Doctor Who: 10 Worst Things That Have Happened To The Doctor At Christmas

2. Regeneration

Doctor Who The Snowmen Clara Ice Governess
BBC

From the perspective of us fans, regeneration can be looked at as an exciting change that brings a fresh look to our favourite show. It can also be looked at as an absolute nightmare that kills off a great Doctor, but let's try and embrace that positive side.

From the Doctor's perspective though, it doesn't seem like there's a positive side to be found whatsoever. Just look at all the evidence: prior to regenerating, the Doctor often gives a long speech about how much they'll miss their current body, and how much they "don't want to go". In addition, the Tenth Doctor once likened regeneration to dying - and even got all teary-eyed while doing so - and then, there's also the fact that actually getting to a regeneration requires some sort of fatal injury to be inflicted.

Plus, the Doctor has no idea what they'll look like when they emerge from that golden fire - they could become old and frail, or young and reckless. It's a pure gamble. Pre-The Timeless Children, there was also the twelve regeneration limit, which meant that each bodily change sent the Doctor one step closer to a final death.

In short, regeneration is quite a bad thing to happen to the Doctor, and the two times it's happened at Christmas - the Eleventh Doctor in The Time Of The Doctor, and the Twelfth Doctor in Twice Upon A Time - weren't exactly moments of festive cheer for him, or for fans of those particular Doctors.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.