A Few Words on New Who Regeneration Episodes

In Who, endings are a big deal.  A regeneration episode isn’t as crucial as the one directly following it (the first outing of a new Doctor is huge,) but between the show’s longevity and enormous fan devotion, a proper farewell is paramount.  Unfortunately, I feel new Who gets so caught up in this importance that the finales often fall short because of how hard they try to be the goodbye-to-end-all-goodbyes.  (Spoilers for Nine, Ten, and Eleven’s final episodes.)

Nine’s regeneration is my favorite by far.  “The Parting of the Ways” has some definite too-muchness – there are billions of Daleks, Jack is brought back from the dead (before Rory made it commonplace,) and Rose gains goddess-like powers – but it’s not as overwrought as the later finales.  First, it takes time out for character moments, like Jack’s goodbye to the others and the death of Lynda, and while the Bad Wolf is enormous and deus ex machin-y, Rose’s connection with the Doctor grounds it.  It also helps that it’s not framed as a Big Important Regeneration.  It’s not prefaced by prophecies or This is the End anvils.  An unspoiled fan wouldn’t know it was a regeneration episode until it actually happens.  And the scene itself is sublime.  It’s so perfect, with the Doctor’s desperation to hold it back as he half-explains what’s coming to a bewildered Rose.  And then, his final line – after all the guilt and grief, he quietly states that he really was fantastic, and then that wonderful smile right at the end.  That’s how you write a regeneration.

By contrast, Ten’s last episode is an object lesson in everything wrong with RTD-era Who.  “The End of Time” is the Biggest Deal in the History of Ever, with returning Time Lords, returning Gallifrey, impossible choices, all-but-literal gnashing of teeth, and probable set-reconstruction from all the devoured scenery.  It’s a bombastic embarrassment with the stakes ratcheted up to the stratosphere and no sense of when to quit.  It’s littered with discussions about the Doctor’s impending death, and when he thinks he’s escaped the Big Bad Prophecy, only to realize he’ll have to die to save Wilf, his tantrum really sours me on Ten.  It’s like, look – the guy isn’t asking you to save him; in fact, he’s telling you just to leave him because he wants you to live.  If you’re gonna save him, don’t whine about how unfair it is and make him feel like a jerk for “taking” your life from you.  That’s not something I should be thinking about a Doctor in his last moments.  Ten may not have wanted to go, but after this finale, I was certainly ready to move on.

Which leaves us with Eleven.  “The Time of the Doctor” isn’t as bad, but it’s nowhere near what he deserves.  It’s super Moffaty, tossing every plot/monster Eleven ever had in a blender and ending up with a story that makes almost no sense.  There’s also Moffat’s penchant for being the showrunner with the mostest – he doesn’t go BIG!!! the same way that RTD does, but of course he added an extra Doctor for the 50^th anniversary and revealed here that Ten point Five counts as a regeneration, so he gets to be the one to address the 12-regeneration limit, and his Doctor lives longer than any other.  90% of the episode is an ego trip instead of a goodbye to a great Doctor.  That said, although the regeneration is dragged out far too long, Eleven’s last moments are lovely.  I love his ragged weariness, the striking vision of Amy at the end, and the gentle way he tries to reassure and prepare Clara.  His final speech is a knockout that gains back some of the good will lost by the preceding mess and, as with Nine, we see Eleven going out with grace.

So what’s with Who?  One out of three isn’t a good track record, especially for something so important.  Who, stop trying to write Events! and start writing good, emotional endings.