March is a month that has come to be strongly connected to Doctor Who in the past few years as it tends to be the month earmarked for the first broadcast of a batch of new episodes. And as its now Spring (though you wouldnt think it is with the weather were having at the moment), a time of year commonly associated with new beginnings, its only fitting that Part Three of my monthly countdown to Doctor Whos Fiftieth Anniversary looks back at the Doctors regenerations...
1. First Doctor The Tenth Planet, 1966
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmXoHKzp4Lc Probably the only time that a regeneration has been truly surprising, William Hartnells departure from Doctor Who came in 1966 at the end of the first Cybermen story The Tenth Planet after his failing health had made it increasingly difficult for him to play the Doctor. There are three reasons why this regeneration would have had such a shock factor. First of all, as it was the first regeneration, there was no precedent for it thus there was no way to see it coming based on the programmes existing canon. Secondly, social media as we know it didnt exist in in the 1960s. So any theories on what would happen to the Doctor had no real way to gain any media traction. And finally, it came eight episodes into Season Fours forty-three episode run. These factors combined gave it a massive surprise factor which, at the time, must have made it pretty shocking to the viewers. As visual effects were still in their infancy at this point, technically its not all that impressive but the use of a faulty mixing desk to create the flare of regeneration energy is ingenious and much better than the original plan of having companion Ben cover Hartnell with a sheet that Patrick Troughton would emerge from at the start of the next story Power Of The Daleks. A good regeneration that set the standard for the many others that have followed over the past forty-seven years.