Although Matt Smith is often thought to be the eleventh Doctor, the use of regeneration energy throughout the Doctor Who episode “Journey’s End” shows that David Tennant should be considered the tenth doctor as well as the eleventh. The Doctor is an alien known as a Time Lord. Time Lords are thought to possess packets of regeneration energy that allow them to renew themselves in times of great injury, also known as regeneration. Regenerations do not just heal the body, they “create a new physical form” (Corry et al. 12) . Corry et al. go on to explain that regeneration can cause a “notable shift in personality” (12) From the events that take place during Journey’s end, it can be concluded that David Tennant used the regeneration energy to heal himself, and create a new physical form with a unique personality, thereby making him the tenth and eleventh regeneration of the Doctor.
Journey’s End begins with the Doctor using his regeneration energy to heal himself, and siphoning off the rest into his extra hand. As previously mentioned, Time Lords are thought to have packets of regeneration energy, meaning that the number of regenerations possible lies in the number of energy packets in one’s body. In Jim Leach’s book, “TV Milestones: Doctor Who”, Leach explains the importance of this number. According to his research, it is not “in The Deadly Assassin (1976) do we learn that Time Lords have the capacity to regenerate twelve times.” (56) By placing a limit on regeneration, David Tennant’s “Journey’s End” regeneration becomes incredibly important. It is no longer a technicality; it dictates how long the show will be able to continue. The law of twelve regenerations has become so engrained in the culture of Doctor Who it cannot be ignored. Many people try to explain away David Tennant’s first regeneration in an attempt to keep the show going longer, but the evidence says otherwise – all the regeneration energy is used and results in the Meta-Crisis Doctor.
The Meta-Crisis Doctor is created in scene where Donna, a friend of the Doctor, touches the spare hand the Doctor siphoned his regeneration energy into, and a new Doctor spontaneously appears. In an attempt to explain the situation to Donna, the Doctor says, “Never been another like me. 'Cause all that regeneration energy went into the hand... But then you touched it— WHAM! Instantaneous biological metacrisis. I grew out of you” (Journey’s End). If the hand did not have the regeneration energy in it, nothing would have happened when Donna touched it. The Meta-Crisis Doctor differs physically from the regular Doctor in that he half human, having only one heart and an inability to regenerate.
Not only does this Doctor have a new physical form, he has a new personality. The Meta-Crisis Doctor is a bit rougher, and angrier than the regular Doctor. The Meta-Crisis Doctor quickly realizes that he has picked up a bit of Donna’s personality when he says, “Oy! Watch it, Earthgirl!” (Journey’s End). This is type of comeback is usually closer to something Donna would say, as opposed to the Doctor. Tennat’s Doctor is usually quite witty, so as he says this new personality sounds “all rough” (Journey’s End). Later in the episode, the shift in the Meta-Crisis Doctor’s personality becomes even clearer. One of the most prominent traits in Tennant’s Doctor is his ability to show mercy to anyone. He is willing to give everyone a second chance, and never kills anyone unless it is necessary to save lives. The Meta-Crisis Doctor, however, destroys an entire fleet of daleks, the race of aliens trying to destroy the universe in this particular episode, just because they could potentially cause harm. By this point in the episode, the Doctor and his friends had already beaten the daleks and the people of earth were safe, but the Meta-Crisis Doctor wouldn’t leave until he destroyed the entire ship full of daleks. According to him, there were enough daleks to “slaughter the cosmos. They’ve got to be stopped” (Journey’s End). This is a huge personality shift from the regular Doctor, showing that the Meta-Crisis Doctor fits the “new form” and “notable personality shift” (Correy et. 12) needed to be considered regeneration.
The regeneration that takes place during this episode has all the makings of a full regeneration, which means that David Tennant should be considered the tenth and eleventh Doctor. With the twelve regeneration rule so engrained in the show, this would mean there can only be one more Doctor past Peter Capaldi, the latest actor to portray the Doctor. For a show with so few limitations – no time, or universe is out of the question – the idea that David Tennant is the eleventh Doctor severely limits the shows future.
Word Count: 791
Works Cited:
Corry, Neil, Jaqueline Rayner, Andrew Darling, Kerrie Dougherty, David John, and Simon Beecroft. Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary. New York: DK Publishing, 2010. Print.
Leach, Jim. "Talking about Regeneration: The Five Doctors." TV Milestones:Doctor Who. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2009. 55-64. Print.
"Journey's End." Doctor Who. BBC. 5 July 2008. Television
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