Doctor Who: 10 Greatest Things The 50th Anniversary Year Gave Us

7. A New Regeneration Cycle

With the reveal of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in August, there was increased talk of the Doctor's regeneration limit, first mentioned in Tom Baker story 'The Brain of Morbius' and reiterated many times since. It seemed it was a cast-iron rule that Time Lords could only regenerate twelve times, meaning they had a measly thirteen lives and then that was it. However, we all knew that when that time came, the showrunners would find a way around. The question was, as that moment seemed to be getting ever closer, how? In the recent Christmas special 'The Time of the Doctor', we got the answer. With the introduction of John Hurt's missing Doctor (more on him later) and David Tennant's half-regeneration in 'The Stolen Earth' it seems that Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was actually the Thirteenth! Reaching the end of his life, thanks to Clara's pleading on his behalf, the Time Lords, from their new home in a different universe, granted the Doctor a new regeneration cycle, allowing him to renew himself many more times. Some among you may think this a cop-out but it is actually an old idea. As referenced in the episode itself, the Master was offered such a thing in 'The Five Doctors' if he aided the Doctor in the Death Zone. So even if it is a cop-out, it's a cop out with precedent. As it allows the continuation of the series for many years to come, whether you like the explanation or not, this is undeniably one of the most important additions to the mythology of the show made this year.