Although the scenes in the Series 4 finale The Stolen Earth (2008) where the Doctor is shot by a Dalek became common knowledge almost immediately after they were shot due to the scene taking place on location, what remained under wraps until the broadcast date was what happened next. After being shot, the Doctor is ushered into the Tardis by Rose and Donna and starts to Regenerate as the episode ends. The press subsequently exploded with speculation about what was going to happen next. Was this the end of Tennant? If it was, why was he filming the Christmas Special? And then the storys second episode Journeys End aired. In the first few minutes of Journeys End, the Doctor aborts the Regeneration after healing himself and siphons the energy into his severed hand, which later grows into a second Doctor. While it wasnt as poorly received as some other plot points, the reaction from some fans was lukewarm at best. As well as the annoyance at such a dramatic cliffhanger being resolved in such a lame manner, the ire of fans was also provoked by the fact that the episode had just used up a Regeneration for the plot of a single episode and arguably as a ratings stunt. Journeys End has the distinction of being the highest rated non-special episode of New Who, largely because of viewers tuning in in huge numbers to witness the supposed new Doctor, and has an appreciation index of 93 out of 100. But needless to say that a fake-out Regeneration cliffhanger done partly for ratings did not go down well with a considerable portion of the fandom.
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
