14 Doctor Who Urban Legends That Are Actually True

8. Regeneration Was Based On LSD

BBC

In the 1960s Doctor Who adopted its unique - and now iconic - premise of regeneration which would allow the titular Time Lord to live on after the untimely departure of the role€™s original, and arguably the best, incumbent William Hartnell. Producers didn€™t realise it at the time but it had all the makings of a winning formula which would help to ensure the show€™s legacy as the longest running science fiction series of all time. Even back then the writers always had a pretty good idea about what the Doctor€™s process of €œmetaphysical change€ would entail, too. The concept was originally outlined within internal BBC memos which were unearthed to the masses in 2010. To add to the dramatic effect, the regeneration process would be extremely traumatic for the Doctor as he €œrelived some of the most unendurable moments of his long life, including the galactic war€ and the experience was likened to that of the side effects of an LSD drug - €œInstead of experiencing the kicks, he just has the hell and dank horror instead€. Sounds terrifying.

Doctor Who Editor
Doctor Who Editor

Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.