Doctor Who: 10 Times The Doctor Acted Completely Out Of Character For No Reason
2. Being A Complete Coward About Regenerating
After countless heroic deaths and near death experiences, the Doctor decides, in The End of Time, to become a complete wimp about regeneration.
Of course, he's never going to be a big fan of the idea, and dying is dying, even if someone promptly appears in his place, but the sudden shift into a fear of regenerating seems very, very, very out of character.
Tennant filmed the lines several different ways, so it was the decision of the director and producers to go with the cowardly version of "I don't want to go" rather than, say, a more introspective, "I don't want to go but I will if I must".
Basically, the Doctor is a hero. But the end of the Tenth Doctor's tenure paints the character in a less than heroic light. That's enough to make many fans sigh with disappointment.