know is why the Doctor did not regenerate at these times, aside from the real and obvious reason that it just wasn't time to change actors. I mean is it some special heretofore unknown ability of timelords to hold back a regeneration? We all know that some Time- lords can force a regeneration to occur (e.g Romana, The Master and K'anpo (aka Cho-je) from Jon Pertwee's last serial (The Planet of the Spiders). But we don't know if Timelords can prevent a regeneration from taking place (the only situation where this might be desirable is a case where a Timelord really likes his (or her) present body and even though their life is in danger they might want to stay in that body thinking that some other means other than regeneration will be used to save their life such as the 'Elixer of Life' mentioned earlier). Some food for thought? Hmmm? Warren Lobel
argo@hou2a.UUCP (W.GARRETT) (07/21/84)
Okay, when to regenerate? I believe I have the ANSWER!!! Da-da-da-dum Regeneration is not, repeat not, a merely physical process. It involves the timelord's attention in great detail, a willingness to regenerate. William Hartnell's regeneration was obviously by choice, he gave his nice little speech that was redone just before the Five Doctors. Troughton had less say in the matter, being forced to regenerate, but it was still him doing it. Pertwee was unconscious at the time, but had the help of K'anpo in regenerating, without which he would not have been able to, otherwise he would have done so while in the TARDIS. Baker had been partially regerated before starting Logopolis by the Timelords, because of the danger of the mission, which allowed him to complete his regeneration when he would not otherwise have been able to do so. I haven't seen Davisson's last stand, so can't speak about it. In the other cases mentioned, such as Brain of Morbius, the doctor was unconscious, so unable to regenerate on his own, or simply unwilling to do so at that time. Regeration is not involuntary. By the way, the doctor has always regenerated from crises, except Hartnell. It seems that regenerating peacefully lets you choose the body you move in to, as both K'anpo and Romana have shown. Contact Has Been Made, Andrew Garrett
bwm@ccieng2.UUCP (Brad Miller) (07/25/84)
From the TB->JD regeneration, I would suggest that a time lord must PREPARE a regeneration. If unprepared, TS. Brad Miller -- ...[cbrma, rlgvax, ritcv]!ccieng5!ccieng2!bwm