I don't think its the fact that it was emotional that was generally criticised, but the emotional attitude. For instance, Matt's exit was pretty much the opposite of David's. When he thinks he's actually going to die, he accepts it and goes to confront the Daleks one last time. When he begins his regeneration in the TARDIS, he makes a speech about how change is a good thing and how we shouldn't be afraid of it.
Similarly, seeing Amy was very different to 10s final reward. 11 only hallucinates Amy in his final moments. Its his mind playing tricks on him as he begins to regenerate. 10, however, was supposedly mortally wounded by having his entire body flooded with radiation. His regeneration kicked off almost immediately as the wounds on his face healed. But then he still managed to go on a merry jaunt to say goodbye to all his friends and was even strong enough to actually creep up on a Sontaran and knock it out. Heck, he didn't even say goodbye to half of them - he just stood in the distance, looking cool and moody!
I actually think that Matt's exit is not just the polar opposite of David's, but I think it was specifically written to be just that. The thing I disliked about 10s regeneration was that it really made it such a downer. 10 describes regeneration as "like dying," he gets terrified at the prospect that he's going to have to do it, he's fearful at the loss of identity. He also has to go and say one last goodbye to all his friends - but only 10s friends, it seems.
Comparatively, 11s regen is all about how its a good thing. When he starts to regenerate, the music swells and he gets excited. This is a moment for us to smile at. When he returns to the TARDIS and talks to Clara, he comforts her by saying that he is the Doctor, but so is his next face. Rather than crying that who he is will die and a new man will walk away, he makes a comparison to how we all change throughout our lives.
Both are sad, but one looks on the tragedy of regeneration and the other looks on the excitement of change. Or put another way, ten was a glass half empty kinda guy and 11 was too busy enjoying the drink to notice it was getting low!
I honestly believed that 11s last speech was Moffat directly responding to some of the fan negativity over 10s exit.
I can see where you're coming from. My view is that after ''The End of Time'' portrayed regeneration so negatively (to a degree I consider unfair), Moffat probably felt that it needed saying that it wasn't that bad. As you say, whereas in ''The End of Time'' regeneration was death and a new man was walking away out of Ten's ashes, in ''the Time of the Doctor'' he reminds us that he is ''always the Doctor'' and that with or without regeneration, everyone changes throughout their lives.
I can see where you're coming from. My view is that after ''The End of Time'' portrayed regeneration so negatively (to a degree I consider unfair), Moffat probably felt that it needed saying.
Yeah, that's pretty much what I meant. It seemed to be so much the opposite of the way 10 went, I can't imagine it was by accident.
My view is that after ''The End of Time'' portrayed regeneration so negatively (to a degree I consider unfair), Moffat probably felt that it needed saying that it wasn't that bad.
I can see where people are coming from about it portraying regeneration negatively, but at the same time, I see from a different angle.
The way I see it, every new who Doctor has had a regeneration which suited the story of the outgoing doctor
Tennant's regeneration isn't trying to say regeneration is always bad, but that it depends on the regeneration in question. All through his incarnation as Tennant he absolutely loved being himself, just the way he was. He had fun, made many friends and although he was sometimes sombre, on the whole he seemed to mostly love life in this incarnation, it was almost as if he'd found his favourite body so far. So it stands to reason then, that knowing that although he will still live, this form which he has loved being so much, will be ripped from him, It seems only logical that he had the sort of reaction he did in the face of such an event about to happen
Similarly with the the others of new who Eccleston was mostly angsty and still pretty depressed about the time war and thinking he'd destroyed gallifrey, so it stands to reason that, having not been particularly happy during his time as eccleston that he wasn't particularly bothered when it came time for him to change. Then with smith to Capaldi change, he had lived for so very long in that body that he had made peace with the idea of death itself. Then, when the chance to change and live on came along it was like a bonus that he never expected so he was more than happy to have to pay the small price of losing his current form for the chance to live on.
I can see where people are coming from about it portraying regeneration negatively, but at the same time, I see from a different angle.
The way I see it, every new who Doctor has had a regeneration which suited the story of the outgoing doctor
Tennant's regeneration isn't trying to say regeneration is always bad, but that it depends on the regeneration in question. All through his incarnation as Tennant he absolutely loved being himself, just the way he was. He had fun, made many friends and although he was sometimes sombre, on the whole he seemed to mostly love life in this incarnation, it was almost as if he'd found his favourite body so far. So it stands to reason then, that knowing that although he will still live, this form which he has loved being so much, will be ripped from him, It seems only logical that he had the sort of reaction he did in the face of such an event about to happen
Similarly with the the others of new who Eccleston was mostly angsty and still pretty depressed about the time war and thinking he'd destroyed gallifrey, so it stands to reason that, having not been particularly happy during his time as eccleston that he wasn't particularly bothered when it came time for him to change. Then with smith to Capaldi change, he had lived for so very long in that body that he had made peace with the idea of death itself. Then, when the chance to change and live on came along it was like a bonus that he never expected so he was more than happy to have to pay the small price of losing his current form for the chance to live on.
They all fit in proportion to that doctors story.
I definitely see where you're coming from. But I think TEOT took it way too far in making regeneration out to be death. That whole ''it feels like dying'' line and of course the whole ''I don't wanna go'' nonsense. At the very least, RTD could have written the Doctor saying ''I don't wanna change'' or something similar so as not to ruin the concept.
I watched ''The Christmas Invasion'' not too long ago and couldn't help but roll my eyes when Ten said he was ''literally'' the same person he was before. It didn't seem like Davies was making much of an effort to be consistent with his own stories.
I'd have restored Donna's memory, meaning that she was killed. The death of a companion would then have meant that the Doctor was no longer willing to stay alive in that incarnation, therefore he would be more willing to save Wilf, and instead of whining that he 'didn't want to go'', he would have greeted death with a final line of "What took you so
I'd have restored Donna's memory, meaning that she was killed. The death of a companion would then have meant that the Doctor was no longer willing to stay alive in that incarnation, therefore he would be more willing to save Wilf, and instead of whining that he 'didn't want to go'', he would have greeted death with a final line of "What took you so long?", before having an even more violent regeneration due to him feeling genuine remorse for those who sacrificed their lives for him.
I liked his regeneration, it was nice to get him to say goodbye to old friends. I have no problem with the I don't want to go line. Althought it did send my mum blubbering into her tissue and even to this day she's still not over tennant.
I can see where people are coming from about it portraying regeneration negatively, but at the same time, I see from a different angle.
The way I see it, every new who Doctor has had a regeneration which suited the story of the outgoing doctor
Tennant's regeneration isn't trying to say regeneration is always bad, but that it depends on the regeneration in question. All through his incarnation as Tennant he absolutely loved being himself, just the way he was. He had fun, made many friends and although he was sometimes sombre, on the whole he seemed to mostly love life in this incarnation, it was almost as if he'd found his favourite body so far. So it stands to reason then, that knowing that although he will still live, this form which he has loved being so much, will be ripped from him, It seems only logical that he had the sort of reaction he did in the face of such an event about to happen
Similarly with the the others of new who Eccleston was mostly angsty and still pretty depressed about the time war and thinking he'd destroyed gallifrey, so it stands to reason that, having not been particularly happy during his time as eccleston that he wasn't particularly bothered when it came time for him to change. Then with smith to Capaldi change, he had lived for so very long in that body that he had made peace with the idea of death itself. Then, when the chance to change and live on came along it was like a bonus that he never expected so he was more than happy to have to pay the small price of losing his current form for the chance to live on.
They all fit in proportion to that doctors story.
I would also argue that regeneration has to be portrayed as a traumatic experience otherwise it's just too easy, there's no drama in it and the doctor would just nonchantly tut and shake his head after being mortally wounded and begin regenerating as calmly as we would change our shirt after spilling tomato sauce on it at dinner.
As fans I'm sure we want our hero to be brave in the face of mortal peril, sacrifice himself for the greater good and basically not make a big deal out of it.
We are British and are good at repressing our emotions after all (and doctor who fans doubley so )
However as a tv drama that just won't do as a big dramatic moment so I'd wager the doctor mourning the loss of one of his favourite incarnations so far works a lot better for dramatic reasons than performing a bit of a spoken word rap and fantasising about some one who isn't really there and didn't care for anyone bar her own ego anyway!
Moffatt even continued the "mourning the favourite incarnation" idea but transferred it post regeneration to Clara, which as the companion who had met the most doctors, -made zero sense that she would have a problem with regeneraton all of a sudden
Agree with most of this. Except the bit about Amy . Amy did love her husband her daughter and her best friend 11. Why do you think she gave herself to the weeping angel to spend her life with and die with her Rory ?. Like to think the young amy was a hallucination but the adult Amy was real. How do we know river didn't ask her mum to go and comfort 11 as he died ?. Death is just the beginning.
Just like Seven. Shot by a gang of teenagers, then die in hospital an hour or two later!
Only joking!! ;-)
Seriously, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Revisiting old companions and seeing Donna have a happy ending was a fitting way for Ten to spend his last moments before Eleven came along.
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Yeah, that's pretty much what I meant. It seemed to be so much the opposite of the way 10 went, I can't imagine it was by accident.
I can see where people are coming from about it portraying regeneration negatively, but at the same time, I see from a different angle.
The way I see it, every new who Doctor has had a regeneration which suited the story of the outgoing doctor
Tennant's regeneration isn't trying to say regeneration is always bad, but that it depends on the regeneration in question. All through his incarnation as Tennant he absolutely loved being himself, just the way he was. He had fun, made many friends and although he was sometimes sombre, on the whole he seemed to mostly love life in this incarnation, it was almost as if he'd found his favourite body so far. So it stands to reason then, that knowing that although he will still live, this form which he has loved being so much, will be ripped from him, It seems only logical that he had the sort of reaction he did in the face of such an event about to happen
Similarly with the the others of new who Eccleston was mostly angsty and still pretty depressed about the time war and thinking he'd destroyed gallifrey, so it stands to reason that, having not been particularly happy during his time as eccleston that he wasn't particularly bothered when it came time for him to change. Then with smith to Capaldi change, he had lived for so very long in that body that he had made peace with the idea of death itself. Then, when the chance to change and live on came along it was like a bonus that he never expected so he was more than happy to have to pay the small price of losing his current form for the chance to live on.
They all fit in proportion to that doctors story.
I watched ''The Christmas Invasion'' not too long ago and couldn't help but roll my eyes when Ten said he was ''literally'' the same person he was before. It didn't seem like Davies was making much of an effort to be consistent with his own stories.
I would also argue that regeneration has to be portrayed as a traumatic experience otherwise it's just too easy, there's no drama in it and the doctor would just nonchantly tut and shake his head after being mortally wounded and begin regenerating as calmly as we would change our shirt after spilling tomato sauce on it at dinner.
As fans I'm sure we want our hero to be brave in the face of mortal peril, sacrifice himself for the greater good and basically not make a big deal out of it.
We are British and are good at repressing our emotions after all (and doctor who fans doubley so )
However as a tv drama that just won't do as a big dramatic moment so I'd wager the doctor mourning the loss of one of his favourite incarnations so far works a lot better for dramatic reasons than performing a bit of a spoken word rap and fantasising about some one who isn't really there and didn't care for anyone bar her own ego anyway!
Moffatt even continued the "mourning the favourite incarnation" idea but transferred it post regeneration to Clara, which as the companion who had met the most doctors, -made zero sense that she would have a problem with regeneraton all of a sudden
Only joking!! ;-)
Seriously, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Revisiting old companions and seeing Donna have a happy ending was a fitting way for Ten to spend his last moments before Eleven came along.