Doctor Who Regenerations: A Tribute To 11 Epic Changes

8. May 1996: Seventh/Eighth Doctor

The informal 'ignore it and it will go away' cancellation of Doctor Who in 1990 meant that the Seventh Doctor was denied a regeneration and loyal fans denied any kind of closure for six-and-a-half long years. The half-US/half-UK production that was 'Doctor Who' changed all of that in May 1996. The first twenty-plus minutes of the movie are devoted to establishing both where it's come from and where it's headed. The Americans love their 'Special Guest Star' credits and here it duly went to Sylvester McCoy, finally given the opportunity to reprise his role as the Seventh Doctor to give him a proper send off. So we have The Master in a box and some slimy goo that escapes from it, a redesigned Gothic-inspired TARDIS interior, a Critical Timing Malfunction, some gunshots, a car chase, some more gunshots, a bit of opera, some surgery that appears to kill the Seventh Doctor when even bullets had failed to do so, some NYE '99 frivolity in the morgue... and then he suddenly just starts to breathe again and regenerates. The Eighth Doctor arises and starts wandering through a section of the hospital in a state of complete dereliction - somewhat unlikely for an otherwise fully functioning and well-maintained hospital? - before wandering into a change room and stealing bits and pieces of some NYE fancy dress costumes. Granted the visual effects for the regeneration sequence itself were probably a good deal more advanced than those seen with any previous regeneration and fans were no doubt terribly excited to see a new Doctor emerge after so many years in the wilderness. It's memorable for those reasons alone, if no other, but the whole thing was really just a bit long-winded and underwhelming.