Some Thoughts on New Who Post-Regeneration Episodes

I’ve already talked about regeneration episodes on new Who, a Doctor’s last farewell, but what about his hello?  We’ve now seen four regular-run Doctors introduced in the new series, which gives us four episodes to compare (spoilers for “Rose,” “The Christmas Invasion,” “The Eleventh Hour,” and “Deep Breath.”)

“Rose” is the most out-of-place, since, while it’s clear Nine hasn’t been around too long, he’s not immediately post-regeneration.  So, he’s had time to find his outfit, discover his accent, and get an idea of what his personality is like (but not, apparently, see himself in a mirror.)  This episode has some major clunkiness for me in terms of the alien plot, the “whacky” humor, and the Auton Mickey, but when it comes to introducing us to a new Doctor, it delivers on every level.  The second Nine pops out of nowhere, grabs Rose’s hand, and exclaims, “Run!”, you know you’re in for a ride.  With no regeneration crisis to deal with, he’s able to be in full Doctor-mode from the start, which is excellent.  It’s all there:  flippancy, humor, cheeriness (real and put-on,) impatience, brilliance, pain, determination, and heart.  What a Doctor, and what an intro!

“The Christmas Invasion” is the lowest on the list for me, but to be fair, a) it was my first regeneration, and b) I was having to give up Nine.  While I like a lot of the plot, such as seeing Harriet Jones again and Rose trying to cope with the Doctor’s regeneration, this episode on first watch didn’t do much to sell me on Ten.  The main reason is that it feels like he spends most of the episode unconscious (again – my first regeneration, meaning my first regeneration crisis.)  He lies there for what seems like ages, and it feels like a waste of an episode.  And I like Ten now, but at the time, the little this episode does show of him didn’t really endear me to him.  The only standout bit for me is when he catches himself quoting “The Circle of Life,” the swordfight on the wing of a spaceship feels like the show trying way too hard to show off the Amazing!!! new Doctor, and the “no second chances” moment unsettles me.  Overall, not a winner.

“The Eleventh Hour” is a bit like “Rose” for me in that the new-Doctor part works a lot better than the alien-plot part.  I like young Amelia and the crack in the wall, but the Prisoner Zero storyline leans too hard on a lot of Moffat’s typical moves.  Eleven, though, is magic.  I’d been among the “okay, can this kid really pull off playing the Doctor?” crowd, but I was all in by the time they got to fish custard.  This episode does a great job showing off the core of who Eleven is.  He’s fun and puppyish and sweet, but he’s also smart and take-charge and really perceptive.  He knows how to be commanding when he needs to be, he’s very compassionate, and you never lose sight of the fact that his youthful-looking eyes are actually that of a 900-year-old alien.

Which leaves us with “Deep Breath.”  The plot is kind of all over the place, and some of the writing is much too heavy-handed and defensive-seeming about having an older Doctor, but for the most part, the stuff that works in this episode is the stuff that’s Twelve.  Despite all the noise going on around him (the speechifying by other characters about whether or not he’s the same, the stuff about his age, the pointed Dark!! moments that seem to shout “not your mama’s Doctor!”), he himself is wonderful as he navigates a whollop of a regeneration crisis, wonders who he is now, and tries to convince Clara not to give up on him.  We get the unfiltered brusqueness and the angry eyebrows, but we get the vulnerability, too.  After my first watch, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of all I’d just seen, but I knew I was going to love Twelve.