I'm curious to find out what everyone's favourite regeneration story is, as it has been pretty much confirmed that Peter Capaldi won't be the Doctor after Series 10 has ended.

I've put up a poll with the names of every Doctor's sregeneration story. I've even included The Day of the Doctor, as we saw The War Doctor start to change into Chris Eccleston.

1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NctqgICb0DM

2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjIZPl3ABXo

3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snl6LqFrr1A

4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3w-BHsXt4I

5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvAenK95PfQ

6 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_OT2obe710

7 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKRa06hP6vc

8 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylI5ZrmkkOM

9 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa3NM9Jhkn0

10 partial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlyLAtgjQGw

10 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVEY5AL5zzk

War Doctor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDYSiERa50s

11 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F84WapAH7M

This is a strange one to answer because my answer to 'which is my favourite regeneration' differs to my answer of 'which is my favourite of the listed stories' based on the story itself.

Since the actual question says 'story' I'll vote for the Stolen Earth just on the basis that it is one part of my favourite story in the entirety of new who so far. As I say though that's based on the greatness of the story overall, and not solely the partial regeneration which was just one exciting element of a story packed with brilliant moments.

If I was voting on my favourite regeneration scene though, it would have to be the Tennant to Smith regeneration because it was so spectacularly grand and emotional at the same time. Real drama that never fails to make me feel what the doctor was supposed to be feeling during the scene, but also very sad when I watch it because 10 didn't want to go, and I didn't want him to go either.

Where exactly? source? guessing you don't have one because nothing yet has been indicated either way whether he will stay or leave.

I think you mean you think he will leave, so you should just say that rather than saying 'pretty much confirmed' when there is nothing yet to suggest that is the case.

Very close between The War Games and The Caves of Androzani, but the latter wins out as one the greatest Who stories of all time. Robert Holmes was on a masterstroke with this one, creating a dark and atmospheric background story to play off the concept of how the Doctor's reckless wandering can go wrong, and how far he'd go to save somebody whose life he'd endangered. It shows that Doctor Who isn't always the usual "the Doctor is the flawless hero who saves the world from the baddies" affair, but that the Doctor is sometimes a man who can make the most unheroic decisions but still be sympathetic. The Doctor sacrificing himself to save the life of a woman he barely knew, rather than going out saving the world again, is one of the most emotional scenes in the entire show, and made for a much more moving departure than the overblown and shoddy End of Time or the rather directionless Logopolis.

Christopher Gable should have won a medal for his performance as Sharaz Jek. A common strength in Holmes' stories was that sometimes the humanoid villains could be far more terrifying than the actual monsters (not to say they weren't scary).

This is where it says he will leave:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/p...or-who-7245477

The article says, and I quote:

"BBC bosses expect Peter Capaldi to leave Doctor Who after the next series – when writer Steven Moffat also steps down.

The 57-year-old’s tenure as the 12th Doctor is likely to end in 2017."

Easy choice, best story of Doctor Who, Caves of Androzani.

Am I the only one that voted Parting of The Ways, The Ninth Doctor made history in a little blue box in 2005 and went out with a smile and no regrets all for his Best Friend, Rose from so long ago!

I agree with this in part.

For me The Caves Of Androzani is by the far one of the greatest stories ever in terms of storyline, characterisation and the uniqueness of it's structure. As a regeneration story it sends the Fifth Doctor off in style.

However, though it is a weaker story in many respects it's Logopolis I prefer in terms of the Regeneration because I like it better.(Plus it's my fave period of DW ever) Not only that there is this sense of doom right throughout the story and it The Doctor is more central to it whereas in Caves at times there are lots of other characters and situations going on. Plus the flashbacks and the fact it had The Master in it with Anthony Ainley at his peak, plus the mystery of The Watcher just gives it the edge over Caves for me.

It's the same with the New Series. Parting of The Ways was an excellent swansong with a nice tagged on the end Regeneration. However, though The End Of Time is crap, the Regeneration itself was far better and had more impact.

Though not on the list, I'd recommend the Big Finish story The Last Adventure which I listened to yesterday. It was just the sort of swansong The Sixth Doctor should have had. It was well structured and written and ties in nicely with what happened at the beginning of Time And The Rani though it wasn't that central to the story itself. Won't spoil it for anyone, but it's worth a listen.

Colin Baker puts in an awesome performance throughout and the last scene is pure magic. If you don't like the Sixth Doctor you'd be surprised just how different he is.

Probably The Stolen Earth closely followed by The Parting of the ways.

I'll never forget the buzz and the hype brought on by that twist. Whether or not the resolution was satisfactory is another question but it got people talking about Doctor Who so did its job spectacularly,

Parting of the Ways nice and understated but a shock to those not versed in Regneratiom at the time

But it's the Mirror and you know how accurate their stories are. Why are so many people determined to write off Peter Capaldi already ? I hope he stays for at least two more full series.

The War Games. It's an absolutely massive story that has the Doctor sacrifice himself to send thousands of soldiers and warriors back to their own times. It introduces the Timelords and Gallifrey and resets and refreshes the series by sending the Doctor's companions home and stranding him on Earth.

I'd argue that no other regeneration story has had a bigger impact on the series.

(I too hope the Mirror has got it wrong. It's hardly a bastion of accurate and fair reporting!)

For me the best regeneration story has to be The Caves of Androzani. It is one of the most sinister and exciting stories of the show's history and I remember the first time I watched The Caves of Androzani (when it was first broadcast on BBC1) the cliff hanger to part three had me at the edge of my seat wondering if The Doctor was going to regenerate when he crash landed on Androzani Minor.

My other favourite regeneration stories include Logopolis and Planet of the Spiders.

Planet of the Spiders for me. OK, it's not the greatest story per se - I just don't think the spiders work too well, there are some frankly weird "cliffhangers" and Jenny Laird's performance has often been cited as one of the worst ever in Doctor Who, and not without good reason - but as a farewell to the outgoing Doctor, it's never been bettered. I just love the chase in part two. It adds absolutely nothing to the plot but is simply there to give Jon Pertwee one final action-packed hurrah as a thank you for five glorious years. I've got very special memories of watching this story on its original broadcast.

I'd put The War Games a close second. It's a lovely end to Patrick Troughton's tenure and a real milestone in the series, closing one era but setting the stage for the next. In contrast, I've always found Logopolis a terribly disappointing story. After seven years as the most popular and recognisable Doctor, and with so many great stories behind him, Tom Baker deserved so much better than a load of faffing about in a motorway lay-by followed by a trip to a polystyrene planet inhabited by the universe's most boring race.

Nice idea for a poll but I must point out to the OP that a bit of unsupported gossip in a tabloid backed up by no sources whatsoever doesn't really "pretty much confirm" that Capaldi is leaving at all. As others have said, I hope he's around for years yet.

That was an amazing cliffhanger. I really liked the first one too, with the Doctor and Peri seemingly being lined up and shot. How they got away with a scene like that on a family show I don't know (I guess some people were just less sensitive back then), but it was very intense and unsettling and one of those cliffhangers where you really have no idea how they could get out of the situation.

So one newspaper guessing means to you that it's 'pretty much confirmed'. It seriously isn't.

Look at the part you've quoted yourself as apparent proof 'BBC bosses expect Peter Capaldi to leave doctor who'. They aren't even confident enough in their story to say he will definitely leave. Plus no-one real is quoted in the article, just the usual vague 'a source said' stuff.

People are going to speculate, and that is all that article is, them guessing but trying to make it seem more credible than it is.

As I said to you before it is neither confirmed or anywhere near even 'pretty much confirmed' either way whether he will stay or leave at this point, because there is not yet been any solid information come to light on the subject to be able to deduce or even make an educated guess on which way it will go.

Another vote for Caves, I think the revived series could learn understatement and much more from this regen story, I feel sometimes hyping things up within the narrative can have a dampening effect, and a few of the recent regen stories have suffered from that.

Yeah, to echo the message from others one occasionally accurate tabloid paper commenting that they 'expect' something to happen does not equate to "pretty much confirmed" in regards to Capaldi's future involvement.

On topic though, I went for The Parting of the Ways as I love how understated the whole thing is from the Doctor's side, allowing the companion to carry the weighty drama of it all. They went the other way with Tennant and it failed for me on nearly every level. It also helps that Eccleston's final episode is also my favourite ever episode.

I would have to say my favourite classic regeneration is Troughton's in The War Games. I'm in a minority that actually wasn't a particularly big fan of Troughton, but it was a superb final story and a pivotal one too.

The Tenth Planet.

Nobody knew that the success that the William Hartnell era had would be continued through Patrick Troughton's era, so Patrick had a massive job to do to continue the show, and continue the success.

First and foremost, its the Mirror, a trashy tabloid with as much credibility as the Sun. Secondly, where does it say he will leave? The part you quoted confirms nothing, says nothing it is pure conjecture and has no more credibility than me starting a thread stating 'I reckon Capaldi will leave when Moff steps down', in fact my thread would have more credibility as it would invite opinions.

People really need to stop being so gullible, believing what tabloids feed them.

Anyway, I went for Logopolis.

I have to say, having watched it recently, I really don't get the love for The Caves of Androzani. To me, it really seems like a routine 5th Doctor story and then suddenly, tacked on to the end as if they'd just remembered Peter Davison was leaving... oh the Doctor's poisoned and has to sacrifices himself to save Peri (because there isn't enough antidote for both).

It's a small scale story. The kind we've seen the Doctor and companion survive hundreds of times. To have him regenerate in this way seems a tad... unconvincing.

It's not that I think the Doctor would not sacrifice himself for just one person, especially a companion. He would, and he's offered many times when it seemed necessary. But the story just seems too small in a dramatic narrative sense for the Doctor's regeneration.

I know having the hero always survive is not at all realistic, but it's a convention in this sort of series that the hero always does - unless it's a grand "save the universe" story. Logopolis had that at least, even if the actual means of death (a simple fall from height) was weak.

That's why I voted for The War Games. It has an epic scale and the personal consequences for the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe and for the show itself were immense.

For me, its Logopolis. After growing up with Tom Baker this is - to this day - the regeneration story which affected me the most emotionally.

I think it had more impact because so much happened in this episode with Tegan and Nyssa joining the team, the first proper appearance of the new Master and Nyssa's home world of Traken being destroyed.

It was such a weird story too, from the outset. It just felt different to all the other Who stories up until that point. And the regeneration itself was spectacular, much more so than the 'blink and you'll miss it' regeneration in Planet of the Spiders.

I also liked the fact it didn't idiot-proof the story for the viewers. There was a lot you had to work out for yourself. I was only 10 or 11 at the time and I think it was years later that I really understood things like the Watcher and how the maths on Logopolis was being used.

Mine has to be Matt's regeneration in time of the Doctor while I didnt appreciate the Christmas elements of that story or even the 'church' of the papal mainframe idea, I did like the idea of the Time Lords waiting for the question to be answered, the siege of Trenzalore, Matt's speech, the phone call and the giving of the new regenerations.
For me with it following the 50th and all that that entailed, I find its my favorite, so far! Who knows what will happen as the show goes on though!

It always mystifies me when people make this point as there's enough evidence in TCOA to prove this wasn't a routine Davison story!

From Davison's performance, to the direction, the music, the writing, even the lack of any allies to help The Doctor, I think this story is about as different from the rest of the Fifth Doctor's Era as you can get!


Agree with most of your post but would like to defend the regeneration sequence in Planet Of The Spiders. I agree that effects wise it wasn't much but in this case, maybe it didn't need to be.

I find this particular Regeneration quite moving in a way; for me it's the closest out of the all them to feeling as if someone is actually dying right there in front of you and I think after that last scene to suddenly have the Doctor regenerate in a dramatic splurge of yellow energy or something wouldn't have quite gelled. It works for me because of the serenity and undramatic nature of it, it's the complete and utter contrast to the 10/11 regeneration.

The Caves of Androzani is also the only regeneration story to future the companions cleavage.

That's two reasons why it's different then!